Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 12
Allan Taylor's 1978 LP Hits Spotify After Ed Sheeran's Instagram Praise
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 12

Allan Taylor's 1978 LP Hits Spotify After Ed Sheeran's Instagram Praise

1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 12

Summary

  • The Traveller, Allan Taylor's 1978 album, has reached Spotify for the first time after Ed Sheeran said in April he loved a vinyl copy he found in a New York second-hand shop.
  • Sheeran wrote that he "can't find it anywhere online," turning fresh attention toward a long-overlooked record that had circulated only unofficially on YouTube.
  • Taylor, now 80 and recently forced by health problems to cancel farewell folk-club shows, said Sheeran's endorsement was unexpected and flattering; the two have since spoken at length by phone.
  • The renewed interest spotlights a veteran British folk singer whose album never charted but won best folk album at the Montreux Jazz Festival and helped build a loyal following in Europe.

Insights

Can a superstar's praise give a 1978 folk album lasting success in the modern streaming era?
What does a chance vinyl find reveal about how algorithms fail to discover forgotten musical masterpieces?