Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - THE ANSWERS

[dustyvalentino]

Dear Ed, it is a privilege to have this opportunity that you have given us, to come across so much valuable information that you provide, some paradigm shifts, all of this through a contagious sense of humor, many smiles and reflections came to me.

I am one of the few fans here who has never had the opportunity to see a Dire Straits or Mark Knopfler show. I would have loved it if Dire Straits had ever come to Brazil. I never knew if this was ever considered and the exact reasons why they never came to South America.

After acquiring all the official Dire Straits material in the late 90s, I delved deep into bootlegs and discovered a new world. There are two Dire Straits, the studio and the live. No famous band's history will be complete without going through the bootleg universe. (In my opinion), unfortunately, due to commercial and logistical reasons, DS's official live recordings have never revealed the full experience of a band's show. (At this point, I would like to highlight the importance of bootlegs, which reveal another dimension of the band that the official discography of most bands like DS is not capable of offering. Believe me, this brings great happiness to the most dedicated fans. Those who are into this already have everything official material, it's a matter of honor), Alchemy and On The Night were examples of this for decades, only last year they were released in full. If it weren't for the bootlegs, we would never know what the On Location tour 80/81 was like, or the legendary BIA Tour 85/86, just to name a few examples. I used to be a very dreamy fan, I longed for years to watch the Alchemy video in its entirety, with Portobello Belle, the footage of the show in Paris 1983, Wembley 85 in its entirety, outtakes, demos... none of this has come to light to this day, but some pleasant surprises came after a long time, such as the live 78/92 box set, especially the TOTALLY UNRELEASED last show of the original quartet, Rainbow Theatre, London, UK, 20th-21st December 1979, which brings my favorite "incarnation" in terms of sound, I'm a purist DS fan, I love above all that sound of the original quartet.

Mentioned all this to ask a complex question, why aren't there penguins at the North Pole, there are only penguins at the South Pole? Have you ever stopped to think about this aspect of existence? 😅

Of course I'm joking a little, my question is related to the Communique tour 79,, it was the only tour in which Dire Straits toured the United States on two separate occasions, between February and April 79 and September and October 79. I read somewhere that the second American tour was not successful, paradoxically for me it is strange, judging by the bootlegs available, the band is even sharper, with a wider repertoire. What could you say about this period of the last tour with the original line-up? Any notable shows, it seems to me that the Pink Pop Festival, Geleen, The Netherlands, June 4th 1979 was the first time the band performed for a huge audience, probably more than 50,000 spectators in the audience. In the only available DS video of this festival, there is a rare scene where it shows you with sunglasses 😎 watching the band, just before they play Lady Writer.

That's it for now.
I wish you much happiness and health in your life, Ed, you seem to have a remarkably rejuvenated spirit, I love people like that.

Aaah. So you’re Brazilian.
I like a Brazilian.
I always smile when I see one,  especially close up.

I'm genuinely sorry about that but playing SA back then was a bit like playing Italy. Problematic. .
I did a whole plan/budgets to play Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico plus South Africa and parts of Eastern Europe, on the OES tour but because of the overblown production, the ridiculous overhead, the air freight costs , the band costs and ESPECIALLY the misery factor , I dumped it and extended Europe by about 2 months ( the last bit).
I had at least three musicians begging me not to exercise the options on their contracts for that section and consequently I did not think I’d have a band to do it.
They were homesick, fed up, exhausted and done with the atmosphere.
We barely scraped through the last few weeks.

I’m so glad that the bootlegs were recorded.
I used to get stick from the idiot record co’s ( not WB) about live TV broadcasts , bootlegging ,  anything coming out that wasn’t “official” and I told them to “fuck off’’…..if it didn't happen the way I/we wanted it didn't happen at all.

I don't know how it is now but the senior management at Polygram ( with the exception of Ramon Lopez ) had NO CLUE about music or what it was like to be a fan.
Wankers.
When you are a manager sadly you have to be tough sometimes, really tough.

I can't remember why the live records came out in the form they did.
Mainly for technical time reasons back then I think.

I think the 85 Wembley Show is owned by the TV company

I did see a documentary which said that penguins just can’t swim that far.
For my part I've never understood why modern toilets rarely flush all the turds away first go.
I always have to give it a second flush and crank the handle up and down to assure a sparkling clean bowl.

Late summer of 79 the Arabs hiked the price of oil substantially with catastrophic economic results in the USA where gas prices shot up causing a massive recession. So the cities we had played on the spring bit, when the FIRST album was a huge hit off the back of SOS , sold out eg East Coast but from Greensboro down to Florida was disastrous as the recession bit.
Detroit and Chicago were OK.
I was trying to expand the US fan base but it backfired.
Plus “ Communique” wasn’t hot, not even lukewarm.

It was not a happy tour ( huge understatement ..nearly as bad as OES ).
The brothers were not in arms and M was in a complete funk over Holly Vincent which i'm only mentioning because that’s in the public domain.

The band came very close to collapsing during that and the period up to New Year 79.
If I was wearing sunglasses it’s probably because I was crying at the thought of “Lady Writer” coming up.

I love you too Brunno but you need to get a Brazilian not be a Brazilian before we can take that anywhere.

