1964/5 was an amazing time and Soho was a great place to be. There was a little Italian café just off Wardour Street where they did a mushroom omelette for 3 shillings and 9 pence [approximately 19p] and we were all broke, so you could go in there on a lunchtime and you’d see Rod Stewart, Brian Jones, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck… And it was the same with the Intrepid Fox, the pub just across the road from the Marquee.

It was me that actually introduced Jimmy Page to the Yardbirds. I had known Jimmy since he played with Neil Christian and the Crusaders; I used to take over his guitar and back him while he played harmonica. When he left, I took over as lead guitar, but that was at the same time as the Authentics took off in the West End, so I left after about two weeks.

One Saturday Jimmy and I were wandering round the West End guitar shops - Lew Davis’ and the like. He was at a loose end and we were playing the Crawdaddy, so he came along and played harmonica for us. He was really good - sounded like Sonny Boy Williamson.

That happened a couple of times and Giorgio Gomelsky got to hear about it, so when Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds, he said, “You know Jimmy Page, don’t you? Could you bring him to the Marquee, because we’d like to talk to him?”

So I got hold of Jimmy and we went to the Marquee on a Wednesday afternoon, which I’ll always remember because Howlin’ Wolf was rehearsing there and while Jimmy Page went off with Giorgio to talk about the Yardbirds, Howlin’ Wolf and I demolished a bottle of Scotch!

Eventually, Jimmy turned the Yardbirds down, but he introduced them to Jeff Beck, who was a big mate, and then of course Jeff Beck brought Jimmy Page into the band later, and that was the start of Led Zeppelin.

Did you hang out in Soho’s cafes and bars in the Sixties? What did you eat and drink then?