Following on from the last batch of HYHTO stories here’s a few more from Fred Purser (Penetration/Tygers of Pan Tang), John Gallagher (Raven), Michael Kelly (Southbound), Chris Ormston and Nev (Punishment of Luxury).
First up is a story from former Axis guitarist Davey Little…..
When supporting former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell at a local gig we’re in at midday to set up a huge wall of Marshalls, drum riser, lights, smoke bombs the whole nonsense. Hey, we were local heroes (laughs).
Then Mr Bell and band arrived. You can imagine the headliner walking in and seeing this mountain of shit on stage.
But what a gentleman – we were young and full of it. He was very gently spoken and just said ‘This isn’t really the way it works lads’. Then much to our relief he said ‘but it’s fine, we don’t need much room, not bothered about a sound check’.
I remember it was packed to the rafters for Eric Bell, not for us, but we did ok. His drummer set up after us. Bass player rolled his amp on, Eric Bell rolled either a Vox AC30 or a Fender Twin on to the stage and blitzed the place.
No arsing about, no demands, just played like true pro’s. What a lesson, what a professional.
Of course we thought he was brilliant, his band were brilliant, his last words… ‘Pleased you enjoyed it, now you know there is no need for all that shit on stage, and don’t ever fucking set up before the main band gets there’.
A year later went to see him at the Redcar Bowl and he introduced us to his new band with…
‘These are the cheeky bastards who set up before we even got to the gig’
Full interview from June 2019
https://garyalikivi.com/2019/06/28/the-flame-burns-on-for-davy-little-ex-guitarist-with-nwobhm-band-axis/
In May 2019 was an interview with folk musician Chris Ormston……
I’ve recorded various compilations of Northumbrian music but my first big break if you like was when I got a phone call one night in 1990… ‘Hello, it’s Peter Gabriel here’. There is a rumour going round that I told him to f*** off because I never believed him (laughs).
But it was him and he was after some piping on his next recording. So I agreed to go down to his studio in Bath. He wasn’t really sure what he wanted and just said bring every pipe you’ve got.
We worked in the studio until he found the sound he liked, which was Highland Pipes.
The pipes were mixed down and recorded onto the first song on the album Come Talk to Me. Sinead O’Connor sang on the track although I never saw her.
He had brought in various musicians and sounds to add to what he had already recorded. That’s the way he worked. I got a credit and a flat fee for the work and really enjoyed the experience.
Gabriel I found was very thoughtful and reserved unlike his stage performances, as a lot of musicians are.
Full interview:
https://garyalikivi.com/2019/05/11/pipes-of-peace-with-northumberland-musician-chris-ormston/
In April this year I spoke with Nev (PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY)……
When our Laughing Academy album was being released endless gigging ensued and part of our excursion took us to The Milky Way and Paradiso venues in Amsterdam, and eventually via Cologne and Dusseldorf to the great city of Berlin.
The Wall still stood and divided East and West Germany, so great things could happen here! Although our Berlin Wall encounter at Checkpoint Charlie was a bit scary.
Steve Sekrit now had long hair and a strange beard, which didn’t balance with his passport photo and only after a long exchange with an authoritarian, now in possession of a copy of our album Laughing Academy, were we able to pass across the border.
Thankfully he looked at the images on the outer sleeve cover as the inner gate fold sleeve would have offered no means of verification.
Our gig in Berlin that evening was at the Kant Kino and access to the famous venue was a long walk across a suspended structure overlooking parts of the bustling street below.
It was a brilliant, receptive, bouncing crowd, full of anticipation – it was a very memorable gig.
Full interview:
https://garyalikivi.com/2020/04/06/funk-off-the-punishment-of-luxury-further-tales-of-musical-adventures/
Next is a story from Fred Purser (ex-Penetration/Tygers of Pan Tang) taken from an interview in December 2018…..
We were on tour in the USA, and I turned 21 in Boston. It was a blast. Great fun. We were out there on the same tour that The Police had done, they had done the circuit twice and they broke. Squeeze had done it, they broke. Unfortunatley after the first circuit of that tour we were over worked, burnt out.
Virgin were a great label but turn over for albums was quicker in those days and they wanted another one quickly. Just too much. Sadly we split. In hindsight if we had just taken a holiday maybe four weeks off and come back refreshed, that would of worked.
The perception is that it can be a glittering world, we didn’t complain about it then because it was a great opportunity. But looking back it was very tiring travelling hundreds of miles every day sitting on your backside for 8-9 hours in the back of a van.
When I was young, I used to read the Sounds and read the back of albums and think it would be very glamourous. But the reality is it can be quite mundane.
When I joined Penetration we were getting £25 a week. Before we played The Marquee we got a telegram from Ian Dury to wish us luck. But he was only on £25 a week when Hit Me with Your Rythm Stick was number one in the charts!
Obviously that money would filter in later on, but the record company put a lot of money into the band and until you reach that break even line your just on the recoupment phase. They want their loan repaid before you see any money.
So, they would pay you per diems of £10 per day so you can get food and essentials.
There would be bands in great recording studios impressed by it all, rightly so, but in the background is the ching, ching sound of the money register. They are accruing a debt to the record company, and they want it back.
Full interview:
https://garyalikivi.com/2018/12/30/square-one-in-conversation-with-songwriter-producer-fred-purser/
I spoke to John Gallagher from Chief Headbangers RAVEN in October 2019…….
For young lads like us there was only two ways out of Newcastle…..and we weren’t good footballers.
The running joke was ‘C’mon let’s git in a van and gan doon t’ London!’. We did quite a few one off support gigs. It was, in the back of the truck, drive down to London, play the Marquee with Iron Maiden and drive back straight after the gig.
We just worked, playing shows, writing songs. One thing we’ve never had is a lack of song ideas. Often a riff from a sound check turns into a song.
We had worked hard for years so when the opportunity arrived, we dove in headfirst. Getting the Neat deal changed everything totally then when we made contacts in the US and did our first tour with a young rag tag outfit called Metallica opening for us.
It was great to get to play a stadium show with them in São Paulo a few years back and hear James (Hetfield) tell the crowd how much they appreciated Raven taking a chance back in 1983 and taking Metallica on tour with them. That meant a lot to us.
Full interview:
https://garyalikivi.com/2019/10/09/heeds-doon-with-john-gallagher-from-chief-heabangers-raven/
Next is a story from Michael Kelly (SOUTHBOUND) in March 2019……
We recorded some songs at Impulse Studio’s in Wallsend. We done several tracks to send to record companies and also arranged to go to London, appointments had been made to approach Virgin, Rocket, A&M, Decca, Island, WEA and others. We thought that someone must take a liking to us.
I remember going into one record company’s office and I Feel Love by Donna Summer was playing and another office was playing Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello. This doesn’t sound like us as we were playing AOR music.
After days of stumbling around the streets of London we headed home with hope that someone might pick up on what we left them.
When we got back to the North East we were offered an interview on Radio Newcastle. The interview was filled with jabs about New Wave/Punk taking over from normal rock music. I must have had blinkers on because we were in the middle of a musical revolution that was sweeping across the country.
Our music was becoming old hat and as one record company said…You’re two years out.
We had lots of replies from other record companies like …We have to pass on this…or Our label has its full quota of artists. It was very frustrating.
Full interview:
https://garyalikivi.com/2019/03/13/all-right-now-with-michael-kelly-former-drummer-with-north-east-band-southbound/
Interviews by Alikivi.
More stories on the blog with a full list of interviews on the ABOUT page:
https://garyalikivi.com/about/
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 