Foto: Fotodesign Gerd Dollhopf
“I had a nightmare boogie one last night / I dreamed I was trapped in a hall full of golden discs / Somebody said to me: *Which one is yours?* / And I had to confess I hadn`t got one”.
The nightmare Kevin Coyne describes in his song “Having a Party” (1978) was real. During his lifetime, the English musician, who lived in Nuremberg from the mid-80s until his death, never received a gold record or appeared in the charts. And yet he was satisfied with his life – with all its ups and downs: He is – after Mike Oldfield – the second musician to be signed to Virgin Music, works with musicians such as Andy Summers (The Police), Zoot Money, Gary Lucas, “Wix” Wickens, tours Europe, USA and Australia on more than 1500 concerts and festivals, plays in the “hottest venues in town” such as the Marquee Club and Roundhouse in London or the Bataclan in Paris. In addition, he paints and draws non-stop, writes poems, short stories and theater hellbent. He is a creatively driven man who never takes a break and is constantly “under steam”: As soon as a tour is over, he is off to the studio to record the next songs. When he died in 2004 at the age of only 60, he left behind an incredible life work: Several thousand drawings and paintings, over 50 LPs, CDs and singles. For his 80th birthday on January 27, 2024, there are not only numerous exhibitions, but also his music is available again. Beside several rereleases (with new covers, liner notes, DVDs), also previously unknown and unreleased live and studio material from the archives will be available on CD, Vinyl and digital.
The genius Kevin Coyne, the “famous unknown”, is worth rediscovering!