I was persuaded to perform for the first time at a fund raiser for a Spiritual Healing Centre in Stansted Essex. It was not exactly a complete disaster, but it was 'pretty damn' close. It was held in marquee and I was sandwiched between a tenor, singing 'light ' opera and a little girl, dancing in a tutu.

I was proudly playing my new (it was the 1960's) Yamaha FG 140, which I still have. I had a harmonica harness, made out of a wire coat-hanger. It didn't work that well, as the wire bent forward, when I tried to play it and I ended up facing the floor (stagecraft).

It was during my Doc Watson, period and I was singing , quite appropriately, I thought, given the cause, We Shall All Be Re-United.

But unknown to me, there was this famous record producer in the audience,...................the rest is history.............. he signed up the tenor.

The last bit wasn't true, but the rest was, unfortunately. ......Now if I had only been wearing the tutu?