In this very special episode I get the chance to talk to one of my favourite singers, Vashti Bunyan.

Born in 1945, Vashti Bunyan began her recording career in the mid 1960s. Her debut single, the Rolling Stones cover Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind was issued in 1965, and a string of recordings followed for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate records, but at the time few were released and none found the success they deserved. By 1968, Vashti had abandoned her pop career to travel the length of the England and Scotland in a horse drawn bread wagon, aiming initially for the Western Isles and eventually winding up in the Outer Hebrides. Along the way, she wrote the sequence of songs about her journey that would become the legendary album Just Another Diamond Day. Produced by Joe Boyd and featuring guest performances from members of The Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention, the album went underpromoted at the time of release and languished for many years. In response, Vashti left the music business behind completely, or so she thought.

Vashti's new memoir Wayward is a beautiful recollection of that time in her life and I had the chance to talk to her all about it. We talk about being mislabelled first as a replacement for Marianne Faithfull and later as a "folk" artist, her early encounter with a very moody Cliff Richard, Mick Jagger's impersonation of her, her late blooming friendship with Andrew Loog Oldham, a disastrous attempt at collaboration with Nick Drake, finding out about her Romany ancestry, a very awkward encounter with Donovan, almost wiping the master tape of Diamond Day in a thunderstorm, and whether or not she is in fact descended from the ultimate pilgrim, John Bunyan. And of course we talk all about that epic journey.

Our conversation was recorded remotely in April 2022.

If you enjoy this podcast please consider leaving a rating or review, I really appreciate it.

Show notes:

Vashti Bunyan playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64KxqaKycBGfnmpyCjQYtt?si=70f63b6e753c4652

Vashti Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (Shindig! 1965): https://youtu.be/MQrQytsIU90

Tonight Let's All Make Love In London - Winter Is Blue recording (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ-RLaHSCA0

Expresso Bongo clip: https://youtu.be/rZ0M1oFWhsg

BBC 'Everyman' documentary early 1970s: https://youtu.be/IoCe69tJ7TY

Don't Look Back (1965) - Donovan scene: https://youtu.be/Lc6HcA6kEJc

2007 BBC Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVLavhf10UM

Buy Wayward: https://www.whiterabbitbooks.co.uk/titles/vashti-bunyan/wayward/9781474621939/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.