[dustyvalentino]

Hello, Mr. Edward Scissorhands
(now i remembered about a 90's porn movie Edward penis hands.... go figure why) So many emotions from my youth

Enough with this nonsense, Rolo.
The guy have high blood pressure (don't say the magic word)

You talked about producers and one thing that still amazes me is the first DS album. Comunique is better in terms of sound. The guitars are cristal clear, drums are big, even J bass is quite good on this album. However, there are the Muff's touch on the first record that is, to my point of view, amazing. For me, the magic happened at Mark's guitar tone. I don't know about it, but to me, that tone it's all Muff's magic.
That mystical chorus/vibrato almost cracked clean tone is magical. And never reproduced live. It's all studio.
Another Muff's touch, to my ears, is that In The Gallery was raised a half-step after the recordings. Well, there was too many songs in A...

Seems to me that Muff got some issues with MK, because he said that D (i almost sayed the magic word) was a great player and good as anyone. (Thank God that D's guitars is almost unaudibles on that record, proven that the 'anti-Golias's' guitars was, at least, weak)
Maybe the little brother would have red light syndrom, who knows...

You talked about Mark was unable to record for Michael Jackson.
People always imagined about a partnership between Gilmour and Mark. However, i always felt that Roger Waters was artistically more "adequated" to a collab with Mark.
Both are "inspired" by wars and pipes.
Did Roger ever made an aproach with you or Mark? I really like his albums "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" (with Eric) and "Amused to Death" (with Jeff) 

Ah, another one:
Is well know that, at the 90's, MK often spoke about a Unplugged MTV wicth never happened.
How close a MTV Unplugged Mark Knopfler was to happen?
(i have my toughts, but i'll won't say it)

My very good friend Brunno Nunes talked about you guys touring on South America and i remember when you guys came to Brazil (STP Tour). I think that the brazilian media didn't do the proper cover. (I remember to see an MK very short interview on a kid's show called 'Turma da Xuxa'). Seems that was a mess.
I don't know the Rudy's influence on the Brazil mess. He is argentinian, so... HA!
 
Ed, thank you again.
If you get plans to next summer in Portugal, don't call me.
I am a pain in the ass.

cheers, Ed the Scissorhands.

Ah. Rolo. The emotional one😩.
I’ve seen that movie.
Not a patch on “ The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann”., that’s a corker as we say up North.

Muff basically recorded the live performances as they were then. It was done in 12 days including mixing and had a spontaneous, exciting feel to  it.
Wexler tried to copy that  eg “ What strings did you use?” “ What drum heads?”

I was surprised by Muff’s comments in that TV doc but he’s a producer, I’m not ( and a lovely bloke ). I do not think M shared that view.

Roger Waters. No.

MTV. He did? Really?
We were never approached, we did not approach them, he never mentioned it to me.
Your thoughts are "not a good idea" aren’t they? .

I wasn’t involved in the STP tour.

Dusty tells me you don't take collect calls so I wouldn’t anyway.

“Muff’s touch”

We have reached a 100 and things are heading downwards,  just like a Muff Dive.

[dustyvalentino]

Thanks, Ed, for your answer about your sound system. I'm sure it's lovely. Personally, putting some money into a better-than-average playback system and taking the time to learn about proper speaker setup, have been some of the most rewarding things I've done. The music just comes alive in a very different way. Especially well-recorded music like DS and MK, not to mention ECM albums, of which I'm a great fan and collector. Talk about a vast and varied catalog of artists, many totally obscure, who just create the most amazing and amazing-sounding music. Fantastic.

A question, if I may, this time about Mark. One of the things I admire the most about him as a live performer is how effortlessly he plays lead lines behind his vocals. Many famous singer-guitarists don't, or can't. I mean, take Lady Writer for instance. An uptempo song, a mouthful lyrically, and then to play those intricate lines with precision and without messing up the singing. In your opinion, or from observation, is that just something he has a gift for, or did he practice a lot to achieve that kind of independency?

Thank you, and cheers.

Great. Someone who is familiar with ECM and their esoteric works.
Rudy Van Gelder’s recording’s for Blue Note are in the same league.
They are jazz so qualify as ART.

Gift I’d but there’s no point having a gift/talent if you done practice and apply it.
You know I can't recall ever seeing him practice in the time we worked together…doodling yes, but dedicated practice, no.

Good morning Ed,
a dear friend of mine from Italy asked me to pass this question to you, he thanks you in advance for a possible answer, whatever will be.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WILLY DEVILLE:
An interview to Mr. Deville released in 2006:

I wanted to ask you about the album you made with Mark Knopfler, I can't remember its title ("Miracle" Willy supplied) how did that come about? Was he assigned to produce you by your label or did it come about some other way?
It was Mark's wife Lourdes who came up with the idea. She said to him that you don't sing like Willy and he doesn't play guitar like you,

Nobody plays guitar like him.
That's for sure, but you really like his stuff so why don't you do an album together?
So I went over to London to do this album. It wasn't easy because we didn't want it to sound like a Dire Straits' album, and his guitar playing is so unique that it was hard to do. But nothing good is going to be easy. I know that I spent the whole time really trying to impress Mark, I wanted it to be good.
But, yeah it was his wife Lourdes who was responsible more than anyone else for that album. She's a really great lady, really nice. I still really like that album, especially "Southern Politician".

In an interview with you on the Live In The Lowlands DVD you talked about Mark's reaction to the song "Storybook Love"...
Oh yeah that was funny. I played him what I had and he looked at me and said how did you know about that. I said what, and he said that he was working on a movie with Rob Reiner called the Princess Bride and I'd just written a song that told the story. He got on the phone and phoned Rob and told him, and Reiner said to get it out to him as soon as possible. So we did it up rough and sent it off and he loved it.
The next thing I know I'm standing backstage and listening to Dudley Moore and Liza Manelli introduce me before going out to sing "Storybook Song" at the Oscars. There I was standing backstage with Tom Selleck and Karl Malden, waiting to onstage. It was weird...

