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The clues to his, and their, lack of recognition are all there, I think. There’s some folk in it, some protest, a lot of the jolly sound of the 60s (cf the Beatles, Bonzo Dog Band, etc), but essentially it’s quiet, undemonstrative, intelligent music. Sometimes serious, sometimes funny, often both.  It’s the sort of music that you want to listen to, maybe with a pint and some friends. Atkin’s voice is good. It doesn’t have the pure tone of Sandy Denny, or the raw emotion of Joe Cocker, but that wouldn’t be an issue if there was any promotion going on. At all. If you’re going to sing songs in a curious hinterland between Loudon Wainwright III and Victoria Wood, and you want some cash and recognition, then you might need to shout a bit louder.

This struck me very clearly when I went to look for the album you mentioned. Surely only a reserved Englishman could make such a good job of hiding a new CD on a website. Is there a splash-banner? Of course not. Is it a tiny entry in a huge list of other items, nearly invisible? Of course it is.

This entry from his Wikipedia entry sums it up for me: “In 1976, Atkin’s recording contract with RCA Records expired and he concentrated on renovating his house.”