Biography
Leven started his musical career in the late 1960s under the pseudonym John St Field, and recorded one album, ''Control'', in 1971 which was released only in Spain in 1973.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , pp. 57–58 He formed the bandSome years ago I noticed that I was writing a lot more songs than I was ever going to record and get released, especially in these times where you can only release one studio album every eighteen months. As I am a writer of genius, this began to worry me more and more. So I went to see my Cooking Vinyl boss, Martin Goldschmidt, to ask him if I could make more records. He said no. I said to him 'look, The Beatles once released four albums in one year, and nobody said to them, hey that's too many records in one year'. Martin said 'Jackie, this is not 1967 and you are not The Beatles'. We talked some more and we agreed that I could make records under a different name – that name is Sir Vincent Lone.Leven's next album, ''Lovers at the Gun Club'' was released in 2008; followed in 2009 by a third Sir Vincent Lone record (''Troubadour Heart'') plus four instalments of ''The Haunted Year'' under his own name: twofers of eight albums previously released through The Haunted Valley. ''Gothic Road'' was released in 2010, followed in September 2011, two months before his death, by Leven's final studio album, ''Wayside Shrines and the Code of the Travelling Man'', a collaboration with Michael Cosgrave.
Death
Leven died on 14 November 2011, aged 61, of cancer. Leven had been due to perform at the Green Hotel in Kinross for Mundell Music on Friday night 18 November.Discography
As John St Field
* ''Control'' (1971) – initially released on a Spanish label, reissued in 1997 by Cooking Vinyl, again reissued in 2001 by Cooking Vinyl as part of the ''Great Songs From Eternal Bars'' 4CD-setAs a member of Doll by Doll
* ''Remember'' (1979), Automatic * ''Gypsy Blood'' (1979), Automatic * ''Doll By Doll'' (1981), Magnet * ''Grand Passion'' (1982), Magnet * ''Revenge of Memory'' (Live at The Sheffield Limits Club 1980) (2005), Haunted ValleyAs a solo artist
* "Love is Shining Down (On Me)" (1983) 12" single – 45RPM, Charisma Music Publishing, Virgin Records UK *Commercial releases
* ''Songs from the Argyll Cycle'' EP (1994), Cooking Vinyl – Scotland only release * ''The Mystery of Love Is Greater Than The Mystery of Death'' (1994), Cooking Vinyl * ''The Right to Remain Silent: the Mystery Supplement'' EP (1994), Cooking Vinyl * ''Forbidden Songs of The Dying West'' (1995), Cooking Vinyl – reissued as part of the ''Great Songs From Eternal Bars'' 4CD-set (2001) * ''The Argyll Cycle, Volume One'' (1996), Cooking Vinyl * ''Fairytales For Hardmen'' (1997), Cooking Vinyl – reissued as part of the ''Great Songs From Eternal Bars'' 4CD-set (2001) * ''Night Lilies'' (1998), Cooking Vinyl * ''Defending Ancient Springs'' (2000), Cooking Vinyl * ''Creatures of Light And Darkness'' (2001), Cooking Vinyl * ''Great Songs From Eternal Bars'' (2001), Cooking Vinyl * ''Shining Brother, Shining Sister'' (2003), Cooking Vinyl * ''For Peace Comes Dropping Slow'' (2004), Cooking Vinyl * ''Songs For Lonely Americans'' (2006), Cooking Vinyl – as 'Sir Vincent Lone' * ''Jackie Leven Said'' (2005), Cooking Vinyl – with Ian Rankin * ''Elegy for Johnny Cash'' (2005), Cooking Vinyl * ''Oh What a Blow That Phantom Dealt Me!'' (2007), Cooking Vinyl * ''When the Bridegroom Comes'' (2007), Cooking Vinyl – as 'Sir Vincent Lone' * ''Chip Pan Fire – Jackie Balfour'' (2007), Cooking Vinyl * ''Lovers at the Gun Club'' (2008), Cooking Vinyl * ''The Haunted Year – Winter'' (2009), Cooking Vinyl * ''The Haunted Year – Spring'' (2009), Cooking Vinyl * ''Troubadour Heart – Sir Vincent Lone'' (2009), Cooking Vinyl – as 'Sir Vincent Lone' * ''The Haunted Year – Summer'' (2009), Cooking Vinyl * ''The Haunted Year – Autumn'' (2009), Cooking Vinyl * ''Gothic Road'' (2010), Cooking Vinyl * ''Wayside Shrines and the Code of the Travelling Man'' (2011), Cooking Vinyl – with Michael Cosgrave * ''Heroes Can Be Any Size'' (2012), Cooking Vinyl: Cover-mounted CD with March 2012 issue of The Word, also commercially availableFanclub-only releases
* ''For Peace Comes Dropping Slow'' (1997), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl (2004) * ''Saint Judas: When I Went Out to Kill Myself'' (1998), Haunted Valley * ''Man Bleeds in Glasgow'' (1999), Haunted Valley – as Jackie Leven and the Celtic Soulmen – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Spring'' (2009) * ''The Wanderer'' (1999), Haunted Valley- reissued by Cooking Vinyl as part of the ''Great Songs From Eternal Bars'' 4CD-set (2001) * ''Greek Notebook'' (1999), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Autumn'' (2009) * ''Munich Blues'' (2000), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Winter'' (2009) * ''Deep In The Heart of Nowhere'' (2001), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Summer'' (2009) * ''Barefoot Days'' (2002) – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Summer'' (2009) * ''Greetings From Milford'' (2002), Haunted Valley – with The Stornoway Girls – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Spring'' (2009) * ''Men in Prison (Live from Bergen Prison)'' (2003), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Winter'' (2009) * ''Only The Ocean Can Forgive '' (2003), Haunted Valley – reissued by Cooking Vinyl as ''The Haunted Year – Autumn'' (2009) * ''One Long Cold Morning '' (2011)Other releases
* ''The Meeting of Remarkable Men'' (DVD) (2005), Cooking Vinyl * ''Live at Rockpalast'' (DVD) (2011), Intergroove Media GmbHReferences
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