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Kevin Coyne | |
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 Coyne at "The Edge" inToronto, 5 June 1981 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin Coyne |
| Born | (1944-01-27)27 January 1944 Derby,Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 2 December 2004(2004-12-02) (aged 60) Nuremberg,Bavaria, Germany |
| Genres | Rock,new wave,alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, singer, artist, writer, poet, filmmaker |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, harmonica, guitar |
| Years active | 1968–2004 |
| Labels | Dandelion,Elektra,Virgin,Cherry Red,Blast First Petite,Ruf |
| Website | Official website |
| Family | Robert Coyne (son) |
Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. He was critically acclaimed for his unorthodox style ofblues-influenced guitar composition, the intense quality of his vocal delivery, and his lyrics describing injustice to thementally ill. Musicians who have described themselves as Coyne fans includeSting andJohn Lydon. In the mid-1970s, prior to the formation ofthe Police, Coyne's band included guitaristAndy Summers.BBC disc jockeyAndy Kershaw described Coyne as "a national treasure who keeps getting better" and as one of the greatBritish blues voices.
Over many years Coyne produced theart work for many of his own album covers. His move to Germany, in the 1980s, saw his work on full-size paintings blossom in its own right.
Coyne was born inDerby,Derbyshire, England. As a teenager and young adult Coyne studied at theJoseph Wright School of Art from 1957 to 1961 and then studiedgraphics andpainting at Derby School ofArt from 1961 to 1965. There he met Nick Cudworth (piano, acoustic guitar).[1] His love of Americanbluesmen developed, as did his song-craft and his guitar and vocal talents.
At the conclusion of his arts training, Coyne began the work that would change him forever – he spent 1965 to 1968 working as a socialtherapist andpsychiatric nurse atWhittingham Hospital nearPreston inLancashire and then for "TheSoho Project" in London as adrugs counsellor.[2] During this period of working with thementally ill he performed regularly. Subsequently, his musical aspirations took precedence and he signed a record deal in 1969.[1]
Joined by Dave Clague (bass, acoustic guitar, ex-Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), Coyne's band got an early break as a result of a demo heard byJohn Peel, who in 1969 signed them to hisDandelion Records label.[3] At first billed as Coyne-Clague (an early Dandelion release erroneously named them just "Clague"), the band soon altered its name to Siren.[1] Reviewing the band's 1971 LPStrange Locomotion,Robert Christgau wrote inChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): "LikeFleetwood Mac, this isBritish blues that neither chokes on false roots nor enmires itself inboogie reductionism. Kevin Coyne's humorously belligerent drawl embodies the band's wit and itspunkchauvinism. Mistake: 'Fetch Me My Woman,' which (second mistake) goes on for 7:40."[4]
In 1973 he appeared on the BBC'sThe Old Grey Whistle Test, performing "I Want My Crown" and "House on the Hill" with guitarist Gordon Smith and percussionist Chilli Charles. In 1975 Coyne and his band performed at the alternative festival held to protest against theEurovision Song Contest 1975 inStockholm; footage from the concert was later released as the 1976 filmMusikfilmen.[5]
In late 1975 and 1976 Coyne completed the musicalEngland, England, written with playwrightSnoo Wilson, and described as "an evocation of theKray twins". The musical, directed byDusty Hughes, was performed in August 1977 at theJeannetta Cochrane Theatre, inHolborn, London. It drew attention to the associations betweenfascism and the type ofBritish nationalism that later saw the rise of theNational Front and the election ofMargaret Thatcher. From 18 August to 24 September 1977 it played at theBush Theatre inShepherd's Bush.[6]
In 1978 Coyne collaborated with fellow Derby Art School graduateIan Breakwell to produce the filmTheInstitution based on Breakwell'sArtist Placement Group work atRampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.
