Jackie Leven

Born during a heatwave in the fading coalfields of The Kingdom Of Fife, Scotland in 1950, Jackie’s early musical influences were the protestant hymn singing of school, the ancient songs of Fife, and the black American blues, especially those of Lightin’ Hopkins. His mother, a Romany Geordie (his father was an Irish Cockney) constantly played old American blues records on vinyl around the house – there was no television – and this, plus a love of the natural world – a childhood spent alone in glens and by rivers, formed the early basis of his unique songwrtitng style.

As a child he was forever running away from home and sleeping rough, then being brought home by farmers, police or neighbours. There was nothing wrong at home as such, but for one so young his wanderlust was overwhelming. In his teens he left home, and his has been a constant nomadic way of life ever since: he would start musical careers in cities such as Madrid and Berlin (in the ‘70’s) then abandon them to move elsewhere.

His album ‘Control’ released in 1973 under the pseudonym John St Field was initially only available in Spain, and is now considered to be an acid folk masterpiece. He managed to live more or less in one place long enough in the late ‘70’s to form the notorious and spectacular art terrorist band Doll By Doll, and they released four albums before calling it a day. The cultural scar left by Doll By Doll persists – it’s the place to press if you want to hear songs of harrowing beauty that sound like nobody and nothing else.

With the demise of Doll By Doll Jackie entered a dark place in his life. He was nearly killed by strangulation in an unprovoked attack one night in London and for two years afterwards was largely unable to speak, and certainly could not sing. This lead to a period of addiction to heroin ‘the classic drug of despair’. However, he was never a ‘junkie’ – someone who embraces the lifestyle of addiction, and, deciding in clear terms that he wanted his life back, managed to free himself through supervised exposure to traditional five element Chinese acupuncture and psychic healing. Still unable to sing, he was encouraged by health professionals to formalise the methodology which had enabled him to become addiction free, and he co-founded The CORE Trust, ‘an holistic approach to addiction’. CORE is a non residential centre which runs to this day in central London, utilizing holistic therapies and counselling, and for some years Jackie put his energy into its ensuring its existence, as co-founder, Chair of Trustees, and latterly, patron.

However, the day came when he decided to re-enter the business of music, which he did with the celebrated album THE MYSTERY OF LOVE IS GREATER THAN THE MYSTERY OF DEATH, featuring Mike Scott and the American poet Robert Bly, on Cooking Vinyl. WAYSIDE SHRINES AND THE CODE OF THE TRAVELLING MAN is but the latest in a remarkable sequence of albums down the years for Cooking Vinyl. He still disappears every Spring to wander the byways alone, whether it be in North West Ireland or the rain wet lanes of mid Dorset.