In about a month or so it will be Liverpool Beatle convention time again. Barely seems like five minutes ago since I played there last year…time, as you know, just flies by. I noticed this link, have a quick look:
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2008/07/29/almost-100-bands-signed-up-for-the-mathew-street-festival-64375-21424060/
It made me think about just how far it’s all come since the first Mathew Street Festival (which originally was an add on to the gathering of Beatle fans at Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel) in 1993. Then there was only one stage running from around mid morning until around 6pm if memory serves me, and it was located in the car park at the top of Mathew Street on the site of the original Cavern Club. The street was busy throughout the day and I can remember thinking at the time that it was quite big, as gigs go. There were ambulance crews, film crews, police crews and of course road crews by the plenty. I felt even then that it was somehow missing the point of a Beatle convention. The 1993 convention, it seemed to me, was one hundred percent pure fan based. The people were there to celebrate the band and being a FAN of the band. This of course was pre-internet days. At that time you’d most probably get your helping of Beatle news through the Beatles Monthly (Jeeeez remember that!?!), bootlegs were fairly hard to come by and there was a bit of an underground movement underway with the second generation Beatle aware. All in all, they were exciting times. The convention of that year reflected this and I, for my own part in it, had an absolute ball! I couldn’t wait to get back down the following year and was fairly depressed that it would be another year before I could be in that environment again.
Fast forward to 1996 and I got some news that the flea market part of the convention was going to be made “official”…so no more bootlegs or under the table deals with the rarest items. No, everything would be above board. That was coupled with the fact that by this stage the Mathew Street Festival had become an event on its own and had grown to an obscene scale. Attendances were beginning to lean upwards of 100,000 and beyond.
Boo-hoo indeed.
This is where the Liverpool convention lost its way. It was no longer just about The Beatles. It was no longer just a gathering for Beatle fans. That “intimate” atmosphere of the 1993 and 1994 gatherings was lost. The festival, as it was now known, was about money. Suddenly the Beatle fan part of it became diluted with the “official” message when the copyright police and background presence of Apple got involved. Very few (if any) of the bands ever got paid for the huge amount of work they put in. Organisers seemed to be taking advantage of the performers. They were playing on the fact that there was some kind of kudos to be gained for an act to be on the bill there. Sure there was to a degree, but without the bands, it would be nothing more than a record session right? In short the Liverpool convention has lost its way these days. As I said, I was there last year and it was more about the generic fan, the nearly fan, the casual passer by and the general music fan without any catering for "professional" (er... read diehard!) fans amongst us. Personally I didn’t enjoy the experience. It seemed that there was something missing and whatever it was, that was the vital ingredient for me at the beginning. Apart from my own group and a couple of other diehards (bless ‘em) every band was doing the same set, wearing the same suits and speaking with the same daft accent. It was commercialism at its worst. There was no sense of “how lucky we all are” to be gathered here, listening to these great bands, playing interesting sets, paying a PROPER tribute to the best damned band ever and it’s just “us lot”!
Oh, how lucky we were at the start.
Money wasn’t the point to getting involved. We played ourselves into the ground in those early years and were happy to be there because it was concentrated Beatle people who would want to hear something different and go out of their way to seek out new things. You don't mind the odd rendition of one of the biggies, but you want something precious and rare too right? It’s just not like that now. The community is lost and diluted in a sea of plastic beatles. We didn’t get paid in the early years and accepted that because we were happy to take part and be involved with something very special, lasting and memorable. I’d still love to take part and feel that. Sadly though, it’s just not possible to do that these days because you the fan, you the band, are nothing more than a number heading towards a 300,000 tally of people attending – in other words – the sound of 300,000 wallets and purses rattling! And do you know what? No matter how big the “beatle” festival gets, the bands still don’t get paid!
Funny that!
