Tony Savage who who ran the three barrels folk club at Ampersand used to tell this story about alex geeting pissed one night at the Paris Opera House where Tony was singing.

Apparently Alex and another party, also wearing cowboy boots had booked a box and were singing drunkenly along to the opera. Tony told me the other party was Woody Guthrie, American mudcatters assure me this was impossible and the other guy was probably Rambling Jack Elliot.

i wonder if any other people knew about this. i seem to remember Alex was quite poor. i wonder how he got round to booking a box. most people i know can't afford a seat at the opera. perhaps Paris is cheaper than Covent Garden.