Jackie Leven
Encyclopedia
Jackie Leven was a Scottish
songwriter
and folk
musician
. After starting his career as a folk musician in the late 1960s, he first found success with new wave band Doll by Doll
. He later recorded as a solo artist, releasing more than twenty albums under his own name or under the pseudonym Sir Vincent Lone.
He formed the band Doll by Doll
in 1977
. They released four albums between 1979-82. After Doll by Doll disbanded in 1983, Leven began a solo career. He suffered a street assault and near strangulation during the recording of his first solo album in 1984, which left him unable to speak for nearly two years. During this time he became addicted to heroin. He also collaborated with fellow ex-Doll by Dolls members Joe Shaw and David Macintosh, plus ex-Sex Pistol
Glen Matlock
to release the single "Big Tears" under the band name Concrete Bulletproof Invisible. The record was a Melody Maker
single of the week in 1988
. Leven was credited on the 1997 album Shifting City by John Foxx
for the title of an electronic dance track called "Concrete Bulletproof Invisible". With Doll by Doll, Leven supported Ultravox
at several gigs on their UK tour in October 1978.
In 1994
his solo career restarted with the release of the mini-album Songs from the Argyll Cycle and the full-length album The Mystery of Love is Greater than the Mystery of Death, now signed to Cooking Vinyl
and recording in the folk rock
style. After that he released fifteen albums, including a joint album with crime writer Ian Rankin
, Jackie Leven Said, with keyboardist Michael Cosgrave. In addition to his broader commercial releases, he released a number of limited edition, fanclub-only live albums through the Haunted Valley fanzine and website.
In 2006
Leven released the album Songs For Lonely Americans using the pseudonym "Sir Vincent Lone". A second Sir Vincent Lone CD, When The Bridegroom Comes (Songs For Women), was recorded a year later. Initially sold only at live shows, it proved so successful that it eventually saw commercial release by Cooking Vinyl.
He eventually cured himself of his addiction with the help of his wife Carol, through a combination of acupuncture
and psychic healing. This led him to form the CORE Trust organization, which favours a holistic approach to the treatment of heroin addiction.
Leven wrote about the "Sir Vincent" pseudonym:
Leven's next album, Lovers at the Gun Club was released in 2008; he released an album in 2010, Gothic Road.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. After starting his career as a folk musician in the late 1960s, he first found success with new wave band Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll were a London based rock band formed by Jackie Leven in 1975. They came to prominence during the New Wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time - their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time .The original line up...
. He later recorded as a solo artist, releasing more than twenty albums under his own name or under the pseudonym Sir Vincent Lone.
Biography
Leven started his musical career in the late 1960s under the pseudonym "John St Field", and recorded one album, Control, between 1973 and 1975.He formed the band Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll were a London based rock band formed by Jackie Leven in 1975. They came to prominence during the New Wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time - their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time .The original line up...
in 1977
1977 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....
. They released four albums between 1979-82. After Doll by Doll disbanded in 1983, Leven began a solo career. He suffered a street assault and near strangulation during the recording of his first solo album in 1984, which left him unable to speak for nearly two years. During this time he became addicted to heroin. He also collaborated with fellow ex-Doll by Dolls members Joe Shaw and David Macintosh, plus ex-Sex Pistol
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock is an English bass guitarist most famous for being in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs and most of the lyrics, while lead singer Johnny Rotten made some adjustments...
to release the single "Big Tears" under the band name Concrete Bulletproof Invisible. The record was a Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
single of the week in 1988
1988 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
. Leven was credited on the 1997 album Shifting City by John Foxx
John Foxx
John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
for the title of an electronic dance track called "Concrete Bulletproof Invisible". With Doll by Doll, Leven supported Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
at several gigs on their UK tour in October 1978.
In 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
his solo career restarted with the release of the mini-album Songs from the Argyll Cycle and the full-length album The Mystery of Love is Greater than the Mystery of Death, now signed to Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
and recording in the folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
style. After that he released fifteen albums, including a joint album with crime writer Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
, Jackie Leven Said, with keyboardist Michael Cosgrave. In addition to his broader commercial releases, he released a number of limited edition, fanclub-only live albums through the Haunted Valley fanzine and website.
In 2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
Leven released the album Songs For Lonely Americans using the pseudonym "Sir Vincent Lone". A second Sir Vincent Lone CD, When The Bridegroom Comes (Songs For Women), was recorded a year later. Initially sold only at live shows, it proved so successful that it eventually saw commercial release by Cooking Vinyl.
He eventually cured himself of his addiction with the help of his wife Carol, through a combination of acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
and psychic healing. This led him to form the CORE Trust organization, which favours a holistic approach to the treatment of heroin addiction.
