'A Year With Swollen Appendices'

It was my brother, Wol, who introduced me to Brian Eno. While my musical life was focussed on the electronic bands of the late seventies and early eighties, his tastes were far more eclectic and included a passion for Bowie. Via 'Low', he had reached Eno's 'Before And After Science' and I remember him playing me 'Backwater', which he particularly liked.

I remembered being interested that he - Eno, not my brother - was working with U2 on 'The Unforgettable Fire' so I must have had some appreciation of him by then but it was their subsequent album 'Achtung, Baby', alongside a belated appreciation of Talking Heads' 'Remain In Light', which Eno also produced, that really got me interested in his work.

My love for Eno was sealed by his 1996 book 'A Year With Swollen Appendices', which consisted of his diary for 1995 supplemented by a collection of letters and essays. I enjoyed it right from the introduction's opening "I've never kept a big diary past about 6 January (so I know a lot about the early Januaries of my life)".

Honestly and openly written, the book provides a wonderful insight into the man and how he thinks. Every time I pick it up and dip in - which is often - I come away feeling invigorated and inspired. It's a brilliant book.

Recently, a 25th anniversary edition has been released (slightly prematurely, I think), this time in hardback. That's my copy in the photo and, as you'll have gathered, I'd highly recommend it.

Also in the picture, incidentally, is one of the mugs that the Minx fashioned for a Good Gang Special Assignment a few years back, featuring the four attendees in the style of the cover art for Kraftwerk's 'Computer World' album. What a wonder she is.

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-12.4 kgs
Reading: 'The Vanishing Half' by Brit Bennett