Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley song)
Encyclopedia
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley
and his writing partner Larry Beckett
and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor
. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees
TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.
Pat Boone
was the first to release a version of the song when it was featured on his 1969 album Departure, predating Buckley's Starsailor
release. However, the song has become perhaps Buckley's most famous due to a number of artists covering the song after his death in 1975, most notably This Mortal Coil
. It has featured as a cover on many artists' studio album
s.
and high pitched background vocals. In comparison, the live version is more lo-fi, with no effects, and Buckley's voice is accompanied only by his guitar. The 1968 performance also features different lyrics with the phrase "I am puzzled as the oyster" later being changed to "I'm as puzzled as the new born child" in the album version. This was reportedly because when Buckley played the song to Judy Henske, wife of then producer Jerry Yester, she responded to the line with laughter.
Despite this, Buckley and Beckett regarded this song as their greatest collaboration effort, with Beckett later stating "It's a perfect match of melody and lyrics. There was some kind of uncanny connection between us."
The song's reference to the siren
s tempting sailors at sea stems from Greek mythology
. This lyrical style is an example of Larry Beckett
's literary inspirations, and stands in direct contrast to Buckley's own more personal writing style.
. It was released as a single in September 1983 and spent 3 weeks on the UK Charts
where it peaked at #66 on October 23, 1983. More impressive, however, was the sustained demand for the track, the record-buying public helping the single to spend 101 weeks on the UK Indie Chart
s, a run that ranked 4th in the 1980s after 3 classic long-selling records: Bela Lugosi's Dead
by Bauhaus
(131 weeks), Blue Monday
by New Order
(186 weeks) and Love Will Tear Us Apart
by Joy Division
(195 weeks). Song to the Siren was included on This Mortal Coil
's 1984 album It'll End in Tears
which was released a year after the single. This Mortal Coil was a collective name for a number of artists on the 4AD Records label, with Elizabeth Fraser
and Robin Guthrie
of the Cocteau Twins
performing the song.
Following the release of the single by This Mortal Coil, Buckley's work experienced a reappraisal in the mid-1980s. This revival of interest in the artist would be one of the greatest factors in the increase of his posthumous sales, falling second only to the publicity generated by the success of his son, Jeff Buckley
.
's 1997 film Lost Highway but did not appear on the film's soundtrack album. Lynch has stated that This Mortal Coil's version of the song inspired the first two albums by Julee Cruise
. Also, he had previously intended to use the original version of the song on Blue Velvet but was prevented from doing so due to legal issues or budget limitations. It was also used in the trailer for the 2003 Michael Bay
produced The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
remake and in the The Lovely Bones
. The cover by Israeli singer Ivri Lider
was featured in Eytan Fox
's film HaBuah
. The original Tim Buckley version also appeared in the 2006 Australian movie Candy
featuring Heath Ledger
and Abbie Cornish
.
remix
by Lost Witness
— "Did I Dream (Song to the Siren)" peaked at #28 in the UK singles chart in 2002. Similarly, a sample of This Mortal Coil's version was featured prominently in Messiah's techno
single "Temple of Dreams".
It was also sampled by Ratty in their trance track "Sunrise".
In 2005 Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley
, a tribute album of songs by both Tim Buckley and his son, Jeff Buckley, featured a version of "Song to the Siren" by Engineers
. This cover was based upon This Mortal Coil's version of the song.
A cover of the song was the title track of Song of the Siren: Live in San Sebastian (Sub Pop
#SP592), a 2002 live album by Damon and Naomi
with Kurihara
, guitarist for the band Ghost.
Song to the Siren has also been covered by Robert Plant
, on 2002 release Dreamland
, and as with Robert Plant as a duet with English tenor Alfie Boe on his 2011 album "Alfie", Mercury Prize
nominee Susheela Raman
on her album Salt Rain, John Frusciante
on The Empyrean
, former Two Nice Girls
member Laurie Freelove on her 1991 album Smells Like Truth, Post-punk
band Half Man Half Biscuit
for the Peel Sessions, Sinéad O'Connor
on Music of Ireland: Welcome Home and Alex Cooke on his 2010 release "Song to the Siren." The track was also covered by John Grant
of The Czars
. This track was also covered by Bryan Ferry
of Roxy Music
on his 2010 solo album, Olympia
.
Not solely confined to the recorded format, Song to the Siren has been performed live by numerous artists, including George Michael
and David Gray
amongst others. Brendan Perry
, formerly of Dead Can Dance
, covered the song accompanied by Robin Guthrie
, formerly of the Cocteau Twins
on Perry's 2011 tour.
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
and his writing partner Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett is a poet and songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Tim Buckley in the late-1960s.-Early life:...
and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor
Starsailor (album)
Starsailor is a 1970 album by Tim Buckley , released on Herb Cohen's Straight Records label. It marks the moment Buckley's folk rock origins became invisible as he fully incorporated jazz rock and avant-garde styles in to his music. Although it is often regarded as not being accessible to many...
. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology is a compilation album by Tim Buckley. The two cds give an overview of Tim Buckley's career. The compilation contains material from the many phases of Buckley's career, and includes a previously unreleased version of "Song to the Siren", as performed in 1968...
, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.
Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
was the first to release a version of the song when it was featured on his 1969 album Departure, predating Buckley's Starsailor
Starsailor (album)
Starsailor is a 1970 album by Tim Buckley , released on Herb Cohen's Straight Records label. It marks the moment Buckley's folk rock origins became invisible as he fully incorporated jazz rock and avant-garde styles in to his music. Although it is often regarded as not being accessible to many...
release. However, the song has become perhaps Buckley's most famous due to a number of artists covering the song after his death in 1975, most notably This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...
. It has featured as a cover on many artists' studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s.
Background
The song was written in 1967, but Buckley was dissatisfied with the early attempts at recording it. It would finally appear on Starsailor three years later. The Monkees TV show version featured the song in its original folk song style, with Buckley playing solo with a 12 string guitar. This stands in contrast to the lusher, reverb-filled version present on the Starsailor album. The Monkees television spot features the song in the key of E while the later album version is played in Bb. The album version also features heavy reverb on the electric guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and high pitched background vocals. In comparison, the live version is more lo-fi, with no effects, and Buckley's voice is accompanied only by his guitar. The 1968 performance also features different lyrics with the phrase "I am puzzled as the oyster" later being changed to "I'm as puzzled as the new born child" in the album version. This was reportedly because when Buckley played the song to Judy Henske, wife of then producer Jerry Yester, she responded to the line with laughter.
Despite this, Buckley and Beckett regarded this song as their greatest collaboration effort, with Beckett later stating "It's a perfect match of melody and lyrics. There was some kind of uncanny connection between us."
The song's reference to the siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s tempting sailors at sea stems from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. This lyrical style is an example of Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett is a poet and songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Tim Buckley in the late-1960s.-Early life:...
's literary inspirations, and stands in direct contrast to Buckley's own more personal writing style.
Version by This Mortal Coil
The most prominent recording of "Song to the Siren" is by This Mortal CoilThis Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...
. It was released as a single in September 1983 and spent 3 weeks on the UK Charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
where it peaked at #66 on October 23, 1983. More impressive, however, was the sustained demand for the track, the record-buying public helping the single to spend 101 weeks on the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
s, a run that ranked 4th in the 1980s after 3 classic long-selling records: Bela Lugosi's Dead
Bela Lugosi's Dead
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a gothic rock song written by the band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released in August 1979, and is often considered to be the first gothic rock record released. It did not enter the UK charts. The b-side features the song "Boys" and some versions also...
by Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
(131 weeks), Blue Monday
Blue Monday (New Order song)
"Blue Monday" is a single released in 1983 by British band New Order, and later remixed in 1988 and 1995. The song has been widely remixed and covered since its original release, and became a popular anthem in the dance club scene.-Background:...
by New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
(186 weeks) and Love Will Tear Us Apart
Love Will Tear Us Apart
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by the British post-punk band Joy Division. It was written in August and September 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour in September and October 1979. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar...
by Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
(195 weeks). Song to the Siren was included on This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...
's 1984 album It'll End in Tears
It'll End in Tears
It'll End in Tears was an album released in 1984 by 4AD using the name This Mortal Coil as an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. When released in late 1984, the album reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart...
which was released a year after the single. This Mortal Coil was a collective name for a number of artists on the 4AD Records label, with Elizabeth Fraser
Elizabeth Fraser
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer best known as the vocalist for the pioneer alternative rock group Cocteau Twins...
and Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
of the Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
performing the song.
Following the release of the single by This Mortal Coil, Buckley's work experienced a reappraisal in the mid-1980s. This revival of interest in the artist would be one of the greatest factors in the increase of his posthumous sales, falling second only to the publicity generated by the success of his son, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
.
Film soundtrack use
The version by This Mortal Coil featured on David LynchDavid Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's 1997 film Lost Highway but did not appear on the film's soundtrack album. Lynch has stated that This Mortal Coil's version of the song inspired the first two albums by Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise is an American singer, and actress.With a distinctive, airy voice, Cruise has recorded three albums, but is probably best known for the lead vocal on "Falling," the theme song for the cult U.S. television series Twin Peaks...
. Also, he had previously intended to use the original version of the song on Blue Velvet but was prevented from doing so due to legal issues or budget limitations. It was also used in the trailer for the 2003 Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
produced The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2003 remake of the 1974 horror film of the same name. The 2003 film was directed by Marcus Nispel and produced by Michael Bay...
remake and in the The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones (film)
The Lovely Bones is a 2009 American drama film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's parents Jack and...
. The cover by Israeli singer Ivri Lider
Ivri Lider
Ivri Lider is an Israeli pop rock singer-songwriter. He is one of the biggest-selling contemporary artists in Israeli music, and has won the Male Singer of the Year honor from major Israeli national and local radio stations since entering the Israeli music scene in the late 1990s...
was featured in Eytan Fox
Eytan Fox
-Biography:Fox was born in New York City and moved with his family to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a leading professor of Jewish education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His mother, Sara Kaminker-Fox, was the head of the Jerusalem city...
