Fireside Chat

Vashti Bunyan

Fat Cat, Edinburgh

Vashti's story is one of a life come full circle, from an early shot at fame through her many and varied travels through to eventual rediscovery and musical rejuvenation. After quitting art school in the sixties she found herself in the roster of The Rolling Stone's manager Andrew Loong Oldham, signed to Decca and releasing the Mick Jagger/Richards-penned 'Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind'. But the pop world proved to be an ill fit for her independent spirit (or even less ready for her self penned songs than her unique voice), so some time later she bought a horse and cart and set off for the dream of a creative colony that singer Donovan was setting up on the Scottish Isle of Skye. On the way she penned the now cult classic 'Just Another Diamond Day', which she returned to London just long enough to produce with Joe Boyd (who, at the time, also worked with Nick Drake), before taking off again, this time to live with The Incredible String Band on the Scottish Borders. Again listeners weren't ready for her music at the time, so she retreated from the music world and thought her album had been utterly forgotten when, decades later, she found out about how highly valued her record was among collectors, and in how high regards it was held amongst a new breed of artists and listeners. Vashti re-released the album in the nineties and started collaborations with various admirers (Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart amongst them) and also recorded her second album, 'Lookaftering'. Her incredible voyage through life continues, though we managed to keep her still long enough, to hear all about it.