Voting Station

Bert Jansch

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (November 3, 1943-October 5, 2011)
    Born in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
    Folk guitarist, singer and songwriter
    Member of the band Pentangle (1968-73,1981-95)
    Recorded the solo albums 'Bert Jansch' (1965), 'It Don't Bother Me' (1965), 'Nicola' (1967), 'Birthday Blues' (1969), 'Rosemary Lane' (1971), 'Moonshine' (1973), 'L.A. Turnaround' (1974), 'Santa Barbara Honeymoon' (1975), 'Thirteen Down' (1980), 'Heartbreak' (1982), 'Sketches' (1990), 'When the Circus Comes to Town' (1995), 'Toy Balloon' (1998), 'Crimson Moon' (2000), 'Edge of a Dream' (2002) and 'The Black Swan' (2006)
    With John Renbourn recorded the albums 'Jack Onion' (1966) and 'Bert and John' (1966)

Why he might be annoying:

    The Guardian described him as 'unkempt on stage and unconventional off it.'
    In his early 20s, he hitch-hiked and busked his way around Europe.
    He said, 'When I made the first album, I had no home and no possessions -- not even a guitar.' (He had to borrow one to record the album.)
    He was married three times, divorced twice.
    His heavy drinking led to erratic performances, with Pentangle's Danny Thompson noting, 'Sometimes he'd be actually brilliant. Sometimes he'd be too drunk to play.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    His recording of the folk song 'Blackwaterside' was copied (without any credit) by Led Zeppelin as 'Black Mountain Side.'
    He quit drinking after he was hospitalized (1987) and told he had a choice of 'giving up alcohol or simply giving up.'
    Neil Young said that he did for acoustic guitars what Jimi Hendrix did for electric guitars.
    He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, as a solo artist (2001) and as a member of Pentangle (2007).
    Johnny Marr said, 'He completely re-invented guitar playing and set a standard that is still unequalled today.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 62 Votes: 56.45% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 59 Votes: 74.58% Annoying