Well Ed, this is my question:

it has always been very strange for me that Deville who was so musically distant from Mark, he had composed a song that fitted perfectly in terms of music and lyrics with The Princess Bride soundtrack, at the right time in the right place.  My question is:  is it possible that Deville had secretly listened to the Mark's early recordings of The Princess Bride main theme through Lourdes before and then he wrote his song ("Lourdes who was responsible more than anyone else for that album", cit. Willy Deville) ?  OK, it seems to be sci-fi but the Mark's reaction was so natural and spontaneous ..( "Oh yeah that was funny. I played him what I had and he looked at me and said how did you know about that. I said what, and he said that he was working on a movie with Rob Reiner called the Princess Bride and I'd just written a song that told the story")

Thank you so much Ed for your time.

Before I start, the most unpleasant artist I ever had to deal with by light years.
There was no PB recording prior to WDV’s arrival so no.
M’s involvement with him was catastrophic for all of us involved.
I’m afraid working with heroin addicts is just not a good idea.

[dustyvalentino]

Thank you again, Ed.

I was surprised by Muff’s comments in that TV doc but he’s a producer, I’m not ( and a lovely bloke ). I do not think M shared that view.

M didn't share Muff's view (and the rest of world too)

MTV. He did? Really?
We were never approached, we did not approach them, he never mentioned it to me.
Your thoughts are "not a good idea" aren’t they? .

I remember to see one or two interviews and he talked about a Unplugged Concert.
(my thoughs are that he was waving to MTV)
Well, if MK was interested in a low profile public life, maybe the MTVUnp wasn't the ideal.
I think that (confirmed) MTV never made an approach.
Would be nice? Yes.

I wasn’t involved in the STP tour.

That explains a lot.

Dusty tells me you don't take collect calls so I wouldn’t anyway.

Please, Ed.
Don't take me serious, ever.
All my questions for you are about having a good laugh at the end.
And I never take collect calls.

By the way, Muff had no “issues” with M during recording of first album but the brothers did , just starting to show. .
Unplugged..nice? Who knows?
Academic, it was never done.

Hello Ed,

Again, many thanks for doing this. I was on vacation while this initiative started, so now I've had to waste 8 hours of life reading all your previous answers. Worth it.

Three questions if you and Dusty allow me (I'm not sure about the rules).

- Which countries did you try to get DS to perform but never managed?
- Which country was the most difficult to tour in (in terms of logistics, promoters, payments, all of that)? I know you've mentioned Italy as being difficult in 80/81, but was there a country you particularly struggled with?
- Dire Straits visited my country, Portugal, twice in 1992. Any particular memories of those days there, and why did DS not perform there during the 85/86 tour?

If I took a World map and stuck a pin in every place we DID play it would look VERY sparse. But then it would for ALL acts.
The World Tour market back then was pretty restricted (1977-2000 )
UK, Europe, parts of Eastern Europe,
US, Canada, Australasia, Japan.

The main problems were lack of infrastructure/venues, safety/politics eg Russia, nobody insane enough or reliable enough to promote, restricted record markets.

Over that period a few started to open up, Italy being one in its unique fashion.
Excluding South Africa western acts rarely play African countries even now, or China, huge tracts of Asia eg Mongolia, Thailand, Cambodia
.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico I tried to do.
Just too difficult then.
Austria was really difficult though we did go.
Doing Greece and Israel was a real throw of the dice, lost money in both, great audiences.
I loved Israel. So interesting, beautiful women.

Portugal…….no promoters in 85/6.
I didn't go on those shows, too busy, atmosphere too shit but they went off ok and I got good reports back from the band and crew.

[dustyvalentino]

One person in DS was so active in that area, his body just became a life support system for his penis.

I'm still facing the wall in shame for bringing up your mighty beast, and had MKs solo career been included I would have definitely gone for Richard Bennett, but my guess would be Danny Cummings (If you can play latin percussion and recorded with George Michael and Elton John all options must be open!)

Hilarious. WAY off.
Another one of your jokes?
Danny….FOR FUX SAKE 🤡 ( love him). .

This is such a great opportunity to ask someone from within the whole operation, I love it.
I wonder (I don't mean this as a gossip-question) how (and if ;-) the band stayed sober and seemingly blind to all the excess drug-fueled showbizz that was going on in the '80's. It seems every band for those years has crazy stories to either tell of being told about them, and DS is never 'accused' of any that! Where there afterparty after shows, did the band go into town for drinks after shows or was it as professional as it appears to be, and were shows being done without some divine intervention (wink) after weeks of little sleep and the occasional cold and/or hangover?

Actually most bands DON’T.
It’s a myth.
I've worked with hundreds of acts ( 1970-2008 ) and most by far are dull, boring, drink too much, are too cheap to buy drugs, couldn’t pull a rubber band, can’t even wank properly, often don't like each other, fight, break up, join another band and do it all again. .

DS. Afterparties…no. Maybe in the odd capital city….Paris. LA. NY. Sydney.
In Winnipeg..no. Nurnberg ..no. Gothenburg …no. Canberra….impossible.
Promoters might take everyone to dinner, ditto record cos which were usually mind numbing.

Clubbing. Ha!!!.
They were not a clubbing band and most clubs ..say in Minneapolis or Rotterdam …are dreadful.
So drinks in the bar and off to bed to read the hotel copy of the Gideon’s Bible to a nun they’ve pulled in a Burger King.
Sorry to disappoint you.
 