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Live Today
The continuing progress of studio equipment in the mid Sixties came at just the right time for the Beatles. Since the late Fifties, the boys had done nothing but play live for hours on end in the sweaty dives of Hamburg and Liverpool. Later, as success arrived, that hard slog was transferred to bigger stages throughout the world where the level of their musicianship dropped a couple of degrees and the hours on stage became minutes. It’s no wonder that they got severely bored of the circus. What they probably needed more than anything was a break. A proper break like bands do today. A couple of years at a time, where they can relax, regroup and perhaps come back with a renewed passion. Of course the music industry was making it up as they went along during that time. There seemed to be no limits to what could be done and what might be achieved next. If you think that The Beatles were playing UK tours in cinemas to a couple of thousand at a time and then imagine what the impact of going from there to say Shea Stadium was, then perhaps they could be forgiven for thinking, what IS the point of this continual nonsense? I doubt that George was alone within the group in thinking that touring and concerts were a total waste of time where all that was achieved really was the treading of water in order that they didn’t drown. Let’s not go into the Jeez comments, Manila or any of that stuff. Imagine it, night after night (er…after night) of the same set, the same reaction, the same one horse town, the same problems getting “down” from show mode? In short they must have come to the conclusion that the shows were pointless. It’s not like they needed to sell more records or get more famous at that point really is it? By that time they could have broken wind and sold a million. My own thought is that it must have been just awful towards the end when they made that decision to end touring.
And, further to that, the recorded output was now getting in the way of being able to transfer from studio to stage. The progress in the technology was responsible. Let’s say two of the boys are singing at the same time putting down a lead vocal and harmony part on one track. Then they have the opportunity to double track that same part. Now two voices become four. With the right balance, this thickens the voice up to an unnatural degree. A great move forward for their recordings of course. You can see that even by using this simple technique, it would be impossible to re produce live, unless you had four voices which could emulate it. Paperback Writer is a prime example of this very point. Even in the studio outtakes you can hear that the opening gambit isn’t quite “alive” until the double tracks arrive – and then BANG! It’s irresistible and of course brilliant. Now compare that to any live version? The live thing can’t compete. That must have been soul destroying as musicians, for them to realise that they weren’t in the position to be as good as they were in the studio. By using string quartets, backwards effects, double tracks etc, it simply ruled out any possibility of being included in their live set. So, going down that road, how long could they realistically continue to play She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand on the road when they’ve got Strawberry Fields and Walrus in the bag at home in the studio? Whilst the technology was helping them in the studio, it hadn’t transferred out to the real world and the reality of the stage. The Mellotron is a fine example. Basically a Mellotron is the father of the sampling keyboard and without it we may not have the samplers today. However where we use micro chips to replay recorded sound in any which way we choose, the Mellotron used small sections of tape. So when you pressed the key down, it was akin to pressing play on a tape recorder. Brilliant idea! But, what would happen if it broke down? Brilliant in the controlled environment of Abbey Road, but what about when twenty thousand people are expecting to hear Strawberry Fields and it’s dead? Er….sorry but we can’t play that song tonight..er…
The point is made. The progress in the studio came at a price. Today, most equipment does what it says and is reliable. However, I myself have still had that problem where you might do something in the studio and NOT be able to reproduce it live, or the synth refused to work because it was too hot. I remember playing a show in the 1980’s where the synthesiser we were using just (out of nowhere) started to lose its tuning very badly and very rapidly. Can you imagine the effect of that during a song? It’s a bit like jumping from a great height onto a blown up bag pipe! Not pretty. The equipment of today is uber reliable and can do things that quite frankly blow your mind. Like live harmony generators which give full blown double tracking effects or four part harmony – live and instant. Live backward guitar parts present no problem. What is strikingly obvious to me, is that what the Beatles were doing in the studio in the Sixties, was unwittingly creating presets for technology to match and for musicians (including themselves) to aspire to. These days that technology is here and is functioning beautifully and there are few songs in the recorded output of The Beatles that wouldn’t be possible to reproduce perfectly today if any.
It really is lucky old us thanks in part to them.
