My visit to Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road has a special significance for me, as it was where I met my wife. We shared a flat at Neville Court, the red brick mansion block directly across from the famous recording studios. 

<= Yes, I lived here. That was back in the early 1990s. We would sometimes see tourists ‘doing the crossing’ as we left for work, but nothing like the crowds you get there today.

And though I lived right across the road, it wasn’t until 2022 that I got to see inside Abbey Road Studios. 

It was the day the Queen died, 8 September 2022 and I was staying at my mother's place while on a visit to the UK. 

I have a friend who’s a sound engineer and does occasional sessions at Abbey Road. I'd asked him if there was ever an opportunity to come and see inside the studio, to let me know. He called me up that evening and just as I'm on the phone to him, my mum comes in and tells me "she's gone". 

The SSL 96-channel console in Studio 3

I felt a bit bad leaving my mum to grieve for the old Queen on her own, but she understood this was a unique opportunity for me. 

An hour later, I entered the courtyard of Abbey Road Studios and made my way up the steps to the studio reception. My mate Simon came to greet me and took me first of all to Studio Three, or 'Number 3' as AR insiders say. 

This is the smaller (relatively) performing space where most famously, Pink Floyd recorded their classic albums, including Dark Side Of The Moon, as seen in this clip from 1972.

Although the Beatles are most closely associated with Number 2 studio, they recorded several of their classic songs in Number 3, including Eleanor Rigby. Penny Lane, Let It Be and, from the Abbey Road album, Come Together, Something, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), You Never Give Me Your Money and Here Comes the Sun.

Elgar on the podium of Number 1,
George Bernard Shaw on the stairs

Back in 1966, Studio Three also hosted the famous tape-looping session for the Revolver album track Tomorrow Never Knows. I wrote about it here. There is also footage of them in Studio 3 used in the promo videos for Lady Madonna and Hey Bulldog.

Moving on, we went to Studio 1, the orchestral chamber where Sir Edward Elgar made many of his most famous recordings. It's a cavernous room. 

Elgar actually conducted the first-ever recording session at Abbey Road (then known as EMI Studios) in 1931, leading the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Pomp and Circumstance,  familiar to anyone who has watched the Last Night Of The Proms, as it includes Land of Hope and Glory.

Gilmour recording the Shine On riff in Number 1

Although Pink Floyd recorded mostly in Studio 3, for the track Shine On You Crazy Diamond, the band and engineers wanted to gain maximum ambience for the song's iconic guitar figure. So, the men in white coats placed David Gilmour's amps in Studio 1. I wrote about that here.

At the height of 1967's Summer Of Love, a few days after the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles recorded backing tracks at Olympic Studios for a new song by John, All You Need Is Love. This was premiered on 25 June in a television show, Our World, the first live global television link, broadcast via satellite and seen by an audience of over 400 million in 25 countries.

All You Need Is Love, filmed in Number 1

Filmed in Studio One at Abbey Road, the Beatles were accompanied by a thirteen-piece orchestra and surrounded by friends and acquaintances seated on the floor, including Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Keith Moon.

Engineering the session and the live link was Geoff Emerick, who recalled the experience as "horrendous". 

"To attempt to record what he did, even without a link up, was ridiculous."

George Martin had the band record a basic track for them to play along to on the live feed. Nonetheless, the vocals, bass guitar, George's lead solo, the drums and the orchestra were all done live. 

Studio One today

The pre-taped rhythm track went onto track one of the four-track tape. On to track two went the bass, lead guitar and drums; track three the orchestra and track four the vocals. 

While all this was going on, George Martin and Geoff Emerick did an instantaneous remix that was fed directly to the BBC and then to the world.

The market for new orchestral works stagnated somewhat in the 1970s and Studio One was utilised so little that it became an indoor sports venue for the musicians. 

Its fortunes were revived in the 1980s with the growth of orchestral recordings for films. Raiders of the Lost Ark being the first major film soundtrack recorded in Studio 1.

Number 2, from the stairs to the control room

Studio 3 has been updated and modernised over the years, but the larger recording rooms have retained many of their period features, in large part because of the historical significance attached to the music that has been made there.

Number Two, the most renowned recording space, perhaps in the world, is similarly intact from its heyday, when The Beatles created many of their greatest songs.

Sixty years ago, they would record on four-track machines, often bouncing down four tracks onto one and sometimes using two four-track machines in sync. Today in Number Two, Abbey Road has a 60-track desk, while Number Three has a 96-track console. 

