Christopher Booker:

Tweedy's trade started with a love of punk rock. Bands like the Ramones, the Clash and the Minutemen. A bicycle accident kept him indoors for an entire summer – to pass the time, he picked up the guitar stashed in his closet.

As a teenager, he played in a number of cover bands, before co-founding Uncle Tupelo – a critical darling of the early 90's credited with spawning an entire new genre of music – alt-country.

But after four albums, his partner and childhood friend Jay Farrar announced he was no longer interested in making music with Tweedy and that he was leaving the band.