Derroll Adams made an enormous impact on the folk scene in England and Scotland, largely through the enormous impact he had on Alex Campbell, whon then proceeded to set his mark on a whole generation of folkies - and in large part it was Derroll's mark. It was from Derroll that Alex took his war cry "Hell Ye!"

Here's what he wrote about Derroll, who he calls "my mentor", when Alex was busking in Paris and and beyond back in the late Fifties:

Derroll is a great story teller...He didn't even have to sing or play his banjo to hold an audience, all he had to do was sit and tell his yarns.

I remember the first night we went out together. We went to a wee cafe des ouvrieres which was just near St. Sulpice and started to tune up. After we had played through a tune one of the workers gave us two large glasses of vin rouge which we speedily downed.

Three hours later we left that cafe tuned up as never before, and off we merrily went tomour gig which was in then Russian Restaurant near theb Pont des Arts.

Boy, what a show, we killed them, and the bottle was extremely good. Nevertheless, when we were leaving, the manager took me quietly aside and told me not to bloodywell come back again.

"Now what the hell was that all about" I asked Derroll as we walked up the road "that audience dug us, you know." "Hell Ye! said Derroll, "it's just that when I was singinh Alabama Bound you were singing O Susannah and it sounded kinda bad."

That's from a wee book of songs and stories by Alex called "Frae Glesga Toon", and there's lots moire about Derroll.