Post by rockinronnie on Feb 28, 2014 21:06:06 GMT
Q - It's been a while since you worked with Quo. I was surprised that you reacted to a question on the Message Board. That means - I guess - that you still 'follow' the band (?)
A - Yes of course, not as much since I’ve been in the States but I did get a CD. of I.S.O.T.F.C. which prompted me to email Francis to say that I thought it was a brilliant title and I enjoyed the album and also to get a number for Pip because I wanted to tell him the same.
Pip and I had lost touch in the past few years and the last time we had talked was just after the very sad passing of our fellow Producer friend Gus Dudgeon and his wife Sheila.
When Pip and I re-established contact he mentioned the Status Quo Message Board and how he had had a bit of a bashing by some of the members. I must admit I was unaware of the SQMB until this point and in May of this year I signed up and started to browse around and was amazed at the topics and followings. I really didn’t think after what Pip had shared with me I wanted to get involved so just left it alone. Then about a month ago I had this very vivid dream of being in a completely new studio with Francis it was really weird and I have no explanation for it, although it could have been the mushrooms from the night before! So that morning I logged onto the message board and saw a thread from member Per about J.S./N.T.L. Some of what was being said just wasn’t accurate and got my tail wagging and so that’s when I jumped in. I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about a few things and especially my respect for Pip. I guess I was hoping to pave a way for him to come back to the SQMB again.
I think he has much to contribute to the SQMB about recordings he was involved in from ‘77 to the present time, it a pretty impressive span of time he’s had now with S.Q. in all the line up changes.
Q - You produced two Quo-albums (Just Supposin' and Never too late) and worked as an engineer for another three (Rockin' all over the world, If you can't stand the heat and Whatever you want). You worked together with Pip Williams, who you met in 1977. What's the story between you two?
A - Well Pip and I actually met earlier than that in 1975. He was playing guitar on a session I was Engineering at The Marquee Studios for Mark Wesley who was a DJ on Radio Luxemburg for many years but also wrote and produced material.
Pip was at the time one of the most sought after session players and a very talented musical arranger. He was also Producing and subsequent to this initial session Pip brought me in to work on the tail end of an album by Chris Andrews (“I’m a Yesterday Man” fame) which he had Produced at Lansdowne Studios with John Mackswith Engineering. This was the start of our relationship and I worked as Engineer on his Productions from this point up to W.Y.W. We worked on albums with Artist’s such as Mud/Catherine Howe/Bardot/Heroes/Kit Hain/Graham Bonnet and solo projects with the late Les Gray (Mud) and Brian Connolly (Sweet).
This was a very memorable time for me working alongside Pip with some great talent and getting to explore dozens of different studios.
Q - What’s the main difference between producing an album and engineering it?
A - I was asked this question and gave a detailed answer on The SQMB but just to add to this:
The roles often overlay each other but the financial rewards can be very different in the respect that Producers usually receive an advance payment against a percentage of the sales of the albums sold and the Engineer receives a flat fee or hourly rate. Great if there are actual album sales but due to our current technologies which embrace illegal downloading who actual sells albums anymore? Only way to make it for an Artist today seems the touring aspect, maybe Producer’s should get a percentage (on a pro rata basis of the Producers songs performed) of ticket sales? Now steady on Pupcious we’ll have to put the nuzzle on you soon!!
On some albums I’ve Produced I’ve worked with different Engineers on others I’ve worn both badges.
Q - When you produce an album, how do you start working - listen to the demos/songs, talking to the band about what they want, discussing the possibility's etc.?
A - No exact formulae to the whole chain of events, could be receiving a demo tape from a label or manager, seeing a band live. Sometimes I’d receive a call for the label A&R inviting me to come by the office and listen to a bands demos or just feedback on song idea. If this meeting was positive then I would subsequently meet with the band to see how the chemistry was between us, discuss ideas for the production, past experiences and talk about studio choices. With S.Q. when we got to the J.S./N.T.L. period the songs that had been written by Francis, Bernie and Andy I’d already worked on the original versions at Francis’s home studio before they were presented to the band in Ireland.
Alan and Richard's material was put forward when we actually got to the studio and final touches were done to songs back at the hotel after recording that day and in the studio at times when we were overdubbing on other previous recorded tracks.
When working with a solo artist (who may not write) a single may be found first then I’d search for material from other writer’s and publishers to complete the album.
