Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Nick Drake: A Rare, Rare Find

The Handsome Climber introduced me to the music of Nick Drake. Our mutual love of American hardcore of the 80s was tempered by some right softy stuff too. I clearly remember being curled up in bed one night - he hopped out to turn off the light in his little student room, pressing play on his cassette deck (I miss you, my plastic tape friends) and the room filling with "Time Has Told Me". There was no going back. I thought "River Man" was one of the loveliest things I'd ever heard. Something in me almost popped when I listened to his 'Bryter Later' album for the first time. A few years ago, on an emotional trip home, 'Northern Sky' came on my headphones as my London train sped homeward through Yorkshire, and I made a right tit of myself, tears pouring down my face.

So, Laura Barton's piece in this morning's Guardian, about some bloke in the 1970s finding an old cassette in a skip outside Island Records with 'Nick Drake' and 'Cello Song' scribbled on it, made my heart skip a beat. Seems unlikely I'll get to hear the piece, though, as it isn't due for general release - Michael Burdett, the skip forager, did nothing with the tape for years, then recently had the novel idea of photographing the reaction of people, as they listen through headphones to this previously unheard version. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, but as it's the marriage of two of my great loves - photography and Nick Drake - it'd be churlish not to go and have a nosy. The exhibition will be on at the Ideas Generation Gallery in London from the 27th January until 12th February:


Have a butchers at Ms. Barton's article here:



He was never ready for his close-up, Mr deMille.


(Postscript: I laughed as I always do at the comments on The Guardian site - slap on the back for Space Peanut commenting at 25/01/12 11.28am "Fearne Cotton has heard this song and I have not...". I laughed briefly. Then it hit me: Fearne. Fucking. Cotton. Has. Heard. This. Song. And. I. Have. Not. Beggars belief.)
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