One of the Welsh wizard’s most beautiful songs, and that’s saying something.
John Cale: I Keep a Close Watch
Square
A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
One of the Welsh wizard’s most beautiful songs, and that’s saying something.
Great song!
I like this one by Cale, live on the “Whistle Test” (no Old Grey), with the fabulous Ollie Halsall on guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-q-GGiAt8Q
Love this clip, Andy, thank you. I am thinking of doing a column on Cale soon and would welcome your further suggestions.
Alan, I am no expert on Cale and am only a fan in passing, being mainly a VU fan, but I look forward to your column on him. There was a good documentary on TV a couple of years ago, in which he went back to Wales to look at the area he grew up in. He was talking about how he gave up drugs, and some clips were shown of him performing a sweaty “Heartbreak Hotel” during the depths of his drug taking years.
Another Cale story can be found in James Young’s book “Songs They Never Play On The Radio”, about Nico in the 1980s. Nico is dossing around with her ramshackle Manchester group, and at one point she reunites with Cale. Cale comes crashing in to a studio where they all are, and takes one look at all the hangers on and shouts “Right you lot, F*** off”, and clears them all out. That was probably during his mad years as a drug fiend also.
I read that book too, and think I might actually have met James Young once or twice in Ramsbottom, when I lived there. My favourite scene is Nico dropping her filthy grey knickers and pissing in the sink. Oh, and Ari giving her a giant silver syringe for her birthday.