2. Nick DrakeBryter Layter
I was torn between this and Five Leaves Left, which is more acoustic. But Bryter Layter just has great pop songs. Great playing as well. It’s a shame that he never caught people’s attention at the time. I think he was disappointed that he didn’t get the acclaim. He’s such a one-off, just the sound of his voice and the tunes are very unique. Did you ever hear the record that they put out of his mum singing? It was funny. I always think with Nick Drake that it’s like, ‘Where the fuck did that come from?’ It’s a little bit folk, but it isn’t really folk, there’s a bit of Donovan in there, but there isn’t really. And then I heard a home recording of his mum singing on the piano and thought, ‘Ah, that’s it…’ It must be something in the genes.
You worked with Robert Kirby who arranged the strings on Bryter Layter, what was that like?
Fucking great fun. He was just so funny. Lots of very drunken nights with him. He immediately had his own sound as well. His way of thinking of arrangements and his use of different instruments was totally unique. Whatever you hear of his stuff, you always recognise his sound. A larger-than-life character and a really funny fella.
