BBC dubs York songwriter a future ‘national treasure’
Slightly bashful and a tad tongue-tied at first, Mark, 25, held it together long enough to deliver three new songs and astonish the former punk-rocker turned DJ with the information that he had released four albums in the last year alone.
You can hear Mark’s performance on BBC iPlayer here (opens in a new tab or window).
Mark’s first song, Eyes Closed, starts at 20 minutes and 45 seconds in. The other two songs, Woolies Please and I’m Lou Reed x 6 And You’re John Cale, start at the 37 seven minutes 15.
The radio appearance was to help promote Mark’s latest album, the snappily-titled Eggs, Kes And That Bike I Never Bought You, Even Though That I Would Like To.
Mark’s tenuous grasp of UK geography finds him travelling between York, London, the Midlands and Penzance on a self-booked promotional tour. “I didn’t realise Penzance was so far,” he told Tom Robinson, who could barely conceal his amusement at the logistical skills of the 25-year-old spoken word songwriter.
Robinson has been lavish in his praise for Wynn: “Like the early John Cooper Clarke or Mark E Smith, Mark Wynn has the potential for national treasure status 20 years down the line. And that’s not something you’ll hear me say often or lightly.”
It’s an opinion shared by many with their finger on the musical pulse. Yorkshire fanzine Rhubarb Bomb gushed: “In an indie scene where conformity and conservatism can stifle creativity Mark Wynn is prepared to sound, and be, different.”
And Christopher Nosnibor, from the influential Whisperinandhollerin, added: “Everything you’ve read about The Streets and Mike Skinner’s kitchen-sink microdramas applies to Mark Wynn’s collection, only in here, it’s true, it’s real – or made up on the spot.”
You can catch Mark on tour these dates in February:
13 The Bedford, London
16 In-store @ Attic Records York w/Boss Caine, Asio’s Eyes, 3pm
16 The Slip Inn, York 8pm
20 THe Lamp and Whistle, Penzance
21 The Farmers Arms, Penzance
22 Kontra Roots Club, Finedon Wellingborough
24 The Victoria Inn, Colchester
25 Bacup Folk Club, Bacup
27 Shuga Buddha @ The Fishbowl, Brighton
28 Manchester gig to be arranged