Kevin Coyne
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Kevin Coyne |
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Kevin Coyne was a singer, composer, writer and painter. The former Virgin Records "anti-star" was born January 27th 1944 in Derby, UK; he died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, December 2nd 2004.
Coyne is notable for his unorthodox and unforgettable style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the qualities of his vocal delivery, and for his bold treatment of injustice to the mentally ill in his lyrical songcraft. Many influential music figures call themselves fans of Coyne's work - notable among them are Sting and John Lydon. Prominent BBC disc jockey and world music authority Andy Kershaw described Coyne as, variously, "a national treasure who keeps getting better" and as one of the great British blues voices.
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As a teen and young adult (1957-1965) Coyne studied graphic arts at the Joseph Wright and Derby schools of art. At the conclusion of his arts training, Coyne began the work that would change him forever- he spent 3 years (1965-1968) counseling people with mental illness as a social worker and a psychiatric nurse. In his Derby College of Art days, his love of American bluesmen developed; his songcraft as well as his guitar and vocal talents developed also. During this period of working with the mentally ill, he performed regularly. Subsequently, his musical aspirations took precedence and he was signed to a record deal in 1968.
Coyne's early break was the result of John Peel releasing recordings by Kevin's first band Siren (album) in 1969 on his Dandelion label.
His 40 LPs always had a balance of tender love songs and songs of heart-breaking despair and hope based on his life long concern with life's casualties and songs of great humour. The music often reflected these two extremes by one song with a glorious melody followed by one with tortured vocals and primeval screaming reflecting the anguish inherrent in the lyrics.
Kevin's refusal to compromise was shown early in his career
when he refused to meet Jack Holzman (Siren were on Electra in America)
to discuss replacing Jim Morrison in The Doors —
"I didn't like the leather trousers!" The uncompromising stance
continued even when he was one of the first artists signed to Virgin
Records and it was this that endeared him to label mates John
Lydon, who played Eastbourne Ladies on a
Desert Island Discs–type show, and The
Mekons, who recorded his Having A Party,
a scathing attack on Richard Branson. Another Virgin
release, Babble, courted controversy when Kevin
said that the theatre presentation about the two lovers the piece was
about could be
Following a nervous breakdown and increasing difficulties with drink, Coyne left the UK in 1985. He settled in Nuremberg, and having given up alcohol, never stopped recording and touring, as well as writing books and exhibiting his paintings.
His German recordings often featured his own Paradise band,
but increasingly in later years he collaborated with Brendan
Croker, Jon Langford of The
Mekons, Gary Lucas of The
Magic Band and his own son
Diagnosed with lung fibrosis in 2002, Coyne died peacefully at his home. He is survived by his wife Helmi and his sons Eugene, Robert and Nico.
His wife Helmi intends to continue releasing recordings Kevin made in his last years on Kevin's own Turpentine records. The first is Underground (2006). Other notable LPs are Case History (1972), Marjory Razorblade (1973), Millionaires and Teddybears (1978), Babble (1979) and Donut City (2004).
2007 seems it will the year Kevin Coyne garners some of the attention he deserves. The Nightingales record a version of Good Boy for their album Out Of True and Jackie Leven records a song about Kevin on his album Oh What A Blow The Fantom Gave Me - Here Come The Urban Ravens.More importantly this track also features on the tribute album for Kevin - Whispers From The Offing.Put together by Kevin's friend Frank Bangay this album not only shows the esteem Kevin was held in but also what a great Songwriter he was.
The line up for the CD version of `Whispers From the Offing – A Tribute
to Kevin Coyne(LALR 01)'
1 Black Cloud - Nigel Burch
2 Talking To No One - Big Mehr and friend
3 Born Crazy - Razz
4 Sand All Yellow - Goldfish
5 Cycling – Dog Latin
6 Marlene - Nikki Sudden
7 Raindrops On The Window - Kevin Hewick
8 Hello Judas – Alternative TV
9 I Only Want To See You Smile - Veronique Acoustique
10 Blame It On The Night - Grae J Wall
11 My Evil Island Home - Jowe Head
12 Case History No 2 - Pascal Regis
13 House On The Hill - Leo O'Kelly
14 Mad Boy No2 - Frank Bangay and almost real
15 Looking For The River - Chris Connelly
16 Victoria Smiles - Heinz Rudolf Kunze
17 Are We Dreaming? - The Otters (Ft. Mark Astronaut)
18 Strange Pictures - Dave Russell
19 Weirdo - Joey Stack
20 A Loving Hand - Clive Product
21 Lonesome Valley - Stumble On The Valves
22 Here Come The Urban Ravens - Jackie Leven
There will be two bonus tracks on the download version all being well -
Sally Timm's `I'm Just A Man' and Jon Langford's `Having A Party'. The
CD will be available shortly and I'll let you know more nearer the
time. For those wishing more details the contact
paul.lifeandliving@gmail.com Meanwhile you can hear 4 sample tracks on
the Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/kevincoynebookscom
or Kevin's own voice http://www.myspace.com/kevncoyne
For those wanting to fully immerse themselves in the work of Kevin
Coyne there is the Kevin Coyne Yahoo Group at http://www.kevincoyne.tk
were you can discuss this and other Kevin Coyne releases and be part of
the tribute year as this is only the start......
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