Q - On the (official) message board you say that you always felt that the vinyl singles sounded better than the vinyl albums. I didn't get that. What do you mean exactly?
A - I was referring to R.A.O.T.W. only. There were too many songs on each side of the album which led to compromises in the sound. This was concerning the length of material (# of songs) on each side of the vinyl album versus one song on each side of a 7” single. It was not necessary to make the same compromises for one song on a 7” single.
Q - Don't know if you know the site backwateronline. They have a few interviews published. That with Alan Lancaster is very interesting. He says: The band drifted away musically on 1+9+8+2... Well it started with Rockin' all over the world. That's when we started to go wrong, because we always produced our own albums. Up until then it was all us, and then Pip Williams came in with a completely different technique... etc. Your comment on this please...
A - Oh Arjan it’s not fair that you ask me this question I thought this was going to be an easy interview…..anyway I’ll do my best.
Up to R.A.O.T.W. the band always lived pretty close together apart from John I think all in the same County. I think writers are influenced by there surroundings. I’ve lived in the States now collectively for 16 years and if I was a songwriter I know the influences around me here are completely different than being in the U.K. What I’m saying is that any references to “drifting away musically” would not have been helped by Alan’s move to Australia. He was in a different environment. I think his melodies and lyrics changed over these years after his move. The band input at recording made his songs much heavier than the impression of the demos presented.
I recall on Wild Ones Francis in particular saw the potential in this song and had a great deal to do with how it turned out. I always felt Francis was/is always interested first and foremost in the best song for S.Q. no matter who wrote it. Accident Prone that Pip and Peter Hutchings wrote is a good example of this. It is a great song perfect for the S.Q. treatment and Francis was really into doing this one and pushed heavily for it to be a single. I should have charted much higher in my opinion.
Now regarding 1+9+8+2 I was not there neither was Pip. This album was Produced by Status Quo, this was what Alan wanted to get back to? And was surely an opportunity for Alan to put all things right - what happened? – John walked out, nothing new about that just part of the course of recording a S.Q. album. Only thing was neither Pip nor I was there to talk with him, try to understand his concerns and get him back behind the kit again. John is a great drummer when on form and into the song and finding those moments was all part of the recording process. Just as it was on occasions overdubbing Alan’s Bass parts to make them better than the original track. Sometimes we could spend most of a day just doing that and the results I think were always worth while. Alan has his style of playing with the pick and I he always laid down a solid bass track.
Simply at this stage (from R.A.O.T.W.) Status Quo needed a Producer or if you like referee in the control room. I think whilst great albums had been made on there own with all the unique personalities surfacing in different intensities and length of time they had been together even then called for someone being in the chair. Pip’s presence did bring a different technique and that was the point of him being there. It’s important to understand though that if any member of the band had an objection to an idea Pip would listen carefully and give great consideration to what was being said. NEVER was it that he dug his heals in and said that’s the way it had to be, everyone had an equal input. When Pip did play an odd guitar line it was always when Francis said he might as well do it. Not that Francis couldn’t play the part just it was sometimes quicker if Pip played a short phrase he had in his head. Never saw this as any biggie in the whole scheme of things.
Q - Alan says about Rockin' all over the world in the same interview: It wasn't a bad album, but the only thing that made that album was really the song RAOTW. After the album we should have dumped Pip.... Again your comment (I also read somewhere that Alan was against recording the song RAOTW, but I don't know if that's true).
A - From what I understand R.A.O.T.W. was the bands most successful album they had made. Just can’t see why you want to dump someone i.e. Pip who was part of that process. The song which was Richard’s idea to record came in at the very end of the sessions. I can’t remember if Alan was for or against recording it but there was some disagreement. Perhaps Pip will be able to answer this question in more detail. Thankfully we did do two more albums together, after which Francis led the way for me to work with them on what became J.S. and N.T.L. After which I was “dumped” after a band/management meeting that took place in Richard’s dining room at “Hyden Ridge” with me in the control room next door. Isolation was not that great and I got the gist that Alan didn’t want me around after N.T.L.
In hindsight I’d just got to close with Richard and Francis working in both there home studios. Alan’s song contributions where not that plentiful and in all honestly I was not his biggest fan vocally so who can blame him for wanting me out of the chair. Living in Australia I can’t see helped his power struggle within the band and as a co founder he did like to control things.
