Curious that this thread seems to have dried up completely just as someone joined in who has actual experience of the Group and its working methods. Are people simply embarrassed by their knee-jerk denunciations of the great man? I'd have thought that, now that Jim is ready to tell us what we want to know, we'd be bombarding him with questions. Well, here's a couple from me, in the hope that Jim's still keeping an eye on this thread...

1. It's been suggested on this thread that MacColl was eager to dish out criticism, but reluctant to expose himself to the criticism of other members. Jim, does this tally with your recollections?

2. There has been speculation that MacColl's method of getting to the heart of a song in performance was broadly this: that for the duration of the performance, the singer would imagine himself/herself to be the central character in the narrative, and "live" the experience described in the song rather in the manner of a classical actor. Is that a fair summary of his method?