TOWERING over her neighbours at 1.93 metres tall, flying under the radar was always going to be tough for distinctive folk singer Margret RoadKnight when she moved into a new retirement living unit in North Fitzroy.
Within weeks of moving into the Old Colonists Association of Victoria's independent living community, the acclaimed musician - dubbed Australia's first lady of folk - was giving a concert to residents to raise money for the Refugee Council.
"As years go by, fewer people know who you are. But I'll never be incognito - I'm 6 foot 4," said Margret, who moved to North Fitzroy a couple of years ago from East Gippsland.
As a non-driver, she said being close to the city with its cinemas, music venues and galleries was the main reason for her move from regional Victoria.
While she admits village life is a far cry from her youth spent singing "underground music" at grungy folk clubs and hanging out at festivals, Margret is now just as happy in her Rushall Park loungeroom surrounded by her envious collection of vinyl and CDs as when performing live.
With an entire wall dedicated to records, including her own recordings, it's a job just keeping track of what she has.
"If I play one a day for the rest of my life I won't get through them all," said Margret, who listens to the radio regularly to keep up with current music trends.
She also likes to pop into the new Australian Music Vault at Arts Centre Melbourne, which pays tribute to Margret's contribution to the country's music scene along with other singers and musicians.
"It's interesting. But I'm not quite sure why I'm in there," she said. "It's primarily rock and pop and not my milieu, but it's nice to get a tip of the hat to folk."
And while the festival couch-surfing days may be over for the 74-year-old (who remembers performing at the first National Folk Festival in Melbourne in 1967), she is still a special guest at people's houses giving private loungeroom concerts and shows on request.
"I'm a lot fussier now about where I perform. When I started out I sang anywhere and under any conditions," said Margret, who is loathe to use the "R-word".
"I don't say I'm retired or even in semi-retirement. I don't feel like I've stopped performing - I'm still doing it. It just goes in bursts."
She plans to do more private concerts this year "as long as they're not too hard to get to" and said she always gets asked to perform the 1976 song Girls In Our Town, which became an anthem for a generation of women.
"That's okay because I like the song. It is still played today and is still relevant.
"The only thing that dates it a bit is the line about 'Girls in our town, they leave school at 15, Work at the counter or behind the machine'. I don't think they do that any more!"
The senior folkie has been associated with campaigns and social activism throughout her decades-long music career. A regular at rallies and marches, she sang at the launch of Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children.
"I was heavily involved in the early days, and not as much now."
Margret added it was important for younger people to take up the reins "not just us veterans".
And when she's not out and about in Melbourne, or campaigning for social justice, there's plenty to do in her community.
"There's poetry clubs, a book group and even a weekly singing session, but I don't go. It's not quite my style of music."
