 In 1973 he was influential in persuading Quintette du Hot Club de France violinist Stéphane Grappelli to return to public performances using an all-strings acoustic line-up, recreating the spirit of the Quintette for a new generation of listeners.Before this, Grappelli had spent a number of years playing "cocktail jazz" in a Paris hotel.After a couple of "warm up" gigs in small folk clubs, they played together to an unexpectedly warm reception at the 1973 Cambridge Folk Festival with Denny Wright on second acoustic guitar.