The Unfairground

 ( 2007 Albums ) 

The Unfairground is a 2007 album by Kevin Ayers, recorded with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Roxy Music. Pitchfork July 31 2007 It was his sixteenth studio LP and his first new set of recordings in fifteen years, as well as the last album released before his death in 2013. It was recorded in New York City; Tucson, Arizona; London; and Glasgow.Album liner notes It debuted at No. 14 in the UK Indie Album chart.

The Unfairground deals with themes of love, loss and the passing of time, and it has received strong critical endorsements for its author's ruminations on his tumultuous life. Mojo September 2007 Ayers stated in a 2007 Sunday Times interview that it is "very much a reflective album: lost love, lost feelings, lost sensibilities. I had to include some of my blood, sweat and tears – if you are going to be honest, it can't be avoided." The Times, The unsung hero of psychedelia

• Kevin Ayers – guitar, vocals
• Gary Olson – trumpet, producer
• San Fadyl – drums
• Jeff Baron – guitar
• Norman Blake – guitar, backing vocals
• Francis MacDonald – drums
• Julian Koster – singing saw
• Candie Payne – backing vocals
• Euros Childs – backing vocals
• Bill Wells – bass
• Joe McGinty – keyboards
• Phil Manzanera – guitar
• Robbie McIntosh – guitar
• Hugh Hopper – bass
• Daisy Martey – backing vocals
• Tucson Philharmonia – strings
• Bridget St. John – vocals
• Dave McGowan – pedal steel
• Heather McIntosh – bass, cello
• Kellie Sutherland – Brass instrument
• Tara Shackell – brass
• Isobel Knowles – brass
• Gus Franklin – brass
• Graham Henderson – accordion
• Peter Nicholson – cello
• Francis Reader – backing vocals
• Robert Wyatt

• Peter Henderson – producer
• Timothy Shepard – producer, artwork, executive producer
• Bernard MacMahon – executive producer

• "Kevin Ayers Returns With Help From Roxy, Ladybug, Architecture" by Paul Thompson and Amy Phillips ( Pitchfork, 31 July 2007) link
• "Indie Stars Guest On Rock Legend's First Album In 15 Years" ( NME, 10 August 2007) link
• "The Father of the Underground" by Garth Cartwright ( The Daily Telegraph, 30 August 2007) link
• "The Unsung Hero of Psychedelia" by Lisa Verrico ( The Sunday Times, 2 September 2007) link
• "Soft Centered" by Pierre Perrone ( The Independent, 11 September 2007) link
• Album review by Andy Gill ( Uncut, September 2007) link
• Album review by Mike Barnes ( Mojo, September 2007) link
• "Kevin Ayers" by Mike Atkinson ( Stylus, 23 October 2007) link
• "Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt" by Simon Reynolds (Reynoldsretro, 14 December 2007) link