I share the goodwill of most posters towards the Spinners. They were not especially my cup of tea but did what they did with honesty and a certain amount of style, and helped enormously in directing some people towards a deeper exploration of folk music. The point is that many of us would not have started that journey of discovery had it not been for the likes of the Spinners and Clancys.

It must have been Hughie Jones, I think, who rang me just before the group disbanded to ask if the Daily Telegraph, for which I worked, would run a piece about it. I cannot at present trace the resulting cutting since I am surrounded by cartons after successive moves, but I will never forget his opening gambit: "Are you a Spinners hater?"

(apologies if a similar posting to the thread has already appeared from me...I hit the Submit button and it just disappeared)