John Wesley Harding, What Was the First Album You Ever Bought?

“I had a friend who had a very influential older brother with a fantastic record collection, so at a very young age, I was able to listen to Bowie, the Stones, the Velvet Underground and John Cale albums. Stuff that wasn’t necessarily being played on the radio back then. And I still like those albums quite a lot.

But I think that the first record album that I bought myself was ‘Yellow Submarine’ by the Beatles. At least, I think so.”

Author Wesley Stace (aka singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding) hosts Cabinet of Wonderkids – an upstate version of his acclaimed variety show Cabinet of Wonders – at the Spotty Dog in Hudson at 8pm on Saturday (May 24). The evening will feature David Grand, Emma Jane Tourtelot, Tyson Hauf with Karen Schoemer and Amy Rigby, plus a reading/performance by Stace himself. Admission is by donation.

For more than 25 years, as singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding, Stace toured the world, appearing on rock’s biggest stages, releasing 15 albums and earning an international following. Now, after three historical novels published alongside his musical career, Stace offers a fictional backstage pass to the world he knows so well. The tale of a rock band that suddenly finds success – in the world of children’s music – Stace’s new novel “Wonderkid” is an entertaining and surprisingly touching novel of the dangers of compromise, thwarted ambition, and fathers and sons.