Amongst the vintage instruments still on the studio floor is the old Steinway Vertegrand upright piano that Paul McCartney would have used for Lady Madonna (actually recorded in Number 3) and the filming of Hey Jude. 

Lab coats were standard
for technical staff 

The piano has seen better days and has some keys missing, but has been kept entirely because of its Beatle associations. 

In the 1950s, Abbey Road was a very traditional classical music and light entertainment studio. The men in white coats kept everything tickety-boo and the recording engineers wouldn't dream of seeing the volume meters edging into the red. 

Recording engineers will tell you the key to a successful session is the correct use of microphones. Abbey Road retains one of the greatest collections of vintage and modern microphones in the world; all still fitted with their original valves and regularly maintained.

Another unique aspect of the Studio One facility was the 'ambiophonics' speaker system, whereby 100 speakers were fitted symmetrically to all four walls, artificially tailoring the acoustics by feeding signals delayed at different intervals. 

A new era began in the late 1950s, when Studio 2 was remodeled; the control room was moved upstairs and the now-famous staircase was installed descending onto the studio floor. 

The 60-channel Neve console
upstairs in Studio 2

At that point, no one would have foreseen the pioneering musical explorations that would follow in the Sixties. The Beatles pushed at the boundaries of acceptable studio practice, encouraging others like The Pink Floyd, to express themselves fully, using psychedelics and the avant-garde as their inspiration. 

As a new generation of engineers came through the ranks, people like Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott and Alan Parsons, Abbey Road became a rock and roll studio, and the Beatles were the ground-breakers.

Given free-rein at Abbey Road, and having quit touring by 1966 to concentrate on studio work, the Beatles were way ahead of other groups at the time, in terms of composition and studio innovation.

While Tomorrow Never Knows, the final track on 1966's Revolver, had been a major leap in how bands could use primitive studio trickery, the final track on the 1967 follow-up album still stands as one of the most successful and iconic musical experiments.

Not only was A Day In The Life compositionally unconventional, joining two distinct songs into one cycle, it has a number of peaks and troughs, culminating in a final chaotic crescendo. The middle section is particularly inspired, with fairly obvious allusions to marijuana and LSD: "found my way upstairs and had a smoke; and somebody spoke and I went into a dream..."

John listening to a Sgt. Pepper play-back

John had already recorded his dream sequence vocal that follows, and since they were recording on the same track, Paul was under pressure to follow his guide vocal exactly, or risk erasing part of John's bit. 

The dream sequence that follows, with John singing the euphoric melody line (ahhh, ah-ah-ah, etc) drenched in reverb is, I would contend, the high point of progressive popular music in the 1960s; a breakout moment for a generation held back by parental conformity and conservatism. It's exactly why Sgt Pepper was so revered at the time and for years afterwards, though nowadays its immense influence has tended to be forgotten.

The orchestral session for A Day In The Life confirms their influence by the avant-garde composers. They left 15 bars at the end of the song blank, telling the orchestra to start on their lowest note and be at their highest by the end of the 15 bars.

Paul recalls, "It was interesting, because the trumpet players - always fond of a drink - didn't care, so they'd be up there at the note ahead of everyone. The strings all watched each other like sheep  'Are you going up?' 'Yes', 'So Am I'. 'A little more?' Yes. All very delicate and cosy. You listen to those trumpets. They're just freaking out."

Paul with the orchestra in Number One

It was the largest number of musicians ever heard on a Beatles track. According to Derek Taylor, the big orchestral session was "a riot of festive props, false noses, upside down glasses and imitation bald heads". Erich Gruenberg, the lead violinist, wore a gorilla's paw on his bowing hand.

The recording of the orchestra for A Day In The Life was engineered by Geoff Emerick. He said, "It was only by careful fader manipulation that I was able to get the crescendo of the orchestra at the right time. 

"I was gradually bringing it up, and then slightly fading it back in without the listener being able to discern this was happening. Then I'd have about 4 dB's in hand at the end. It wouldn't have worked if I'd just shoved the level up to start with."

Mark Lewisohn's book, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, reveals how, at the end of the orchestra's tremendous crescendo, everyone in the studio broke into a spontaneous barrage of applause. 

This youtube clip includes rough footage of the orchestral sessions for A Day In The Life, in the typically psychedelic style of the times, with candid shots of the various band members and friends. 

Yours truly in Studio 2

The final 'eternal chord' on A Day In The Life came from all four Beatles and George Martin in the studio playing three pianos. All of them hit the chords simultaneously, as hard as possible, with the engineer pushing the volume input faders down on the moment of impact.

