Interesting to hear this again. That distinctive voice married to a quite upbeat 60s pop sound.
I don't think it's too controversial to say that other than VU songs, Chelsea Girl has her best materials. These Days, I'll Keep it With Mine, Little Sister, Fairest of the Seasons etc. Stands comparison to the Velvets albums.
I had a couple of her other doomy albums, Desert Shore and The Marble Index. Unique sound but not something I played very often.
There's a memoir written by her keyboardist from her 80s Manchester years: Songs They Never Play on the Radio. Very funny in quite a lot of places but she doesn't come out of it at all well due to what smack had turned her into.
I saw her a couple of times. Latter was a concert at the Astoria on Roundhay Road in 87. Her and her harmonium. I'd just split up with my long-term girlfriend, was really down and the gig, unsurprisingly, didn't pick me up. A better memory is a Bauhaus gig at Manchester Rafters 81 when she came on for the encore, and she and Pete Murphy did Waiting For the Man. She had a real fucked-up glamour.
