Of course he is remembered for that. The old socialist had to set up an offshore fund to keep the taxman away from the royalties.

Tongue in cheek can lead to urban myth. Someone sang Space Oddity at a club the other night and I couldn't resist shouting that Bowie went downhill after The Laughing Gnome. I said it for a laugh of course because Bowie has been the soundtrack to my life, and in parts so has MacColl.

Still, for someone to write a song decrying thousands of miners and conveniently keep quiet about when he was asked to sacrifice his time fighting fascist forces forty odd years earlier? Complicated character.