Ralph McTell: 'The first time I played Cork was a bit of a disaster'
Ralph McTell is at Cork Opera House on May 11
Ralph McTell has always had the wind in his hair. In 1962, as a 17-year-old, he hit the road, busking with his guitar around Europe. He didn’t have a plan or know where he was going. He did buy a map before setting off, but it was in eight tattered pieces by the time he got to the south of France. It was a time when beatniks like himself hitchhiked everywhere because it was more “noble”.
“I left home with a 10-shilling note inside the little pocket in my Levi jeans in case of an emergency,” says McTell. “I had my guitar. The first time I had left home, I left with a blanket for image, but the second time I took a cheap sleeping bag. I hitchhiked on my own. I’d stay the night in places, have something to eat and move on. I had plans to get to India, but I only made it as far as Istanbul.”
