Jackie Leven:Dead.

[Guest]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/nov/15/jackie-leven

Jackie was a great man and a hard grafter: someone who put at least as much energy into helping others as he did into making a living for himself. Sadly, he spent most, if not all of his career, 'under the radar' of popular taste.

Anyone with a liking for John Martyn/Van Morrison should check Jackie out: you will be richly rewarded.

[Lateralthinking1]

Oh no. I'm really, really, sorry to hear this news. He was so sadly underrated. One of my favourite musicians of all time, a remarkable person and in many ways a personal hero. His music helped me get through some times.

And I never got to see him live.

I'm not good at obituaries so I will keep it quite short. This was a guy who because of his romany background grew up in a Scottish community as an outsider. That gave him both personal problems and unique insights into that society and the terrain. He was subsequently the victim of a vicious assault in London. That triggered or at least exacerbated the most serious of addictions. These were mainly overcome with natural therapies like acupuncture. A Trust to help others in similar positions followed. While never becoming a household name, he became a friend of Princess Diana via his charity work. Latterly, he found himself in a slightly awkward meeting with Gordon Brown with whom he had been at school. Arguably, the highest in the land had much to learn from Jackie. His experience brought a warmth, humility, humour and philosophy that were both rare and extraordinary. There were few of his generation who had such an ability to convey a common sense spiritual leadership simply through being.

Musically, he emerged as John St Field in 1971. One great album very much of its time. It almost fitted into a hippyish bracket and yet typically it was wholly individual. A contrast of other-worldliness and the earthiest of roots. Then disappearance for some years until the formation of his band Doll By Doll. That has occasionally been described as one of the most frightening of the punk era. At times, the live shows were electrical fire and brimstone. To listen to the cds reveals something different. There was an intelligence, a passion, certainly a poetry to it, and not a little experimentation. Leaning far more towards rock and folk themes than was ever recognised back then, it was at times Scotland's Thin Lizzy only so much better. But it is to the subsequent solo career that one looks for the true gems. Fortunately, he became prolific and the standards that he set in terms of lyrics and distinct musical arrangements were virtually unparalleled. In fact, the latter were frequently breathtakingly original. He became Van Morrison's equal. He could also sing like an angel. Combined with the flamenco styled guitar, it was clear that music was in his soul.

What though really set Jackie apart was his services to men. This might seem a strange thing to say but no one in music - and I mean no one - ever "got" masculinity as Jackie did. It hardly needs to be said that this was not the masculinity of the hip-hop hoods, of war films, of westerns, of the boardrooms. No. This was the kind of brutally honest portrayal that Springsteen can sometimes describe but without his tendency towards over-sentiment. Weakness, yes, and to the extent that some could find it embarrassing. It would not have worked with lesser talent. And yet there was always a strength there too. A hint of church. A tolerance. An understanding of poverty and isolation. Perhaps even a Seamus Heaney like connection with the land. However much gloss was applied to the musical arrangements, and at times they shimmered and sparkled like absolutely nothing else, there was always something there that was intrinsically organic. It was visceral. And the absence of fantasy lyrically was one reason for his comparative lack of commercial success. He was just too direct, too subtle, too bright. On balance that was probably a good thing. It gave him the flexibility not to sell out while providing a staggering legacy of hymns to be enjoyed by those in the know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Leven

Empty in Soho Square - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvijQ1dZ0Nw

Main Travelled Roads - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxDyCi0ONo

The Sexual Loneliness of Jesus Christ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuMcwfZjQGY

My Philosophy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAzFh...eature=related

Classic Northern Diversions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APNVVMp0AF0

Snow in Central Park - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Lmy...eature=related

A Little Voice in Space - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URyjizaVWlQ

[Mandryka]

Oh no. I'm really, really, sorry to hear this news. He was so sadly underrated. One of my favourite musicians of all time, a remarkable person and in many ways a personal hero. And I never got to see him live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Leven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvijQ1dZ0Nw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxDyCi0ONo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuMcwfZjQGY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAzFhpR9Y0w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8LmySLjSUI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URyjizaVWlQ

I'm glad someone else on here is aware of him.

I saw Jackie play a gig in 2008: it was a toss-up whether to go and see him or another production of my favourite play (Hedda Gabler). On this occasion, Jackie won, and I'm glad he did.

Sadly, because of his apparently never-ending touring, I always assumed it would be a matter of time before I caught up with him again.

[Rumbaba]

I saw Doll by Doll many year ago at The Nashville West Kensington. They were supported by The Tourists (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart). Jackie never seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Here's a bit of trivia; that's not his real name and he used to work on The Glenrothes Gazette.

