John Grant

Following years with brilliant but ignored band The Czars, John Grant's life turned to such a mess that the title track of his debut solo album 'The Queen of Denmark' included the lines 
'And when the shit got really, really out of hand,
I had it all the way up to my hairline...'

Fortunately for all of us he moved to Iceland and that astonishing place has clearly done him the world of good.

That great album was followed by another, 'Pale Green Ghosts' and now we have album number three, 'Grey Tickels, Black Pressure'. Like his previous work and, as the title suggests, his music offers a mix of witty playfulness and head-dive plunges into the darkest nights of the soul.

Live, he's simply one of the best acts you'll ever see. His openness and warmth with the audience (he famously announced his HIV+ status live on satge before launching into a song with Hercules and the Love Affair at 2012's Meltdown festival), knows no bounds and he's very funny too, often before belting out a song with that tremendous voice which runs the risk of tearing your heart apart. Listen to 'Glacier' or 'It's Easier' and you'll understand. What's more, his ability to get thousands of people into a frenzied sweaty dance heap before shattering them with a song at the piano is quite magical.