Ralph McTell was born Ralph May, on December 3, 1944, in Farnborough in Kent. Named after another musical Ralph – his father worked as a gardener for the composer (Ralph) Vaughan Williams – had his head turned by skiffle while he was at school, but opted for a short-lived life in the army instead. He started attending jazz clubs and became a beatnik inspired by writers such as Jack Kerouac and blues musicians like Muddy Waters. Ralph McTell’s debut album Eight Frames A Second was arranged by a pre-Bowie Tony Visconti and produced by a pre-Elton Gus Dudgeon. His second album Spiral Staircase featured an early version of what would become his breakthrough hit Streets of London, which was eventually rerecorded and released in 1974. Ralph McTell continued to release albums and tour but his career took an unusual turn in the early eighties when he composed music for children’s television shows Alphabet Zoo and Tickle On The Tum.