Leven wrote about the "Sir Vincent" pseudonym:
Some years ago I noticed that I was writing a lot more songs than I was ever going to record and get released, especially in these times where you can only release one studio album every eighteen months. As I am a writer of genius, this began to worry me more and more. So I went to see my Cooking Vinyl boss, Martin Goldschmidt, to ask him if I could make more records. He said no. I said to him 'look, The Beatles once released four albums in one year, and nobody said to them, hey that's too many records in one year'. Martin said 'Jackie, this is not 1967 and you are not The Beatles'. We talked some more and we agreed that I could make records under a different name - that name is Sir Vincent Lone.
Leven's next album, Lovers at the Gun Club was released in 2008; he released an album in 2010, Gothic Road.
As John St Field
- Control (1971) - initially released on a Spanish label, reissued in 1997 by Cooking Vinyl
As a member of Doll by Doll
- Remember (1979), Automatic
- Gypsy Blood (1979), Automatic
- Doll By Doll (1981), Magnet
- Grand Passion (1982), Magnet
- Revenge of Memory (Live at The Sheffield Limits Club 1980) (2005), Haunted Valley
Commercial releases
- Songs from the Argyll Cycle, Vol. 1 (1994), Cooking Vinyl - initially available in Scotland only, issued UK-wide in 1996
- The Mystery of Love Is Greater Than The Mystery of Death (1994), Cooking Vinyl
- Forbidden Songs of The Dying West (1995), Cooking Vinyl
- Fairytales For Hardmen (1997), Cooking Vinyl
- Night Lilies (1998), Cooking Vinyl
- Defending Ancient Springs (2000), Cooking Vinyl
- Creatures of Light And Darkness (2001), Cooking Vinyl
- Barefoot Days (2002)
- Shining Brother, Shining Sister (2003), Cooking Vinyl
- For Peace Comes Dropping Slow (2004), Cooking Vinyl
- Songs For Lonely Americans (2006), Cooking Vinyl - as 'Sir Vincent Lone'
- Jackie Leven Said (2005), Cooking Vinyl - with Ian Rankin
- Elegy for Johnny Cash (2005), Cooking Vinyl
- Oh What a Blow That Phantom Dealt Me! (2007), Cooking Vinyl
- When the Bridegroom Comes (2007), Cooking Vinyl - as 'Sir Vincent Lone'
- Chip Pan Fire - Jackie Balfour (2007), Cooking Vinyl
- Lovers at the Gun Club (2008), Cooking Vinyl
- The Haunted Year - Winter (2009), Cooking Vinyl
- The Haunted Year - Spring (2009), Cooking Vinyl
- Troubadour Heart - Sir Vincent Lone (2009), Cooking Vinyl - as 'Sir Vincent Lone'
- The Haunted Year - Summer (2009), Cooking Vinyl
- The Haunted Year - Autumn (2009), Cooking Vinyl
- Gothic Road (2010), Cooking Vinyl
- Wayside Shrines and the Code of the Travelling Man (2011), Cooking Vinyl - with Michael Cosgrave
Fanclub-only releases
- Saint Judas: When I Went Out to Kill Myself (1998), Haunted Valley
- Man Bleeds in Glasgow (1999), Haunted Valley - as Jackie Leven and the Celtic Soulmen
- The Wanderer (1999), Haunted Valley
- Greek Notebook (1999), Haunted Valley
- Munich Blues (2000), Haunted Valley
- Deep In The Heart of Nowhere (2001), Haunted Valley
- Greetings From Milford (2002), Haunted Valley - with The Stornoway Girls
- Men in Prison (Live from Bergen Prison) (2003), Haunted Valley
Other releases
- The Meeting of Remarkable Men (DVD) (2005), Cooking Vinyl
- Live at Rockpalast (DVD) (2011), Intergroove Media GmbH
External links
- "When Britain's lost Rock Star met his old schoolmate, the Prime Minister", Neil McCormick blog, February 24th, 2010, Telegraph.co.uk
- "A Cult Artist’s Cult Artist: Who’s Jackie Leven? Ask Johnny Dowd, or Ron Sexsmith, or Pere Ubu's David Thomas", Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader, April 22, 2010
- "Jackie Leven: Lovers at the Gun Club - The Sunday Times review", Stewart Lee, Sunday Times August 24, 2008
- Jackie Leven website
- Leven at Cooking Vinyl website
- The CORE trust website
- "Obituary: Jackie Leven - Maverick musician from Fife whose talent and eccentricity inspired great devotion", Colin Somerville, The Scotsman, 16th November 2011