When great minds think alike

WHETHER it’s David Bowie and Bing Crosby bonding beneath the mistletoe or Shane MacGowan sharing a recording booth with those three warbling priests, odd couples are by no means a rarity in the music business.

Few alliances, though, feel as far-fetched as that of ‘bloke lit’ doyen Nick Hornby and ironic singer-songwriter Ben Folds, who recently got together to record an album worth of wistful piano pop entitled Lonely Avenue.

“We’ve been talking about doing something for years,” says Folds. “I was working on a record with William Shatner and I met Nick backstage at one of the shows. That’s where it started. I always guessed he’d do something like this. I was honoured he chose to do it with me.”