Saw and interviewed Dick at York's Black Swan FC at the end of last year. It is true he is not on top form, but he is a legend. Some, like me, would pay the entry fee just to be in the same room as him.

I did hear one disgruntled punter say that they would never go to a Gaughan gig again, but I think they expected too much. Dick, like many of us, is knocking on a bit now. His gigs are as much about nostalgia as they are about performance.

After all he has given to the folk scene over the years it would be nice to see organisers continue to book him for as long as he wants to keep performing and as long as he can still draw his fans.