4. Ian MccullochHunky Dory
It was his first great album. All of his early albums have their own sound, and the atmosphere and some kind of other-worldly quality is what first grabbed me. Hunky Dory was where his lyrics got much better. The songs sound very simple, but in terms of the chords they are really complex. ‘Changes’ has got lots of weird things going on but it never sounds muso. It’s his first classic album. What are the standout tracks? It’s easier to say the ones that aren’t. Every day of my life I sing them. ‘Kooks’, ‘Changes’ and ‘Bewlay Brothers’ are my favourites. I like ‘Andy Warhol’ and ‘Queen Bitch’, but I think those are the two that don’t stack up as much. Charisma goes a long way – so people have told me anyway. Even now he doesn’t overdo it. I saw it in a shop in Norris Green, and I used to stare at it for ages, it wasn’t a sexual thing, but I couldn’t stop being lost in the world of his music. It was spiritual, there was nothing else I thought about. It was Bowie was who got me interested in music, then I got into the Velvets and Iggy.