Then, as the sound gradually diminished, the faders were pushed slowly up to the top. It took 45 seconds and it was done three or four times, piling sound upon sound. 

George Martin said of the Day In The Life sessions, "One part of me thought, we're being a bit self-indulgent here.

"The other part of me said, It's bloody marvellous".

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOG, PLEASE HIT THE FOLLOW BUTTON ON THE SIDE PANEL. THANKS

You see that little green light in the window
 on the left? That's where I used to live

Also on this blog:

1966 - The Beatles escape the madness of the road to createRevolver

LIFE magazine reports on 'The New Far-out Beatles', 1967

 Sgt. Pepper Is The Beatles - Who Knew?

How Sgt Pepper disappeared from those lists of classicalbums

At Home With the Lennons, 1967

 A Night With John Lennon - The Fab Faux at Radio City MusicHall

Handel and Hendrix - neighbours in London

Music lovers in London have a wealth of options when it comes to visiting historical locations. Top of many people’s list, to judge from the ever-present crowds nowadays, is the crossing on Abbey Road in St. John’s Wood, made famous on the cover of the 1969 Beatles album. I wrote about my association with Abbey Road here.

This year, I paid a visit to the specially restored residences of George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix, two musical geniuses who lived next door to each other, 200 years apart.

Handel lived in the four-storey terrace at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair from 1723 until his death in 1759. In 1968, Jimi Hendrix moved into an adjoining top-floor flat at number 23. He described it as “the only home I ever had".

Handel had moved to London in 1713, with Royal patronage and lived there for the rest of his life. Having established himself in English society, Handel took a lease on the house at 25 Brook Street in 1723.

Set in the heart of Mayfair, the poshest address in London, the Handel house is a splendid example of how a prosperous artist could live in relative comfort 250 years ago.

The decoration and furnishings are true to the period. A great deal of pride has been taken in the restoration, from the basement kitchen to the loft.

Here, in 1741, Handel composed his most famous work, Messiah. The exhibits at Brook Street include his harpsichord and manuscripts, along with a display of costumes, wigs and other personal items.

Accounts of the time show that the house was used frequently for recitals. Handel also had staff living in the loft rooms, with a kitchen/scullery in the basement (or the lower ground floor, in estate agent speak).  

The restoration of the house as it had been in the 18th century was greatly helped by the comprehensive inventory of his belongings that Handel prepared, right down to kitchen utensils.

Although none of Handel's original furniture has been found, pieces have been placed in the rooms which adhere as closely as possible to the inventory. The large full tester bed with its crimson hangings has been reconstructed, using a period bed. 

Handel also owned an extensive art collection. By the end of his life he possessed over 80 paintings and prints.

After periods of ill health and failing eyesight, Handel died at his home in Brook Street in April 1759 at the age of 74. In his will Handel left bequests to his servants, the Foundling Hospital and a number of charities. He also bequeathed £600 for his funeral and a memorial in Westminster Abbey, where he was buried.

The Jimi Hendrix flat is a more modest abode.

His girlfriend Kathy Etchingham said, "It wasn’t very grand, though the carpets and curtains were quite expensive. It was just right for a couple. 

The Hendrix flat at 23 Brook Street

"Jimi loved being able to go out and buy cigarettes or whatever and even if people recognised him they would not bother him. He could walk to the clubs with me and sometimes we went on the Tube. We went ice-skating at Queensway and lived a normal life."

The Brook Street location was perfect for Jimi, giving him proximity to the vibrant scene of clubs and music venues that had been a familiar environment for him in New York's Greenwich Village.

Jimi and Kathy Etchingham at Brook Street

In this flat, Jimi and Kathy were close to the West End and Soho. Their social circle consisted mainly of music business people. Kathy worked as a DJ at the top clubs in London, such as the Cromwellian in South Kensington and the Scotch of St. James.

So, while Chas Chandler was Jimi's manager and knew many of the British musicians, Kathy also knew the groups because they came to the clubs, and she was able to introduce Jimi to the scene in London.

As she put it, "Everyone in the business knew everyone else and socialised together." 

When Chas brought Jimi over from New York, they arrived at the Scotch on the first night, and a fight broke out; nothing to do with Jimi, who had already begun chatting up Kathy. 

Chas was concerned that the police might come in to the club and told Kathy to get Jimi away from the trouble, because he didn't yet have a visa. They went back to his hotel near Hyde Park.