The Management however did EVERYTHING you are hinting at ( no marching powder though and I don't drink, nor even when Chet Atkins rang up).

Hi Ed,


How was like, managing David and Alan?

Generalied opinion is that david leaving the band was not easy and affected family relationships and so on. But after leaving the band we can see Mk playing with David’s band in San Remo both happy and smiling and good harmony. You have any clue what was that about? Was then after david leaves, the major problem between them?

Same with Alan. We can see him after OES and after OTN supporting mk on keabords in a masterclass for 3 guitar players in a tvshow. Was everything ok between them ?

Outside of the original four I didn't manage any of the other band members outside of their work WITHIN the band and didn't want to.

I went to San Remo with them. Boy that was fun.
The definition of a good time, joyous, funny, creatively perfect.
I’d rate that as the best time I ever had in San Remo, the Las Vegas of Italy.
I think M felt sorry for David but I don't really know, he just said I’ll do it if you come with us so I did.

Not aware of the TV. I don't have anything to say about Alan .

[dustyvalentino]

Ed

Thanks again for doing this.

It was told to me once that you had pushed or maybe just suggested to Mark to get the band back together and do another big tour when the Sultans of Swing compilation was released.  Or perhaps the record companies wanted it.  Any truth to this?

EDIT: This seems kind of unlikely to me given what you've said about the OES tour...

No. Completely untrue.
The record co’s never suggested or asked and as I have indicated earlier I told them what we were doing, they NEVER told me ( too scared !) .

Hello Ed, my cousin Ally (not on this forum sadly) always wondered about what Mark had said at the Nelson Mandela gig about Jack. In his little speech at the Walk Of Life break Mark made it look like he suddenly and surprisingly had to find an replacement inside-left as Jack would have become daddy of two lovely babies. How much truth was in this? I wonder if Jack really would have played the Mandela gig if the babies would have been born in, let's say August.Q:  Was he ever really asked to do the gig? When was it really decided that Eric would play inside-left?

I know this touches the Jack Sonni theme again but the Nelson Mandela gig was an absolute great thing for me. I always wished this concert would have been properly and officially released as an live album (much better idea than "Live At The BBC"...)
I know Dire Straits were asked very early and were headliners together with Simple Minds. I loved that the rehearsal gigs were made available for fans, was that your idea?  Those gigs must have been pure fun. (I always wondered why Mark looked so pale, tired and old at the real event. He could have got a proper hair cut and a decent suit before. Those striped trousers! )

Thank youhuuuuuuu!

LE

can't quite recall the backstory to this.
If you listen to the podcasts Jack did not long before his passing (I think there are 2) , you will get a good idea of how HE saw the apparent collapse of his friendship with MK. I wasn’t present when they met in LA and M told me nothing about that or even that they had met, but Jack’s take on it is very sad to hear and entirely believable …...I do understand why what Jack was suggesting wouldn’t float M’s boat. 

The problem was that his expectations of that situation seem to have been completely at odds with the reality, which was that he was employed as a sideman for the BIA tour alone .
I believe he thought his friendship with M was way more than that and that his position in the group would continue including recording, maybe as a “full member”.
What I don't know is what M had told him when he came on board to replace Hal who was sacked ( and not by me…see John Illsley’s funky book which tells part but not all of the reason).

NM.
He says “management” called him but I didn’t.
Maybe Cummins did, M certainly did not .
I believe he WAS asked but the issue of his daughters' expected birthdate meant he couldn’t  commit .
I can't remember when Erica was asked but I do remember that when M told me he’d spoken to Clapped Out I said that would cause a huge problem because of some extremely drunken racist remarks Erica had made many years before ( in Birmingham I think) which had given rise to the Rock Against Racism “ movement in the UK.
And it did.
But that got sorted in the way that I always sorted BS, I exposed my arse.
The politics of that show were ridiculous …see website devoted to it.
But I'm really glad we did it and for me it was one of DS best performances ever. Top 5.

The recordings of that show were not owned by us.

The warm up gigs were offered to the “fan club” at my instigation.
Simple Minds were not joint headliners but I think that they were the first to accept.
Fun?  Yes. A riot of laughs. I wet my pants then loaned them to M for the show.

Haircut. Suit. Pants. …...Listen, M was and is a fashionable, hip, cool daddy-o , right up there with Ozzy Osbourne, Moby, Chris Martin and Cannonball Adderley.
Don't you have a go at my boy, Joop de Korte cut his hair and that suit jacket was borrowed from Lars Ulrich The World’s Greatest Drummer.

[dustyvalentino]

Ed, the almighty.
Lord of Laughs.

Sometimes, me and my dear friend Brunno Nunes (which is a great guitar player and has a great DS Early Years cover act at his hometown ) catch us talking about DK and Hal as, and only as, guitar players.

Hal is a pro-session guitar player until nowadays. Composed a bunch of film scores and recorded a lot of albums. David, was never a pro-player (in my opinion). However, he was capable to deliver the job until the date that he leaves the band.

Thru the 2 first DS albums, DK's guitar is very, very discrete. Both albums are essencially Mark playng guitar, like 90/10 in coparison to David.

To my ears, Hal was (is) very capable to mimic Mark's playing. However, his playing turned (i don't know if was because of Alan) very modest and far from his capacities as a guitar player (Hal can play, technically, much better than what we hear on the records)

So, I have 1 question and my uncle Muff Rolovsky has another one.

- How Hal joined the band? He was indicated by someone? He played on some kind of audition? Were other players in mind or was only Hal?
He wasn't a Joe Doe either, was he?

