Nick, I liked him too.
Peoples charcters and in faxt everything about them including their singing] are a result of their background and events that happened to them., knowledge of what has happened to a person and their upbringing i believe helps us to understand the way they behaved.
I liked his company and thought he was a good performer , but he is not someone i would take as a bechmark of style as a singer , neither do i share his revernce for Kipling , who i think was an imperial apologist, and a reactionary[ backward lookin propogandist .
Kiplings best work IMO was his childrens stories just so etc