My own memories of Adam, which start from soon after we moved to Scotland in 1986.

First encounter was at a medical conference on HIV/AIDS, which was of major concern in Edinburgh at that time. Adam was the lunchtime entertainment, to bring a lighter note to a rather sombre day, and had written a song relevant to the occasion to lift our mood.

Then he was several times one of the stars of Maggie Cruickshank's annual fundraising concert: probably where I first heard his "Cholesterol" song and determined to learn it. We had a consultant haematologist in the audience, who nearly fell off her stool laughing at "I don't mind them probin' in my haemoglobin". And he had the whole company in organised uproar as he did his version of "Romeo and Juliet" and had everyone shouting for either Montagues or Capulets. Just one of several Shakespeare plays that he condensed into hilarious 5-minutes versions. (also "Oor Hamlet", "The Scottish Story" and "King Lear".)

I was delighted to see him in the Stramash line-up - which Scott referred to - and to have him as a guest at one of our Singers' Gatherings in West Lothian. He also often came to the Glasgow Ballad Workshops (started by Anne Neilsen and Gordeanna McCulloch and Ronnie Clark), and was a great filler-in of any missing information with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the ballads.

The last public performance of his that I saw would be at Nitten (Newtongrange) Folk Club, where he agreed to do half an evening, having officially retired from performing by then.

I'll conclude by mentioning two others of his songs learned - "The Jeelie Piece Song" (aka The Skyscraper Wean") and, perhaps the most often sung in sessions song - "Yellow on the Broom"

RIP Adam.