I first met Simon Albury at Nottingham University in the 1960s, and our paths continued to cross.
My favourite memory of his work was a TV documentary on African-American gospel music. He interviewed Thomas A Dorsey, the composer of Martin Luther King’s favourite Gospel song, Take My Hand, Precious Lord, as I had done a few months earlier in 1976, focusing on his career as Georgia Tom, a blues star in the 20s, for a series on the history of the blues.
Simon was asking about gospel music and religious belief, and coaxed an exquisite gospel performance from Dorsey and his frail, elderly wife – soft and gentle, it was a touching experience that Simon did well to capture on film.
