4. Howlin’ WolfGreatest Hits
In the same way as I chose Al Green I chose this because they are the first real electric blues band, they are just magnificent: the songs are great, the singing’s great, the arrangement’s are great, the sound is great – they invented it, pretty much. I got really familiar with this round about ’83, ’84. I was breaking up with someone and breaking up with myself really. For about a year that was all I listened to, I put it on and it never disappointed me. It was after all the Wire work and all the Dome records and all the various things. I put that on and was absolutely sold. Things were up for grabs, I wasn’t really sure about anything else really, but this seemed really pretty solid for me. Incredible. Talking of John Peel, the last time I saw him before he died, he came up to me and said: ‘What was the most disappointing gig you ever went to of someone you really liked? For me it was Howlin’ Wolf with a pick-up band and I wish I’d never gone.’
