Dear Morris-ey,

What do you think about the name changer "Bob Dylan"? I know what I think - if an artist decides to change his/her name, who gives a s..t??

As for Ewan MacColl - I met him at an impressionable time in my life and he made a very deep impression on me that has lasted me for the rest of my life. He definitely changed my life for the better - and, personally, I always found him very approachable.

No artistic experience that I have had, before or since, has ever had the same impact as Ewan singing ballads. At a time when our popular culture was being swamped by commercial rock music here was this remarkable artist, singing these exciting and dramatic, traditional narrative songs, and holding audience after audience in the palm of his hand. I think that many of his detractors still hate him because he was uncompromising and made absolutely no concessions to commercial popular culture. He was unimpressed by passing fads and fashions and had a truly wide-ranging perspective. He was both an internationalist and a person with a deep feeling for history and the historical roots of our culture. He was a giant whose like we will never see again.