Andy Kershaw and his redoubtable cassette recorder

[simonineaston]

Old Farty Types, such as myself have been enjoying listening to Andy Kershaw reminisce about the times he recorded this-famous-world-artist and that-famous-roots-player - Great Fun! available here via BBC Sounds. Between him and Peter Gabriel and Charlie Gillet, they launched so-called world music into what it is these days - hoorah!!
As measure of exactly how farty I have become, I have dug out my own WM-D6 with a view to recording church bells and bird song hahahahahahahahahaha

[Mick F]

Who's Andy Kershaw?

Yes, I know I could Google him/her.

[Cyril Haearn]

He is/was the new John Peel/Ravenscroft and has a very nice Lancashire accent

[simonineaston]

Who's Andy Kershaw?

To describe him as a radio DJ is to do him down, so I won't! He's what I'd call a broadcaster - see here.

[Mick F]

Thanks.

Quote:
No off switch.

[Bonefishblues]

Thanks.

Quote:
No off switch.

If you read it, it's very much true. Obsessive behaviour came through even in his own account of his life, I thought.

[simonineaston]

These personality traits that main-stream observers might think of as 'odd' can be useful in certain arenas - I've been listening to the radio portrait of Beethoven on R3 - one hour each day for a year! and it's clear that he was decidedly odd, but that's partly what drove the genius I guess. Now I'm not saying Andy Kershaw's a genius but he's certainly obsessive when it comes to finding and promoting music and musicians, so that's a plus

[Bonefishblues]

OTOH there were some distinctly negative consequences for those close to him, sadly.