"See, the beauty of Cale in the beginning was that he really didn’t know very much about rock. In fact, he knew next to nothing. So, if you turned him loose on an instrument he wasn’t able to play any kind of cliched anything because he didn’t know any of the cliches. It was all original."Sterling Morrison
Fear Is A Man's Best Friend (Est. 1999) is the ultimate unofficial John Cale website
Timeline
A year-by-year account of the highs and lows in his career. Pick a year from the menu and find out what was going on back then.
These pages are updated regularly, filling in blanks, adding quotes, photos, videos and what-not. Contact me if you have something to add.
Popular picks
- 1963 (performing Vexations)
- 1977 (Croydon Chicken)
- 1990 (Velvets back on stage in Jouy-En-Josas)
- 1994 (Performing Eat/Kiss with Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker)
- 2025 (updated quite often, what do you think)
Cale on stage
The timeline is cross-referenced with notable live performances. Visit the extensive setlists archive for an in-depth look of Cale on stage. Each decade is preceded by a page cherry picking highlights.
» Fresh Cale
Order the remastered and expanded Paris 1919 album (2LP, CD) via Domino Records
Order the remastered and expanded The Academy in Peril album (LP, CD) via Domino Records