- How much Hal played on the LOG album? In percentage, less than David? I am asking this question based on a recent discussion here on the forum.
My thoughts are that Hal, because he could mimic MK very well, his parts (on the record) are, sometimes, interpreted as played by Mark.
The public opinion says that Hal played only few lines and chords on the record, the rest (95%) was MK.

off topic:
Did you know that a modern version of a brazilian kind of romantic style called ''brega' is totally inspired by DS? (mainly about Sultans)
And  bunch of Brazilian Latin (based on latin-spanish culture) bands are crazy about DS?
There are very small poor cities (almost villages) in the Northeast of Brazil that the only international music that plays on the streets and bars are DS.


Thanks again, Ed.
I am laughing just imagining your answers.

Oh fuck, its Roll me over again.

I would never have guessed you and Brew NO Brew, were guitarists.
I thought you were cellists.

This might be translation but Hal is a pro session guitarist. Really? Because he strummed on Private Lap Dancer ?
David K…😱. HELP MEEEEEEEEE 🧛‍♂️

I don't know if you are teaching me the ways of the guitar, tugging your tiny todger, or asking me a question.
 
One of the girls in my office knew him when he was in a group called Darling.
Yes.
Darling.
No wonder they didn't make it.

No one else auditioned ...same as with Chris White, Terry Williams, Mel Collins, Guy Fletcher Tommy Mandel, Alan C, Phil P, Danny C, Pauline Franklin and non of MK’s solo lot for sure .

No Joe Doe Hal Lindes. Do Joe Hal Lindes. Get it right.

I do not know AND I DO NOT CARE who played what chords in what proportion on any record made by any act in the history of music. POP or ART or RUBBISH.
That you have carried out a Worldwide poll with the entire World public of 8 billion to establish that MK played 95% ( it was actually 96.3% ) is why your hero calls you ‘' get a lifers ”.

I call you “ trainspotters”.

And as for brega. So ?  SO?

Are you laughing?
Because I am crying.

Hi Ed, loving your answers, pure funny!!

One question I have - when Johnnie Walker interviewed Mark in 1992 at Woburn Abbey, they were talking about Brendan, and Johnnie says “when all this (ie OES tour) is over might you be back on stage as I’ve heard you’ve thoughts of a nice gutsy RnB band as a change for the Hillbillies and you and Brendan might do something”. Mark says it won’t be for a few years but he’d like to do more with Brendan.

Can you shed any light on this? Obvs the NHB did get back together several times but no such sideline project.

Thanks Ed!

My answers ARE me being serious.
It’s the questions that are funny.
Johnnie Walker.
Good guy, one of the best.
On that interview he must have been drinking too much of his namesake.

[dustyvalentino]

Hello Ed, I have been asked by another family member: Can you give us the names of some of the film soundtracks Mark either turned down or couldn't do because of other commitments?

So many.
Amongst others he turned down The Last Emperor, A River Runs Through It, Legend, Maverick, Thelma and Louise, Last of The Mohicans, Anal Stories  …The Sequel starring Rocco Sifreddi’s botty.

And he chose to do Wag the Friggin’ Dog.
This is why I got paid multo lire.

Ed, the almighty.
Lord of Laughs.

Sometimes, me and my dear friend Brunno Nunes (which is a great guitar player and has a great DS Early Years cover act at his hometown ) catch us talking about DK and Hal as, and only as, guitar players.

Hal is a pro-session guitar player until nowadays. Composed a bunch of film scores and recorded a lot of albums. David, was never a pro-player (in my opinion). However, he was capable to deliver the job until the date that he leaves the band.

Thru the 2 first DS albums, DK's guitar is very, very discrete. Both albums are essencially Mark playng guitar, like 90/10 in coparison to David.

To my ears, Hal was (is) very capable to mimic Mark's playing. However, his playing turned (i don't know if was because of Alan) very modest and far from his capacities as a guitar player (Hal can play, technically, much better than what we hear on the records)


I am laughing just imagining your answers.

Funny, as I already mentioned to you, dear friend Rolo, I attribute the same phenomenon to Hal's participation in the Love Over Gold album. I have a lot of difficulty in perceiving his signature, where he is present doing some filling, something that identifies, "this is Hal Lindes.", everything seems to be MK. In Private Dancer with Tina, I simply cannot identify any signature of Hal's, the only thing I see Hal copying MK is the tone and nothing more, they had copies of Schecter guitars, the same equipment, this helped him a lot in this sense, in addition to all the guidance that MK certainly gave him. A great professional guitarist, but, for me, he does not have a signature, something that I have always valued a lot, as well as beautiful soulful solos.

In the first two albums, despite the predominance of MK's guitars (in which album does this not happen in DS or solo?) I can more easily notice DK's guitar, which despite being a band with 4 members. In my opinion, DK naturally has elements that emulate guitar sounds more clearly. MK, there is a whole context behind this, they have the same influences, they created their own dynamics between guitars and equipment over years and years (forget the differences in personalities), I'm talking about sound, identity, the rhythmic parts that DK sound very similar to MK's, live it becomes clearer to me.

In the end, it is clear to me, regarding guitar sounds in DS, DK has more identity in what he set out to do, rhythm guitar, he had more expression in this and style than Hal, none of the songs on the first two albums sound like the original quartet and it's not because the next stage went to another level of dynamics because of the keyboards, it's just that when a member leaves, the sound can change a lot, it was like that with DK in 1980, it was like that when Pick left in 1982, but it wasn't like that with the absence of Hal Lindes in 1984.

If Bruce Welch's guitar was not in The Shadows would it be the same? I don't think so. It could be Brendan Croker or Steve Philippe instead of DK, but it wouldn't be the same. There are these nuances.

