In 1973, the singer-songwriter Kevin Coyne, who has died of lung fibrosis aged 60, released his second album, Marjory Razor Blade. It was well received by critics, although his wantonly mannered and guttural delivery, exploration of unorthodox song structure and often improvised lyrics concerning unsavoury topics were not conducive to chart success. His dour and self-effacing manner did not help in interviews, either. Indeed, Virgin's press office referred to him as an "anti-star". Nevertheless, largely through Radio One presenter John Peel's championing, Coyne built a cult following. What he was proving was the artistic merit of sweating over something new while more celebrated contemporaries turned out increasingly ordinary albums. He toured New Zealand and North America, and released a further seven Virgin albums - while their spin-off singles were worthwhile marketing exercises.

If he meant nothing in the Top 40, Coyne was appreciated as a songwriter's songwriter, and collaborated with musicians such as Zoot Money, Andy Summers, Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt and, for 1979's Babble, Dagmar Krause, the mainstay of Slapp Happy and Henry Cow. He earned, too, the admiration of Johnny Rotten and Sting. Coyne was infinitely less precious and artistically self-centred than other artists of that era, such as Nick Drake, Melanie Safka and James Taylor, whose primarily acoustic albums appealed more to self-doubting adolescent diarists than fans of heavy metal, jazz-rock and similar genres that dominated early 1970s rock. Born in Derby, Coyne was educated at Joseph Wright school of art from 1957 to 1961 and then studied graphics and painting at Derby school of art from 1961 to 1965. He was also performing, mostly in folk clubs, where he sometimes provoked the extreme audience reaction that became more pronounced after he turned professional. From 1965 to 1968, Coyne worked as a social therapist at Whittingham hospital, Preston. He then worked for London's Soho Project as a drugs counsellor. These experiences - and a fondness for the grippingly personal styles of black rural bluesmen - informed his early attempts at composition as a vocalist with Siren, a blues-rock quartet, contracted to Peel's Dandelion record company. Aided by plugs from Peel, two singles and two albums sold steadily if unremarkably before Siren disbanded in 1972. By then married and a father, Coyne quit his day job and struck out on his own with a solo album, Case History, and a European tour with other Dandelion artists. He also ventured into musical theatre via a revue at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. Then came the contract with Virgin.