Why is it when you start investigating a singer to find a little about them, and you find that they have died, that the first thing that hits you is an overwhelming sadness? I didn’t know Lesley Duncan so why should this feeling hit me?
I can only assume that there is a tinge of sadness for someone you didn’t know, because you have pulled a little bit of their life story from a carrier bag and tried to imagine how she had created it in the first place. No one will pull anything from a plastic bag about me when I go, so if only for that reason you have to think ‘ Well done lass’….what a fantastic achievement at a tender age of 28 or 29 to have created such an amazing set of mainly self-penned songs that are still being played almost 50 years later.
It’s an acoustic based LP, there is a hint of a gospel / religious underbelly to some of the songs, which are soulful and beautifully scripted, lyrically. Probably best known for Elton John covering ‘Love Song’ a track featured on Lesley’s first LP, Earth Mother was her second LP which was not released in the US (import only), She was also known as a backing singer and whilst her recording career was hardly prolific, throughout the 70’s she released a few more LP’s and singles.
The title track, which is brilliant, is dedicated to Friends of the Earth, which, back in 1972 was a lovely gesture. And it somehow reflects the tranquillity, sensual nature and warmth which Lesley appeared to possess. We lost a valued soul when she died, and in this day and age that seems even harder to bear than ever.
