I've seen him only once, in London, in the singers' club. He was one of those singers I longed to hear and see for a long time. In many years before that, at least four times, when I ended a journey to Scotland or Ireland with a few days in London, I found that I should have come the week before or the week after to hear MacColl. That was such a streak of bad luck that I actually found out before the next journey when the singers' club was and I arranged the vacation so that I could see the man.

I have forgotten nearly all about that evening except: A visibly old MacColl sung Joy of living which I heard for the first time then and immediately fell in love with.

Wolfgang