I was also involved in the solo project with Marietta which upset management that I was shopping these masters at Phonogram- purely because that was the way Marietta wanted it.
All this became points against me in the politics of S.Q. Gosh now I am going on but just to end this question.. At the end of R.A.O.T.W. I saw no evidence in the studio from Alan that there was any reason to dump Pip. Gosh it was even discussed about him going on the road with the band for the tour!
Q - Another thing Alan said... After the recording of Just Supposin' the band stayed in the studio and Never too late was produced short afterwards. He called Never too late a 'throw away album', full of tracks that weren't ready...
Your comment on that...
A - You know Arjan the more we go through this its really clear Alan was not in a happy place in his life when he did these interviews you’ve quoted. I hope time heals his anger and he will come across as a much happier person in the future. In much of what I’ve read almost everyone and everything just seems wrong in Alan’s view and whilst certainly there was friction (it was a band after all) it really wasn’t quite like that from my memories in the studio… .
As I have said on the SQMB it was never we finished J.S. then stayed in the studio to do N.T.L. we just kept recording the material we had ready at the time.
Alan is certainly correct that we didn’t have quite enough material ready for two albums at the time we were in Windmill Lane however I would strongly disagree with him saying that N.T.L. is an album full of tracks that weren’t ready.
The “throwaway” comment I’ve only ever read from Alan’s interviews. Francis has said that he felt N.T.L. suffered and I wish we could have done all the basic tracks in the same studio but we ran out of time. I’ve often thought that it would have been great if some time was spent jamming on ideas in the studio as a band.
However recordings with S.Q. were just not made like that in my period (with the exception of AB Blues). Everyone had there writing camps and with great credit to Andy he had the ability to work well on co writes between Francis, Richard and Alan. Andy is the quiet one but deserves much respect for his writing contributions and diplomatic role he has played with S.Q.
Anyway as I said we did 16 tracks in Dublin, 9 of which went onto J.S.
That left 7 songs that we did in Dublin (70% of NTL).
We were certainly a little short on leaving Dublin but 7 tracks was still very substantial. In hindsight maybe Don’t Drive My Car should have gone on N.T.L. and not been used as Double A with Lies which I think was a bit of a waste. Francis came up with a cassette of Glen Campbell doing SABYBIL and put it forward. I always thought it would be a great single and so we came to cut that and Oh Carol.
Q - What do you do nowadays? Producing which bands etc.
A - After my time with S.Q. ended in 1981 I spent a year trying to find a new Artist to Produce but couldn’t get arrested anywhere in the Phonogram/Polygram group. Although I had my suspicions as to “why” I never had proof until several years later when Gibson Kemp A&R@ Polygram did ask me to produce/engineer tracks for a Spanish Heavy Metal band called Jupiter. During the Jupiter sessions he told me that a memo (that had been instigated by S.Q. management at the time) had been circulated around there offices not to hire me for any projects. So vindictive were certain people surrounding the band at that time, not only did they not want me working with the band anymore but didn’t want me to work with anyone else at the label either.
Well thing’s picked up in 1982 when I got a call from Muff Winwood A&R manager at CBS and the result of the meeting was “Der Kommissar” by After The Fire which reached #5 in the US Billboard chart. Following up from that a few years later I was back in the chair Producing The Partners In Crime album with J.C. and Noel McCalla on vocals just an incredible voice and great guy. It was good to work with John again which at least showed he had no problem working with me again nor me with him. He played really well on this album and was completely relaxed and I know he was very happy with the results and regards it as a brilliant album. Despite some great press reviews it lacked label promotion and didn’t sell well. If you don’t have a copy of this record try to find it, the song “Gypsy Tricks” is one of many great drum tracks from J.C.
This we recorded in Scotland in a small village called Pencaitland in what was the original school building. Calum Malcom was the owner and engineer and it was a real pleasure working with him. It was a studio I had discovered firstly when working with a Glasgow band The Kissing Bandits (WEA Records) and then later when I Produced the Nazareth album The Catch. I had a good run for 14 years really after S.Q. Producing other Artists that included Andy Fraser (Bass Player with Free ) with an album called “Fine Fine Line” which was recorded in Los Angeles. I worked with French Canadian Artist Daniel Lavoie in Quebec City, Canada and the 1st single sold over 1 million in France alone. Produced with Sting a fabulous percussion player and singer called Vinx which again I recorded in Los Angeles which had by then become my home. Built and lost a fortune on a couple of studios and then gave my “ears a rest” in Florida for 11 years. During this time I established a real estate /property management and rental business, quite a change from Producing but good to re-charge and bring me back to the point of being really excited about music again.
