By 2000, her album had acquired a cult following; it was re-released and Bunyan recorded more songs, initiating the second phase of her musical career after a gap of thirty years.
Years active: 1965–1970, 2002–present
At 18, she travelled to New York and discovered the music of Bob Dylan through his The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album and decided to become a full-time musician.
Returning to London she was discovered by Rolling Stones' manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, and, in June 1965, under his direction, she released her first single, the Jagger and Richards penned "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" (their own version later turning up on the outtakes compilation Metamorphosis), on Decca Records.
Released using simply the name Vashti, it was backed with her own song "I Want to Be Alone". The single and her follow-up "Train Song", released on Columbia in May 1966, produced by Canadian Peter Snell, received little attention. Her only other performance of this time to find release was her distinctive vocal on "The Coldest Night of the Year" with Twice as Much (which eventually turned up on their second and final LP, That's All, appearing on Oldham's Immediate Records in 1968). After recording further songs for Immediate Records, which remain unreleased, and making a brief appearance in the 1967 documentary 'Tonite Let's All Make Love in London', performing her song "Winter Is Blue", she decided to travel with her boyfriend Robert Lewis by horse and cart to the Hebridean Islands to join a commune planned by a friend, fellow singer/songwriter Donovan ("...from South London up to the Hebrides. Initially to Skye but we carried on to the Outer Hebrides."). During the trip she began writing the songs that eventually became her first album, Just Another Diamond Day.
During a break from her trip at Christmas 1968, she met Joe Boyd through a friend and he offered to record an album of her travelling songs for his Witchseason Productions. A year later Vashti returned to London and recorded her first LP with assistance from Simon Nicol and Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention, Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band and string arranger Robert Kirby, today best known for his work on Nick Drake's first two albums. The album appeared on Philips Records to warm reviews in December 1970, but struggled to find an audience. Disappointed, she left the music industry and moved to The Incredible String Band's Glen Row cottages, then Ireland. Much of the ensuing 30 years were spent raising her three children and tending animals. In this time, entirely unknown to her, the original album slowly became one of the most sought-after records of its time. It has sold on eBay for as much as $2000.
Bunyan has been labelled "the Godmother of Freak Folk" for her role in inspiring the "new generation of folk experimentalists including Devendra Banhart and Adem".
Some internet journalistic sources categorize her music as folk, psych folk, or new folk.
Just Another Diamond Day (1969, full album):
Dark Ages:
Discography:
Studio albums:
Just Another Diamond Day (Philips 1970)
Lookaftering (Fat Cat Records 2005)
[edit]Compilations
Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind – Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967 (Fat Cat Records/Spinney Records 2007)
Singles:
"Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" / "I Want To Be Alone" (Decca, 1965) (as Vashti)
"Train Song" / "Love Song" (Columbia (EMI), 1966) (as Vashti)
Compilation appearances:
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London (1967)
"Winter Is Blue" (as Vashti)
"Winter Is Blue (Reprise)" (as Vashti)
Circus Days - UK Psychedelic Obscurities 1966-70 Vol.1 (1990)
"I'd Like To Walk Around In Your Mind" (as Vashti)
A Pot By Any Other Name (2001) (compilation issued by Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine)
"17 Pink Sugar Elephants" (rec. 1966) (early variation of "Train Song")
Instant Karma (2002)
"Winter Is Blue" (as Vashti) (combined version of song from Tonite Let's All Make Love in London)
Folk Rock and Faithfull: Dream Babes Vol. 5 (2004)
"Train Song" (rec. 1966) (as Vashti)
"Love Song" (rec. 1966) (as Vashti)
The Golden Apples of the Sun (2004)
"Rejoicing in the Hands" (with Devendra Banhart)
The Enlightened Family: A Collection Of Lost Songs (2005)
"Song of a Wishwanderer" (rec. 1968)
Not Alone (2006)
"Same But Different"
Ballads of the Book (2007)
"The Fire" (lyrics by Rodge Glass)
Gather In The Mushrooms - The British Acid-Folk Underground 1968 - 1974 (2004)
"Winter Is Blue"
Guest appearances:
- Twice as Much - That's All (1970)
"Coldest Night of the Year" (rec. 1967)
- Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes (2002)
"Crown of the Lost"
- Piano Magic - Saint Marie EP (2004)
"Dark Ages"
- Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands (2004)
"Rejoicing in the Hands"
- Animal Collective - Prospect Hummer (2005)
"It's You"
"Prospect Hummer"
"I Remember Learning How to Dive"
- Vetiver - Thing of the Past (2008)
"Sleep a Million Years"
- Dudley Benson - Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne (2010)
"Tui"
Source: Wikipedia
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