Jackie's Coming Around : A tribute to the late Jackie Leven

My new single Jackie's Coming Around is a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Jackie Leven. Today ( June 18th ) is the date that would have would have been Jackie’s 70^th birthday. 

Jackie Leven was a Fife born singer-songwriter, who started out in rock outfit, Doll by Doll in the 70’s after having to flee his hometown because of local gang violence. After a tumultuous time, with the band imploding and a serious mugging that damaged his larynx and nearly cost him his voice, Jackie became addicted to heroin. Eventually, Jackie managed to get himself clean and headed back onto the road as a solo artist.

Here is the dip pen ink portrait that Bill drew of Jackie Leven, featured in the video below.

Bill says  “As a portrait artist I use different media and felt that for Jackie I would use old style dip ink pen. With this technique you literally scratch the lines onto the canvas – this really helped to add the intensity I wanted to draw out for the portrait.”

About The Song

'Jackie's Coming Around' merges elements of my own songwriting journey alongside a brief musical biography of Jackie Leven’s life and weaves multiple references to tracks from Leven’s 2007 Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me album throughout. 

We've recorded and produced the song at our Hushland Studio and aside from the singing, I've added acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica, keys and soprano sax, while Bill T-B has added slide and electric guitar, bass and percussion to the mix.

RachelTaylor-Beales · Jackie's Coming Around

The Story Behind The Track 

I first met Jackie when I opened for him in Cardiff Barfly, back in 2008. Travelling the UK with my own music, I’d often heard stories about Jackie from other artists and fans, so I was curious to finally have an opportunity meet and hear the man in person. That night I was completely blown away by his songs and story telling. The dry humour and characters that Jackie evoked were wrapped up in his voice that could soar ethereally one moment and then punch you in the guts with gravitas the next. 

After the gig we chatted about Kevin Coyne, one of my long time musical heroes and the highs and lows of life on the road. Jackie offered some generous comments about my own songwriting and pointed me in the direction of Karen Dalton and Judee Sill as artists he thought I would resonate with— and he was right. I walked away from that gig commenting that it was a crime that Jackie wasn’t more well known, it certainly wasn’t for lack of showmanship, musicality or ability.

On November 14^th 2011, I was working on a collaborative project with composer Gill Stevens. Gill and I were just breaking for lunch when an enormous bang, made us both jump. A blackbird had crashed into her glass conservatory roof and died. At that same moment I had looked down at my social media and read the words that Jackie Leven was gone.

In these difficult and uncertain times, when so many of us are battling with the loss in different ways, I’m reminded of the way that Jackie Leven seemed to revel in defiance— against all the odds, he rebuilt his life and kept on following the muse and making music. Having had to personally rebuild myself after a serious accident in 2012, that left me unable to perform for a season, I’ve found myself drawn to the stories of those who have found a grace within, to begin again. I wrote this song on a day when future plans had fallen through, but hearing Jackie’s songs coming around on my playlist was a lifeline. Like so many artists right now in this age of necessary social distancing, I don’t know yet when I’ll next be back on the road and able to tour, but in the meantime as we work behind the scenes to figure our game plans, I’m grateful for the all gifts and encounters with so many inspiring people, that a life working in music has brought me. I’m buoyed by the stories of folks who have faced difficulties and yet found the courage to ‘keep on keeping on’— and today, on what would have been his 70^th birthday, I’m celebrating the music of Jackie Leven.

Watch the Jackie's Coming Around Video here 

June 18th 7.30pm  (GMT) I've been invited to contribute a live version of the Jackie's Coming Around song - to the celebration of Jackie Leven at 70 event on Facebook hosted by Jinder- alongside 

Ian Rankin

Deborah Greenwood

Henry Priestman

Michael Weston King

Jinder

Tom Burgess

Nick Hall

Phil Burdett

Joe Shaw and Kevin Foster

Doghouse Roses

Michael Cosgrove

Lance Riley 

and more...

