Magic Moments: Michael Head’s Baker’s Dozen | Page 10 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

9. Various ArtistsPennies from Heaven – Original Soundtrack to the BBC TV Series

I loved Pennies From Heaven the TV programme when it was on, where you’d see this surreal drama but with these big band songs that make you go, ‘What the fuck?’ But I didn’t know this was a compilation album for years. I just had the tape and I used to put it on. They must have had a sense of something in the 30s with lyrics, because some of them are quite risky. And the orchestration, the singing, the tone of the voices, there’s something beautiful about the way the songs are flowing. The album was a constant for me. Every now and then I’ll put it on and it transports me back to childhood. I grew up with a lot of Cecille B DeMille and Busby Berkely films, and a lot of radio.

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