For he is the man who for more than 30 years has guided the Rock Folk Club to the top.

Recipient of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Club of the Year award, the club has ridden stormy seas and found itself becalmed over the years.

But it has always kept afloat and offered a lifeline to musicians and music alike.

The last 18 months or so have been particularly challenging.

For the club had become a major feature not only on the South Yorkshire and regional scene but also was part of village life in Wentworth. It met every Friday in a converted barn alongside the Rockingham Arms - and had done so for three decades.

But it fell victim to changing demands on the pub trade and Rob was left with no option when he was faced with crippling demands for weekly hire charges.

The club has never been a profit-making operation. Almost every penny made has been ploughed back into performers' pockets.

Some weeks Rob would make a profit, others a loss. But the artists always received what they were promised.

There was an outcry when people learned that the club was at risk and letters began to fly from supporters to the brewery.

But Rob Shaw remained calm and confident. He knew that the venue was important - but not as important as the music.

And that was where he held all the aces. For Rob's appreciation of music is pretty much unrivalled in South Yorkshire.

He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject and, after rubbing shoulders with the biggest stars on the folk scene since its earliest boom years, he has come to know not only what music lovers like but also what music makers want.

To that end, he learned the craft of the sound man (earning the nickname Rob the Knob for the way he spends hours hunched over the sound mixing desk) which is particularly crucial for folk music where the crystal clarity of the sound is the most important thing.

So when the crunch came and the curtain fell at the Rockingham Arms, Rob began to look around, confident that he would be able to keep the music alive elsewhere.

He said: "The end at Wentworth came as something of a blessing in disguise. I had been there for many years and had some wonderful memories associated with that room. But I was getting worn down by the conflicts.

"It had become something of an albatross round my neck so it was something of a relief to move on."

There was always the problem of finding a new venue, something which has wrong-footed many would-be promoters.

For there just aren't that many venues which can offer an isolated room where you can make as much noise as you wish but won't be disturbed when you want to be as quiet as you can.

Added Rob: "I looked at dozens of places, all over the county. From Sheffield to Barnsley and everywhere in between..

"And I finally settled on my new venue, which has turned out to be a real gem."

It is the Wesley Centre, in Blyth Road, Maltby.

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