Edinburgh Fringe: Jackie Leven/ Jen Brister/ Doris Day Can F**k Off

Graeme Thomson (later author of the official biography of 2021 and of the Telegraph portrait) describes Leven at a Fringe solo performance three months before his death: physically weakened, but with voice and guitar alone able to captivate a small room. The stage show comes across as warmer than the albums, which of late were often produced in a cheap, synthetic manner. Between bawdy anecdotes (including about Toy Story 3, a Bay City Rollers badge and a Glasgow photo session) he repeatedly hit the mark, for example with “Exit Wound”, “Poortoun” and “Beware Soul Brother” from the forthcoming album, an elegy for a dead brother. Conclusion: a winning mixture of the sacred and the profane. No star rating for Leven.