I became friends with Spike whilst working at Edwards Duthie.  Spike was obviously a tremendous lawyer but the most important thing, to me, was that he was a great friend.  Although we lost touch over the years, as can often happen, Spike will always be part of my life as I think of him pretty much every time I pick up a guitar or record some music.  


I remember Spike telling me he would like to be able to write songs but could not.  My response was that of course he could write songs, anybody could write a song, I said, whether or not it was any good was another matter entirely and "good" being highly subjective, who cares?  We then set out to test this theory.  I told him I would start writing a song and we could finish it off together.  


On the day of our planned recording session it dawned on me I had not written the song I promised.  So, having one chord and a notepad at the ready I wrote something quite, quite bad.  I took this to Spike and we had a great time re-writing and recording the song, not for any serious purpose, just for the fun of it.  The shocking thing was that a few days later Spike came to me with what sounded like a professionally produced recording of our song.  


Whilst Lennon and McCartney comparisons would not have been in order it was, to me, tremendously exciting.  As somebody whose dreams of musical fame and fortune disappeared before my hair it was absolutely thrilling to hear this song Spike and I had written, for fun, turn into something that sounded genuinely professional.  I also appreciated Spike asking if I noticed that he'd added his "throbbing organ" to the final track.  


In addition to shared musical tastes and sense of humour Spike was also a tremendous support to me.  He was always a sympathetic listener and source of sensible advice.


For Mel, Maisie and Sonny to lose Spike so early is so unfair.  However, I hope it brings them some comfort to know the affection in which Spike was held by so many people.