New Jack Vettriano self-portrait for St Jude's Infirmary
Along Came a Spider Two of Scotland’s heavyweight artists have teamed up to help new band St Jude’s Infirmary with their new album . Ian Rankin and Jack Vettriano have made contributions with Rankin penning lyrics and recording tracks and Vettriano creating a self-portrait for its latest album, released this weekend St Jude’s Infirmary will showcase This Has Been The Death of Us on Saturday, also unveiling its unique artwork – created by Vettriano after he was so moved by one of its songs he painted the self-portrait as a gift.
The album is all about Edinburgh, described as a “love letter to Edinburgh” by the band who have written about its streets and pubs, with the help of Rankin and Vettriano.
Bassist Grant Campbell, 34, from Abbeyhill, said: “There is no question Ian and Jack have become great patrons for the band. “I am sure there will be people who will be wary of their involvement, but when they hear the album they’ll appreciate their value. Ian has an amazing syncopation to his spoken word and Jack has a voice that sounds like it’s been dug up from the coalfield.”
St Jude’s Infirmary will perform an acoustic set at the launch of the album, on Saturday night, at the National Portrait Gallery. It has not yet been confirmed whether Rankin and Vettriano will attend. Jack Vettriano is one of the UK’s top selling artists with The Singing Butler being his most famous artwork .
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Jack Vettriano was born in St Andrews , Fife, Scotland in 1951 and grew up in the mining town of Methil . He was raised in poverty – he lived with his mother, father and older brother in a spartan miner’s house, sharing a bed with his brother and wearing hand-me-down clothes. From the age of 10, his father sent him out doing any job that would earn money. His father took half his earnings. After leaving school at 15, he followed his father down the mine, working as an apprentice engineer. Vettriano took up painting as a hobby in the 1970s when a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his birthday and from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint.
In 1984, Vettriano first submitted his work to an art exhibition in the museum . Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson , Sir Terence Conran and Sir Tim Rice are amongst his fans .
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