When you write out Joe Boyd’s biography in bullet points, it looks almost unbelievable: production manager when Dylan went electric at Newport; co-founder of London’s UFO club; enabler of Britain’s folk-rock boom; music supervisor for Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange; producer of Nick Drake, Nico and REM; champion of world music via his Hannibal label.
All of these experiences and more have fed into his new book, a mightily impressive tome called And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain (after a lyric from Paul Simon’s Graceland). Subtitled A Journey Through Global Music, it explores – in a series of compelling anecdotes – how Western popular music is interwoven with and indebted to cultures from all around the world.
Boyd has kindly agreed to take some time out from his current book tour to submit to a gentle grilling from you, the Uncut readers. So what do you want to ask this font of all musical knowledge? Send your questions to audiencewith@uncut.co.uk and Joe will answer the best ones in a future issue of Uncut.