Sugar and Spire - Unkle Bob

I feel largely responsible, in part at least, for the demise of Unkle Bob. No, not a family relation with dislexia but a four piece from Glasgow. Did I rubbish them in the national press? No. But I might as well have. Did I pinch their musical, style and create my own band and have multiple-million selling albums? Of course not. But what I did was just as damaging. So what was it?

Well I ignored them. A simple passive act that did so much damage. Not that I did this on purpose - I was preoccupied with other things. Life I suppose. Maybe, just maybe, if I'd paid more attention they would not have decide throw in the towel. Perhaps one more enthusiastic fan was all they needed and my absence was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back? I suppose I'll never know and just have to live with the guilt. And there was I, thinking that by buying 'Sugar and Spite' in a charity shop, thinking I was going some good.

'Sugar and Spite' is a lovely album. It has been described as some as Coldplay for the folk generation. But don't let that put you off. It's nothing of the sort, sharing DNA with R.E.M. and a smidge of Radiohead. When they were good.

Doing nothing is sometimes doing everything. And then I started thinking..... how many other bands demises had I contributed to? It doesn't bear thinking about. I might just be a mass music murderer and not even know it. Now that would require counselling.