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‘I yearned to be a California Girl – but I lived in Burnley’: readers on their love for Brian Wilson

From memories of photoshoots and telephone calls with the late Beach Boy, to appraisals of his complex but pure music, Guardian readers pay tribute to a great

I had the chance to see Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds in Barcelona in 2016, which felt close to a perfect moment, the kind of thing I’d dreamed of as a child. Most people seem unaware of his later work, some of which definitely rivals his finest Pet Sounds moments for its amazing harmonies, arrangements, tender poetic lyrics and haunting melody. I’ve never moved as quick as when I heard his unmistakable voice saying: “Hi James, this is Brian Wilson calling from California.” Luckily I caught him before he hung up and got to tell him how much his music meant to me.

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