Nick Harper

‘Too right!’ He replies, sanguinely, ‘Have you got one?’ So, songs referenced are sometimes by context more than title.

A sparse audience maybe but those there could have been left in no doubt after two hours that the artist before them was one more than worthy of the admission price.

Described as 'the man who plays guitar like he's wearing god's underpants' I am quite certain that at London’s famous 100 Club on Saturday he was wearing a sequin-encrusted pair of Jehovah’s boxers as he was on sparkling form.

Aeroplane tells the tale of when at age four Harper the elder swung his son round and round by his feet (My first high he says) while Crazyboy is a son’s heartfelt tribute to his dear old dad: You’re still my hero/ You’re such a weirdo.

He is the son of weirdy-beardy folk hero Roy Harper and has been ploughing his furrow of acoustic virtuosity for some 20 years now.

There may now be even greater evidence that in this his 49th year on this earth Nick Harper is continuing to mellow. Life, age, death and reason seem to have all given him pause for thought. While the political arm of his songwriting still remains every bit as strong – the title track from his 2006 album Trea

Jon Gomm stands dressed all in black against a black backdrop with only his guitar (Wilma) a microphone and a few choice pedals to accompany him.