A fan: "Could I have your
autograph?
I listen to your records
everyday"
Kevin Coyne: "You must
lead a very boring life..."
"I
wonder if that Pascal is all there"
(Kevin Coyne)
Dedicated
to the memory of a great artist,
and an admirer of Kevin Coyne:
Vic Chesnutt (1964-2009)
Foreword
Just when your spirits are down,
in comes a song about a fat girl going to commit suicide – but while your
still reeling, in kicks one of the greatest live bands of the time with a song
John Lydon listed as a favourite – 'Eastbourne Ladies'. An obsession was
born.
Sometimes I've tried to share
this obsession with others but know of no other artist who so polarises so many
people. He was never a musician's musician – having one of the most basic
guitar techniques you'll ever see. He was in no way pin-up material and he had
a voice which at times could strip paint off metal. But his body of work
contains some of the most real and thought provoking lyrics you'll ever hear
and, even when going thru his own breakdown, he didn't shy away from recording
it on album on the astonishing 'Bursting Bubbles'.
Coyne died in 2004 from lung
failure which in his last years saw him singing aided by a breathing tube and
in a wheel chair.
Tony Donaghey
"I had a nightmare boogie one last night,
I dreamed l
was trapped in a hall
Somebody said to me, 'Which one is yours?'
And I had to confess I hadn't got one,
Hadn't got a single one at all
Not one at all
But I donÕt care!"
('Having a Party', 1978)
Despite forty albums to his
name, isn't Kevin Coyne all but forgotten? He's gone missing from the racks of most record shops,
although he was still able to fill the 100 Club in London in October 2004, at
the end of a final UK tourÉ
Back in the 70's, he was
deservedly compared to some great names: Beefheart, Van Morrison, Joe Cocker,
even Dylan. One of the first signings to a (by then) brand new label, Virgin, he packed London's Hyde Park in 1974 and made
the cover of NME. Showered with praise by Nik Kent, called 'A national
treasure' by BBC Andy Kershaw, championned by John Peel who had been the first
to sign Coyne in 1969 on his short-lived Dandelion Records label, Kevin played
and recorded with Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley, Andy Summers, Zoot Money, Brian
Godding, Dagmar Krause, Gary Lucas, David Thomas, David Moss, Brendan Croker, Jeffrey
Lewis, The Ruts or The Mekons, to name but a few.
After a
couple of years in the late '60s with the British Blues band ÔSirenÕ (and two
albums on Dandelion), Kevin released two powerful solo albums ('Case History',
1972) and the masterpiece 'Marjory Razorblade' (1973). Says Dave Thompson
from All Music Guide: 'Yes, there are
four or five Kevin Coyne albums that can be described as his best. But 'Marjory Razorblade' remains the greatest of them all.'. All of the Kevin
Coyne signature are already here: the folk, the blues and the boogie, the
incredible voice that can go from Captain Beefheart's blues shouting down to
some heartrending ballads, the wild acoustic guitar strumming, the sad and
funny lyrics, many of them ('House on the Hill') fuelled with his experience as
a social worker and a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. Add to that the exciting
live act that England soon discovered (including the unforgettable gigantic
Hyde Park concert) and here are all the ingredients for a legend.
Yet, for some reason –
and probably due to his own dislike of fame and compromise – Kevin
Coyne never became a rockÕnÕroll star.
Maybe Coyne's approach never
fitted with the designated record company career path: he was too demanding,
not brainless enough, without enough of the Sid Vicious. He was just Kevin
Coyne, with lyrics as well as a voice, a singer with something to say.
Uncompromising, honest, sensitive, intelligent; a rock critic rolls out words
that aren't supposed to apply to the dumb universe of sex and drugs and rock
and roll...
The comparison with Captain
Beefheart is interesting for many reasons. Both men were consumed by an
incurable artistic sensibility, with a love of the blues shaping their voices
– but while the Captain apparently settled for comfortable dementia,
Coyne was clearly engaged from the outset in a struggle against madness. The
1979 Rockpalast TV show, for example, where a new audience got to know him,
displayed such a powerful character, such a disturbing and fired-up live
performer that he was immediately classified as a parading lunatic. But there
Coyne was only pretending, giving a performance. 'Better to be mad than sad' as
he sang on 'Pretty Park'É. Coyne the former mental therapist knew so well how
to portray madness that later it did come close to consuming him.