In December '66, the couple moved into Ringo Starr's flat at 34 Montagu Square, occupying the basement flat, with Chas and his fiancee Lotte on the ground floor. This is where Hendrix composed The Wind Cries Mary, after an argument with Kathy.

As Kathy remembers, they were both hot-headed at times and neither would back away from an argument. She went out and when she returned, he had written the words:

After all the jacks are in their boxes
And the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness
Staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
And the wind whispers
"Mary"

It became the third hit single for The Jimi HendrixExperience.

There is now a blue plaque outside 34 Montagu Square, but not for Jimi. It's for John Lennon, who lived there after Jimi, when he began his relationship with Yoko Ono.

This contact sheet was a guide 

In July 1968, Jimi and Kathy finally found a place they could call home, at 23 Brook Street. They occupied the top two floors of the house, where they could hide away if they wanted. "It was not as busy as you might think. Jimi and I both valued our privacy".

The flat at 23 is now accessed from an upper floor of the Handel house. The living room and bedroom have been assembled to look how they would have looked when Jimi lived there, as well as housing a permanent exhibition about his life and musical legacy in the back rooms.

Although not as extensive as the house next door, the restoration of the living room was so accurate Kathy said she felt disoriented when she attended the official opening of the flat in 2016, like she'd been transported back in time.

The attention to detail includes period dial phones, ashtrays, rugs, throws, an old radio, acoustic guitar, written lyrics and a tape recorder. 

There's a record player, amp and vintage 1960s stereo speakers, along with facsimiles of Jimi's actual record collection, including albums by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Cash, Frank Zappa and, naturally, Handel.

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOG, PLEASE HIT THE FOLLOW BUTTON ON THE SIDE PANEL THANKS

See also on this blog:

Kathy Etchingham talks about her time with Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix wows Monterey 1967

Sunday Night at the Saville Theatre, 1967

Five Days of Drama at the Isle of Wight, 1970

Jimi's Last Interview, September 1970

People Power - Live Aid , Mandela and Human Rights Now!

My mother just messaged me to say she's watching the re-run of Live Aid on the BBC.

"I'm looking for you in the crowd."

"But Mum, I wasn't there!!"

I'm not sure why I wasn't at Live Aid, 40 years ago today. As a committed concert-goer back then, I certainly would have been up for it. I imagine the event must have sold out quickly before I could get hold of a ticket. 

On the day, I remember I was in my car with the radio on, and hearing the now famous announcement: "It's 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia and around the world it's time for Live Aid!"

I watched the day unfold on TV with friends, into the early hours of Sunday morning. I still have the audio tapes. On one of them, at the conclusion of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven, you hear DJ Mike Smith saying "Well, if you won't give us at least a quid after hearing the most requested song of all time, well, there's no hope is there?"

My Live Aid cassettes

Live Aid showed what was possible when a whole community of artists work together to benefit those much less fortunate than themselves. It also engaged a generation of 20 and 30-somethings in a way that is perhaps hard to imagine now. 

The 1980s was a politically-charged time, but it was also the beginning of the Reagan/Thatcher-inspired age of neo-liberalism, that eroded the social contract and the power of trade unions. 

As the British journalist A.A. Gill wrote, "It was the decade when the people, after 20 years of activism and raised fists, seemed to be at their most powerless... the rise of multinationals, big government and international bankers."

Using music to highlight the issues of inequality, although it was radical, also seemed quite natural at the time. And after Live Aid, the torch was carried forward by some of these high profile rock stars in the fight for human rights, the fight against apartheid in South Africa and many other worthy causes.

Sting became involved in highlighting the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. His songwriting reflected an awareness of oppression in the Soviet Union (Russians) and in South America (They Dance Alone). Peter Gabriel wrote 'Biko' in response to the death in South African police custody of the anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko. The song was often used at the climax of Gabriel's live shows, encouraging the audience to chant in sympathy and comradeship.

So while much is rightly being made of the 40^th anniversary of Live Aid, the humanitarian and charity events that followed it are also an important part of the story. As such, the immediate legacy of Live Aid was the string of politically-charged concerts in the late 80s, beginning with another cracker of an event music-wise, the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium. 

My ticket

The June 1988 concert that spurred the release from jail of Nelson Mandela, was a remarkable collection of global talent. More diverse than Live Aid and featuring many of the biggest artists of the day.

It was probably the most politically influential of any concert held in the UK. The BBC fended off resistance to the idea of giving a whole day's TV (again!), not for famine relief this time, but to support the release of a political prisoner. 

