"Down to the river. Over the bridge we go. Feeding a seagull. Watching him waddle around, begging politely, with pigeons of LondonTown berating the pavement, picking up crumbs they've found. Ride on the bus, take a short cut through the square. Looking at trees, feeling that spring is near ..." Bridget St John's I Like To Be With You In The Sun is a strong contender for best London song ever by a candidate for best singer ever. Released on John Peel's Dandelion Records at the end of the '60s as part of Bridget's wonderful Ask Me No Questions set. John started the label out of frustration when coming across artists with special talents who did not have record deals. Someone told me when I was 17 that if I liked Tracey Thorn then I'd love Bridget St John. He was right!
Sunday 16 August 2009
I Like To Be With You In The Sun ...
"Down to the river. Over the bridge we go. Feeding a seagull. Watching him waddle around, begging politely, with pigeons of LondonTown berating the pavement, picking up crumbs they've found. Ride on the bus, take a short cut through the square. Looking at trees, feeling that spring is near ..." Bridget St John's I Like To Be With You In The Sun is a strong contender for best London song ever by a candidate for best singer ever. Released on John Peel's Dandelion Records at the end of the '60s as part of Bridget's wonderful Ask Me No Questions set. John started the label out of frustration when coming across artists with special talents who did not have record deals. Someone told me when I was 17 that if I liked Tracey Thorn then I'd love Bridget St John. He was right!
I can't recall how I discovered her - possibly via Kevin Ayers, but those albums are all great - I rate them a lot more than Vashti Bunyan's Diamond Day (she's a rare case of someone making better music now, although I liked her Immediate period stuff too).
ReplyDeleteI can't help feeling that she gets overlooked because unlike Vashti or Nick Drake, there isn't a great mystery to her story.
(Not that she's exactly overlooked, but still unheard of outside of certain circles)
I know exactly what you mean. She is my favourite folk singer (with the possible exception of Sandy Denny. I think it's because there's more earthiness to her voice. She sounds almost Nico like at times on that first LP. I think there COULD be more mystery to her story but people lack the vision or imagination to weave that mystery.
ReplyDeleteI think it was that 'English Nico' quality that attracted me to her voice - what's annoying is that she instantly reminded me of something I once had and lost (solo female singer from the late 80s - not Heidi Berry, but in that area - ex-indie band gone solo, or loosely connected to).
ReplyDeleteBut not as good!
Blimey. That's fantastically cryptic!
ReplyDelete