February 1965, London
Age 17, I start working at a record shop on Edgware Rd. near Marble Arch on Saturday mornings to earn pocket money. I want to know more about the-then mysterious Nina Simone and ask the ‘a-little-too-free-with-his-hands’ manager Mr. Green if w”e have any LPs by her. We have one in the jazz section, “Nina Simone At Town Hall. I take the sole copy, go into the little record booth which is set up for customers to preview records before they buy them. I drop the needle on the first track, ‘Black Is The Colour Of My True Love’s Hair’ and literally tears begin to roll down my cheeks… on some beyond-understanding level, Nina’s voice touches somewhere deep within me that my very soul recognises….
