The Lost Star of British Pop

Large portrait on the release of Defending Ancient Springs, Leven's sixth solo album for Cooking Vinyl, which McCormick considers perhaps his best. Leitmotif: talent and fame have little to do with each other – Leven is the “great lost British rock star”. McCormick portrays Doll by Doll as the industry's hottest hope at one time, undone by a ruinous contract with Automatic; around 1982 Leven was solo and signed to Chrysalis. Leven tells of the attack in north London (choking, kicking, rescue by his producer in a Range Rover), the broken ribs, the injured larynx, almost 18 months without a voice, steroids with weight gain and the feeling of being “covered in electric fur”, then a year of heroin. Self-healing with acupuncture and “psychic healing” led in 1985 to the founding of the CORE Trust, whose centre Princess Diana opened. The girlfriend who had accompanied him through everything ran off with the Dalai Lama's bodyguard (Leven's punchline: she had met him as an acupuncturist). Leven reflects at length on the loss of his falsetto, which made him a terser, more considered writer, and on his position “more like a poet than a pop musician”, who has to make a brilliant record every 18 months. The connection to Robert Bly and the men's movement is mentioned. Tone: admiring, with blunt remarks about Leven's appearance (double chin, belly).