John Otway // Chris Tavener

In a 50-year career Dr John Otway (he recently received an honorary degree from Oxford) has performed over 5,000 gigs, building a sizeable cult following of amazingly loyal and adoring fans. He has released 15 albums (six with Wild Willy Barrett), sold out The Royal Albert Hall and headlined the London Palladium. His 2013 biopic Otway the Movie: The Story of Rock n Roll’s Greatest Failure premiered in Leicester Square, was shown at Cannes, voted 2nd best film of the year by Guardian readers and is still popular on Netflix. He has also written two bestselling volumes of his autobiography. His song Beware of the Flowers was voted the nation’s seventh favourite lyric in a BBC poll.

His 1977 Old Grey Whistle Test appearance, when a leap across an amplifier went spectacularly wrong (resulting in the full force of a fall being absorbed by his most tender body parts), first propelled him to fame, helping achieve the first of his two top 20 hits. Since then his surreal sense of humour, near constant gigging and a self-depreciating underdog persona have earned Otway deserved national treasure status.