And, further to that, the recorded output was now getting in the way of being able to transfer from studio to stage. The progress in the technology was responsible. Let’s say two of the boys are singing at the same time putting down a lead vocal and harmony part on one track. Then they have the opportunity to double track that same part. Now two voices become four. With the right balance, this thickens the voice up to an unnatural degree. A great move forward for their recordings of course. You can see that even by using this simple technique, it would be impossible to re produce live, unless you had four voices which could emulate it. Paperback Writer is a prime example of this very point. Even in the studio outtakes you can hear that the opening gambit isn’t quite “alive” until the double tracks arrive – and then BANG! It’s irresistible and of course brilliant. Now compare that to any live version? The live thing can’t compete. That must have been soul destroying as musicians, for them to realise that they weren’t in the position to be as good as they were in the studio. By using string quartets, backwards effects, double tracks etc, it simply ruled out any possibility of being included in their live set. So, going down that road, how long could they realistically continue to play She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand on the road when they’ve got Strawberry Fields and Walrus in the bag at home in the studio? Whilst the technology was helping them in the studio, it hadn’t transferred out to the real world and the reality of the stage. The Mellotron is a fine example. Basically a Mellotron is the father of the sampling keyboard and without it we may not have the samplers today. However where we use micro chips to replay recorded sound in any which way we choose, the Mellotron used small sections of tape. So when you pressed the key down, it was akin to pressing play on a tape recorder. Brilliant idea! But, what would happen if it broke down? Brilliant in the controlled environment of Abbey Road, but what about when twenty thousand people are expecting to hear Strawberry Fields and it’s dead? Er….sorry but we can’t play that song tonight..er…
The point is made. The progress in the studio came at a price. Today, most equipment does what it says and is reliable. However, I myself have still had that problem where you might do something in the studio and NOT be able to reproduce it live, or the synth refused to work because it was too hot. I remember playing a show in the 1980’s where the synthesiser we were using just (out of nowhere) started to lose its tuning very badly and very rapidly. Can you imagine the effect of that during a song? It’s a bit like jumping from a great height onto a blown up bag pipe! Not pretty. The equipment of today is uber reliable and can do things that quite frankly blow your mind. Like live harmony generators which give full blown double tracking effects or four part harmony – live and instant. Live backward guitar parts present no problem. What is strikingly obvious to me, is that what the Beatles were doing in the studio in the Sixties, was unwittingly creating presets for technology to match and for musicians (including themselves) to aspire to. These days that technology is here and is functioning beautifully and there are few songs in the recorded output of The Beatles that wouldn’t be possible to reproduce perfectly today if any.
It really is lucky old us thanks in part to them.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Is there anybody there?
A few years ago I came across a guy on the internet claiming to be channelling John. His name is American Lesley Jane and a strange life this man has too! Initially I listened to what he was saying as “John” and the fan part of me, desperate to hear anything more of John, was willing to give him a chance. On his radio interviews at least he successfully “talks” John well. On initial inspection he does the voice well enough that after a while you feel you really are kind of listening to a John. That is partly down to what he talks about – some of it scarily like stuff the actual John might talk about. And so you are drawn into this bizarre world where, since 1985 when the disembodied Lennon found him (!), Lesley Jane has “become” John. For about a nano-second I was really buying it and then I started to hear bits of well known John dialogue in his speech and then I thought…you’re busted mate – well and truly. Of course, the final nail for me was when George died and he tastelessly brought him into the “channelling” charade. Apparently they are all part of this band called Beatlesex (as in Beatles EX, named by “John” apparently) …and it is then that the penny drops…this is a guy desperate to BE a beatle, with a small b…a guy who can only be one of three things:
1 - an ordinary chap who has been channelling John Lennon since 1985
2 - a guy trying desperately to sell “his” music– I say that because it’s unbelievably beatlesque - at all costs
3 - a fraud
I know which one my money is on!
Over the years I’ve kept an eye on what American Lesley Jane is up to, mainly for my own amusement, but also because there is something compelling about the whole tasteless thing. Mrs Beatcomber and I laugh out loud when we decide to watch a Lesley channel (ooh sorry about that one!)…better than a night out at the cinema it is….well ok then…maybe not – but watchable in any case as he “makes an ass of himself”.
