While he was out touring, guitar on his back, writing songs and poetry, Buddy Holly was one of his early influences.

He soon had a record deal. ‘Catch the Wind’, Donovan’s first single, was a big hit and won an Ivor Novello Award for the Outstanding Contemporary Folk Song of 1966. With Brian Jones’s former wife Linda Lawrence as his muse, Donovan followed his debut success with a string of hits including ‘Colours’, ‘Jennifer Juniper’, ‘There Is a Mountain’ and ‘Sunshine Superman’, the latter going to number one in the US and selling over a million copies. His sessions featured many top musicians, including Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan, Jack Bruce, Danny Thompson and John Paul Jones.

Donovan moved with ease from folk to psychedelia before progressing to slightly heavier material. In 1968, he travelled to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with other western musicians including The Beatles and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. While there, he famously taught Lennon and McCartney how to play fingerpicking on their guitars. 

Mike Read