In Donny’s backstage room that night was laid out a great platter of drinks and fruit, Donny having forbidden biscuits before the performance as they leave a layer of sugar and crumbs in the mouth and interfere with the music. I’m not sure Joan, the vocalist, ever truly forgave him for that even after she married him, although Donny kept her in biscuits for the rest of her life, and she buried him last year with a packet of Bourbons and a farewell song that would break your heart in two. Fruit, though: fruit was allowed and even encouraged to keep the energy levels up on stage, and since I was a guest I was encouraged to partake. I had just finished an apple and realised as the whisky came out that I might want something a little more substantial in my stomach, so I reached for a banana, an exotic import then in London, and something of a delicacy.