Logically, Evan Dando should be a has-been by now.

The enigmatic singer/songwriter is still best known for a cover version he released 11 years ago with his band The Lemonheads.

His recording of Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs Robinson - originally intended as a throwaway B-side - became a worldwide hit and catapulted him to stardom.

But the artist, once voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, was uncomfortable with his fame.

He admits: "I just wanted to mess it up as much as possible." The reluctant rock idol began hanging out with Nirvana's troubled frontman Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love but elements of the underground music scene reacted against Dando.

His intimate, tuneful ditties seemed out of step with the aggressive nihilism of the grunge era.

Musically, Dando struggled to repeat the success of The Lemonheads' first album, It's a Shame About Ray and responded in rock 'n' roll fashion - with drink, drugs and breakdown.

After Cobain killed himself in 1994, Dando was left directionless.

He spent time in a drug-fuelled haze with the new and exciting Oasis but his lowest point came in 1995 when he was arrested while high on acid at a Sydney airport.

After playing their final gig at the Reading Festival, The Lemonheads split in 1997 and Dando's career seemed to be in free fall.

Writing became increasingly difficult and the suicide of his friend had a profound effect on him.

"Everything was going", he admits. However, the new millennium meant a fresh start. He kicked his drug habit, married his new sweetheart Elizabeth, and met his latest song-writing partner, Jon Briton, before returning to the studio for the first time in years.

But Dando's life was transformed following the September 11 terror atrocities.

He was on the roof of his apartment when he saw the second United Airlines jet scream overhead before crashing into the north tower.

"Our building shook when the towers fell. We really thought we were going to die that day. I thought from now on, I want to make something of my life."

The result is a new album and a European tour. On Baby I'm Bored, his first LP in eight years, Dando enlisted the help of old friends like glam rockers Spacehog to create a mix of indie and bitter-sweet country music.

Crucially, the record retains the distinctive element of mystery that has surrounded Dando's recordings since his early years with The Lemonheads.

Baby I'm Bored is a pleasing return to form for Dando, now 36.

He has risen from the ashes of a doomed career to forge a welcome comeback.

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