's film HaBuah
The Bubble (2006 film)
The Bubble is a 2006 romantic drama directed by Eytan Fox telling the story of two men who fall in love, one Israeli and one Palestinian...
. The original Tim Buckley version also appeared in the 2006 Australian movie Candy
Candy (2006 film)
Candy is a 2006 Australian romantic drama film, adapted from Luke Davies's novel Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction. Candy was directed by debut film-maker Neil Armfield and stars Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush....
featuring Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
and Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress. She is well known in Australia for a number of film and television roles, particularly her award-winning lead performance in 2004's Somersault, and internationally for her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star and her appearance as Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch.-...
.
Other cover versions
The song was given new life in the form of a tranceTrance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
by Lost Witness
Lost Witness
Lost Witness is an English trance production and DJ , composed of Simon Paul . Also part of the collaboration are songwriter Edward Barton, writer of the 1983 Jane & Barton single, "It's a Fine Day" , as well as vocalist Danielle Alexander.He also recorded under the aliases Dusk Til Dawn and The...
— "Did I Dream (Song to the Siren)" peaked at #28 in the UK singles chart in 2002. Similarly, a sample of This Mortal Coil's version was featured prominently in Messiah's techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
single "Temple of Dreams".
It was also sampled by Ratty in their trance track "Sunrise".
In 2005 Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley
Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley
Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley is a studio album performed by various artists in tribute to 1960s musician Tim Buckley, and his son, also a musician, Jeff Buckley...
, a tribute album of songs by both Tim Buckley and his son, Jeff Buckley, featured a version of "Song to the Siren" by Engineers
Engineers (band)
Engineers are a British shoegazing/dream pop band. The band was formed in London in 2003 by singer/guitarist Simon Phipps, bassist/guitarist/keyboardist Mark Peters, bassist/guitarist Dan MacBean, and drummer Andrew Sweeney...
. This cover was based upon This Mortal Coil's version of the song.
A cover of the song was the title track of Song of the Siren: Live in San Sebastian (Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
#SP592), a 2002 live album by Damon and Naomi
Damon and Naomi
Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/folk-rock duo formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500.-History:After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting The Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareham quit the band, forcing the cancellation of an...
with Kurihara
Michio Kurihara
is a Japanese guitarist who has played with Ghost, Boris and The Stars, formerly known as White Heaven. He has also released a solo album, Sunset Notes. He collaborated with Boris on the albums Rainbow and Cloud Chamber, and also appears on the Boris album Smile.-References:...
, guitarist for the band Ghost.
Song to the Siren has also been covered by Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, on 2002 release Dreamland
Dreamland (Robert Plant album)
Dreamland is singer Robert Plant's seventh solo album and the first with the band "Strange Sensation". The album was released in July 2002.Many of the songs are cover versions, mainly blues, but also some rock...
, and as with Robert Plant as a duet with English tenor Alfie Boe on his 2011 album "Alfie", Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
nominee Susheela Raman
Susheela Raman
Susheela Raman is an acclaimed British Tamil musician. Raman has released five albums since 2001. Her debut album Salt Rain was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001.-Early years:...
on her album Salt Rain, John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
on The Empyrean
The Empyrean
The Empyrean is the tenth solo album by John Frusciante, released worldwide on January 20, 2009 through Record Collection. Frusciante does not plan on a following tour, as he instead wants to focus on writing and recording. The Empyrean peaked at number 151 on the US Billboard 200 as well as number...
, former Two Nice Girls
Two Nice Girls
Two Nice Girls were a self-styled "lesbian rock" band from Austin, Texas, featuring singer-songwriter Gretchen Phillips.The group's original line up was*Gretchen Phillips - guitar, bass, mandolin and vocals...
member Laurie Freelove on her 1991 album Smells Like Truth, Post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
for the Peel Sessions, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
on Music of Ireland: Welcome Home and Alex Cooke on his 2010 release "Song to the Siren." The track was also covered by John Grant
John Grant (musician)
John Grant is an American singer-songwriter. He recently launched his career as a solo artist, having previously been lead vocalist with The Czars, an alternative rock band he formed in 1994 in Denver with Chris Pearson....
of The Czars
The Czars
The Czars was an alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in Denver by John Grant and Chris Pearson. They released six studio albums, one EP, and three singles in the duration of their career. After the release of Goodbye in 2004, five of the six members of The Czars left the band over the span of...
. This track was also covered by Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
of Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
on his 2010 solo album, Olympia
Olympia (album)
Olympia is an album by the British singer Bryan Ferry, released by Virgin Records on 25 October 2010. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of largely original material since 2002's Frantic. The album features a wide range of contributors, including co-songwriter...
.
Not solely confined to the recorded format, Song to the Siren has been performed live by numerous artists, including George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and David Gray
David Gray (musician)
David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
amongst others. Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry
Brendan Michael Perry is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the male half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.-Early life:...
, formerly of Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
, covered the song accompanied by Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
, formerly of the Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
on Perry's 2011 tour.