A few weeks ago I was staying with friends in London and remarked that I couldn’t foresee writing any more songs. Not that I was giving up my whole music career, but just that I had enough unfinished songs and snippets of music and lyrics that I’d never really need to visit the ‘starting from … Read more
Here’s the interview which Bobo Lavorgna in Connecticut invited me to take part in. We talk about childhood music, songwriting, lockdown, the Edinburgh scene and lots of other stuff. And the Beat Goes On Thanks Bobo for a great chat!
Here’s a new Twilight Show episode, a little more upbeat than previous offerings. This song has quite a long history. When I was teaching English in Cairo in the 70s, some friends – Rodney Blakeston and Andy Harper – and I decided to write some songs to teach points of English grammar, usage and vocabulary. … Read more
Last week I launched my new single and video, Crow. Many thanks to those of you who bought it or commented. Crow has taken a long time to fly. For anyone interested in the process, here are a few snapshots from its childhood. Cale experiment 001 (2012) I had a few experiments on the go … Read more
Here’s a song I’d forgotten about, perhaps rightly so. This dates from the first Glasgow Songwriting Festival I attended in 2017, in Govanhill Baths. Findlay Napier, who organised it, recently asked participants to offer any examples of songs they wrote at the Festival. I was at a session led by country singer Jim Hunter, whose … Read more
For the third year running I attended the Glasgow Songwriting Festival last weekend. It followed the same format as previous years – you stay in a group of about eight and spend a two hour session with each of the four tutors over the Saturday and Sunday – but unlike previous years in the unique … Read more