"It's hard to describe the Ledge. He was discovered on The Gong Show many years ago in America. He basically just shouts and screams. He's a cowboy. He was recording in the 1970s but he's still going now. This is his latest compilation. I met him a couple of months ago when I was on my American tour. Bowie's a big fan too. He got the idea for the name Ziggy Stardust from the Ledge and he covered 'I Took a Trip (On a Gemini Spaceship)' on one of his albums [Heathen, 2002]. The Ledge is an extraordinary character. He plays the bugle during some of his tracks. If you ever see him, bring earmuffs. He's not very musical. I used to play his song 'Paralyzed' before my gigs at the Marquee in '77 just to confuse the audience and set the tone for the night. Complete pandemonium. Some of the songs he writes are… [trails off, lost for words] He's obsessed with Nasa and space flights, which I'm into too. I loved the space missions. The visuals and the way they got there. It's science fact. They were like cowboys in space. But The Ledge took it one step further. I'd be quite interested to see what other people think if they check him out. He's not to everybody's taste. The album is an anthology of tracks like 'My Underwear Froze to the Clothesline' and 'Standing in a Trashcan'. It's all good stuff. The names refer to Fergie [Duchess of York], Raquel Welch and Bowie. They're all fans of the Ledge. [laughs]"

"This is another great example of repetition, something simple and small that carries a huge resonance. There’s that line he keeps repeating: 'Don’t give up, 2000 man.' That whole record has got this incredible apocalyptic feel and the scene they paint over and over again is one of Earth covered in detritus from this era that’s become obsolete; something happened to humans and now all their crap is left everywhere, their computer keyboards and so on. “I’ve used that idea six times in my own band: the title ‘Qwerty Finger’ is about a qwerty keyboard that washes up on a beach and at the end of ‘NASA Is On Your Side’ you’ve got children climbing over fridges. It’s because that imagery is so powerful and I don’t think anyone really went there again. “I kind of believe that will happen and I don’t know if I believe it because of Grandaddy or because it’s a rational thing to think, but I do and I do still believe that our time will pass and all of our technology and crap will come to nothing. That’s a big influence for a band to have on a little boy I think. “This song is probably the best one on there and the way it just keeps on going is incredible, both in terms of its length and that churning message: 'Don’t give up'. It made me feel that I was the start of life around that age, the ‘2000 man’ and that’s very powerful stuff if you hit the right kid at the right time."