Mandela had at this point served 26 years in prison. After the 70th Birthday Tribute concert was shown around the world (except in South Africa, of course), growing domestic and international pressure forced President F. W. de Klerk to release Mandela in 1990 and negotiate an end to apartheid. In 1994 Mandela became president of South Africa. 

Here’s the list of artists who appeared at the June 1988 show:

Harry Belafonte, Sting, George Michael, Eurythmics, Al Green, Joe Cocker, Ashford & Simpson, Natalie Cole, Tracy Chapman, Midge Ure, Phil Collins, Joan Armatrading, Paul Young, Bryan Adams, The Bee Gees, Salif Keita, Youssou N’Dour, Sly & Robbie, Aswad, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, UB40 and Chrissie Hynde, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Courtney Pine, Simple Minds, Peter Gabriel, Steve van Zandt, Jerry Dammers, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Dire Straits featuring Eric Clapton, Jessye Norman. With contributions from Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Gere, Jackson Browne, Michael Palin, Harry Enfield and a particularly emotional introduction to Dire Straits by Billy Connolly. 

Emotions ran high from the very start of the show. Sting had been persuaded to appear, even though he had a gig that night somewhere in Europe. Credit to him for going on early and getting the concert off on the right note, with his tribute to the Mothers of the Disappeared, ‘They Dance Alone’.

George Michael also went on early in the show and bravely chose to cover Stevie Wonder’s Village Ghetto Land.

Unfortunately for Stevie, and for us, the hard drive for his keyboards went missing just as he was about to take the stage. His scheduled performance was scrapped and Tracy Chapman stepped forward with her guitar and played Fast Car. Apparently, her record sales went stratospheric after this. 

Simple Minds came on and pumped up the audience with Waterfront and Alive and Kicking. 

The day would not have been complete without Jerry Dammers and an augmented Special AKA performing Free Nelson Mandela, with Ndonda Khuze on vocals. As the carnival vibes were ramped up, the crowd chanted "The Whole World Is Watching!!"

The Specials were the poster boys for the 2-Tone movement, which along with Rock Against Racism, was a reaction to the rise of the far-right National Front and the race riots that had become more frequent in the late 1970s, just as The Specials were getting to Number One on the charts with Ghost Town.  

"For me, it was no good being anti-racist if you didn't involve black people, so what The Specials tried to do was create something that was more integrated," said Dammers.

It was a time of violent confrontation on the streets, reflecting conflict not just between whites and blacks, but the police as well. A disproportionate number of black men died in custody in those years, and still do.

The country was falling apart, said Dammers. "You travelled from town to town and what was happening was terrible. In Liverpool, all the shops were shuttered up, everything was closing down. Margaret Thatcher was closing down all the industries, throwing millions of people on the dole.

"You could see the frustration and anger in the audience. In Glasgow, there were these little old ladies on the streets selling all their household goods, their cups and saucers. It was unbelievable. It was clear that something was very, very wrong."

Dammers wasn't afraid to use his platform to confront people on the issues of the day. He tapped into their frustration and lack of hope with songs that addressed them directly. Songs like Too Much Too Young, Rat Race, Stupid Marriage and Racist Friend.

Whitney Houston's appearance on the bill at the Free Nelson Mandela concert was perhaps seen as tame, but she won the audience over with the sheer power of her voice. After a few of her trademark vocal somersaults, we all looked at each like, wow, this girl can sing. It was a phenomenal performance, in less than ideal conditions for her, in the open air with the temperature dropping.

Then Stevie Wonder appeared suddenly. No keyboards, just standing at the mike calling out the key changes to the band. He didn't stay long. It fell a bit flat, to be honest. 

Night fell and Billy Connolly come on to introduce Dire Straits. He told us that when the band's album went to number one in South Africa, rather than take the royalties, they said send the money to Amnesty International.

"It must break the hearts of those shits, to sign the cheque every year and send it off. And as result, the boys are banned in South Africa, which is a compliment. Ladies and gentlemen, with a happy heart and a tear in either eye...Dire Straits". 

The band sounded immaculate, augmented by Eric Clapton, and as Dire Straits played Brothers In Arms, I've rarely witnessed such a charged atmosphere at a show. Maybe this clip gives some sense of what it was like. Mark Knopfler was clearly affected by it. 

"Best birthday party we've ever been to," he told the audience.

Jessye Norman sang Amazing Grace at the finale. The perfect end to a special day. 

The second Nelson Mandela concert, in April 1990 also at Wembley, was notable less for the music (although it was another bumper list of artists) but most of all because Mandela was there in person.

