As senior announcer and head of music at Radio Forth from November 1974 to 1976, I tried, believe me Ian, I tried.

When Dave Anthony came to me and said he would have to leave because his wife Stephanie could not stand Edinburgh, I knew we would have to get someone experienced and who knew radio. I went to PD Richard Findlay and said just that, with the view that too many of the announcers were from acting rather than radio or music.

I had phoned around and discovered Tony was available and so I suggested him to Richard. I knew that I was taking a risk but we decided that Barbara Johnson would be his minder and that Tony would have a room in our flat. Tony and Barbara had got on well on the Mi Amigo so that was start. And it worked, even when I took another risk and sent Tony, with Barbara, to interview Paul and Linda McCartney, there was not a single faux pas.

Then Tony got pissed one night, a fight broke out, he upset an advertiser (Bruce Findlay) who phoned me the next day with demands that Tony should go, which I contested as not his call, but then it all unravelled anyway. I still have the £50 Credit Lyonnais cheque that bounced for Tony's last share of living costs at the flat as he headed off, which he didn't offer to redeem the next time I met him in 1977.