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Kevin Coyne
The cover for Coyne's "Marjory Razorblade" (1973)
The cover for Coyne's "Marjory Razorblade" (1973)
Background information
Birth name Kevin Coyne
Born 27 January 1944
Died 2 December 2004
Genre(s) Rock,
Occupation(s) Musician, Composer, Singer, Artist, Writer, Poet, Filmaker
Instrument(s) Guitar, Singing
Years active 1968 – 2004
Label(s) Dandelion Records Elektra Records, Virgin
Associated acts Siren, Andy Summers, Zoot Money, Dagmar Krause

Kevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Dandelion Records was a British Record label started in 1969 by the British DJ John Peel as a way to get the music he liked onto record Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell In Greek mythology, the Sirens ( Greek singular Seirēn; Greek plural Seirēnes) were three dangerous bird-women Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police George Bruno "Zoot" Money (born 17 July 1942, Bournemouth, Dorset) is a Singer, Pianist, Organist Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) is a German singer best known for her work with Avant-garde rock groups like The former "anti-star " [1] was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004. Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dˈɑːbɪ/ is a city in the East Midlands of England. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

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. STING ( S equence T o and with' IN' G raphics is a free Web-based suite of programs for a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between protein sequence John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956 in London England also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British Rock musician best known as lead vocalist for the Punk In the mid-1970's his band included guitarist Andy Summers prior to the formation of The Police. Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police The Police were a three-piece rock band consisting of Sting ( vocals, Bass guitar) Andy Summers ( Guitar, 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. The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Andy Kershaw (born November 9 1959 in Rochdale, Lancashire) is a British broadcaster

Coyne produced the distinctive art work for many of his own album covers over the years, but his move to Germany in the 1980s saw his work on full size paintings blossom in its own right. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. A selection of his paintings may be found at his official website [2]

Contents

Early days

As a teen and young adult Coyne studied at the Joseph Wright school of art from 1957 to 1961 and then studied graphics and painting at Derby School of Art from 1961 to 1965. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. His love of American bluesmen developed, as did his songcraft and his guitar and vocal talents. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression

At the conclusion of his arts training, Coyne began the work that would change him forever - he spent the three years from 1965 to 1968 working as a social therapist and psychiatric nurse at Whittingham Hospital near Preston in Lancashire and then for "The Soho Project" in London as a drugs counsellor. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Whittingham is a Civil parish in the Preston local government district of Lancashire in England. Preston ( ˈprɛstən is a city and local government district in Lancashire, England, located on the River Ribble. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. 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 in 1969 on his Dandelion Records label. John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004 known professionally as John Peel, was an English Disc jockey, radio Dandelion Records was a British Record label started in 1969 by the British DJ John Peel as a way to get the music he liked onto record

An established artist

His complete repertoire, contained in over 40 albums, shows a balance between tender love songs, songs of heart-breaking despair, songs of hope and songs of great humour, many based on his life long concern with life's casualties. The music often reflected two extremes by juxtaposing one song with a glorious melody with another employing the tortured vocals and primeval screaming required by the deep anguish of the lyrics.

In 1978 he collaborated with fellow Derby Art School graduate Ian Breakwell to produce the film "The Institution" based on Breakwell's Artist Placement Group work at Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Ian Breakwell ( May 26 1943 - October 14 2005) was a world renowned British fine artist. The Artist Placement Group (APG was founded in 1966 as an artist-run organisation seeking to refocus art outside the gallery predominantly through attaching an artist in a

Kevin's refusal to compromise was shown early in his career when he turned down a meeting witn founder of Elektra Records Jac Holzman (Coyne's band Siren were on Elektra in America) to discuss replacing Jim Morrison in The Doors: "I didn't like the leather trousers!" was Coynes' alleged reason. Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Jac Holzman (born 1931 founded Elektra Records in his St John's College dorm room in 1950 and Nonesuch Records in 1964 James Douglas Morrison (December 8 1943—July 3 1971 was an American Poet, Singer, Songwriter, Writer, and Film director This article is about the band For their self-titled debut album see The Doors (album; for the Oliver Stone film see The Doors (film; for Doors in computing

The uncompromising stance continued even when he was one of the first artists signed to Virgin Records and it was this attitude that endeared him to label mates such as 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. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956 in London England also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British Rock musician best known as lead vocalist for the Punk The Mekons are a British rock band Formed in the late 1970s they are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British Punk rock Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies

Coyne's first solo album Case History, mostly with just his voice and guitar, powerful and direct, was recorded for Peel's Dandelion label, but when Dandelion ceased to exist the album largely sank into obsurity. Not before, however, it had come to the attention of Virgin records, who were sufficently impressed to sign Coyne and release his 1973 album Marjory Razorblade.

Described as being musically ". . . a mixture of blues and music hall comedy, with a punk edge", this album contained many notable songs, such as the bitter and irreverant "Eastbourne Ladies" and the plaintive "House on the Hill" about life in a psychiatric institution. It was the record that was to be largely responsible for putting Coyne on the map of mainstream rock.

