Passing Stranger

Sometimes you get caught unawares, almost like a passing stranger turns out to be someone you know. In this case, something that dropped off my radar has now reappeared.
Some of you might remember my blog entry on Scott Matthews, a rather talented song-writer who I felt a certain affinity with. After all Scott has been writing music for about the same length of time I’ve been writing books, neither of us finding that success we have dreamt of. Scott released his first album Passing Stranger on an indie label earlier this year. I have it, and it’s a fantastic work, a real dream-like album that arrests you with wonder. It also happens to be my ‘adopted soundtrack album’ when I get round to writing Smith next year.
Anyway, the point of this entry is that I had largely put Scott’s success to the back of my mind, until I bought a copy of Saturday’s The Guardian at the weekend, and found Scott’s album staring back at me from the inside cover of the Guide. “Debut album” it said, “released 2nd October…” That means Scott has found himself a Major to publish his album – and it is well deserved. Forget all your X-factors, your Pop Idols, your manufactured singers – this guy can sing, he can play, and boy he can write good songs. I don’t plug much stuff in this blog, as you might know, but sure as hell I’m plugging this…