Lesley (and John) make it quite clear in several interviews that they are (both) ready to be tested out and have apparently thrown down the gauntlet to none other than Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney to pop by for a chat, who have both, unsurprisingly perhaps, failed to return his calls.
However, it seems that he has recently scored with a background character in the John Lennon story. On his my space page (and unbelievably so) there is this:
“….in this slideshow, two of the pictures shows me channelling John Lennon for the BEATLESEX record "Freezer Bird" while John Lennon's boyhood pal and co-founder of the original Quarrymen, Pete Shotton, sits on the couch observing the whole amazing thing. Pete said to John, "You bastard! You knew, didn't you? You knew that if I saw you work I'd know it's you!" and John replied "I've only been trying to tell you that for 2 f***ing years, Shotton". AND THAT'S The TRUTH.”
So, what is going on there with Pete Shotton? Why would someone of his knowledge be a part of this? Is it simple curiosity or a deep desire to believe that his boyhood friend carries on in some way or another? You know, that such a vital life force cannot have been extinguished completely, right?
What are these people trying to gain?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this one folks…here are a couple of links to get started on
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=23379248
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=431747
1 - an ordinary chap who has been channelling John Lennon since 1985
2 - a guy trying desperately to sell “his” music– I say that because it’s unbelievably beatlesque - at all costs
3 - a fraud
I know which one my money is on!
Over the years I’ve kept an eye on what American Lesley Jane is up to, mainly for my own amusement, but also because there is something compelling about the whole tasteless thing. Mrs Beatcomber and I laugh out loud when we decide to watch a Lesley channel (ooh sorry about that one!)…better than a night out at the cinema it is….well ok then…maybe not – but watchable in any case as he “makes an ass of himself”.
Lesley (and John) make it quite clear in several interviews that they are (both) ready to be tested out and have apparently thrown down the gauntlet to none other than Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney to pop by for a chat, who have both, unsurprisingly perhaps, failed to return his calls.
However, it seems that he has recently scored with a background character in the John Lennon story. On his my space page (and unbelievably so) there is this:
“….in this slideshow, two of the pictures shows me channelling John Lennon for the BEATLESEX record "Freezer Bird" while John Lennon's boyhood pal and co-founder of the original Quarrymen, Pete Shotton, sits on the couch observing the whole amazing thing. Pete said to John, "You bastard! You knew, didn't you? You knew that if I saw you work I'd know it's you!" and John replied "I've only been trying to tell you that for 2 f***ing years, Shotton". AND THAT'S The TRUTH.”
So, what is going on there with Pete Shotton? Why would someone of his knowledge be a part of this? Is it simple curiosity or a deep desire to believe that his boyhood friend carries on in some way or another? You know, that such a vital life force cannot have been extinguished completely, right?
What are these people trying to gain?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this one folks…here are a couple of links to get started on
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=23379248
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=431747
Monday, 14 July 2008
Gold
So, who else is up there with the Beatles?
In terms of sheer pop genius I doubt there can't be much more than a coat of paint separating Abba and the Beatles. Of course, it’s comparing apples and oranges here to some degree because of the different eras involved. However, just taking the songs as measurement, I think Abba are definitely up there. There is a clamour to see them reunite often and it’s reminiscent of the constant Beatle reunion nonsense which dogs Paul and Ringo even to this day. It was whilst watching the recent television coverage of the Mamma Mia movie premiers across Europe that it became obvious to me that Abba had joined the ranks as major major artists. Abba fans would already know this anyway. The sight of the four members of Abba together (albeit at opposite ends of the balcony) made me think what a shame it was that The Beatles didn’t take the chance to do something similar before they started popping their clogs and heading to the great studio session in the sky. The quality of songwriting within the Abba repertoire is super slick. Songs like S.O.S, Mamma Mia, The Name of the Game, Knowing Me, Knowing You and a whole host of others are certainly (well in my mind anyway) up there with almost any of the Beatles material in terms of writing ability, performance and production.
So who else is worthy then?
