Davy Graham, Memorial Hall

But one man that even Jansch regarded as his superior it was Davy Graham. Even Paul Simon described him as “probably England’s greatest guitarist.”

Graham was a maverick and elusive figure who introduced new techniques in tuning and fingerpicking, released a seminal album called Folk, Blues and Beyond, and after a few years, disappeared into obscurity, his technique never translating into mainstream success.

That obscurity lasted until a BBC documentary a few years ago tracked him down and sparked renewed interest, leading to a new album called Broken Biscuits and this tour.

But what to expect after 35 years away from the limelight?

Graham apparently poked his head into the main Oval Hall to catch some of X Factor runner-up Ray Quinn. He then played the second half of the show, following the impressive John Smith. Graham played most of his set on a nylon-stringed Spanish guitar.

The biggest surprise was that instead of the folk or blues he is renowned for Graham’s first two pieces were Spanish classical tunes. While the chord structures and fingerpicking were clearly fiendishly difficult it appeared that some of that famed technique was still there, but not all of it. Some notes were lost, some went astray, but there were also flashes of the old brilliance.

No sooner did Graham finish one piece than he launched into another - a blues classic here, an Irish traditional air there. After 40 minutes he suddenly finished and was gone. Just like the X Factor runner up- the man who almost made it, but never did.

Tony Belshaw