Legends And Liner Notes

As a young boy, freshly infected with the joys of popular music, I felt it was my duty to study the liner notes of my albums. This may have been a case of mild autism, or simply too much time on my hands, but I majored on Bowie sleeve credits, Faces facts and 'Quadrophenia' ephemera. This, is surmised, was where it all happened.

That's no longer the case, but I still like to browse the CD booklets, looking for some kind of insight into the artist. So I was flicking through the parts of the new Duke Special CD and there it was, a big-up to this writer. There were many others on the list, but still, it was a joy to be associated with a record that's so satisfying and bold. I've been kindly mentioned on fine records by Ash, The Reindeer Section and David Holmes, and it's always good for the heart. The Waterboys album, 'Dream Harder' is dedicated to Mike Scott's mother, his wife and myself. I wasn't aware of this until later, and luckily I gave it a positive review. Anything else might have been embarrassing.

I was also thanked on a record sleeve by a fascinating character called Champion Dough Veitch. Back in 1989, he was the self-styled 'King Of Caledonian Swing' and he even made the cover on the NME. On the notes to his album 'The Original', he mentioned some of the people who'd helped him on his journey. But hilariously, he also had a 'No Thanks To...' section, which settled old scores and brought festering grudges into the open. It was kind of honest, and I liked him better for it.