For me the line which measures the seismic changes, the line which defines the fault lines goes something like this, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, then maybe The Smiths. Now, that’s not to negate many of the other incredible artists we’ve been fortunate enough to have in our memories…people like Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye (and a host of others) because their music is important, strong and it helps to define the eras they were from. Abba are like “new money” within this club. They seem to have captured something which has continued to grow beyond themselves and their era – a sure sign that standards have been written. The band broke up in the early 1980’s and you would have thought that was that. In my memory, they were an extremely uncool band, and although they sold millions and millions of records, I didn’t know a single Abba fan at the time. These days that’s changed. They've probably sold more records now than they did then and there seems to be an Abba fan in every doorway. The difference between a band like Abba and a band like the Beatles though is that just about everything the Beatles did took the music world up another notch; to another level. Abba didn't really do that. They tended to polish up what was already around and just didn’t have the gravitas nor the consistency of back catalogue that the Beatles did. That said though, they’re a right good listen pop-pickers I’ll tell you and well worth digging out the hits albums for a spin, but er..maybe leave the clothes out though eh?
In terms of sheer pop genius I doubt there can't be much more than a coat of paint separating Abba and the Beatles. Of course, it’s comparing apples and oranges here to some degree because of the different eras involved. However, just taking the songs as measurement, I think Abba are definitely up there. There is a clamour to see them reunite often and it’s reminiscent of the constant Beatle reunion nonsense which dogs Paul and Ringo even to this day. It was whilst watching the recent television coverage of the Mamma Mia movie premiers across Europe that it became obvious to me that Abba had joined the ranks as major major artists. Abba fans would already know this anyway. The sight of the four members of Abba together (albeit at opposite ends of the balcony) made me think what a shame it was that The Beatles didn’t take the chance to do something similar before they started popping their clogs and heading to the great studio session in the sky. The quality of songwriting within the Abba repertoire is super slick. Songs like S.O.S, Mamma Mia, The Name of the Game, Knowing Me, Knowing You and a whole host of others are certainly (well in my mind anyway) up there with almost any of the Beatles material in terms of writing ability, performance and production.
So who else is worthy then?
For me the line which measures the seismic changes, the line which defines the fault lines goes something like this, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, then maybe The Smiths. Now, that’s not to negate many of the other incredible artists we’ve been fortunate enough to have in our memories…people like Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye (and a host of others) because their music is important, strong and it helps to define the eras they were from. Abba are like “new money” within this club. They seem to have captured something which has continued to grow beyond themselves and their era – a sure sign that standards have been written. The band broke up in the early 1980’s and you would have thought that was that. In my memory, they were an extremely uncool band, and although they sold millions and millions of records, I didn’t know a single Abba fan at the time. These days that’s changed. They've probably sold more records now than they did then and there seems to be an Abba fan in every doorway. The difference between a band like Abba and a band like the Beatles though is that just about everything the Beatles did took the music world up another notch; to another level. Abba didn't really do that. They tended to polish up what was already around and just didn’t have the gravitas nor the consistency of back catalogue that the Beatles did. That said though, they’re a right good listen pop-pickers I’ll tell you and well worth digging out the hits albums for a spin, but er..maybe leave the clothes out though eh?
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Come On (Come On)
I noticed that Pete Best has got a new album coming out!
Pete has eventually done quite well out of the Beatles in recent years has he not? …the Anthology project certainly has made him a “few bob” no doubt and who would grudge him a single penny? I most certainly wouldn’t. However there are a couple of things in the press releases that bother me. One is this comment, I assume from the record company, and it beggars belief really:
"What can I say, this album far outreached my wildest expectation., I just didn't expect what I received. It's as good as anything The Beatles did at their peak, unbelievable. I'm blown away," says Arnie Holland, CEO of Lightyear Entertainment.
Oh well, easily pleased then Arnie yes?
I’m sure it’s a competent album but come on….It’s as “good as ANYTHING the Beatles did at their peak”?
Puul-eeesssee!
Do us a favour would you?…it’s bad enough saying it in print and it’s even worse to USE it as part of the publicity!
