Hi Peace - don't get me started or I'll never stop! The London scene was very varied - then as now - and the "Egberts", as we called ourselves, tended to get together mainly in the Redan public house in Bayswater. The landlord, Johnny Watkins, had been a touring guitarist/singer with the Tito Burns Agency, and had a love of jazz and good-time music. Diz Disley, who was then backing Stephane Grappelly on guitar, lived upstairs. Many musicians and locals of one sort or another (mainly actors) used to drop in and either sit in or kibbitz. I recall being bought several pints of beer by Tom Baker (who was then in the English "Doctor Who" sci-fi TV series - and who wore the same clothes off-set as on-set. Stefan Dreja's brother, Chris Dreja, had been the bass player with the Yardbirds, and Robin Wayne's brother, Mick, had been originally with David Bowie (remember the ethereal guitar solo on "Space Oddity"? - that was Mick), but died in tragic circumstances in the US. Bob Kerr still plays trumpet and fronts his "Whoopee band".

There are 100 stories to tell, but one incident sticks in mind... We were booked to play at a church hall in Basingstoke (alias Dullsville in those days). We turned up to play for three nuns, some children and one or two others - terrible gig! In the interval we went outside for a smoke. Three black US soldiers passing by walked up to us and asked us if we knew an address in Basingstoke. "Sorry", we said, "we're strangers in Basingstoke". One threw up his hands and said, "Man - EVERYONE'S a stranger in Basingstoke!" - a phrase which stayed with us for years...