The singer/songwriter was a resident of Botley, but born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and lost his battle with cancer on Monday night.

Even though his career began in the 70’s fronting ‘Doll by Doll, and although he has about 30 solo albums to his name, Jackie was still being labelled a new act by BBC Radio 2 in 2010.

“I have long thought of Jackie as Britain’s lost rock star.” Says Neil McCormick, the Daily Telegraph’s chief rock music critic and one of Jackie’s biggest champions.

The young Jackie Leven had the same dangerous magnetism as Oliver Reed in that a drink and a fight weren’t far away. As Neil eloquently describes Doll by Doll: “They were positively scary live, you thought they might jump off the stage and punch the audience, but the toughness of Leven’s persona was counterbalanced by the tender depths of their songs.”

Leven’s voice sets him apart from almost any other performer and once you felt the emotion it never left you.

The frustrations of knowing that he should have had wider recognition are tempered by the fact that over the coming years many people will discover this ‘new’ artist called Jackie Leven.

As Neil McCormick summed up: “…to those who knew, he was the real deal. His work has incredible depth and resonance. I have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of him.”

You can hear an interview with Jackie Leven and Xan Phillips on Playdio.com

He has also covered the Maitreya/Creme story in his book “The Spiritual Tourist” and once made a revealing documentary for BBC Radio 4 in which Crème not only spoke about his life’s mission to bring Maitreya to the public’s attention but also revealed what is was like to work with a “Master of Wisdom”.

But even though a writer of his standing is bringing this story to people’s attention you are left wishing that there were other journalists of Mick Brown calibre prepared to stick their neck out and create more awareness of Maitreya and the possibible benefits his emergency would make around the planet.

However “the sit back and wait approach” is apparently the way forward as Maitreya (under another name) will be interviewed on American TV a week or so after the “Christmas Miracle”.

Yet here we are, two days into the New Year and still no sign of any bright lights in the sky.

However I still haven’t stopped looking up at every opportunity hoping to catch that first glimpse of this new celestial object.

I’m usually looking to the north as logic dictates that if you are going to cause people to look up in awe, day and night, then away from the sun would be a sensible idea.

And we’ve had some lovely clear days and nights in England, almost perfect conditions since Christmas but still nothing.

Although remember this: Christmas is twelve days long and the last day, Epiphany, is on January 6th

I only recently found out that Epiphany in Greek means “to manifest” or “to show”. So there is always hope of impeccable timing.

Yet the disturbing situation in the middle-east could prove a hindrance. With the Israelis attacking the Palestinians in Gaza I’m wondering if a cease-fire is needed before any light comes from above. Or would a new star in the sky cause people to stop their war?