There are very few things (if any) as good as anything the Beatles did at their peak.
It’s get a grip material it really is.
The other thing apparently is that, “The album in true Liverpudlian flavor, shows Best as one of the cornerstones of the original sounds of the Beatles”
I mean really.
One of the “cornerstones of the original sounds of the Beatles”?
It could be argued that the Beatles sound didn’t arrive until they had Ringo Starr playing drums. It’s just a personal opinion here, but I think the Beatles were a fairly appalling band pre-Ringo times. There is just no spark in any of the totally flat and lifeless recordings that were made and the drumming is awful to my ears. It’s no wonder they were rejected by every record company up and down the land.
Don’t get me wrong here, I applaud anyone who gets their hands dirty, gets down to the nitty gritty of getting some songs together and then putting them out as an album. It’s a very difficult route, especially in this day and age when the population at large just doesn’t give a flying burrito about buying music anymore.
The truth is that the easy bit is making the album.
I wish the very best of luck to you Pete.
Pete has eventually done quite well out of the Beatles in recent years has he not? …the Anthology project certainly has made him a “few bob” no doubt and who would grudge him a single penny? I most certainly wouldn’t. However there are a couple of things in the press releases that bother me. One is this comment, I assume from the record company, and it beggars belief really:
"What can I say, this album far outreached my wildest expectation., I just didn't expect what I received. It's as good as anything The Beatles did at their peak, unbelievable. I'm blown away," says Arnie Holland, CEO of Lightyear Entertainment.
Oh well, easily pleased then Arnie yes?
I’m sure it’s a competent album but come on….It’s as “good as ANYTHING the Beatles did at their peak”?
Puul-eeesssee!
Do us a favour would you?…it’s bad enough saying it in print and it’s even worse to USE it as part of the publicity!
There are very few things (if any) as good as anything the Beatles did at their peak.
It’s get a grip material it really is.
The other thing apparently is that, “The album in true Liverpudlian flavor, shows Best as one of the cornerstones of the original sounds of the Beatles”
I mean really.
One of the “cornerstones of the original sounds of the Beatles”?
It could be argued that the Beatles sound didn’t arrive until they had Ringo Starr playing drums. It’s just a personal opinion here, but I think the Beatles were a fairly appalling band pre-Ringo times. There is just no spark in any of the totally flat and lifeless recordings that were made and the drumming is awful to my ears. It’s no wonder they were rejected by every record company up and down the land.
Don’t get me wrong here, I applaud anyone who gets their hands dirty, gets down to the nitty gritty of getting some songs together and then putting them out as an album. It’s a very difficult route, especially in this day and age when the population at large just doesn’t give a flying burrito about buying music anymore.
The truth is that the easy bit is making the album.
I wish the very best of luck to you Pete.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Sweet Dream (Baby)
I consider myself quite lucky when it comes to being a musician. I’ve gotten to actually play in some of the venues I’ve read about as a Beatle fan. The first time I played at a Beatle convention, it was in Liverpool, with the first venue being The Blue Angel club. I’d read about it in Allan Williams’ book, The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away. More on that in a bit, but first some background on the Convention itself. When I played at this particular gathering, it hadn’t got too big yet; it wasn’t too corporate – in short it was a REAL gathering of people who loved all aspects of the Beatles. People who were happy just chatting in groups late into the night in the hotel bars, whilst others provided unplanned, off the cuff acoustic sessions as everyone basked in a Beatle glow in Liverpool.
What could be better than that?