This year the family moved to Nashville and I’m having probably the best period of my life so far - despite all the economic doom and gloom. I’m on a search for new writers and artists and this is simply an incredible place to be.
At the time of doing this interview I’ve just started to work on song selection for a new country (really rock/blues) duo which I’ll talk about later as the material develops.
I think daily about how important it is to find a solution to the MP3 plague, downloading and how the industry continues to decline. Despite all the frustrations of vinyl it was a period when records actually were sold over the counter before the digital genie was let out of the bottle and went wild.
Q -(last question). Pip works with Quo again, since a long time. You have still contact with him. Did you work with him in the nineties?? Would you like to work with him again on a new Quo-album?
A - We’ve always been mates and hope that never changes. Sometime’s we don’t speak for a year or so but that doesn’t matter we just pick up. The last time we worked together was 28 years ago, wow – no wonder the grayness has appeared. As I moved into Producing I understand Pip has developed more Engineering skills and he now Engineers many of his Productions. Pip has had a team of great Engineers he’s worked with over the years and I know he would give consideration quite rightly to these relationships.
Anyway I’d never rule out any possibility I’m sure our egos could fit behind the board together again. Not sure about my girth as its expanded 11 inches since I was 21 (needs some compression at 20:1) so would probably have to take up Atkins diet for a while! In all seriousness Francis had indicated he was thinking about putting the old team back together and “would I be interested” in a conversation we had in 2005. At that time it was not possible for me as I was running a couple of businesses that I could not just leave so had to say no. Things are different now these businesses have been sold but it’s all about timing.
Of recent events though on the SQMB was the suggestion by member ANT made we remix Rocking All Over the World – THIS REALLY SHOULD BE DONE - maybe to revisit the one where it all began for us both it would be a good place to restart or maybe the issues now are just too complex - only time will tell.
Finally it’s just great that we still have Status Quo recording and on the road, I love a great deal of the post FF period just as much as the time from before. Whilst vocal ranges have changed the playing is tighter than ever.
I’m enjoying following the current tour from afar thanks to one bit of technology we now all take for granted…..
A - Yes of course, not as much since I’ve been in the States but I did get a CD. of I.S.O.T.F.C. which prompted me to email Francis to say that I thought it was a brilliant title and I enjoyed the album and also to get a number for Pip because I wanted to tell him the same.
Pip and I had lost touch in the past few years and the last time we had talked was just after the very sad passing of our fellow Producer friend Gus Dudgeon and his wife Sheila.
When Pip and I re-established contact he mentioned the Status Quo Message Board and how he had had a bit of a bashing by some of the members. I must admit I was unaware of the SQMB until this point and in May of this year I signed up and started to browse around and was amazed at the topics and followings. I really didn’t think after what Pip had shared with me I wanted to get involved so just left it alone. Then about a month ago I had this very vivid dream of being in a completely new studio with Francis it was really weird and I have no explanation for it, although it could have been the mushrooms from the night before! So that morning I logged onto the message board and saw a thread from member Per about J.S./N.T.L. Some of what was being said just wasn’t accurate and got my tail wagging and so that’s when I jumped in. I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about a few things and especially my respect for Pip. I guess I was hoping to pave a way for him to come back to the SQMB again.
I think he has much to contribute to the SQMB about recordings he was involved in from ‘77 to the present time, it a pretty impressive span of time he’s had now with S.Q. in all the line up changes.
Q - You produced two Quo-albums (Just Supposin' and Never too late) and worked as an engineer for another three (Rockin' all over the world, If you can't stand the heat and Whatever you want). You worked together with Pip Williams, who you met in 1977. What's the story between you two?
A - Well Pip and I actually met earlier than that in 1975. He was playing guitar on a session I was Engineering at The Marquee Studios for Mark Wesley who was a DJ on Radio Luxemburg for many years but also wrote and produced material.
Pip was at the time one of the most sought after session players and a very talented musical arranger. He was also Producing and subsequent to this initial session Pip brought me in to work on the tail end of an album by Chris Andrews (“I’m a Yesterday Man” fame) which he had Produced at Lansdowne Studios with John Mackswith Engineering. This was the start of our relationship and I worked as Engineer on his Productions from this point up to W.Y.W. We worked on albums with Artist’s such as Mud/Catherine Howe/Bardot/Heroes/Kit Hain/Graham Bonnet and solo projects with the late Les Gray (Mud) and Brian Connolly (Sweet).
