I’m currently working on a book project involving late-blooming karaoke icon Len Cohen. Immersing oneself in the minutiae of anybody’s life always gives rise to odd emotional reactions; this is especially tough, not least because from certain angles Cohen looks more than a little like one of my former headmasters (and not just because they’re both Canadians of Eastern European heritage, and roughly the same age).
So… Have you ever had difficulty engaging with the work of a cultural figure because of his/her passing resemblance to an authority figure from your formative years? Did your dentist look like Florence Ballard, or your school caretaker like PJ Proby? Was your pre-teen shoplifting curtailed by a Woolworths security guard who was the spitting image of Ian Paice out of Deep Purple?
Do tell. It’s cheaper than therapy.
