Well not a complete list... as he did recordings of audio plays... but I finally managed to get a copy of the 1991 7" single called 'No White Peaks.'
I remember this being played on Radio 1 when it came out at the end of the lunchtime news as an oddity feature - legendary horror actor does rap! It's not exactly rap, but a recording of an anti-war poem written by Peter Kayne right at the end of the 1960s over which an early 1990s dance track has been added with some backing vocals.
I found a friend with a record player and listened to it this week and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. It obviously sounds of its time (i.e. late 80s / early 90s pop) but I've heard much worse. It failed to chart, but there were plenty of other acts out at the time that successfully produced similar fare (e.g. Soul II Soul) so I don't let its lack of chart success affect your judgement!
Whilst trying to track this item down, I did pick up a CD single a couple of years ago with the poem recited without the dance music backing track. This was for a while available in Whitstable's museum and raised money for a charity. But this recording I found to be somewhat of a disappointment after having heard the record. Instead of it being just the spoken word which for me would have been preferable, the CD features fairly immemorable instrumentalisation underneath with the end of the track segueing into a version of a hymn more reminiscent of the American Civil War than the Vietnam era that inspired the poem. The vocal track used of Peter Cushing's voice too is not of great quality and whereas the dance track covers up such limitations, on the CD it's more noticeable. So despite both being very worthy attempts at charity fundraising, I think I'll stick with my 7" single for listening pleasure.
Sunday 17th March 2013