[teamsaint]

Oh no. I'm really, really, sorry to hear this news. He was so sadly underrated. One of my favourite musicians of all time, a remarkable person and in many ways a personal hero. And I never got to see him live.

I'm not good at obituaries so I will keep it quite short. This was a guy who because of his romany background grew up in a Scottish community as an outsider. This gave him both personal problems and unique insights into that society and the terrain. He was subsequently the victim of a vicious assault in London. That triggered or at least exacerbated the most serious of addictions. These were mainly overcome with natural therapies like acupuncture. A Trust to help others in similar positions followed. While never becoming a household name, he became a friend of Princess Diana via his charity work. Latterly, he found himself in a slightly awkward meeting with Gordon Brown with whom he had been at school. Arguably, the highest in the land had much to learn from Jackie. His experience brought a warmth, humility and philosophy that were both rare and extraordinary. There were few of his generation who had such an ability to convey a common sense spiritual leadership simply through being.

Musically, he merged as John St Field in 1971. One remarkable album very much of its time. It almost fitted into a hippyish bracket and yet typically it was wholly individual. A contrast of other-worldliness and the earthiest of roots. Then disappearance for some years until the formation of his band Doll By Doll. That has occasionally be described as one of the most frightening of the punk era. At times, the live shows were electric fire and brimstone by all accords. To listen to the cds reveals something different. There was an intelligence, a passion and certainly poetry to it and not a little experimentation. Leaning far more towards rock and folk themes than was ever recognised at the time, it was at times Scotland's Thin Lizzy only so much better. But it is to the subsequent solo career that one looks for the true gems. Fortunately, he became prolific and the standards that he set in terms of lyrics and distinct musical arrangements were virtually unparalleled. He became Van Morrison's equal. He could also sing like an angel. Combined with the flamenco styled guitar, it was clear that music was in his soul.

What though really set Jackie apart was his services to men. This might seem a strange thing to say but no one in music - and I mean no one - ever "got" masculinity as Jackie did. It hardly needs to be said that this was not the masculinity of thehip-hop hood, of war films, of westerns, of the boardrooms. No. This was the kind of brutally honest portrayal that Springsteen could sometimes describe but without his tendency towards over-sentiment. Weakness, yes, and to the extent that some could find it embarrassing. It would not have worked with lesser talent. And yet there was always a strength there too. A hint of church. A tolerance. An understanding of poverty and isolation. Perhaps even a Seamus Heaney like connection with the earth. However much gloss was applied to the musical arrangements, there was always something there that intrinsically spoke of roots. It was visceral. And the absence of fantasy was the reason for his comparative lack of commercial success. He was just too direct, too subtle, too bright and on balance that was probably a good thing. It gave him the flexibility not to sell out and provide a staggering legacy to be enjoyed by those in the know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Leven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvijQ1dZ0Nw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxDyCi0ONo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuMcwfZjQGY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAzFhpR9Y0w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8LmySLjSUI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URyjizaVWlQ

Sorry to hear that you never saw him.I wasn't really aware of him, being very much a part time folkie, but I saw him at Wickham this year, and he was a fine performer.

He did seem to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and i did know that he had had to deal with a lot of problems.

It was very evident that his heart was in the right place.

[johncorrigan]

Sorry to hear that you never saw him.I wasn't really aware of him, being very much a part time folkie, but I saw him at Wickham this year, and he was a fine performer.

He did seem to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and i did know that he had had to deal with a lot of problems.

It was very evident that his heart was in the right place.

Really sorry to hear about this - I only found out about him this year thanks to Lateralthinking's input on a World music board spotify compilation and couldn't believe I'd never heard of him - and plenty of my pals never knew of him either. Sorry to hear this. Listening to Jackie I think he just couldn't be pigeonholed and the music bizz doesn't much know how to deal with that.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thanks JC. Scotland has hardly been short of great songwriters and musicians but I truly believe JL was the best of them all. People are putting clips on You Tube in big numbers. The quality is variable but there are some good'uns and it will be fascinating to see what comes next. I really hope that some key musicians will get together in due course and tour his songs. Maybe starting with Celtic Connections? Then Womad where it had been hoped he would be this year.

Btw, my favourite album cover of all time - http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

John St Field 1971 -

Soft Lowland Tongue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp_DS...eature=related

Jackie Leven - 2011

Swine Flu Fever Blues - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h462y...eature=related

Clay Jug - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfiKU...eature=related

One Long Cold Morning - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEd-t...eature=related

Ah.....Doll By Doll are on YT now.

"Stripshow" - The best rock classic that never was - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwqjS...eature=related

And the fabulous lost dance classic "Caritas" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6kCGa7TCnw