Just my point of view.

Ah. Brunno The Magnificent, Lord of the Humongous, Ruler of the Wasteland.
 
I couldn’t read his signature either.
He has very poor handwriting.

Look. I simply CANNOT talk about David Knopfler.
Not even if I swallow an entire bottle of v i a g r a.

Bruce Welch who is a real pal is a GREAT rhythm guitarist, an original and DK and Hal are not fit to be mentioned in the same breath as him. I AM SERIOUS.

Thank you for your point of view ..I will tell Bruce.

[dustyvalentino]

Hello Ed, my cousin Ally (not on this forum sadly) always wondered about what Mark had said at the Nelson Mandela gig about Jack. In his little speech at the Walk Of Life break Mark made it look like he suddenly and surprisingly had to find an replacement inside-left as Jack would have become daddy of two lovely babies. How much truth was in this? I wonder if Jack really would have played the Mandela gig if the babies would have been born in, let's say August.Q:  Was he ever really asked to do the gig? When was it really decided that Eric would play inside-left?

I know this touches the Jack Sonni theme again but the Nelson Mandela gig was an absolute great thing for me. I always wished this concert would have been properly and officially released as an live album (much better idea than "Live At The BBC"...)
I know Dire Straits were asked very early and were headliners together with Simple Minds. I loved that the rehearsal gigs were made available for fans, was that your idea?  Those gigs must have been pure fun. (I always wondered why Mark looked so pale, tired and old at the real event. He could have got a proper hair cut and a decent suit before. Those striped trousers! )

Thank youhuuuuuuu!

LE

jeez, feeling like the great killjoy here, but also THIS was touched by Ed (in a decent manner of course) and by Jack himself in his podcast. again, should i be wrong, someone throw the first of many stones..

I checked myself and it was not in the Podcast but Dusty had messaged him and Jack had answered that he had been contacted by the Management to play the Mandela gig, not by Mark himself and he called that phone call "ridicoulus" and even if Mandela was an important man, he never would miss the birth of his daughters. So maybe Ed can answer my question nevertheless.

LE

This is when Jack got pissed about the money end I think ( “ridiculous”)
I’ve dealt with this above.
My memory is that we paid all the sidemen and our crew for the rehearsals/warm ups and NM gig since it was M’s choice to do it, not theirs.
We did that with any charity shows DS did.
But I definitely did not have that conversation with him.
I will say Jack and I always had a good relationship and he understood exactly that I was “in the middle” and why.
Miss him, great player and a better man and Dad.

Dear Ed,

I would also like to thank you for your willingness to answer questions, clarify ambiguities and spread a lot of humor, which is particularly commendable. This leads to my first post after 13 years of forum registration.

After the many questions I have already asked, I find a lot of interesting things in your comments about the colloborations and companions around the band and MK in the various projects. That's what my question at the end is aimed at. I could name a whole list of people I would like to ask you about your point of view and especially your personal experiences, but I will limit myself to a few.

1) Van Morrison: There is a wonderful British folk-pop-rock duo (sometimes band) called “Ezio” from Cambridge. Perhaps you know them? They are still phenomenally good in live performances today (usually gigs less than 300 in attendance  ) and their first albums showed how gifted Ezio is as a songwriter (or rather was back then). The second album was produced by Peter van Hooke, who you probably know as he is a drummer and producer and is about your age. Peter van Hooke was also the drummer in Van Morrison's band for a long time, for example when the album “Beautiful Vision” was recorded. Ezio once told me that he was probably also in favor of getting MK as a guest guitarist for the album and then had the “chutzpah” to complain during the recording of “Cleaning Windows” that the MK contribution was actually quite nice, but why did it have to sound so much like Dire Straits? Not unfunny at all... Maybe you know Peter personally and can confirm that? Anyway...Van Morrison is one of Mark's favorite artists according to his own statement and Mark has also said in interviews that the idea of a duet album came up in the days of STP. Conversely, Van does obviously not seem an easy person to deal with. I would therefore be very interested in your actual findings about the collaborations between the two (was the duet album actually planned?) and your personal image of and experience with Van from these connections.

2) Gerry Rafferty: Another one of my more favorite artists, with whom you also had a very intense and sometimes difficult professional relationship due to his illness. The first musical connection between MK and GR was most likely Local Hero, correct? That will presumably also have come about with your personal involvement?! The collaboration on “Another World” was of course musically not really from "another world", but in my opinion is still better than many others feel and for sure it still touched me in view of Gerry's life and both of their interplay on that. How did the two of them see each other? Can you a little bit elaborate about your experience with Gerry as his manager? If this takes too long, can you at least specify on your experiences and emotions when you saw the two making music together?

3) Randy Newman: One of the few real heroes for me. Of course I don't know him personally, but the wit, self-irony and sarcasm that flows from his interviews often warms my heart. Many of his songs are simply terrific and the lyrics are brilliant. His type and humor must have been right up your alley. Did you have any personal experiences with him. Maybe not because  it was probably only about “Land of Dreams” and a few joint appearances by MK and RN at that time, but if so, what would you like to say about your impressions?

4) Chris Rea: He already came up briefly in a question. As far as I know, the two never worked together, but I have read interviews in which Chris, who unfortunately had to endure an unfair and gruesome health story as most of us probably know, spoke very positively about Mark's music. The only connection that has remained with many is the worn-out “Diarrhea Joke”, which unfortunately doesn't last long. Was there anything we didn't know? Did Mark and you know and appreciate Chris and his musical work?

