Throughout musical history, many of the biggest acts have been influenced by cult artists. Ploughing their own furrow, often operating outside the mainstream – these iconoclasts and boundary pushers have stayed true to their vision and had a massive impact in the process.
From a two-piece making mind-bending electronica with home-made synthesisers in the 1960s, to the eccentric genius who helped create the sound of dub – this list celebrates ten of the greatest mavericks who influenced your favourite artists.
Moondog
Possibly the ultimate outsider musician – Moondog’s life story reads like fiction. Born in Kansas in 1916, he tragically lost his sight as a teenager when he mistakenly picked up a dynamite cap in a field. He taught himself to make music and wrote his abstract neoclassical and jazz influenced pieces as brail scores. Spending periods sleeping in doorways in New York, he took to dressing as the Norse God Thor and would spend hours on the corner of sixth avenue clutching a spear or selling his poetry and playing home-made instruments.
Steve Reich and Philip Glass would offer him a sofa at their shared flat to crash on. One of his vocal rounds would be covered by Janis Joplin and Charlie Parker was also a fan. His tribute to Parker called ‘Bird’s Lament’ has been famously sampled by Mr Scruff on his track ‘keep Movin’. A true one-off in every sense, Moondog has garnered fans in everyone from Rufus Wainwright to Jarvis Cocker.
Silver Apples
In the late 1960s, pioneering electronic duo Silver Apples made music that was so far ahead of its time, that it felt like it came from another galaxy. Comprised of Simeon Coxe, who played a primitive synthesiser of his own devising, and drummer Danny Taylor, they produced two albums before a lawsuit from an airline unhappy with imagery used for their second LP, threatened to ruin them. They left music and sought other paths.
Their debut self-titled effort became a cult classic, beloved of fans of underground electronic music. They would return in the late 1990s, playing again as a duo until Danny Taylor’s death in 2005. Simeon would continue to perform under the Silver Apples name for years, using samples of Taylor’s original drum patterns. Their wildly inventive music has been hailed as an influence by everyone from Portishead to Beck, Moby and Radiohead.
Lee 'Scratch' Perry
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry in the development of multiple musical genres. He produced for everyone from Bob Marley to Max Romeo and was a driving force in the development of dub production techniques.
While remixing had occurred before Scratch, he drove the creation of ‘dub’ versions of tracks, emphasising the drums and bass and adding spacey effects and echoes. His techniques had a profound impact on Jamaican sound system culture and in turn influenced the genesis of early hip-hop. His influence also extended to multiple forms of dance music, where his techniques would be incorporated and developed by a host of producers who would drive forward contemporary remix culture.
William Onyeabor
Producing music between 1977 and 1985, William Onyeabor was a reclusive and deeply enigmatic personality, who became known as the “father of Nigerian electro”. Onyeabor’s distinctive and sometimes unlikely combinations of funk, disco, afrobeat, Nigerian folk forms and more, earned him a cult following at home and elsewhere.
His idiosyncratic nature and tendency to want to withdraw from the public eye only added to his mystique. The likes of David Byrne, Damon Albarn and Hot Chip count themselves among his fans.
Nick Drake
Over the years Nick Drake’s music has acquired an enormous following, but the artists he has inspired from R.E.M to Kate Bush and Beck have achieved far greater levels of fame. Known for his beautiful voice, poetic lyrics, stunning finger picked guitar and sense of melancholy, Drake was a beguiling singer songwriter.
His life would however be marked by sadness. Known to suffer from acute depression, Drake’s lack of self confidence sometimes made him struggle to perform in front of people – sometimes looking away from his audience. He would die by suicide in 1974, aged just 26, but his extraordinary work and influence continue to live on.
Arthur Lee and Love
Arthur Lee formed the band Love in 1965. This pioneering psychedelic act would go on to influence everyone from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to more recent bands like Primal Scream. Their swirling sound was melodic and intoxicating, of its time but also somehow apart from it. It’s easy to forget that rock bands with members from different racial backgrounds were still unusual in the States in the 1960s. At times when touring, prejudice would make gigging difficult for the band. While they may not be one of the first names many people reach for when thinking about pioneering acts of the 60s, the influence from their seminal record “Forever Changes” and much of their other work is indisputable.
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders was a hugely charismatic figure in American punk and rock music more broadly from the 1970s until his death aged 38 in 1991. Originally in the New York Dolls and then The Heartbreakers, Thunders also had a notable solo career penning tunes such as ‘You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory’ and ‘Born to Lose.
He would influence everyone from the Ramones and the Sex Pistols to Kiss and Aerosmith. Despite an incredible musical output with his bands and as a solo artist, Thunders’ career would be overshadowed by his years long addiction to heroin. He was however a stylish and restless innovator whose influence can still be felt today.
The Replacements
Forming in Minneapolis during 1979, The Replacements comprised Paul Westerberg on guitar and vocals, Bob Stinson on guitar, Tommy Stinson on bass and Chris Mars behind the drum kit. They became known for their distinctive fusions of punk and alternative rock influences. It was a sound that stood out amid the 1980s musical landscape — but despite their pioneering sound, their self-destructive behaviour stopped them reaching the heights of success of that their peers enjoyed.
Over time, they diversified further by incorporating everything from power pop to lounge jazz. They have been cited as an influence by artists including Nirvana, Green Day, Wilco, Ryan Adams, The Lemon Heads and many more. They're the best band you've never heard of, and their 1984 album Let It Be is an all-time cult classic.
Daniel Johnston
Starting to play in the 1970s, singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston became a cult figure for his highly distinctive lo-fi sound. His early recordings were made with a $59 boombox, with Johnston singing and playing guitar, piano or organ. He would self-produce tapes and sell them at shows, acquiring a dedicated cult following. Kurt Cobain loved Johnston and wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the cover for his early 1980s tape “Hi How Are You”. Johnston was diagnosed in his 20s with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He faced significant challenges throughout his life, which are chronicled in the harrowing but highly engaging 2005 film “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”.
Broadcast
The most recent act on this list, Broadcast were formed in Birmingham in 1995 by Trish Keenan and James Cargill. They entranced audiences with albums such as 2000s “The Noise Made By People”. The band created a singular sound meshing elements of dream pop, synth pop, electronica and 60s influences. What resulted were tracks that were somehow warm and familiar while also feeling alien and strange.
Their career was cut short by the untimely passing of Keenan from swine flu in 2011, she was just 42. Broadcast have left behind an intriguing catalogue of indie-electronica that stands out from the crowd and still sounds ahead of its time. Toro Y Moi, Animal Collective and even Tyler the Creator sit among Broadcast's fans.
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