ONE of the dwindling group of folk singers whose flame was lit by hearing Elvis on Radio Luxembourg, ASHLEY Hutchings is a folk singer with the kind of respect for great voices, which is too rare in the genre.

Not for him the faux-shy childlike warblings which saturate folk music.

A founder member of the big three of British folk, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the Albion Band, Ashley hitches his wagon to the Rainbow Chasers these days. And he says being in a band with a smaller, but growing reputation, gives him free rein to make music which satisfies him.

"I founded this group to do something very different," he said.

"We sing our own songs, and there are three very good singers in the Rainbow Chasers, plus myself, and the voice and the song is the main focus in the Rainbow Chasers.

"No, I don't feel any burden of expectation because of my time with Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span or the Albion Band, because I am too old to care what people think, really.

"I feel I have paid my dues in full, and the Rainbow Chasers are about doing what I want to do. And because this band isn't so well-known, it means we have been playing, rehearsing and writing, here and in Italy largely, so we have become a good group without people knowing it.

"Playing festivals like Pontardawe is important to us, because it allows us to get our sound out to people who may not have come to see us.

"They might be there for the headliner, or the festival atmosphere, and they might like what we do."

Starting out as a rock 'n' roll enthusiast in the golden age of the form, says Ashley, gave him the kind of musical grounding and enthusiasm for music that money can't buy.

"Elvis Presley singing Heartbreak Hotel was the first piece of music to have an impact on me, listening on Radio Luxembourg.

"I got to see some of the greats of rock 'n' roll, like Eddie Cochran, at The Astoria in Finsbury Park, which became The Rainbow.

"The blues were important to me as well. In Fairport, we always had our ears open to all kinds of music."

So the folk rock which emerged at that time did so organically, he adds, and out of the love of songs.

"When Sandy Denny joined Fairport, she was a folk singer and she used to sing these songs we were unfamiliar with — just sitting in the dressing room.

"Because we were rock musicians, we would pick up our guitars and jam along. So the folk rock movement came out of jamming, it was a very natural thing."

And while he is heartened by the vitality of the business of folk at the moment, he sees a gap in the weave that worries him.

"I think the scene is very vibrant, and the level of musicianship out there is incredible, though I don't think the voices are there to the same degree.

"Also, when we started out in the 1960s, we really dug deep into history. We went to libraries and museums and we searched for recordings and songs. Now, acts seem to be recording a Martin Carthy song or two and not going much deeper than that."

The Rainbow Chasers last disc, Fortune Never Sleeps, is out onTalking Elephant. Ashley is working on a new music and spoken word project with his other main group, the Lark Rise Band, as well as on a disc with guitarist Ken Nichol.

For a full festival line-up visit www.pontardawefestival.com

To visit the Rainbow Chasers myspace site click here