The Marktrock Festival was great fun. The stage was set up in the ancient town square of Leuven and there were 15,000 people crammed in there. We followed Anouka, a Dutch singer - very good and very loud and the wonderful Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Before our set I got to spend some time with Ian, a writer, well more a poet really that I have always admired. He told me that he used to come and see me play at the Plough, Ilford, a pub in London, when I was with the Johnny Burch Octet This would be around 1962/63. He was kind enough to say that he thought it was the best jazz band he ever heard in England. Unfortunataely the Octet never had a chance
to record. It was great to hear Ian's songs "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" "What A Waste" etc. He was in great form and the band was very tight.

The All-Stars wern't bad either and we left the crowd shouting for more as we screeched away through the narrow old streets back to Brussels. On then to Portugal.................