"When a friend played me the first Bert Jansch record, I was transformed by his extraordinary guitar technique and the human content of his song writing"

(an intro by Marc....)"There was no emphasis on music in my household when I was a child and growing up. My first musical impressions came from the few TV broadcasts I was allowed to watch and Forces Favourites on Sunday morning radio which I glued my ear to so that my Mother wouldn’t switch it off.
From the TV my five year-olds obsession was with Larry Adler. Mouthorgans were cheap and I was bought one and quickly started to play the tunes we learnt at school – “D’ya Ken John Peel?” and the like. I told Larry Adler this story when I met him many years later when I was booked to play Cleo Lane and John Dankworth’s summer season at Wavendon. Adler, nodded and said, “Yeah, everyone tells me that.” Whereupon he whipped one of his miniature monogrammed mouthorgans from a pocket and handed it to me as a gift.
Lonnie Donegan was my first guitar hero and I formed a skiffle group with my school friends. My fellow skiffler had an older sister with a Dansette and we raided her singles collection. The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly were the tops.

What was the first record you bought? When, where and why? Where was it the last time you saw it?
“With the Beatles” was probably the first actual record I owned when I finally got a record deck.

What was the first gig you remember going to?
I went to a Trad Jazz Club in Soho some time around then and I think it was The Chris Barber Band playing.

What was the first band/solo artist you obsessed about?
When a friend played me the first Bert Jansch record, I was transformed by his extraordinary guitar technique and the human content of his song writing. This was probably the moment when I thought – “I could do this. Some of the poetry content I’d been writing for some years might be sung instead of spoken.”

What was the first gig you played? were you solo or what was the name of the band and what kind of stuff did you play?
Bert Jansch directed me down to the Les Cousins club in Greek Street, Soho. I started to do nightly floor spots down there – playing my first own compositions which were as much like Bert Jansch songs as I could make them.

What was the name of the first song you wrote/recorded/released?
In 1966 Shirley Collins husband, Austin John Marshall introduced me to Nat Joseph at Transatlantic Records and after a short editing and selection period. he recorded my eponymously titled solo EP. The first song that we recorded was “If you leave me now”.

Describe your dream backing band
The Band.

If you were stranded on a desert island with a record-deck, which three albums would you want with you?
Highway 61 Revisited
Mahler Symphony Nr. 5
Bach Cello Suites

What is your favourite band/artist/album of the last five years?
Modern Times, Bob Dylan

Who do you regret never seeing live?
Bob Dylan (in his heyday)

Which artists/labels have you collected over the years, if any?
Bob Dylan up until “Self Portrait”; The Band, first three albums; Mothers of Invention; Eric Clapton; Paul Simon; The Beatles; all Mahler’s Symphonies; all Shostakovich’s symphonies; big selections of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Puccini, Verdi.

Is there anyone whose music is seriously 'out there' who you're into?
I am very impressed by Hooray for the Riff Raff. I went to see them perform quite recently. Alynda Lee Segarra is absolutely stunning as a writer and performer with a really top notch backing band.

Which do you prefer - on-stage or in the studio? and why?
I have not found a recording studio to be a comfortable working environment either in the past or present. And I am not at all relaxed doing my own engineering. If I could record in a Nashville studio, I picture that as being ideal. They are not obsessed with “separation” and close micing, or acoustically dead studio environments as we are in the UK. I would like to have time and convenience to be able to re-record much of my material in a place where acoustic guitarists and singers are understood better, and with some of those amazing Nashville session musicians.
I am seeing my material in a much less rigid and more fluid state as I re-discover items of my catalogue and therefore consider that live performance is the ultimate expression of what I would like to achieve. Many live performances, intimate spaces, good acoustics, time to explain.

What inspires you to write a new song?
A combination of an interesting chord sequence or fingering or a new tune over the same old chord sequences, coupled with a lyrical entry point triggered by events, feelings, musings, readings, sights, sounds, colours, images. Then the process takes over, more without trying than with.

If you could go back and re-record something, what would it be and why?
I fully intend to re-record many of my songs. The original recordings were the product of innocence and inexperience mixed with bad judgement, impatience, lack of stamina, and insufficient funding – for this, read studio time. I’d like to be able to bring better advice, experience and judgement to bear on those songs which have more potential than was ever realised. That would include Welcome to the Citadel itself, and maybe two or three others from that disc, and The Room and five others from “Hello”. Also I have a significant back catalogue of material which was not recorded professionally or at leisure and contains some nuggets.

What are your recording/release/gig plans for the next 24 months?
I’m hoping to be able to find the people to support my ambition to return to musical performance, recording and writing in my 8th decade. I think, as of August 2017, I’m still learning, still re-discovering, still improving. I think there is a fair way to go. If luck, health, time is with me then you’ll see it.