FOR 50 years, Jacqui and Bridie’s Folk Club has attracted some of the country’s most talented musicians to Liverpool, and entertained generations of fans.

Set up by Jacqueline McDonald and Bridget Mary O’Donnell, better known as Jacqui and Bridie, below, it was born out of the male-dominated music scene of the early 60s.

“In those days, as a woman on your own, you couldn’t just go and sit in a pub,” explains Jacqui. “You could do bits here and there, but we weren’t welcome in a lot of the clubs.”

A Geordie raised in Yorkshire, Jacqui had come to Liverpool to train as a gym teacher at the I M Marsh College.

While she was studying, she started singing with The Spinners, and soon befriended Bridie, who was teaching in Tuebrook.

“Bridie suggested setting up our own club,” explains Jacqui. “By that point, we had an old coach house in St Michael's in the Hamlet.”

The club did well, quickly swelling its ranks from 20 to over 100. The club soon outgrew their little house.

“One night we had 110people and we realised we needed bigger premises,” explains Jacqui. “We looked around for venues and finally settled on the domestic mission in Mill Street.”

Their name was quickly spreading, and in 1964 they gave up their teaching jobs to go into singing full time, thus becoming Britain’s first female professional folk duo.

They sailed to the USA on the strength of six weeks’ work in Canada and America, while their friend Marnie Spencer looked after the club in their absence.

Club members came to the Pier Head to wave them off when they sailed direct (“you could in those days”) from Liverpool to Quebec.

They visited the American folk singer Jean Ritchie, who showed them some dancing dolls from her childhood – small wooden figures that could be made to dance in time to the music.

They came home for a triumphant show in the concert room at St George’s Hall.

They premiered the dancing dolls as part of the show, and the crowd loved them.

Back in Britain and on the professional circuit, they travelled the country, but always made it back for Monday night at the club.

Guests included Tom Paxton, Ralph McTell, Christy Moore, Robin Hall and Jimmie McGregor, Maggie Prior, Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Barbara Dickson and Don Partridge.

Regular turns were Pete McGovern (who wrote In My Liverpool Home) and Stan Kelly, (who wrote Liverpool Lullaby). Willy Russell would turn up and perform a song or two.

Over the years, the club moved to London Road and Hanover Street, and at the Holiday Inn, in Paradise Street.

In 1984, they presented the Festival of Folk at the Garden Festival.

The club continued in the Coffee House Hotel in Wavertree and then in Penny Lane.

Bridie’s health was failing and they gave their farewell concert at the Phil in 1987.

They did a few bookings after that, but her voice was going and she died in 1992.

Jacqui kept the club going in her memory, meeting at Sefton Park Cricket Club once a month.

On Sunday, to mark 50 years since the first concert, Jacqui will be putting on her final concert.

“I’m too old to be able to keep up with it now. I’d rather go out with a big show than just have it fade away. I’ll be sad to see it go. But, on the night, there will be so many happy memories, and so many old friends.”

JACQUI & Bridie's final folk club takes place this Sunday, at the Philharmonic Hall. Tickets are £15/£20 on 0151 709 3789.