Kevin Coyne – Burning Head & Tough And Sweet
Things were going really well for Kevin Coyne! His alcohol addiction was conquered, he had solid ground under his feet – thanks to Helmi, whom he married in 1986 – and a real desire for music, painting and writing again. His creativity seemed unbroken in the early 1990s. In 1992 he achieved the next big coup: “Burning Head”! The album was an extraordinary project: For each CD Kevin Coyne drew and signed his own cover. The album as a complete work of art appeared in an edition of 1000 copies and cost 350 DM. The project was so unique that even the “heute-journal” (a news channel on German television) ran a report on it. Today, the CDs with the original drawings are coveted collector’s items. In a review of the music magazine “Zounds” it says: “Coyne has written some of his most intense and catchy songs for this CD, his longtime friend Hans Pukke accompanies him on guitar and keyboards, on two tracks Kevin’s son Robert Coyne plays along. In between, the multi-talented artist reads three poems”. In addition to the CD, Kevin Coyne also published the poetry collection “Paradise” in 1992, which has so far only been published in German, and he received the Great Culture Prize of the City of Nuremberg in November. Kevin was finally recognized as an important part of the cultural scene in his new hometown.
The next project “Tough And Sweet” (1993) followed. This time the two sons Robert and Eugene were on board. A CD review praises especially the concise singing in the rocky blues numbers: “Here the Englishman presents himself in his best and most conventional form. His singing is more spoken than sung, his lyrics are critical and by no means strike into the notch of any clichés. Worth listening to!” The following year Kevin played on the “Tough & Sweet” tour from April to May 1994 in England. The 20 dates – including three “Burning Head exhibitions” – took him from London to his hometown of Derby as well as Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds and Brighton. The year started well and more creative years were to follow…
Tracklist:
CD 1 “Burning Head”
- Burning Head 02:52
- Sugar Daddy 05:14
- Emperor’s New Clothes 02:45
- Beautiful City 04:58
- Skinhead In Heaven 00:38
- Wrong Song 02:27
- Hope The Devil Don’t Come 03:15
- It’s Amazing 04:37
- Hardhearted 02:13
- Redlight 00:47
- Totally Naked 03:13
- Hey, Supremo 05:01
- Disappointed 00:21
CD1 Total: 38:21 min.
CD 2 “Tough And Sweet”
- Little Miss Dynamite 02:40
- Precious Love 03:45
- Burning Head (pt. 2) 02:53
- Really In Love 05:11
- Pony Tail Song 03:12
- Elvis Is Dead 03:47
- Totally Naked (pt. 2) 02:52
- Walls Have Ears 03:01
- Baby Blue 03:25
- Talking Money 03:16
- Slow Burner 03:31
- All The Loving 03:25
- No Lullabies 02:27
- It’s Amazing (pt. 2) 04:28
- Tell Me Tony 02:50
- Now’s The Time 03:09
- Getting Old 02:37
- Some Day 02:36
- Love And money 03:47
- Let’s Get Romantic 02:59
- The Creeper 02:19
CD2 Total: 68:10 min.
CD1+CD2 Total: 106:31 min.