Buzzin TV

Edwyn Collins: Home Again, BBC2 11.20pm (first shown on 22nd February on BBC4)

This wonderful documentary followed the road to recovery of Edwyn Collins, the successful pop artist and former Orange Juice lead singer / guitarist after a death defying illness.

In 2005 Edwyn Collins miraculously survived a brain haemorrhage and MRSA following two strokes in quick succession. Edwyn was left paralysed down the right side of his body, not good for a guitar player!

Edwyn had lost the motor and linguistic skills necessary to read and write. He has had to learn these skills again, as well as walking.

The documentary showed his wife Grace and son William caring for him, helping him to keep in touch with fans and well wishers through his official MySpace page and visiting favourite places in Scotland.

His progress through the beginning of last year that was documented was incredible and a testament to his character as a human being. The documentary culminated in a sold out live perfomance at Dingwalls in Camden, London in August 2007.

I began watching the documentary with uncontrollable tears running down my face, watching Edwyn not being able to string a sentence together, and giving up trying to think of an answer to give, this form a very quick witted man who always had something to say, was very disturbing. But with the love and care of his wonderful wife Grace, he began making great progress. There was a particluarly touching scene where Grace helped Edwyn play guitar by strumming while he concentrating on chord shapes with his left hand.

Edwyn Collins’ most commercially successful songs were A Girl Like You (1994) and Rip It Up (with Orange Juice, 1985). But I have followed his career since 1981. Before his illness, Edwyn Collins recorded his tenth studio album, Home Again.  It was released in September 2007.

Edwyn Collins manages his own MySpace page with the help of his son, William