Colin Harper was born in Belfast in 1968. A professional writer on music between 1994-2001, contributing regularly to Mojo, the Independent and the Irish Times, he is currently a librarian at a Belfast music college. Recent projects have included co-authoring, with Trevor Hodgett, Irish Folk, Trad & Blues: A Secret History (Collins Press, 2004) and creating two wildlife charity albums (www.thewildlifealbum.com) for the benefit of the WWF and Ulster Wildlife Trust.

'An excellent biography of one of folk's cult figures ... Harper's narrative is first-rate at putting the man and his influence in perspective. It is especially evocative when describing the folk underground which burgeoned in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s' Independent on Sunday 'A work of considerable importance ... intuitive and informed' Q Magazine 'The legendary musical outsider described as "a dextrous guitar player, footloose and fancy-free" shines like a rare, uncut diamond in this biography, which captures his rise as a musician in the British folk and blues scene of the 1960s, from the coffee houses of Soho to friendship with The Who's Pete Townshend ... Past glories make Dazzling Stranger a feast for anyone interested in Jansch or the 1960s' Scotsman 'This is a book that needed to be written, and for folk, blues, and beyond enthusiasts, one that's required reading' Glasgow Herald