Around 1978 I was equally active producing bands for Neat Records and writing and demoing my own songs. One day Keith Satchfield of Fist approached me and asked if I had any songs suitable for the band (Fist). He was trying to get a commercial edge to their output. I said sure no problem and … Read more
I’ve found two versions of this song on my hard drive. I originally wrote and demo’d it around 1977. I can’t recall why I was running around making new demos of this song in 1980 but I must have had some action on it. My old mate Gus Dudgeon recommended one of his session singers, Jimmy Chambers so … Read more
The first songs I wrote were pretty rubbish. However, I worked at it and eventually I must have got it right cos I’ve sold hundreds of thousands of records around the world. I also studied the masters: Lennon/McCartney, Goffin/King, Bacharach/David, Todd Rundgren, Brian Wilson (who Todd must also have studied). With my band we play … Read more
When I posted yesterday the story about my song that the Searchers recorded I forgot to mention that I was actually a member of the Searchers. Ok, just for a day but it left me with a terrific memory. I had co-produced with John Verity a solo single with Mike Pender. He was still in … Read more
I was a big fan of the Searchers in the sixties so it was a pleasure to work with them in the early 80’s. Now not many people know this but the song they recorded was originally a “Cowboy Song”. Yes, the first demo demonstrates this both in the lyrics and in a short intro … Read more
This story is taken from a piece I wrote ages ago called “Remembering the Eighties”. The 80’s story was originally commissioned by a website called “Metal Godz”. The site is long gone and my eighties article remains unfinished and unpublished. During all the recording sessions for Neat Records, we had the assistance of Conrad Lant. … Read more