He appeared to me to be a very competent amateur

I would agree totally. So, if he wasn't Hugh Laurie, would he have got a 40-minute programme, record deals, appearances on "Later", etc., etc.? Probably not.

I don't begrudge him all this in any way. And yet... and yet...

I've just been reading Sam Charters' 1959 book "The Country Blues" - written at a time that was so much closer to the people mentioned in it. Very few of the singers had anything but a hard and dirty life, with just a few brief periods of prosperity and fame. So, play and listen to what you like - why should anyone object - but spare a thought for the real stuff.