An experimental performance artist and occasional inventor, as well as an avant-garde musicianresponsible for one oftheoddest singles ever to appear in the higher reaches of the UK singles chart,Laurie Anderson's career has seen her workwithfigures ranging from Bobby McFerrin to William S.Boroughs, back to Jean Michel Jarre and Lou Reed. Her 1981 albumBigScience, which became apop success after the support of John Peel, is acknowledged as an enduring cult classic.