Like the suitcase murder, this is something else that may have had too much emphasis put on it. Having said that, Joe did have a long-standing interest in the occult, and it is a small step from that to black magic, particularly if the person concerned is not too conversant with the subject. Joe had dabbled in spiritualism, seances and the occult for a long time, but it should be stressed that this does not necessarily constitute black magic. 'Magic' is subjective to the person using it, and there is no such thing as 'black' or 'white' magic; it depends on what the practitioner is using it for. The word ''occult'' is merely Latin for 'hidden'. Satanists on the other hand are something completely different; magical individuals generally believe in a creed apart from the Christian ethos, and to believe in Satan, one must also believe in God.

There is some evidence that Joe was playing around with the 'black arts', particularly from Margaret Blackmore, who saw a lot of Joe in his last few weeks. She claims that Joe told her that she was like Lady Harris who was, according to Joe, one of Alasteir Crowley's girlfriends who painted a set of tarot cards and was alleged to be very beautiful. Although a Lady Harris indeed worked with Crowley to create their famous Thoth Tarot deck, she was in fact a lady of mature years who was also the wife of an eminent British politician. Later on, Pamela Coleman Smith and A. E. Waite tried to repeat the experiment and created the equally famous Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Smith, as far as can be made out, was a rather attractive and somewhat dramatic-looking woman. Joe's account sounds like an amalgam of the two; whether Joe got his facts wrong or whether Blackmore has her recollections muddled up isn't clear, but certainly someone didn't know very much about some historical facts which were very easy to check, and that may be true in general of Joe's interests in that direction.

More frightening is the fact that Joe supposedly knew David Farrant. Again, the source in the book is not named; I have been in contact with someone else who knows Farrant independently of any Joe connection, and has stated that Joe met Farrant a couple of times. Having said that, I can't confirm it, as I have no way of proving whether my contact genuinely asked Farrant about it or not. Farrant was (and probably still is) a self-styled High Priest of Satan, and is still feared in some parts of North London, where he can still be seen wandering around the Archway area occasionally. He allegedly led the Highgate Cemetery desecrations in the early 70's, and most people who have encountered him say that he is at first charming, but you quickly realise he's not the kind of guy you really want to hang around too long.

However, this may again be a confusion of fact. Another Farrant, Robert, was a friend of Joe's in the early 60's. He is better known as singer Bobby Shafto, and recorded several demos at 304. Shafto had a great interest in the occult himself, and I suspect the original information about Farrant came from a person who was not associated with Joe until after Shafto's time at 304, and heard the story second hand from Joe or even a third party.

If Joe had somehow got himself involved with someone, or a group of someones, who practiced 'black' magic, and tried to extricate himself, this could have led him to be in fear for his life. It should be remembered that we really don't know how deep he was really into it, or whether he was just mucking about with it at home. Once a 'black' coven has a hold on someone, it can be made very difficult for them to leave, particularly if they have witnessed rituals or meetings. With 'black' magic, a little learning can be a dangerous thing, and I doubt whether Joe would have had the time or the patience to acquire much more than a 'little' learning. There have been a few cases of people dying in mysterious circumstances whilst trying to escape a 'black' cult, and while I do not subscribe to the theory that Joe was killed by one, I can see where he might almost literally 'scared to death' – if he was involved.

Yet more un-named sources claim that Joe was involved with the Temple Of The Golden Dawn, an occult organisation with which Alasteir Crowley was heavily involved. I find this hard to believe, as membership would have taken up a lot of Joe's time, and there are no reports of Joe disappearing from the studio for long periods of time; rather the opposite, that his work schedule became ever more manic towards the end. The same sources claim that Joe owned a cursed Egyptian viscera jar, which vanished when he died. This

story is so shaky it's unbelievable. I can believe that Joe had such an object as he was interested in Egyptology; however friends do not remember seeing anything quite matching that description in the flat. This is probably because of its fantastical description. Photographs taken in the mid-60's at 304 show a pale coloured ornament, about 10" tall, which may be a jar, and although the photographs are not terribly clear, it appears to be a representation of one of the major Egyptian gods, possibly Anubis or Hathor. Unfortunately for the thrill-seekers, it is almost certainly a modern reproduction. If this is the jar in question, I can well believe it disappeared after Joe's death – it is a nice piece, and just small enough to fit into the pocket of one of the many people who passed through 304 in the immediate aftermath of February 3rd, and who may have thought, ooh, what a nice ornament…It is doubtful there is any more to this story. The European market was flooded with reproductions of Egyptian art in the early half of the 20th century, particularly after the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. To this day, probably two out of three houses you walk into in England will have some piece of fake Egyptian art tucked away somewhere. The chances of Joe owning – or being able to afford – a genuine piece are slim, especially when one looks at other photographs and sees that he also had African, Indian and Oriental pieces.

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