This was a very memorable time for me working alongside Pip with some great talent and getting to explore dozens of different studios.
Q - What’s the main difference between producing an album and engineering it?
A - I was asked this question and gave a detailed answer on The SQMB but just to add to this:
The roles often overlay each other but the financial rewards can be very different in the respect that Producers usually receive an advance payment against a percentage of the sales of the albums sold and the Engineer receives a flat fee or hourly rate. Great if there are actual album sales but due to our current technologies which embrace illegal downloading who actual sells albums anymore? Only way to make it for an Artist today seems the touring aspect, maybe Producer’s should get a percentage (on a pro rata basis of the Producers songs performed) of ticket sales? Now steady on Pupcious we’ll have to put the nuzzle on you soon!!
On some albums I’ve Produced I’ve worked with different Engineers on others I’ve worn both badges.
Q - When you produce an album, how do you start working - listen to the demos/songs, talking to the band about what they want, discussing the possibility's etc.?
A - No exact formulae to the whole chain of events, could be receiving a demo tape from a label or manager, seeing a band live. Sometimes I’d receive a call for the label A&R inviting me to come by the office and listen to a bands demos or just feedback on song idea. If this meeting was positive then I would subsequently meet with the band to see how the chemistry was between us, discuss ideas for the production, past experiences and talk about studio choices. With S.Q. when we got to the J.S./N.T.L. period the songs that had been written by Francis, Bernie and Andy I’d already worked on the original versions at Francis’s home studio before they were presented to the band in Ireland.
Alan and Richard's material was put forward when we actually got to the studio and final touches were done to songs back at the hotel after recording that day and in the studio at times when we were overdubbing on other previous recorded tracks.
When working with a solo artist (who may not write) a single may be found first then I’d search for material from other writer’s and publishers to complete the album.
Q - On the (official) message board you say that you always felt that the vinyl singles sounded better than the vinyl albums. I didn't get that. What do you mean exactly?
A - I was referring to R.A.O.T.W. only. There were too many songs on each side of the album which led to compromises in the sound. This was concerning the length of material (# of songs) on each side of the vinyl album versus one song on each side of a 7” single. It was not necessary to make the same compromises for one song on a 7” single.
Q - Don't know if you know the site backwateronline. They have a few interviews published. That with Alan Lancaster is very interesting. He says: The band drifted away musically on 1+9+8+2... Well it started with Rockin' all over the world. That's when we started to go wrong, because we always produced our own albums. Up until then it was all us, and then Pip Williams came in with a completely different technique... etc. Your comment on this please...
A - Oh Arjan it’s not fair that you ask me this question I thought this was going to be an easy interview…..anyway I’ll do my best.
Up to R.A.O.T.W. the band always lived pretty close together apart from John I think all in the same County. I think writers are influenced by there surroundings. I’ve lived in the States now collectively for 16 years and if I was a songwriter I know the influences around me here are completely different than being in the U.K. What I’m saying is that any references to “drifting away musically” would not have been helped by Alan’s move to Australia. He was in a different environment. I think his melodies and lyrics changed over these years after his move. The band input at recording made his songs much heavier than the impression of the demos presented.
I recall on Wild Ones Francis in particular saw the potential in this song and had a great deal to do with how it turned out. I always felt Francis was/is always interested first and foremost in the best song for S.Q. no matter who wrote it. Accident Prone that Pip and Peter Hutchings wrote is a good example of this. It is a great song perfect for the S.Q. treatment and Francis was really into doing this one and pushed heavily for it to be a single. I should have charted much higher in my opinion.
Now regarding 1+9+8+2 I was not there neither was Pip. This album was Produced by Status Quo, this was what Alan wanted to get back to? And was surely an opportunity for Alan to put all things right - what happened? – John walked out, nothing new about that just part of the course of recording a S.Q. album. Only thing was neither Pip nor I was there to talk with him, try to understand his concerns and get him back behind the kit again. John is a great drummer when on form and into the song and finding those moments was all part of the recording process. Just as it was on occasions overdubbing Alan’s Bass parts to make them better than the original track. Sometimes we could spend most of a day just doing that and the results I think were always worth while. Alan has his style of playing with the pick and I he always laid down a solid bass track.
