But I did become familiar with lovely voices of Jane Birkin and Madeline Peyroux singing Tom Wait's stuff

Plus, I buy songs I already like by cover artists I generally want to like but dont always intially get...errm examples? Christy Moore (Fairy Tale in New York) & Rufus Wainright (Hallelullah)

Also...I thank adverts for introducing me to

Penguin Cafe Orchestra: Music for a Found Harmonium
Arthur Russell: This Is How We Walk On the Moon
Simone White: Simone White: The Beep Beep Song

I had a Screaming Tribesman LP and I played it a few times and it had only one decent song on it "Stay With Me."

I hadn't heard the song before but it was so obviously superior to the rest of the LP that I actually guessed it was a cover. Sure enough I checked and it was. I thought "Maybe I should be listening to those blokes instead"

I soon got "Go Girl Crazy" and probably never listened to the Screaming Tribesmen again.

I also only got Funhouse by The Stooges after hearing the Birthday Party's version of "Loose" on "Drunk on the Pope's Blood." As anyone who has the album will tell you that was a very good move on my part.

....covering "My Old Fiend The Blues". (1988).

I already owned Steve Earles "Exit 0" and loved it but for some reason had never bought the one before it. When I spotted the credit on the Proclaimers album I bought it right away and my love affair began in earnest.

"Honest I Do" was OK as interpreted by those Rolling chaps but Jimmy's original is a scorcher, as are many others which were also covered extensively.