5) Lady Diana - a must! I had to end with something special, but have no doubt that others will be interested in this too. It is always said that Lady D was a big Dire Straits fan and the media coverage of the Princes Trust Galas seems to back this up. Is this true and if so, do you have any interesting stories of your own from that time dealig with the royals?

A big introduction to a short question, but this was also done to give you something to read and some background for the reasons of my personal interest, in the hope that it will inspire you to answer.

Now the question in a nutshell:
What are your personal experiences and views on a) Van Morrison, b) Gerry Rafferty, c) Randy Newman, d) Chris Rea and 5) Lady Diana with regard to your work as a manager of Dire Straits and MK?
Don't worry - there won't be a second question naming additional five from me.

1000 thanks from Germany!

First of all, congratulations and celebrations on your first post 🕺.
And what a post it is.
A post of steel.
The kind that holds up an impenetrable fence.
Rather like your questions🤪

I am going to disappoint because what you are asking requires a book on each subject and I don't have the time or energy SO I am going to answer almost in shorthand and you are going to have to fill in the blanks.

Van the Man.
No, not heard of Ezio.
Terrible name if they are operating in UK, sounds like a household cleaning product, a toilet bowl liquid perhaps.
“ EZIO 💥, KEEPS YOUR RIM SPARKLING CLEAN. Just £7.99 for a giant bottle. Get yours today. EZIO 💥🔥💀 “

Peter VH. Played drums on Climate of Hunter the Scott Walker album I worked on.
Not met him but he is a Division 1 studio drummer for sure.
If he survived being in Van’s band then he must have the will of an Ox and the patience of a Saint.

MK sounds like MK.
Tony Iommi sounds like Tony Iommi.
Hank Marvin sounds like Hank Marvin.
Joe Walsh sounds like Joe Walsh.
Richie Blackmore sounds like….and so on,
Brunno Ninny Nonny  sounds like Brunno Ninny Nonny i.e crap. 🎸.

All of the great individualists on whatever their instrument is have their own sound.
Being a drummer I can recognise Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, Willie Hall, Lars Ulrich The World’s Greatest drummer and so on.
In Lars case because he is SO bad he’s good, rather like vomiting is good after too many lagers.
You’ll know about that I’m sure.

That sounds a VERY unlikely comment for PVH to have made because he would have known that Van would have got Mark in precisely because he DOES sound like MK and in turn that’s the sound of DS. Van is very precise about how he wants his records AND his farts to sound so….

Van the Man not Can the Can ( I love Suzi Quatro…a real hoot 👄).
Yes M likes V and V likes M musically.
Yes there was talk of a duets record but for better or worse it bit the dust when V wanted to own the copyright in "The Last Laugh" which he hadn’t written, hadn’t paid to record and had only sung the chorus on, and then said he would licence it back to us for £1.
 
M and I just got fed up with his nonsense so the duets idea bit the dust.
The issues I mention then got resolved after M said he would take V off and sing the part himself , V backed down and the track went onto STP.
A complete waste of time and for what gain?

They must have made up because I see clips of M and V burbling away like two rather plump pub singers with their fingers in their ears doing a piece entitled "Ode of the Celtic Wanker” they wrote together in Paul Brady’s back garden.

“ Aaaah I wuz a rover, now I’m just a twat,
I loik ta singue this song and wear a cowboy hat,
My cock is very scraggy,
It hangs down boi my knees,
It only gets a stiffy when oi cough and sneeze.”
Knopfler/Morrison. Chariscourt Ltd /Celtic Wanker Ltd.

Good.
They make a lovely couple.

I turned down managing V about 3, maybe 4 times?
I have enough stories to cause you to have a heart attack as does anybody who has come into contact with him BUT underneath all that bluster and grumpiness is a shy man with a sense of humour and an unusual intelligence.
I must admit to liking him.

Gerry Rafferty.
Sad.
Looking back the experience I had with him was intensely frustrating, irritating, mystifying , occasionally uplifting but mostly sad.
Really sad to watch him bully folks, be appallingly rude when drunk, piss on his own talent and display an almost pathological bitterness towards the “Biz” which he blamed for his OWN shortcomings. It wasn’t MY fault he was an alcoholic.

I actually managed him twice, made almost no money BUT he opened doors for me and thereby for DS.

Yes. LH. "The Way She Always Farts” inspired by one of M’s girlfriends who liked turnips .
M and I tried to get the great Roy Orbison to do that but it didn't work out.
Yes, I set all that up, actually played on some of LH and was managing Gerry at the time but I made the stupid mistake of having him come to the studio at 3 pm so he was pissed 🤮
Drunk 🤮🤮.
Slaughtered 🤮🤮🤮.
M got one take before G fell over, double tracked it to make it sound like the Everly Brothers ( our 110% heroes) and bingo! Game, set, and match.

I have never heard "Another World" and know nothing about it. I'd dropped Gerry long before that and M must have done just after he and I had parted ways. Ironic really.

Gerry saw M thru his glasses.
M saw Gerry slumped over the microphone snoring 😴

My emotion was “ oh shit, he’s pissed" when he staggered in to the studio but M sorted as I've explained, he wasn’t known as "one takeaway Knopfler" for nothing ( usually a chicken vindaloo with chutney and a samosa. )

Sorry to burst your balloon.
It wasn’t long after that I bailed, life is too short.
GREAT songwriter and singer but a bitter man living with bi polar.
The drink killed him in the end
It doesn't get sadder than that.

