Music

Soundtrack: Ghostpoet

British musician and vocalist Ghostpoet discusses the lasting influence of Badly Drawn Boy’s debut album The Hour of Bewilderbeast

Ghostpoet

I was a mere seventeen-year-old when The Hour of Bewilderbeast was released and knew nothing about Damon Gough, who was also known as Badly Drawn Boy. I had never heard a note of his music, but one random visit to Woolworths on Tooting Broadway caused our worlds to collide and my life would never be the same again.

I purchased this record purely off the strength of the album artwork, designed by Andy Votel. It felt like there was a world full of mystery behind that cover waiting for little old me to discover…who was I to resist?

The Hour of Bewilderbeast album cover – courtesy of XL Recordings/Twisted Nerve Records
The Hour of Bewilderbeast album cover – courtesy of XL Recordings/Twisted Nerve Records

From the opening cello of The Shining ’til the birdsong outro of Epitaph I was mesmerised. Here was a record encompassing so many genres I had yet to discover and so many emotions I had yet to fully understand. It was as deep as the ocean; layered, intertwining, experimental, honest and thought provoking.

It sounds as fresh today as it did fifteen years ago and I love it now more than ever. It’s hard to comprehend my world without this album in it, to be honest. It’s a masterpiece that still shines bright in my eyes and, every so often, brings a tear to them.

Ghostpoet’s new album Shedding Skin is out now