Got drunk a few times with Alex, and I used to call him Dad jokingly, he wasn't much older than me. I loved Alex, and admired him too, and still miss him. He had a stage presence which most of us would kill for, and even when he'd had one or two drinks, he could still hold an audience, and they loved him for his warmth and cheekiness. Many people in the folk business, made disparaging remarks about his drinking, and maybe he did do the odd gig a bit the worse for wear, but he could still hold an audience, which is more than some of the tut tutters at the back! He was an inspiration to me, and to many others, God bless him wherever he is!
A final thought, another of his contemporaries in those far off days in Paris was Lionel Bart; could it have been him?
John