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« This eccentric son of Kent is one of the most unashamedly literate singer-songwriters that you'll ever be likely to hear and this collection is rather like a version of the Victorian Strand magazine, delivering short vignettes of crime, adventure and courtly romance. » RETFORD TIMES « With tracks with titles like Knights, Nosferatu and Sprong Heeled Jack, you get the feeling this is the type of album Mary Shelley would have made if she were around in the 1970s. » SWINDON EVENING ADVERTISER « Gothic rock as cartoon. » ALTERNATIVE PRESS PAUL ROLAND has been variously described as the last English eccentric, a Twentieth Century troubadour and a Romantic in the tradition of Poe, Lovecraft and M.R. James. His songs teem with characters, both grotesque and humorous, juxtaposed and set in music suitably atmospheric and evocative. Paul's preoccupation with fantasy and historical themes, often set in Victorian or Edwardian England has been described as « Gothic in the traditional sense ». This compilation explores those interests. Spanning the years 1980 to 1990 it encompasses some of his delightful songs and almost stories.
PAUL ROLAND BY HIMSELF I would like to boast of having
spent my childhood reading and dreaming of wondrous worlds, but
to be honest I was too impatient to sit and read. Instead I would
spend the school holidays racing around the grounds of our crumbling
old house on my bike scaring the wits out of the servants and
any tradesmen foolish enough to risk life and limb to enter Roland
Towers. In the evenings I would put on shows for nanny and my
tutors who applauded politely after each song or magic trick.
I don't know if their appreciation was genuine or if it was because
they feared what might happen if they didn't. You see, my other
childhood obsession was magicand I don't mean the kind where
the conjuror pulls a rabbit out of a hat. I wanted to conjure
up surprises that were neither fluffy nor friendly. Ever since
my first out-of-body experience at the age of 5 or 6 I was obsessed
with the occult and what lay beyond the physical world of our
senses, a gift I inherited from my mother's side of the family,
several of whom were psychic. At night I would practice leaving
my body and exploring the astral world. At other times I would
attempt to make the lights go out in neighbour's houses or invoke
elementals (creatures of the lower worlds) or create thought
forms - an indulgence which came to an abrupt end when I came
to my senses one night to find the room crawling with insects
that I had created! Unfortunately, it was not as easy to walk
away from magic as it had been to walk into it. It was 1974 and
the time of the 'Exorcist'. I happened to watch a documentary
on demonic possession one afternoon and being the imaginative
kid that I was I became convinced that I was possessed by the
devil - which made life at school even more lively than it had
been before. Fortunately my father happened to know a real magician
(as he had been on a spiritual search of his own) and he convinced
me that such things are not possible. Thereafter I left the occult
alone until I was old enough to know how to handle my abilities
and then I allied myself firmly on the side of the angels. (If
you want to know more, the rest of this story can be found in
'Investigating The Unexplained' published by Piatkus)
Paul Roland Discography 1980 'The Werewolf Of London' 1985 'Burnt Orchids' 1987 'Danse Macabre' 1987 'Cabinet Of Curiosities' 1988 'Happy Families' 1990 'Masque' 1992 'Strychnine'
Paul Roland Bibliography *'Kabbalah A Piatkus
Guide' (paperback) Publisher: Piatkus 1999 UK Paul has also contributed a chapter on the history of French music to 'Paris - Traditions' and a chapter on Irish Drama and Literature to 'Dublin Traditions' both published in hardback by Hamlyn.
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Lon Chaney Werewollves of london Dr Strange |