Goodbye Kevin

I woke up on Wednesday to the unwelcome news on my Twitter feed that one of my musical heroes, Kevin Ayers, had died. I had seen Kevin Ayers and the Whole World several times in the late sixties and early seventies, when his performances were infused with a wonderful air of anarchy and spontaneity, and had always followed his career with interest. Sad news.

I only took one picture on the day, and had I reviewed it at the time I probably would have tried to do something about the reflections of me, taking the picture, in the CD cases, but it is what it is.

L.
24.2.2013

Blip #922
Consecutive Blip #000
Day #1063

"Kevin Ayers was an English musician who was largely responsible for the birth of the British psychedelic movement of the '60s. Born in Kent, Ayers was in college when he immersed himself in the storied Canterbury scene where a collective of progressive rock, avant-garde and free jazz commingled to create something new and exciting. He soon found himself playing alongside Robert Wyatt in the Wilde Flowers. In 1966, the band morphed into Soft Machine with Ayers starting out on bass and shared vocals but later switching to guitar. Soft Machine quickly grew a strong local following, often performing with Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. In early 1967, they released their first single, Love Makes Sweet Music b/w Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin', making it one of the first British psychedelic singles ever released. It pre-dated Pink Floyd's debut single by a month.
"Soft Machine followed with their self-titled debut in December of 1968, and although the Chas Chandler/Tom Wilson produced effort is widely considered a classic, it failed to excite more than die-hard fans of the movement until many years later. After an extensive U.S. tour supporting Jimi Hendrix, Ayers sold his guitar to Noel Redding and planned to retire to the beaches of Ibiza forever. Before leaving however, Hendrix gave him an acoustic guitar and made him promise to not give up songwriting. Whether it was the beautiful locale or the guitar, Ayers found fast inspiration for songs that would make up his solo debut, Joy of a Toy. The album was released in 1969 on Harvest Records, also home to Pink Floyd at the time.
"His follow-up album, Shooting at the Moon, included future star in his own right, Mike Oldfield, on bass. Ayers continued to perform and record until once again retreating to seclusion during the late '70s. He briefly resurfaced to record and release 1988's Falling Up which trumpeted his "comeback" with mostly glowing reviews only to see him go underground again soon thereafter.
"By the late '90s, he was living a reclusive life in southern France, but in 2005, he began to create music again, and with the encouragement upon learning that young bands like the Go-Betweens and Teenage Fanclub were enthusiastically citing him as an influence, he completed and released The Unfairground in 2007. Members of Roxy Music, Teenage Fanclub, and Neutral Milk Hotel, among others, appear on the album. It was another critical triumph. Kevin Ayers was 68 when he passed away on February 18, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released." - The Music's Over (themusicsover.com)

Backdated cat backblips:
Wednesday 30 April 1986: Lizzy In Chesham (posted 23 February 2013)
Thursday 12 June 1986: Grumpy Robin (posted 23 February 2013)
Monday 22 September 1986: Windowsill Cats (posted 23 February 2013)
Monday 12 January 1987: Robin And Lizzy (For the last time) (posted 24 February 2013)
Wednesday 22 April 1987: Lizzy (posted 24 February 2013)
Monday 29 June 1987: Windowsill Cat (posted 24 February 2013)
Monday 27 July 1987: Lizzy (posted 24 February 2013)

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Kevin Ayers & the Whole World - May I? (Old Grey Whistle Test, 1972)
R.I.P. Kevin Ayers (b. 16 August 1944, Herne Bay, Kent; d. 18.2.2013, in his sleep, at his home in the medieval village of Montolieu in south-west France)
May I? is one of my favourite of his tunes, from his second album Shooting At The Moon (not pictured as I have it in a different format). There is also a French-language version of it, Puis-Je, on a B-side.

One year ago: Smokey, 2257 hr