The Shelley Story [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Eleven songs and thirty five minutes of music convey lyrics from more than a dozen of Shelley’s greatest poems; they are linked by the story of his life narrated by Benjamin Zephaniah. Brindaband, a group of friends from Norfolk including versatile instrumentalist Dave Eastoe, vocalist and flautist Ruth Murray, flamenco guitarist Steve Homes, percussionist Bodhi, and John Webster himself provide atmospheric treatments of the Shelley lyrics.

I’ve been fascinated by the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley since the mid-1970s; I’ve visited Shelley sites in Italy and Britain, researched his life and work, kept up to date with critical comment, and have generally found his work to be a great companion in life. Part of my work as writer and songwriter has involved putting his lyrics to music, which I find gives them presence and greater familiarity.

I’m also interested in his re-evaluation since the mid-twentieth century, which has informed books like ‘Shelley: The Pursuit’ by Richard Holmes and Paul Foot’s ‘Red Shelley’. The CD aims to distill these new understandings, find contemporary meanings in his work and, perhaps, find new audiences for the poet.

He has written in The Guardian and The Independent, promoted a series of concerts during the 1992 Shelley bicentenary, and contributed to a BBC Radio 3 programme during the 1995 John Keats bicentenary. He has a first class honours degree in humanities with philosophy from the Open University, and is currently working on a companion CD, Lord Byron and the Greek War, scheduled for publication in October 2002.