Simply at this stage (from R.A.O.T.W.) Status Quo needed a Producer or if you like referee in the control room. I think whilst great albums had been made on there own with all the unique personalities surfacing in different intensities and length of time they had been together even then called for someone being in the chair. Pip’s presence did bring a different technique and that was the point of him being there. It’s important to understand though that if any member of the band had an objection to an idea Pip would listen carefully and give great consideration to what was being said. NEVER was it that he dug his heals in and said that’s the way it had to be, everyone had an equal input. When Pip did play an odd guitar line it was always when Francis said he might as well do it. Not that Francis couldn’t play the part just it was sometimes quicker if Pip played a short phrase he had in his head. Never saw this as any biggie in the whole scheme of things.
Q - Alan says about Rockin' all over the world in the same interview: It wasn't a bad album, but the only thing that made that album was really the song RAOTW. After the album we should have dumped Pip.... Again your comment (I also read somewhere that Alan was against recording the song RAOTW, but I don't know if that's true).
A - From what I understand R.A.O.T.W. was the bands most successful album they had made. Just can’t see why you want to dump someone i.e. Pip who was part of that process. The song which was Richard’s idea to record came in at the very end of the sessions. I can’t remember if Alan was for or against recording it but there was some disagreement. Perhaps Pip will be able to answer this question in more detail. Thankfully we did do two more albums together, after which Francis led the way for me to work with them on what became J.S. and N.T.L. After which I was “dumped” after a band/management meeting that took place in Richard’s dining room at “Hyden Ridge” with me in the control room next door. Isolation was not that great and I got the gist that Alan didn’t want me around after N.T.L.
In hindsight I’d just got to close with Richard and Francis working in both there home studios. Alan’s song contributions where not that plentiful and in all honestly I was not his biggest fan vocally so who can blame him for wanting me out of the chair. Living in Australia I can’t see helped his power struggle within the band and as a co founder he did like to control things.
I was also involved in the solo project with Marietta which upset management that I was shopping these masters at Phonogram- purely because that was the way Marietta wanted it.
All this became points against me in the politics of S.Q. Gosh now I am going on but just to end this question.. At the end of R.A.O.T.W. I saw no evidence in the studio from Alan that there was any reason to dump Pip. Gosh it was even discussed about him going on the road with the band for the tour!
Q - Another thing Alan said... After the recording of Just Supposin' the band stayed in the studio and Never too late was produced short afterwards. He called Never too late a 'throw away album', full of tracks that weren't ready...
Your comment on that...
A - You know Arjan the more we go through this its really clear Alan was not in a happy place in his life when he did these interviews you’ve quoted. I hope time heals his anger and he will come across as a much happier person in the future. In much of what I’ve read almost everyone and everything just seems wrong in Alan’s view and whilst certainly there was friction (it was a band after all) it really wasn’t quite like that from my memories in the studio… .
As I have said on the SQMB it was never we finished J.S. then stayed in the studio to do N.T.L. we just kept recording the material we had ready at the time.
Alan is certainly correct that we didn’t have quite enough material ready for two albums at the time we were in Windmill Lane however I would strongly disagree with him saying that N.T.L. is an album full of tracks that weren’t ready.
The “throwaway” comment I’ve only ever read from Alan’s interviews. Francis has said that he felt N.T.L. suffered and I wish we could have done all the basic tracks in the same studio but we ran out of time. I’ve often thought that it would have been great if some time was spent jamming on ideas in the studio as a band.
However recordings with S.Q. were just not made like that in my period (with the exception of AB Blues). Everyone had there writing camps and with great credit to Andy he had the ability to work well on co writes between Francis, Richard and Alan. Andy is the quiet one but deserves much respect for his writing contributions and diplomatic role he has played with S.Q.
Anyway as I said we did 16 tracks in Dublin, 9 of which went onto J.S.
That left 7 songs that we did in Dublin (70% of NTL).
We were certainly a little short on leaving Dublin but 7 tracks was still very substantial. In hindsight maybe Don’t Drive My Car should have gone on N.T.L. and not been used as Double A with Lies which I think was a bit of a waste. Francis came up with a cassette of Glen Campbell doing SABYBIL and put it forward. I always thought it would be a great single and so we came to cut that and Oh Carol.
