26.3.2012 
With winter passing into spring why not check out our album of Shelley songs 'Percy Bysshe Shelley: Rock Star' which can now be found on Spotify for a free listen. Spending 37 minutes in the company of the poet can't be bad, and returning to it you find new meanings as life passes on. And 'Turbulent Times', my song released on YouTube at the end of 2011 and on iTunes with 'Asian Highway', is I reckon a timely release for our era. On the first day of 2012 Turbulent Times it was mentioned in the Observer, which commented:
‘Observer’ reader John Webster has risen admirably to the challenge of suggesting an appropriate soundtrack for the economy in 2012. Instead of listing a few suitably apocalyptic hit tunes from the recession-hit 1980s, he’s composed one of his own ... which takes in a broad sweep of history, from Waterloo to the collapse of Lehman Brother. His refrain is simple: ‘Turbulent times, turbulent times, sometimes you’re gonna live in turbulent times’. Indeed'. It reflects the recent economic and other turmoils but looks for perspective and a sense of direction. In the YouTube version, Marlene Dietrich makes an appearance, which can't be bad., and spot the very fine poster produced by Norwegian students. I made an appearance on the Malcolm Boyden show on Radio Oxford on 13.1.2012 to talk about the song; I hope to post the interview soon.
2011 also saw the release of my re-worked collection of Byron songs, and upgraded versions of the two songs on 'John Keats's sublime single'. So, with the 12 song 'Shelley album' 'Percy Bysshe Shelley: Rock Star' I seem to have completed my collections of Romantics songs, begun in 1975.Available in download form or on CD they let the poets speak for themselves in the post-Beatles audio world, freeing them from the printed page. You can connect with great spirits through the songs, and the three collections - which are in exactly the same format and spirit as the album 'An appointment with Mr Yeats' by the Waterboys - are a refreshing and thought-provoking addition to anyone's music collection.
I'm also publishing two short stories with an Indian theme on Kindle. They're children's stories which hopefully can be enjoyed by adults: one is called 'Santa Claus in India' and can be accessed here. It gives a new slant on an old story, and urges tolerance in a world often scarred by often scarred by its opposite. The second is on its way.... All the best,John Webster, Pathfinder Audio
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