Fire Escape in the Sky: the Godlike Genius of Scott Walker

At once an almost outrageous act of naked fanboyism — Julian Cope, riding high with the Teardrop Explodes, was enthralled by Walker and persuaded the band’s manager Bill Drummond to license tracks for a release on his Zoo label — and a canny act of marketing, thanks to Cope’s choice of a gray cover and no liner notes given Walker’s general UK reputation as a long-failed MOR act, 1981’s Fire Escape In The Sky drew on Walker’s first five solo albums to make the case for him as an innovative, powerful artist and singer almost hiding in plain sight.