Tributes have been pouring in this past week for Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys co-founder and pop music maestro, following his death aged 82. 

But there have been possibly none so personal as the memories of writer David Leaf, who has recalled how he set out for Los Angeles in 1976 with the firm intention of writing a book about Wilson and his work. 

As well as writing his book The Beach Boys and the Californian Myth which was published in 1978, Leaf became close friends with his subject after one particular night when he realised just how sweet, but also fragile, Wilson really was. 

Leaf tells The Times of London he had encountered Wilson a handful of times during his first months in the city, and recognised him as “a deeply gentle, seemingly defeated soul, before one night cemented their friendship. He writes:

“Melody Maker’s West Coast correspondent Harvey Kubernik had rescued Brian as he wandered dangerously in the middle of a busy Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Brian admitted to taking too many downers.

“Harvey and the radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer then drove Brian to what they were certain was safe harbour: my apartment.

“It was well after midnight when there was a knock on my door. I opened it, shocked to see the threesome. The LA scenesters left, Brian came in and asked if I had anything to eat. There were two leftover slices of pizza. After a quick reheating in the toaster oven, he wolfed them down. Then he went to sleep on the living room couch. Around 4am he woke up and asked for a ride home.”

Leaf went on to become friends with Wilson, including serving as an usher at his 1995 wedding to Melinda Ledbetter. The writer recounts often going to dinner with Wilson, and hearing him sing along to the car radio. 

He also recounts a visit by Wilson to perform at HM The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, when the American artist pushed past Ozzy Osbourne to greet Elizabeth II with “Hi, Queen.”

Tributes have come in from across the music industry this week. Sir Paul McCartney, who always credited Wilson’s God Only Knows as his favourite ever song, said: 

“Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special. The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time. I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while. How we will continue without Brian Wilson, ‘God Only Knows.’”

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