He became a star of the vibrant Bristol folk scene of the Sixties, notably at the dockside Bathurst Hotel and the legendary Troubadour in Clifton. A fine traditional singer, in the Seventies he joined Billy Connolly, Jasper Carrott and Mike Harding as one of folk’s leading comedy entertainers.

Years later, his novelty single Oldest Swinger in Town propelled him to national stardom – but his heart was in the West, and it was largely there that he spent the last thirty years of his career, performing to audiences from across the spectrum, becoming a reassuring television face and acting in one of Bristol’s great theatrical showpieces of the post-war years.

In this first biography, written with the much valued support of his widow Sue, John Hudson celebrates Fred Wedlock, a true Funnyman of Folk.