See the link here for more info Celebration of Jackie Leven At 70 

And finally a lovely write up from Mike Davies on the singles bar- round up of singles and eps on Folking.com https://folking.com/singles-bar-53-a-round-up-of-recent-ep…/

This is what Mike writes here: 
'June 18 would have been Jackie Leven’s 70th birthday, and to honour his memory RACHEL TAYLOR-BEALES has recorded ‘Jackie’s Coming Around’ (Hushland), a Bandcamp download single that interlaces elements of her own journey as a songwriter with a musical biography that includes references to tracks from Leven’s 2007 album Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me. With Rachel on guitar, banjo, harmonica, soprano saxophone and keyboard and husband Bill playing slide, electric, bass and percussion, opening with a memory of how a blackbird crashed into their conservatory and died at the same moment she read about Leven’s passing, it’s a suitably atmospheric but musically vibrant number, delivered in her hushed, understated voice as she recalls his advice to "keep following that muse"and reminds that while he’s gone, his music lives and on 'Jackie’s coming round to play".'

Lock Down 2020

Some Lockdown thoughts and staying creative…

During this time, Bill and I are trying our best to stay creative- both of us find it helps us to be distracted and have a focus. Like so many right now who work in the arts the future is completely unknown. The projects and tours that we had planned in our diaries are either indefinitely postponed or cancelled. We’re looking at logistics of moving some projects online and I will be doing my first live stream gig in the next few weeks- once I’ve finished my final creative writing assignment for my current OU module.

In some ways the experience of being housebound for the best part of a year after my accident in 2012, has really helped my psyche with this lockdown. In the first few days and weeks of lock down when we were in complete self isolation (due to mild coughs and temperature symptoms)  I was struck with a strange sense of familiarity or deja vu... Eventually I pinned it down to the fact that I’d already lived through an experience of house-bound isolation as well as having my social life and work life suddenly snatched away indefinitely, by circumstances out of my control.

During that first time round, I learned that after the initial shock from change of momentum, things do eventually settle into a new rhythm. I also learned back then that there are good days and also very tough days when the loss and grief of what has been, hits big time.

Of course there are many differences this time round, reality has changed for everyone and the loss around us is so vast and far-reaching. 

The other thing I've realised is that all the moving I’d done as a child, has given me a sort of resilience to the experience of my world suddenly becoming streamlined to only immediate family. The international moves between Australia and the UK meant being cut off from all of the people, places and life I’d known. This scenario happened an awful lot when I was growing up- moving home, schools, countries meant that fairly regularly I was in a position of having to adapt and rely on my own company for a time as we lived in limbo rebuilding and resettling…  It’s something that has shaped me for better and for worse, but in this particular lockdown phase I recognise that it may well have been a foundation that strengthens my reserves to some degree to help deal with the likes of this situation. ( Most likely this is a perspective written from one of the 'good days' and I would not view it quite like this on one of the tougher days?!) 

Anyway enough introspection… a little always helps, too much and I will end up down the rabbit hole…

In the meantime here are some of the creative things that I’ve been involved in since March.

Bill and I are making various musical and video collaborations as Sir Silence and Lady Hush- which can be seen on The Lady Hush racheltaylor-beales.com/lady-hush page on my website 

I signed up to the Positive Songs Project positivesongsproject.org and last week Bill and I managed to co-write a track called Chemistry that has gone live today... 

And finally... my new painting titled Faraway...

Really glad to have captured this moment on canvas- it was the last time we were out before lockdown, in a cafe on Bill's birthday, my daughter lost in the world of the Magic Faraway Tree... 

For me painting reminds me of the way people describe 'mindfulness'. My focus becomes only the moment of what I am seeing and the particular colour or form I am making. I become absorbed into the tiniest of details and the rest of the world is pushed back during that time.

It has been such a lovely thing to reconnect with painting again in the last two years. Touring life took up so much of my time and energy previously (prior to injury bringing that sudden halt to my life on the road) painting was always left on the back burner and I found that I just wasn't making space or time for it.

I'm loving rediscovering how to draw and paint again. Looking forward to my starting my next portrait, of my friend Helen soon.

So signing off for now and hoping you all stay well and safe... looking forward to seeing so many of you in person again... on the other side!