charles barrow's writing

I imagine I'm not alone in wincing at the sound of my own voice when I hear it on my answerphone message - thank heavens for the automated one that giffgaff supplies (though it's recently changed to a gruff sounding bloke with a Mancunian accent, which I imagine callers could conceivably believe is actually me). So, why the Dickens, would I consider recording myself reading extracts of my own writing, you may wonder, as, indeed, I wonder myself? Writers reading their own work to an audience is a time honoured tradition, of course, Dickens (since I've already invoked his name) famously toured all over the country, and America too for that matter, giving wildly popular live performances. I'm sure there are other examples too but he's the earliest example that I can think of. I've been to hear/watch a few authors read from their latest books; Matt Haig, Jake Arnott, A. N. Wilson, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Kate Mosse, Markus Zusak to mention just a few, and I've been ...

I once read a review of a Billie Holliday album, and the reviewer wrote, 'She sang, and singing was never the same again.' That, right there in a nutshell, is how I feel about Kate Bush. The first time I heard Wuthering Heights on the radio it rocked me back on my heels, and it still does. The Kick Inside was released in 1978, and I've bought every new album she's put out since then, and I haven't done that with any other artist. In 1979, I saw her play live three times at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. T he third concert was a benefit gig, at the end of her tour, in which she performed jointly with Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley. In 1980, I queued for hours outside HMV, Oxford St, to get my copy of her latest album, Never Forever, signed. I eventually made it inside the store, and to within 20 feet of her, and had to give up my place in the queue and leave, I can't remember why but I kick myself (inside and outside) now. Kate Bush fans have to be patient you ...