My husband, Alex Hooper, who has died aged 82 after a long illness, had an extraordinarily varied career, including as an archaeologist, film-maker, merchant seaman, teacher and gallery curator.
In the late 1960s, while doing an MA in film studies at the Slade School of Fine Art, Alex became close friends with Peter Gibson of Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, and the pair made a documentary about the blues musician John Mayall, The Turning Point (1969). Through going on tour with Mayall, and making the film, Alex hung out with musicians such as Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. In 2003, Alex interviewed many of them again, for a second film about Mayall directed by Peter and produced by Martin Weitz – John Mayall, Godfather of British Blues. The pair also worked with the experimental British theatre director Pip Simmons on his multimedia performance projects.