That remains one of the most thrilling and inspiring moments of my life. After 27 years in prison, he walked out on the stage to a massive ovation. It seemed to last a long time - in fact it was only about 6 minutes - before he was able to speak. 

Nelson Mandela on stage at Wembley

The Anti-Apartheid movement had been galvanised by that first Wembley concert, to increase the pressure on the South African regime to release Mandela. And here we were, two years later, to welcome him back. It may seem crazy to believe a pop concert could really make that much difference. But here was the proof. 

The Human Rights Now! concerts in September 1988, held around the world and featuring Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman, were another example of how rock musicians put themselves forward as advocates for political change and awareness. This time, they didn't just turn up to Wembley and plug in, they took it out on the road and worked it. South America, Africa, Asia and points in between. Again, it was inspiring and engaged a new generation in the fight for freedom and equal rights.

My ticket

Here's Bruce Springsteen getting the crowd jumping in Argentina.

As the decade came to a close, the fall of the iron curtain across Eastern Europe and the release of Mandela were the culmination of this new sense that people did have the power to force change. 

Oppression and inequality haven't gone away, but events such as this gave us the belief that change can happen when people come together to show their opposition and resistance. 

Bruce is still out there making a stand, but there aren't too many of the new generation using their platform in protest. If ever there was a time for these stars to raise their voices in protest, surely the moment is NOW!

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOG, PLEASE HIT THE FOLLOW BUTTON ON THE SIDE PANEL THANKS

Also on this blog:
2-Tone and possibly my best gig ever

Queen's 1976 Free Concert in Hyde Park

Memories of the Reading Festival, 1975

Five Days of High Drama at the Isle of Wight, 1970

From Pinner to LA - Elton's Big Breakthrough, 1970

My Woodstock 50th Anniversary Diary

A Wizard, A True Star - my all-time favourite album

Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan's Artistic Peak in the 1960s

 Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Jimi Hendrix - the last interview, September 1970

Jimi in London the day before he died

"I'm happy - it's gonna be good."   That is how Jimi Hendrix signed off his interview with Roy Hollingworth that appeared in the September 5th 1970 edition of UK weekly Melody Maker.

With hindsight, the optimism he expressed about his future is hugely poignant given that only a few days later, aged just 27, Hendrix would be dead.

Whichever way you look at it, Jimi's death from an overdose of sleeping pills on September 18th was a sad and tragically sudden end to his story.

As the MM article said back then, Hendrix was rock's most influential guitarist. Then as now, he remains the guitarist considered by many as the greatest of all time.

But he was a troubled soul and by 1970 he had lost much of the creative momentum built up during the making of his masterpiece 1968 album Electric Ladyland.

The MM interview, click to enlarge

In this interview with Melody Maker, he acknowledged he had taken his music as far as he could in its present form and how he hoped to make more mind-expanding and spiritually uplifting music in the future.

On the 50th anniversary of his passing, there will be plenty of speculation about what might have been - whether he would have gone in a more jazzy direction; the rumoured collaborations with Gil Evans and Miles Davis. In the same way that Jeff Beck reinvented himself as a jazz fusion player, Hendrix could easily have moved away from his blues roots - and he planned to.

In his own words, Jimi saw his return to the UK in the summer of 1970 as a new beginning. It was widely acknowledged that he had lost his way creatively and his life seemed to be increasingly a tale of drug busts and legal issues of one sort or another. Jimi himself said as much. "It's all turned full circle. I'm back to where I started. I still sound the same, my music's the same and I can't think of anything new to add to it in its current state."

Jimi in his pomp, 1967

As a new decade was beginning, he saw it as a cut-off point for the revolutionary 1960's music culture. "This era of music sparked off by The Beatles has come to an end. Something new has got to come and Jimi Hendrix will be there."

Jimi wanted a big band, he said: "full of competent musicians I can conduct and write for. It's going to be something that will open up a new sense in people's minds. They are getting their minds ready now. Like me, they are going back home, getting fat and making themselves ready for the next trip."

Jimi looked increasingly unwell in 1970

That Hendrix needed to get himself together physically is clear. In his last photos, he looks tired. The Who's Pete Townshend was most vocal about his shock at the state Hendrix was in, thin and withdrawn, the effects of the drugs and alcohol, the travel and constant hassles having aged him.

As Charles Shaar Murray wrote in his excellent Hendrix book 'Crosstown Traffic', "Hendrix's dope consumption, which was fairly monstrous even at the best of times, was escalating dramatically."