Another Virgin album release, Babble, courted controversy when Kevin suggested, in the theatre presenation of the piece, that the destructuve relationship between the two lovers could have been based on The Moors Murderers. The Moors murders were committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley around the Manchester area of England between 1963 and 1965 This still didn't stop American singer/songwriter Will Oldham from claiming that tha album had "changed my life" and recording two songs from it. Will Oldham, aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (born 24 December 1970 in Louisville Kentucky) is an American Singer, Songwriter,

Nuremberg forward

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. A selection of Coyne's writings, including many of his poems, are available on the internet[3]

Coyne’s move to Germany saw his writing and painting career truly blossom. He published four books, two of which, “Showbusiness” and “Party Dress”, by Serpent’s Tail in London. [4] There were numerous exhibition of his visual work throughout Europe and the response was reassuringly strong. Those in Berlin, Amsterdam and Zurich being particularly well reviewed and attended [5]. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the The paintings gained some notariety [6] and still attract commercial attention today [7]

In the late 1980s Coyne acted on stage, playing the small part of a rock star in "Linie Eins" (Line One), a German musical, at the Nuremberg opera house, but appearing only at the very end of the play. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. [8]. His 1995 album, The Adventures Of Crazy Frank, was based on a stage musical about English comedian Frank Randle - with Coyne in the title role. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Frank Randle (Born Arthur Hughes also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist) ( January 30, 1901 - July 7, 1957) was an It also starred his second wife, singer Julia Kempken [1]

In Germany his sons from his first marriage, guitarist Robert and drummer Eugene, were recruited into his band and his later German recordings, including Knocking On Your Brain (1997) often featured the "Paradise Band". In later years he also collaborated with Brendan Croker (on Room Full Of Fools (2000) and Carnival), with Jon Langford of The Mekons and with Gary Lucas once of Captain Beefheart's The Magic Band

Diagnosed with lung fibrosis in 2002, Coyne died peacefully at his home. Brendan Croker (born Bradford[[August 15]] 1953) is a musician from Leeds who has recorded albums under his own name along with his sometime backing band Jon Langford is a Welsh-born musician and artist who is based in Chicago. The Mekons are a British rock band Formed in the late 1970s they are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British Punk rock Gary Lucas is an American Guitarist, a Grammy -nominated songwriter and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date and The Magic Band were a US rock band Originally Captain Beefheart 's backing band (together were Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band they reformed in 2003 Interstitial lung disease (ILD, also known as diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD, refers to a group of Lung diseases affecting the Interstitium 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).

Notable albums from the large back catalogue are Case History (1972), Marjory Razorblade (1973), Millionaires and Teddybears (1978), Babble (1979) and Donut City (2004).

2007 tribute year

2007 seemed it would be the year that Kevin Coyne began to garner some of the attention he deserved. The Nightingales recorded a version of Good Boy for their album Out Of True and Jackie Leven recorded a song about Kevin on his album, 'Oh What A Blow The Phantom Dealt Me!' - Here Come The Urban Ravens. The Nightingales are a British punk/alternative band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. Jackie Leven, born June 18, 1950 in Fife, Scotland is a Scottish songwriter and Folk music musician More importantly this track also featured on album -Whispers From The Offing - A Tribute to Kevin Coyne (LALR 01). Put together by Kevin's friend Frank Bangay, this album not only showed the esteem in which Kevin was held by fellow musicians but also what a great songwriter he was.

The full line-up for the CD version of the album was as follows:

  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


The download version also included two bonus tracks - Sally Timm's `I'm Just A Man' and Jon Langford's `Having A Party' [9]. Four sample tracks may be heard on the Myspace page at [1] or Kevin's own voice at[2].

There is also the Kevin Coyne Yahoo Group at [3] where Coyne's work can be discussed.

Influences

In an interview in the Spring of 2004, Coyne picked bis favourites blues musicians as Robert Johnson, Leroy Carr, Peetie Wheatstraw and Tommy McClennan [10]


Discography

Albums

Solo and with his band
With Siren
With Dagmar Krause


Singles

Books

Film

References and notes

  1. ^ a b Obituary in The Guardian by Alan Clayson
  2. ^ http://www.kevincoyne.de/Painter.htm Official Site - Paintings
  3. ^ Kevin Coyne books
  4. ^ arthurmag.com: Kevin Coyne RIP.
  5. ^ The Times: Kevin Coyne - Singer-songwriter whose experience as a therapist influenced his music and who was dedicated to remaining an outsider
  6. ^ Interview by Chris Plummer (September 1998)
  7. ^ Kunstmarkt:Kevin Coyne
  8. ^ Pascal's Kevin Coyne page 1980s
  9. ^ More details about the CD are available from paul. Robert Johnson may refer to; In the arts Robert Johnson (musician (Robert Leroy Johnson (1911–1938 blues singer and guitarist Robert Leroy Carr ( March 27 1905 – April 29 1935 The success of his first release resulted in more Vocalion recordings. Peetie Wheatstraw ( December 21, 1902 &ndash December 21, 1941) was the name adopted by singer William Bunch, a greatly Tommy McClennan ( April 8 1908 He left a powerful legacy that included "Bottle It Up and Go" "Cross Cut Saw Blues" ( covered lifeandliving@gmail. com
  10. ^ Interview eith Frank Bangay 2004

External links

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