Coyne recorded several other
great albums for Virgin (highlights include 'Dynamite Daze', 'Millionaires and
Teddy Bears' or 'Babble' with Henry Cow singer Dagmar Krause, an album that
singer-songwriter Wil Oldham claimed 'changed his life'), some of them with
future Police guitarist Andy Summers, culminating with a double live album, 'In
Living Black and White', featuring the famous artwork picturing a smiling Kevin
hiding a razorblade behind his back.
In the '80s, lack of
recognition, a drinking problem, finally led to a major nervous breakdown and a
divorce. Kevin quit Virgin to join Cherry Red, for which he recorded two great
albums with jazz-rock band GLS (Brian Godding, Steve Lamb, Dave Sheen + Steve
Bull).
Coyne let England for Germany
where he settled in Nuremberg and, for a couple of chaotic years, fell off the
radar of music fans and critics.
A new marriage, an alcoholic
cure helped him to get back on the tracks. In the '90s, Coyne began recording
again with German musicians, also with his sons Eugene and Robert, as well as,
in 2002, with folk guitarist Brendan Croker for a smashing acoustic album,
'Life is almost Wonderful'.
The early 2000s saw him tour
the U.S. for the first time (where he met Vic Chesnutt, one of his long time
fans), and recorded a great rocking album in Chicago with Jon Langford of the
Mekons ('One Day in Chicago', 2002)
Kevin was
also a painter and a writer.
In his final years, sane and
sober, but ageing and in poor health, Coyne continued his work in the face of
indifference contrasted with the deep respect of a handful of fans. His
concerts remained absolutely unique experiences that usually left the audience
in wonder.
Coyne died peacefully at his
home on December 2nd 2004 from a lung fibrosis. He is
survived by his wife Helmi and his sons Eugene, Robert and Nico.
------------
This book/website is the story of Kevin Coyne with an introduction to each of his forty and more albums followed by quotes from Kevin and the people who knew him. For each album , you will also find a link to more information about each album (line up, song titles, dates etc.) and another link to the lyrics to the songs - these links go to my website http://kevincoynepage.tk And for those who discover Coyne's work, I added a couple of songs I found on youtube (I did not make these films). I hope that will make you want to hear some more...
If you think some of this material belongs to you and should not be there let me know: andreperdreau [a] free.fr
Pascal REGIS, Sep 2012
Contents
PART 1
The early years (1944-1969)
The day Coyne was asked to fill Jim MorrisonÕs shoes
Social work years (1965-1969)
'Nobody dies in Dreamland' (1972)
'Case History' (1972)
'Marjory Razorblade' (1973)
'Blame it on the Night' (1974)
'Matching Head and Feet' (1975)
'Heartburn' (1976)
'England England' (1976)
PART 2
'Beautiful Extremes' (1974–1978)
'Dynamite Days' (1978)
'Millionaires and Teddy Bears' (1978)
'Babble' (1979)
'Elvira/Songs from the archives' (1979/1983)
'Bursting Bubbles' (1980)
'Sanity Stomp' (1980)
'Pointing The Finger' (1981)
'P¿liticz' (1982)
PART 3'Rough' (1983) / 'At the Last Wall' (1982)
'Legless In Manilla' (1984)
'Peel Sessions' (1973/1990)
Germany (1984-2004)
'Stumbling Onto Paradise' (1987)
'Everybody's Naked' (1988) / 'Romance-Romance' (1990) / 'Wild Tiger Love' (1991)
'Burning Head' (1992)
'Tough And Sweet' (1993)
'Mansion of Dreams' (1993) / 'Opera for Syd' (1999)
PART 4'Knocking On Your Brain' (1996)
'Sugar Candy Taxi' (1999)
'Room Full of Fools' (2000)
'Life Is Almost Wonderful' (2002)
'Carnival' (2002)
'One Day In Chicago' (2002)
'Donut City' (2004)
'Underground' (2004)