Jimi's perspective on it was that, in his utopian vision of "a new form of classical music", you didn't necessarily need drugs.

"You know the drug scene came to a big head. It was opening up things in people's minds, giving them things they just couldn't handle. Well music can do that you know, and you don't need any drugs.

"It's going to be a complete form of music," he said of his ideas for a musical reinvention. "It could be something along similar lines to what Pink Floyd are tackling. They don't know it, but people like Pink Floyd are the mad scientists of this day and age."

Hollingworth asked Hendrix when he would start to form this big band. He said people wouldn't have too long to wait and that his Isle of Wight performance might be the last of that type with the three-piece format.

The MM's review of Hendrix's performance late on the Sunday night at the IOW concluded: "We're convinced that Jimi's trouble stems from internal conflict between his blues roots and a desire to progress. He has the technique to play a mass of different sounds, but his confidence seems to ebb and he gets confused when he wanders into the freestyle freaky effects, so revolutionary back in 1967.

"All it needs is some nice new songs, some rehearsal and bingo. As it happened, the miracle and magic worked towards the end of his two-hour set, with the air of a medley of hits. The magic was there all the time with the talent of Hendrix, Mitchell and Cox. They just need a little time...and they'll get it all together."

Jimi's hair was a little tamer now, observed the interviewer, Hollingworth. Did he feel he was a tamer person? He said no, maybe now and then he got a spark of maturity, but he reckoned he was a better guitarist than he used to be. "I've learnt a lot, but I've got to learn more about music. With the big band, I don't want to be playing as much guitar. I want other musicians to play my stuff."

He said he would not be doing so many live gigs. "I'm going to develop the sound and then I'm going to put a film out.

"It's so exciting - it's going to be an audio visual thing that you sit down and plug into - and really take in through your eyes and ears.

"I'm happy - it's gonna be good."

Remembering Jimi - friends and associates talk about him

Kathy Etchingham talking about her time with Jimi

Planet Rock broadcasts live from Jimi Hendrix's restored old flat at 23 Brook Street

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Also on this blog: 

Electric Ladyland - Genius At Work

Five Days of Drama at the Isle of Wight, 1970

Jimi Hendrix releases Band of Gypsys

Hendrix and Handel - Neighbours in London

2-Tone and possibly my best gig ever

Queen's 1976 Free Concert in Hyde Park

Memories of the Reading Festival, 1975

Five Days of High Drama at the Isle of Wight, 1970

From Pinner to LA - Elton's Big Breakthrough, 1970

My Woodstock 50th Anniversary Diary

A Wizard, A True Star - my all-time favourite album

Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan's Artistic Peak in the 1960s

 Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

How my mid-1980s funk band was revived in 2019

Although I have kept playing over the years, I've not worked in a regular gigging band performing our own material for a long time. So one of the unexpected thrills of 2019 for me personally was the re-release of a single I recorded with a band back in the 1980s.

World Series were a jazz-funk band in the period 1982-84, when the so-called 'Britfunk' movement was in full swing. You may have seen us if you were going to gigs in London at that time.

We played at various music clubs such as Dingwalls in Camden, the Cricketers at the Oval, the Rock Garden in Covent Garden and the Production Village in Cricklewood. We also had regular weekly gig at the Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town, where the photo below was taken. 

The line-up at this time was myself on drums and percussion, Keith Mawson on bass, Mike Frankel on guitar and vocals and Andy Park on keyboards. Pablo Cook joined as percussionist soon after our first recording session.

In 1983, Mike, Keith, Andy and I recorded three tracks at Woodcray Manor, a farmhouse studio in Berkshire. We chose two of the songs from our set, Head Over Heels and Try It Out, for a double A-side single, which was released by a small independent label, Baskerville Records.

Here are the songs:

Try It Out by World Series

Head Over Heels by World Series

Back then, the single was played on Robbie Vincent's soul show on Radio London and a few other local radio stations. We did a few promotional appearances with DJs such as Pete Tong. We continued to play live and drew increasing numbers to our gigs, but no major record companies came knocking.

World Series on stage in 1984

36 Years Later...

Fast forward to 2019 and Mike, now living in Greater Manchester, was contacted by French DJs Clémentine & Saint-James from Parisian label Chuwanaga. They said they had got hold of a copy of Try It Out/Head Over Heels and were interested in re-releasing them both.

At first we were sceptical, but Saint-James assured us he really liked the tracks and was producing a 1980s Britfunk revival festival and accompanying album. He would remaster our songs and release them as a stand-alone single.

