May I?

Kevin Ayers releases his first material in 15 years with the album "Unfairground". It propels one of British Psychedelic’s true pioneers back into the limelight, after years of other contemporaries receiving all the plaudits. Ayers was one of the founding members of Soft Machine alongside Robert Wyatt, a group who spearheaded the movement in the 60s along with Pink Floyd. Ayers embarked on a successful solo career in 1969 with the release of "Joy of a Toy" and went on to record several more albums throughout the 70s on EMI's classic Harvest label. "Whatevershebringswesing" in 71 and "Bananamour" in 73 being the pick of these releases.

Fans of Nick Drake, Roy Harper and Syd Barrett will undoubtedly be wooed by Ayers' charm, and his emergence into the spotlight should have him mentioned in the same regard as those peers. Included is a rare Whistle Test performance from 1972 of Ayers doing a version of "May I?" from his second album "Shooting at the Moon". Listen out for the opening chords, which are uncannily reminiscent of Blondie's "Picture This" from 1978.