Early in his career, Coyne turned down a meeting with founder ofElektra RecordsJac Holzman (Coyne's band Siren were on Elektra in America) to discuss replacingJim Morrison inthe Doors. "I didn't like the leather trousers!" was Coynes' alleged reason.[7]
Coyne's first solo album, mainly with only his voice and guitar, wasCase History (1972), released on Peel'sDandelion label.[3] It was not a success, but it was noticed byVirgin Records, which signed Coyne and released his 1973 albumMarjory Razorblade.[3] The single "Marlene" (b/w "Everybody Says"), taken from the album and released in August 1973, was the first Virgin single.[8]
Coyne was the second artist signed toVirgin Records, afterMike Oldfield.[9] Coyne got on well with label-mates such asJohn Lydon, who played "Eastbourne Ladies" on aDesert Island Discs–type show, andthe Mekons, who recorded his "Having a Party", an attack onRichard Branson. Described as being musically "... a mixture of blues andmusic hall comedy, with a punk edge", the 1973 album contained many notable songs, such as "Eastbourne Ladies" and "House on the Hill" about life in apsychiatric institution. It was the record that established Coyne's reputation.[10]
In 1976 Coyne released thelive albumIn Living Black and White that includedZoot Money,Andy Summers, Steve Thompson and Peter Woolf. Culled from three shows, it featured a cover ofBob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door".[11]
Released in 1979, the albumBabble, by Coyne and singerDagmar Krause, was subtitled "Songs for Lonely Lovers", withQ magazine noting that Coyne's and Krause's voices "complement each other so well (...) the song functions as a kind of exchange."[12]
The subsequent tour courted controversy when Coyne suggested, in the theatre presentation of the piece, that the destructive relationship between the two lovers could have been based onthe Moors murderers. Two performances at theTheatre Royal in Stratford, London were cancelled at short notice byNewham Council following negative press reports inThe Sun and theEvening Standard. The show was eventually staged, for four nights, at the Oval House inKennington. Reviewing the show for theNME,Paul Du Noyer wrote:
"Babble" is a particularly thorough, painstaking exploration of the reality of one relationship, stripped of romance and artifice. The format employed is correspondingly stark. Against a stage-set of light-bulb, table and chairs Coyne and his partnerDagmar Krause stand at either side; the only accompaniment comes from Bob Ward and Brian Godding, playing electric and acoustic guitar in the gloom behind.[13]
American singer/songwriterWill Oldham claimed that theBabble album had "changed my life" and he recorded two of the songs himself.Oldham also went on to form a side project called The Babblers – who strictly played covers of songs fromBabble. Extracts from a performance ofBabble, inBerlin, were included in the short German filmHerz Aus Feuer (1979) by Claudia Strauven and Wolfgang Kraesze.[14]
The albumPoliticz, featuring Peter Kirtley on guitar and Steve Bull on keyboards, was released in 1982.AllMusic's reviewer Dean McFarlane described the album as "One of the British singer/songwriter's more outwardly experimental records, this album contains some of his most intimate work, deeply personal songs and techniques which were taking him further and further away from tradition... strictly a post-punk album with a humorous political agenda".[15] The same year, Coyne appeared in concert with his band (Peter Kirtley (guitar), Steve Lamb (bass), Steve Bull (keyboards) and Dave Wilson(drums)) live in front of theBerlin Wall at the Tempodrom. The concert was later issued on the 2008 DVDAt the Last Wall (Dockland Productions, Meyer Records).[16]
Following anervous breakdown and increasing difficulties with drink, Coyne left the UK in 1985. He settled inNuremberg,West Germany and having given up alcohol, never stopped recording and touring, as well as writing books and exhibiting his paintings.
