13.

Legendary Stardust Cowboy – For Sarah, Raquel and David: An Anthology

It’s hard to describe the Ledge. He was discovered on The Gong Show many years ago in America. He basically just shouts and screams. He’s a cowboy. He was recording in the 1970s but he’s still going now. This is his latest compilation. I met him a couple of months ago when I was on my American tour. Bowie’s a big fan too. He got the idea for the name Ziggy Stardust from the Ledge and he covered ‘I Took a Trip (On a Gemini Spaceship)’ on one of his albums [Heathen, 2002]. The Ledge is an extraordinary character. He plays the bugle during some of his tracks. If you ever see him, bring earmuffs. He’s not very musical. I used to play his song ‘Paralyzed’ before my gigs at the Marquee in ’77 just to confuse the audience and set the tone for the night. Complete pandemonium. Some of the songs he writes are… [trails off, lost for words] He’s obsessed with Nasa and space flights, which I’m into too. I loved the space missions. The visuals and the way they got there. It’s science fact. They were like cowboys in space. But The Ledge took it one step further. I’d be quite interested to see what other people think if they check him out. He’s not to everybody’s taste. The album is an anthology of tracks like ‘My Underwear Froze to the Clothesline’ and ‘Standing in a Trashcan’. It’s all good stuff. The names refer to Fergie [Duchess of York], Raquel Welch and Bowie. They’re all fans of the Ledge. [laughs]