Having succeeded in escaping from his Desert Island, Ian McMillan, The Bard of Barnsley, has put out a disc of his own - Homing In. It's the second album he's recorded with his fabulous orchestra and combines McMillan's unique verse with some dazzling roots music for accompaniment. You can read my review here.
Along with James Mason, Bill Nighy and Kevin McCloud, McMillan has a timbre to his voice that would bring the phone book to life; I guess the modern day equivalent is being asked to do a Sat-Nav voice-over; well, if Brian Blessed can do it...
Here's a taster:
The Ian McMillan Orchestra: Ten Forgotten Moments From History
I thought he was excellent on Desert Island Discs, and he's also been great on the Word Podcasts (though I'm not sure what someone with a Scottish Dad is doing writing poems about the England football team. Harrumph).
ReplyDeleteyou're right about his voice, and I'd certainly rather have him telling me to prepare to turn right after 100m than that booming luvvie off of Blackadder.
I love his voice apart from his amazing poetry.
ReplyDeleteThis is so good, thanks for posting it John.
If he were a dog, he'd be a lovely old Basset Hound with extra long ears.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece from him in Word this/last month!
ReplyDeletesuper - love this
ReplyDeleteJohn, through your blog and writings, you open up another world of art to me. I am driven to read and listen more
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ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for giving it a listen (LJ - think of this Blog as edutainment!) Here's Ian's up and coming tour dates. Try and blag a ticket if he comes to your town.
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