My friend Les Barker, who has died aged 75, was a poet/performer and author much admired on the folk scene. My husband, Ken, and I were his agents from 1995 until 2019.
Born in Manchester, the only child of Miriam (nee Crabtree) and George Barker, who owned a newsagent’sshop, Les attended Manchester grammar school. He was a bright lad and after training at Manchester College became a chartered accountant, working at the city’s town hall until 1982. But he found it boring.
