I had little to impress him with in return other than instant praise for his music and a bona fide actually released seveninch single of a song I had written both words and music with which an unknown pop group had dealt the final blow to their moribund career by recording three months previously We parted promising to meet again and to write something together I was still more interested in the charts than in the West End theatre but told myself on the bus back to my flat that I had just met somebody of rare ability and determination and I would be mad to miss out on being a sidekick to a chap who was clearly going to take the musical theatre by storm probably by next week