Lite leven med Leven

On the youth page “Scoopet” of the Jæren newspapers (Jærbladet, 10 September 2008; run the next day in Sandnesposten as “Lite leven med Leven”), the authors open by saying the Scot is “almost what we can call a living legend”; the only thing missing is that a few more listeners discover the guy. They then retell Leven’s life, evidently following his own account and with some twisted details and OCR damage: born in 1950, only a few nerdy friends, no school genius but good at English and writing. His mother played “American black blues music” while his friends’ parents hummed along to Elvis Presley. With a local band he played his own blues songs and was envied for gigs alongside Archie Fisher and Hamish Imlach. A local clique then started a “personal vendetta” against him, so bad that he had to leave Fife and Scotland.

In London he lived hand to mouth for months, since street musicians were hardly accepted in the late sixties; after that he lived in Ireland, Berlin and Madrid. His debut album came out in 1971 under the name John St. Field, later came Doll by Doll (1978–1982). In 1983, while recording a solo album, he was attacked on his way home from the studio and almost strangled, unable to speak or sing for months, and lost his record deal, his friends and his composure. He fell into mental imbalance and heroin addiction and lived “his own hell in isolation” for nearly a year. From 1985 he turned to Chinese five-element acupuncture and “psychic healing” and co-founded the CORE Trust, which is still active in London; the authors call him its “manager” and say he sits on the board. Princess Diana blessed the project and showed great interest.

In recent years Leven has visited Norway several times, built a solid name and comes across as a serious balladeer with a twinkle in his eye. The authors have seen him live three times and conducted a “fascinating interview”; between songs he chats willingly with the audience, and there is always room for tall tales. The new album is, as expected, that of a singer-songwriter “with a little more soul, honesty and weight than many others”: “You have to live a hard life to get such a mood onto a record.” Some songs are “a bit too dull”; the authors like the title track and “To Whom It May Concern” best. Fans of Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and credible troubadours will find their favourites here; Leven mostly addresses a more adult audience but might also appeal to younger people.