Vashti Bunyan | Artist
Jennifer Vashti Bunyan is an English singer-songwriter born 1945 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Bunyan's classic 1970 debut album Just Another Diamond Day sold very few copies when released, but has since acquired a cult following. In the early 1960s, Bunyan studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford University, but was expelled for focusing on music instead of art. At age 18, she traveled to New York and discovering the music of Bob Dylan, decided to return to London to become a musician. In June 1965, under the direction of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, she released her first single the Jagger/Richards penned "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" released under the name "Vashti". She followed up with another release "The Train Song", however neither was successful. After several more songs for Loog Oldham's Immediate Records, which remained unreleased, and a brief appearance singing "Winter is Blue" in the 1967 documentary "Tonite Let's All Make Love in London" starring Pink Floyd, she decided to travel with her then boyfriend Robert Lewis by horse and cart to the Hebrides, to join a commune set up by friend and fellow singer/songwriter Donovan. It was during this trip that she wrote the songs for her first album. At Christmas 1968 she met Joe Boyd who offered to record an album of her travelling songs for his Witchseason Productions. Bunyan returned to London and recorded Another Diamond Day with assistance from Simon Nicol and Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention, Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band, and string arranger Robert Kirby. The album was released on Philips Records to warm reviews in December 1970, but struggled to find an audience. Disappointed, Bunyan quit the music industry and moved back to the country, spending much of the ensuing 30 years raising her three children. In this time, entirely unknown to her, the original album became one of the most sought-after records of its time, selling online on Discogs for upwards of $4,000. In 2000 Just Another Diamond Day was re-released on CD, assuring her influence over a new generation of folk artists such as Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. To-date Vashti Bunyan has released three studio albums: Just Another Diamond Day, Lookaftering (2005) and Heartleap (2014). Additionally there is the 2007 archival release Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind - Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967. All her albums are highly recommended. Bunyan's daughter, Whyn Lewis, is a successful artist who contributed the artwork on the albums Lookaftering and Heartleap.
Artist Website: anotherday.co.uk
Featured Albums: Vashti Bunyan
Related Artists: Donovan
Collections: Women of Note