Since Mike couldn't immediately lay his hands on the master tape, I sent my test pressing of the original 1983 single to Paris, in the hope that they could use this as the source for the remastering.

Mike's sleeve notes for the back cover of the re-release

Amazingly, through the wonders of 21st century recording technology, a few weeks later Mike and I received an email with a link to the cleaned-up and newly mixed songs. The results were remarkable given the source material.

This was a massive thrill for Mike and I, having never imagined that our music would be revived in this way. But that was just the beginning.

Over the early summer months of 2019, Chuwanaga Records rolled out a pre-launch marketing campaign for World Series on social media.

"We're super excited to finally share with you our next release, an almost forgotten 7" by Britfunk band World Series, bringing together jazz-funk, AOR and a really funky vibe.
 
"Available very soon on July 1st: a perfect fit for summertime

The single was played at their DJ gigs and festivals during the summer. They posted a clip on Facebook of a beach party in the south of France, with everyone dancing to Try It Out. Unbelievable. Mike and I knew what we were doing at the time was good, but to have it appreciated like this so many years later was just surreal.

Clémentine and Saint-James went to London in June for the Britfunk revival festival. One Saturday night they appeared on the Gilles Peterson show on BBC Radio 6. Gilles devoted an hour of his show to Chuwanaga's Britfunk revival and during the show, they played Try It Out in full. That was a proud moment, our first play on national radio.

The single was launched in July and became immediately available on Spotify. My daughter works in advertising and one day she sent me a photo showing they were playing World Series over the sound system in her office.

It was just one bizarre thing after another...

Back in the day...

After these recordings in 1983, World Series continued to gig around London and build a strong and loyal following. Like a lot of bands, we were at our best in a live situation and our act was improved further with the addition of Pablo Cook on percussion. Later on that year, Andy left the band and we recruited Mark Ambler, an excellent jazz pianist and synth player, who had a brief time as a pop star with the Tom Robinson Band.

Although we continued to refine our live act, something of the original chemistry and camaraderie had been lost. World Series broke up in 1984 just after we recorded our next single. And that was it. 

You throw these things away without proper consideration when you're young, thinking you'll just move on to something else. But the reality is it's hard to recapture the momentum of a band that has worked at building a sound and an audience.

Of the other band members, I am still in contact with Mike and Pablo. Mike plays live in and around Manchester, working under the stage name Mickey Van Gelder, performing his own compositions, inspired by blues and jazz standards. He is also a lyricist and occasional singer with the French R&B/jazz group The Swinging Dice.

Pablo Cook went on to great things as a percussionist with artists such as Moby, Pulp and William Orbit. He was a member of Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, worked with Lily Allen on her first recordings and most recently, he played at the farewell concert for Soft Cell at the O2 in London.

Thanks to the folks at Chuwanaga, the music of World Series lives on.  

2022 UPDATE: The World Series music continues its surreal afterlife. Here's French disco-funk band 'Echoes Of' rehearsing for a gig in Paris in March 2022 and playing Head Over Heels.

Try It Out / Head Over Heels by World Series are both available on Spotify.

If you'd like to buy the vinyl version, click on the link below. Enjoy!

https://chuwanaga.bandcamp.com/album/try-it-out-head-over-heels?fbclid=IwAR0FH8IF386eFKmUvJqejUMJtRiwysNcrb_OXTJD9JpOzyEv1YrEzx6sChY

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Also on this blog:

Music While You Work - A Lockdown Special

A Tribute To Jazz Giant Chick Corea 

An Appreciation of Joni Mitchell's classic 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns'

My Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival Diary 

David Bowie interview with the NME, 1974

This interview is featured in the anthology "Greatest Hits - The Best of the NME" published to hit the Christmas market in 1974. The book also features interviews with Mick Jagger, Slade, Ray Davies, Lou Reed, Sly Stone, Syd Barrett and the New York Dolls, among others. But since it is one year today since we lost David Bowie, I thought I would share the interview he did with Charles Shaar Murray. In it, Bowie reflects on his 'rock star experiment' with Ziggy and what drives him to keep the whole thing fresh and interesting.

Bowie was always open and honest with good interviewers and CSM gets him to open up on his feelings about stardom and success. He also reveals his feelings about certain bands and, in particular, remembers how The Who were not really Mods, in the sense that he was a Mod, right on top of the latest fashions, rather than five months behind like The Who.

So I hope you can read it. Click on each page to enlarge it. Enjoy. Love on ya!

 

 

 

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