I met him at the Troubadour in Earls Court in the late 1960s. Redd Sullivan, Martin Winsor and he working together were absolutely stunning. All three were great musicians, wits and raconteurs. I miss them all greatly, but Disley was far and away the most talented musician.

Incidentally, the story of his 'liberated' guitar is, to the best of my knowledge, true. It was a particularly fine guitar (the name escapes me) of notable and unusual construction - and was never seen again after it had been lifted. Disley was inconsolable. From that point forwards Disley tended to borrow others' instruments. I guess he never found its equal.

As to his various vehicles, yes they were remarkable. He had a penchant for large, usually old, always luxurious, cars. Sullivan told me the(a) story that Disley had a Rolls with a huge hole in the exhaust - it was incredibly noisy, sounding like a Spitfire on heat. Apparently one evening it ran out of petrol on the Chiswick Flyover, but Disley managed to coast it silently into a nearby petrol station. The pump attendant, suitably impressed by Disley's slightly flamboyant gentility, the car itself, and its remarkably quiet arrival nearly died of a heart attack when Disley fired it up and took off on his way into London.

A lovely man. Rest in Peace, Diz.