The phenomenon soon caught the notice of Michael Barr, another aspiring songwriter living in the same 1 st Avenue apartment block as McGregor. It was during this period of peripatetic living that McGregor’s sleeptalking began to attract serious attention. Having pursued an acting career in Hollywood in the mid-50s he returned to his native New York taking up song writing while settling on the couches and spare rooms of anyone and everyone who offered to take him in. McGregor himself was an interesting character – A gay bohemian drifter and endearing freeloader. This is a place of shouts, laughter and screams. A place where men hunt Griffins and Unicorns, bizarre food rituals involving poisoned éclairs take place and ethnically diverse balloon rides to the moon are the norm. McGregor’s dreams conjure a truly surreal world. While many can claim to have witnessed sleeptalking or been told that they themselves have demonstrated a propensity for dreamy loquacity, what makes McGregor’s case so exceptional is the sheer narrative complexity of his somniloquy. For this exhibition a selection of ‘dream tapes’ have been gathered together alongside relevant texts and recorded interviews. From the early 60s, lasting for around seven years, McGregor’s roommate and sometime songwriting partner Michael Barr recorded around 500 of McGregor’s fascinating nocturnal utterances. Dion McGregor (1922 – 1994) is the greatest sleeptalker in recorded history.
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