Coyne's move to Germany saw his writing and painting career blossom.[17] He published four books, two of which,Showbusiness andParty Dress, were published bySerpent's Tail in London.[18][19] There were numerous exhibitions of his visual work throughout Europe. Those in Berlin,Amsterdam andZürich were well reviewed and attended.[20]
In the late 1980s Coyne acted on stage, playing the small part of a rock star inLinie Eins (Line One), a German musical, at theNuremberg Opera House.[1] At the start of the 1990s Virgin began reissuing the albums on CD.[21] This included a collection of Peel sessions from the period 1973–1990.Q magazine noted that "the artistic focus of his albums is lost (...) the Peel Session is more fun".[21]
His 1995 album,The Adventures of Crazy Frank, was based on a stage musical about English comedianFrank Randle, with Coyne in the title role. It also starred the singer Julia Kempken, who was erroneously listed inThe Guardian obituary as Coyne's wife.[2] Kempken later wrote fondly of this mistake, suggesting that her performance on stage as Randle's wife had been so strong as to transform her, in the eyes of the press, into Coyne's actual wife.[citation needed]
In Germany his sons from his first marriage, Eugene andRobert, appeared on recordings such asTough And Sweet (1993) andSugar Candy Taxi (1999), with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Robert joining his band. His later German recordings, includingKnocking on Your Brain (1997), often featured the "Paradise Band". In later years he also collaborated withBrendan Croker onLife Is Almost Wonderful, withJon Langford ofthe Mekons (onOne Day in Chicago) and withGary Lucas once of Captain Beefheart'sMagic Band (onKnocking on Your Brain). A reunion with original Siren members Dave Clague and Nick Cudworth happened for a John Peel's Dandelion Records DVD, alongside solo performances by Coyne.[22]
In a 2004 interview with Frank Bangay, Coyne named his favourite blues musicians asRobert Johnson,Leroy Carr,Peetie Wheatstraw andTommy McClennan.[23]
Diagnosed withlung fibrosis in 2002, Coyne died in his adopted home ofNuremberg,Bavaria, Germany in 2004.[24] He was survived by his wife Helmi and his sons Eugene, Robert and Nico.
Writing in his obituary inThe Guardian,Alan Clayson said, "... Virgin's press office referred to him as an 'anti-star' ... If he meant nothing in theTop 40, Coyne was appreciated as a songwriter's songwriter, and collaborated with musicians such asZoot Money,Andy Summers,Carla Bley,Robert Wyatt... He earned, too, the admiration ofJohnny Rotten andSting. Coyne was infinitely less precious and artistically self-centred than other artists of that era, such asNick Drake,Melanie Safka andJames Taylor, whose primarily acoustic albums appealed more to self-doubting adolescent diarists than fans ofheavy metal,jazz-rock and similar genres that dominated early 1970s rock."[2]
In 2007,the Nightingales recorded a version of "Good Boy" for their albumOut of True,Jackie Leven recorded a song about Coyne on his albumOh What A Blow The Phantom Dealt Me!, and "Here Come The Urban Ravens" featured on the albumWhispers From The Offing – A Tribute to Kevin Coyne, put together by Coyne's friend Frank Bangay.
The full track listing for the CD version of the album was:
In 2008Swiss performance artistPipilotti Rist produced a video in which she mimes "Jackie and Edna" against the background of various images, including film taken from a moving train. This video was exhibited inHelsinki's Kiasma Gallery in January 2012 as part of the "Thank you for the Music" exhibition.[25]
Although Coyne has been neglected by popular music historians and academics, George McKay's 2013 bookShakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disability features a critical discussion of Coyne's work. The book opens with an epigraph from Coyne: 'anything that rhymes with "me"' (from the song "Fat Girl" as performed on the 1977 albumIn Living Black and White). Describing him as 'the great lost English singer-songwriter' with his 'social-work approach to pop', McKay discusses the 1978 song "Having a Party" in the context of songs about the destructive economy of the pop industry. He also notes Coyne's 'anti-star' status and his innovative 'anti'-guitar playing: "Not being able, or electing not, to play the instrument 'properly', and hearing other voices while singing: there is something culturally disabling about each of these artistic choices, quite apart from the lyrical terrain".[26]
On 15 June 2017 Coyne was commemorated with the unveiling of ablue plaque at theUniversity of Derby Art School.[27][28]
In January 2018, an exhibition of Coyne's work was staged at the city gallery Alte Feuerwache inAmberg[29] An exhibition, accompanied by a 70-page catalogue, compiled by Stefan Voit, was held from 9 June to 5 August 2018, at the Städtische Galerie Cordonhaus inCham.[30][31]
In 2024 Coyne was featured inUnderground: The Illustrated Bible of Cursed Rockers and High Priestesses of Sound by Arnaud Le Gouefflec and Nicolas Moog.[32]
BBC disc jockeyAndy Kershaw described Coyne as "a national treasure who keeps getting better" and as one of the greatBritish blues voices.[33]
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