Q - What do you do nowadays? Producing which bands etc.
A - After my time with S.Q. ended in 1981 I spent a year trying to find a new Artist to Produce but couldn’t get arrested anywhere in the Phonogram/Polygram group. Although I had my suspicions as to “why” I never had proof until several years later when Gibson Kemp A&R@ Polygram did ask me to produce/engineer tracks for a Spanish Heavy Metal band called Jupiter. During the Jupiter sessions he told me that a memo (that had been instigated by S.Q. management at the time) had been circulated around there offices not to hire me for any projects. So vindictive were certain people surrounding the band at that time, not only did they not want me working with the band anymore but didn’t want me to work with anyone else at the label either.
Well thing’s picked up in 1982 when I got a call from Muff Winwood A&R manager at CBS and the result of the meeting was “Der Kommissar” by After The Fire which reached #5 in the US Billboard chart. Following up from that a few years later I was back in the chair Producing The Partners In Crime album with J.C. and Noel McCalla on vocals just an incredible voice and great guy. It was good to work with John again which at least showed he had no problem working with me again nor me with him. He played really well on this album and was completely relaxed and I know he was very happy with the results and regards it as a brilliant album. Despite some great press reviews it lacked label promotion and didn’t sell well. If you don’t have a copy of this record try to find it, the song “Gypsy Tricks” is one of many great drum tracks from J.C.
This we recorded in Scotland in a small village called Pencaitland in what was the original school building. Calum Malcom was the owner and engineer and it was a real pleasure working with him. It was a studio I had discovered firstly when working with a Glasgow band The Kissing Bandits (WEA Records) and then later when I Produced the Nazareth album The Catch. I had a good run for 14 years really after S.Q. Producing other Artists that included Andy Fraser (Bass Player with Free ) with an album called “Fine Fine Line” which was recorded in Los Angeles. I worked with French Canadian Artist Daniel Lavoie in Quebec City, Canada and the 1st single sold over 1 million in France alone. Produced with Sting a fabulous percussion player and singer called Vinx which again I recorded in Los Angeles which had by then become my home. Built and lost a fortune on a couple of studios and then gave my “ears a rest” in Florida for 11 years. During this time I established a real estate /property management and rental business, quite a change from Producing but good to re-charge and bring me back to the point of being really excited about music again.
This year the family moved to Nashville and I’m having probably the best period of my life so far - despite all the economic doom and gloom. I’m on a search for new writers and artists and this is simply an incredible place to be.
At the time of doing this interview I’ve just started to work on song selection for a new country (really rock/blues) duo which I’ll talk about later as the material develops.
I think daily about how important it is to find a solution to the MP3 plague, downloading and how the industry continues to decline. Despite all the frustrations of vinyl it was a period when records actually were sold over the counter before the digital genie was let out of the bottle and went wild.
Q -(last question). Pip works with Quo again, since a long time. You have still contact with him. Did you work with him in the nineties?? Would you like to work with him again on a new Quo-album?
A - We’ve always been mates and hope that never changes. Sometime’s we don’t speak for a year or so but that doesn’t matter we just pick up. The last time we worked together was 28 years ago, wow – no wonder the grayness has appeared. As I moved into Producing I understand Pip has developed more Engineering skills and he now Engineers many of his Productions. Pip has had a team of great Engineers he’s worked with over the years and I know he would give consideration quite rightly to these relationships.
Anyway I’d never rule out any possibility I’m sure our egos could fit behind the board together again. Not sure about my girth as its expanded 11 inches since I was 21 (needs some compression at 20:1) so would probably have to take up Atkins diet for a while! In all seriousness Francis had indicated he was thinking about putting the old team back together and “would I be interested” in a conversation we had in 2005. At that time it was not possible for me as I was running a couple of businesses that I could not just leave so had to say no. Things are different now these businesses have been sold but it’s all about timing.
Of recent events though on the SQMB was the suggestion by member ANT made we remix Rocking All Over the World – THIS REALLY SHOULD BE DONE - maybe to revisit the one where it all began for us both it would be a good place to restart or maybe the issues now are just too complex - only time will tell.
Finally it’s just great that we still have Status Quo recording and on the road, I love a great deal of the post FF period just as much as the time from before. Whilst vocal ranges have changed the playing is tighter than ever.
I’m enjoying following the current tour from afar thanks to one bit of technology we now all take for granted…..