Matt McGinn was a wicked song satirist and parodist, a radical heart and a dear friend. First person I ever saw do an entire concert unaccompanied...for a bunch of college students in rural Vermont who had never concieved of such a thing. They were transfixed - by his wit, his politics, his chutzpah. Bless him, he was also the first person I ever saw drink a bowl of raw eggs to cure a hangover.

He toured in the States a few times in the sixties. Don't know if he ever made it to Australia.

The last time we saw him was in Glasgow in 1971. He and his family put us up overnight, took grand care of us and toured us around (what felt like) every venue in the city where a man could stand up and roar out a song. He did 'em all. As we left, he was arranging for a boat to row him downriver to sing for striking workers who had taken over part of the John Brown Shipyards, which were threatened with government closure. He died prematurely shortly after.

For another of his songs - that Pete Seeger also did, and that I still delight in doing - check out "Grigaloo" in the DT. -George