When our band arrived at the convention, we were lucky enough to be able to rehearse in the Cavern for two afternoons on the trot! That just wouldn’t happen now as there would be groups playing wall to wall and noon till midnight in there! I have some great home movies from those sessions and I still can’t quite believe we did that as generally, rehearsals are off limits to the paying public, for obvious reasons! For example, we might be just running through some songs or goofing around on stuff we’d never play and hey, that is what rehearsals are for. But, we kept wondering why all these people kept turning up, sitting down, having a quick drink and heading off! Of course, unbeknownst to us, the Cavern had slapped a poster outside saying “TODAY, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ALL AFTERNOON”!!!! Talk about taking a free slug whilst you’re not looking! I always tended to think that the people who were watching those rehearsals must have thought that we were just rubbish, because we kept on playing the same song over and over again! But, looking back, it was off the cuff, relaxed and, like any band, we tended to raise our game a bit when people came in, so in some ways, it actually helped our cause. We were rehearsing because they were our first gigs, both in front of a Beatle crowd and in Liverpool, so we were keen to make the right impression. For us, what made it special was the fact that we were going to play in some of the original venues that the boys had played in, so we didn’t quite know what to expect, but one thing’s for sure, it was a mixture of excitement and straightforward fear to put it politely!
Another thing about that first time was that we had been assigned a crew of roadies and our own transport. We had brought all of our own equipment so that we did need transport to get around town. What we didn’t bargain on was that some of that gear would get used elsewhere…like the morning I woke up after a late night, bleary eyed, hearing the live sounds of Get Back full on LIVE and blaring down the street being played on the balcony of the hotel RIGHT next to our bedrooms! I went to check on my guitar and noticed that not only were our amps were missing, but so were our crew! The penny dropped of course when one of them came in to wake us all up and said “have you heard this band -they’re great!” I said, “Where are the amps?” He just laughed and headed back to the balcony! Putting two and two together I went out to see the band from behind the “stage” – sure enough there were our amps being used to blow half of Liverpool down!
Anyway, back to the Blue Angel…we got in to this dark, cold and grimy and cellar and couldn’t believe that this was where the Beatles had done that audition for Larry Parnes and here we were about to play similar kinds of songs on the very same stage! That was a big WOW for us and trust me, it is a memory which will live with me until I pop my clogs, I promise you. As the crowds began to come in, some unexpected guests arrived. I just couldn’t believe it – none other than Allan Williams himself with his mate Tony Jackson of the Searchers…Now we’re beginning to get nervous…of course we channelled this into the performance, which went like a DREAM. The crowd were really enthusiastic and were out to have a great time. This just fed the band which in turn fed the crowd – yada, yada, yada! At the end of the first half we were astonished that both Tony and Allan had come up on stage with us…For the record, Allan told a few rude stories about the Beatles whilst Tony did Sweets For My Sweet…we were really made up! For myself, I had gone from reading Allan’s book and being totally inspired by it as a kid, to standing on stage with him. It still amazes me that. Yes, no doubt about it, the big fan gatherings of today just can’t compete with that type of thing in my opinion. As I said, this was a fairly small, concentrated amount of people all into the same thing and all wanting to have the time of their lives – which, incidentally it seemed to me - they did! Today some of these festivals are SO out of control because there are so many people and something is lost because of it. It’s like a victim of its own success, not in fact unlike the subject they choose to have a convention about. The convention I am talking about had no more than a few thousand people throughout the week…which granted sounds does like a lot, but it didn’t seem that way, because they weren’t all there at the same time! In later years it’s not been unknown for up to 250, 000 (and beyond) to have turned up at some of these giant street gatherings which in my opinion have long diluted the whole point of the Beatles convention in Liverpool. I’ve played both the huge ones and the small ones. There can be no doubt in my mind that the smaller, concentrated, slightly quieter fan gatherings are best. I’m still in contact today with some of the people I met then, which gives an indication of the fairly intimate nature of the gatherings of the hard core fans who stayed in the same hotels as the bands who were there to entertain them. Some of those later festivals just seemed faceless to me, plastic and official, with all of the oomph taken out of it. I’ve only scratched the surface of that convention here and at some point I’ll probably come back to it because it truly was life changing stuff and my memory of it can only continue to bring a warm and contented glow every time it comes to my mind.
What could be better than that?
When our band arrived at the convention, we were lucky enough to be able to rehearse in the Cavern for two afternoons on the trot! That just wouldn’t happen now as there would be groups playing wall to wall and noon till midnight in there! I have some great home movies from those sessions and I still can’t quite believe we did that as generally, rehearsals are off limits to the paying public, for obvious reasons! For example, we might be just running through some songs or goofing around on stuff we’d never play and hey, that is what rehearsals are for. But, we kept wondering why all these people kept turning up, sitting down, having a quick drink and heading off! Of course, unbeknownst to us, the Cavern had slapped a poster outside saying “TODAY, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ALL AFTERNOON”!!!! Talk about taking a free slug whilst you’re not looking! I always tended to think that the people who were watching those rehearsals must have thought that we were just rubbish, because we kept on playing the same song over and over again! But, looking back, it was off the cuff, relaxed and, like any band, we tended to raise our game a bit when people came in, so in some ways, it actually helped our cause. We were rehearsing because they were our first gigs, both in front of a Beatle crowd and in Liverpool, so we were keen to make the right impression. For us, what made it special was the fact that we were going to play in some of the original venues that the boys had played in, so we didn’t quite know what to expect, but one thing’s for sure, it was a mixture of excitement and straightforward fear to put it politely!
Another thing about that first time was that we had been assigned a crew of roadies and our own transport. We had brought all of our own equipment so that we did need transport to get around town. What we didn’t bargain on was that some of that gear would get used elsewhere…like the morning I woke up after a late night, bleary eyed, hearing the live sounds of Get Back full on LIVE and blaring down the street being played on the balcony of the hotel RIGHT next to our bedrooms! I went to check on my guitar and noticed that not only were our amps were missing, but so were our crew! The penny dropped of course when one of them came in to wake us all up and said “have you heard this band -they’re great!” I said, “Where are the amps?” He just laughed and headed back to the balcony! Putting two and two together I went out to see the band from behind the “stage” – sure enough there were our amps being used to blow half of Liverpool down!
Anyway, back to the Blue Angel…we got in to this dark, cold and grimy and cellar and couldn’t believe that this was where the Beatles had done that audition for Larry Parnes and here we were about to play similar kinds of songs on the very same stage! That was a big WOW for us and trust me, it is a memory which will live with me until I pop my clogs, I promise you. As the crowds began to come in, some unexpected guests arrived. I just couldn’t believe it – none other than Allan Williams himself with his mate Tony Jackson of the Searchers…Now we’re beginning to get nervous…of course we channelled this into the performance, which went like a DREAM. The crowd were really enthusiastic and were out to have a great time. This just fed the band which in turn fed the crowd – yada, yada, yada! At the end of the first half we were astonished that both Tony and Allan had come up on stage with us…For the record, Allan told a few rude stories about the Beatles whilst Tony did Sweets For My Sweet…we were really made up! For myself, I had gone from reading Allan’s book and being totally inspired by it as a kid, to standing on stage with him. It still amazes me that. Yes, no doubt about it, the big fan gatherings of today just can’t compete with that type of thing in my opinion. As I said, this was a fairly small, concentrated amount of people all into the same thing and all wanting to have the time of their lives – which, incidentally it seemed to me - they did! Today some of these festivals are SO out of control because there are so many people and something is lost because of it. It’s like a victim of its own success, not in fact unlike the subject they choose to have a convention about. The convention I am talking about had no more than a few thousand people throughout the week…which granted sounds does like a lot, but it didn’t seem that way, because they weren’t all there at the same time! In later years it’s not been unknown for up to 250, 000 (and beyond) to have turned up at some of these giant street gatherings which in my opinion have long diluted the whole point of the Beatles convention in Liverpool. I’ve played both the huge ones and the small ones. There can be no doubt in my mind that the smaller, concentrated, slightly quieter fan gatherings are best. I’m still in contact today with some of the people I met then, which gives an indication of the fairly intimate nature of the gatherings of the hard core fans who stayed in the same hotels as the bands who were there to entertain them. Some of those later festivals just seemed faceless to me, plastic and official, with all of the oomph taken out of it. I’ve only scratched the surface of that convention here and at some point I’ll probably come back to it because it truly was life changing stuff and my memory of it can only continue to bring a warm and contented glow every time it comes to my mind.
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