Randy Newman
Great writer, funny man, v dry humour , witty as you say, yes right up my alley but not my back alley.
The three of us spent a great time in New Orleans at a Warner Bros Sales Conference.
Went to Allen Toussaint's studio where some magical record were made eg Lee Dorsey, Fats Domino ( holy shit..one of the true greats) and then visited the zoo which is entirely on water.
Lovely man to spend time with and who has an interesting knowledge of snakes and crocodiles.

Chris Rea.
DS did an early Old Grey Whistle Test with him in Manchester in 1978 (?) .
Great guy and talent, sad re his health issues, no didn't work with him but we did help push his van out of a snowdrift that night .
That’s it really. I'm sure M likes him, what’s not to like?.
I wish him well .

Princess Diana RIP.
Nobody called her “ Lady Di “ here.
Yep. Huge fan.
Prince Charles ( now King ) told me that at the first Princes Trust show we did in 1983 I think. WHAT A NAME DROP!
Yes I have stories but not for you , I have to keep some stuff back for my book. If I ever get round to that.
I will say really nice people , not stuffy and funnier than you might imagine.
Did about 4 shows for them I think.

I hope you and Robson got something out of this and its encouraged you to keep posting.

[dustyvalentino]

Hi Ed,

I’m really interested to hear more about your life on the road as a manager.

You’ve mentioned before that you weren’t at every gig - did you travel with the band, were you in the same city or hotel?
What is life like running a great travelling circus like the OES tour?
What would you be doing backstage (keep it clean…) and how did that change over time - on those early days were you counting the money from ticket receipts and paying the venue etc or was that done separately?
Was much of your work pre tour getting everything set up (venues, hotels. Riggers, logistics, rtc) or was there still a lot to do to keep the wheels turning
It’s really interesting hearing about the band and the music but as the manager leading behind the scenes you and your team are at least 50% of making what we as fans see happen!

Many thanks!

Ps. As an aside, do you ever go back to Tadcaster and what do you think of Humphrey, MD of Samuel Smiths brewery closing down many of his pubs just because he heard a rude word in there or someone dared to use their phone?!

I went to as many gigs as was practical from 1978 on including the whole of the BIA tour ( not much of OES because…well you know by now).
It's the best way of getting decisions when you can see the white’s of their eyes and anyway it’s fun AND productive, you get to meet local record co’s and publishers, sort out any problems, front the team, deal with the promoters directly many of whom were and still are friends.
My favourite people.
Yes re hotel and cities ( I would hardly stay somewhere else!)
It can be tiring and staying in touch with my London office from Sydney or Tokyo by phone or telex or fax etc was wearing.
No email then.

Backstage …accounts for sure .
Sorting any problems with Tony Wigens our Tour Manager , Alan Hornall our Production Manager or Clay Schell our Tour accountant. All brilliant guys.
All our crews were always…the best people.
Only ever sacked one crew person in my entire career.
Looking constantly at what was coming up next.

Co ordinating the whole thing incl albums, singles, videos , interviews etc as we went along. .
Sorting musicians aches and pains, worries, issues with ladies ( a constant ) , any crew issues, things you can never plan or anticipate, knowing the location of every VD clinic in every city , things the audience would never imagine and the biggest pain of all by far.
THE GUEST LIST.

Promoters pay venues, not acts. Ditto staging, security, ticket printing, advertising etc.

Preparation is EVERYTHING.
Creating the team is EVERYTHING eg, my office staff,  riggers, drivers, backline crew, keyboard techs, drum techs, sound, monitors, lighting director, caterers, knob cleaners, baggage handlers, wardrobe ( if you have that) bus drivers the whole machinery of it all. ..it's almost like a military exercise. .
Working with the best people you can afford, paying them properly, treating them properly eg catering, decent tour busses, weed, is essential.
And you must follow the money, especially what’s going out!

And I LOVED the shows and music.

You should try it some time, it’s easy 🧛‍♂️

Tadcaster.
Rarely. Very quiet now no vibe , not helped by the tosser you refer to who's karma will get him in the end 💩

Dear, Ed.

Take this question for the last day.
We asked about internal relationships, divorces, musicians, been bossy, phone calls, closing contracts, recordings, trips, drugs, gnomes, threats, tours, sausages....

I feel that, there is one question, that you thinked that it could be on the very first lot of questions. But still haven't been asked.

Tell us, before you say bye to this forum, wich questions we don't made that you were hoping for.


cheers!

There is one obvious one nobody has asked and several others I’d expected.

[dustyvalentino]

Dear, Ed.

Take this question for the last day.
We asked about internal relationships, divorces, musicians, been bossy, phone calls, closing contracts, recordings, trips, drugs, gnomes, threats, tours, sausages....

I feel that, there is one question, that you thinked that it could be on the very first lot of questions. But still haven't been asked.

Tell us, before you say bye to this forum, wich questions we don't made that you were hoping for.


cheers!

Let's see how you get on. You all have 4 days left then I really have to stop. I will have run out of Ibuprofen by then🤕.

Dear Ed, I don't know if I'm in time for a extra question from a friend of mine, who is a Fleetwood Mac fan, he said to me that in the Oldfield book it's written that Mk did a session with Stevie Nicks, and that it didn't get released but along the years it was said the song they did together was called "Garbo", there is a demo of that song in YouTube but MK is not there. Some years ago a Stevie Nicks song saw the light of day in which he used one of the instrumentals songs from the Cal score but that has nothing to do with those sessions he and Stevie did years ago. There is anything you can tell us about that?

Thanks!

Don't rely on either the Oldfield or Palmer books for anything. I can't imagine either is in print anyway.
MEMORY……in the words of John Lydon, I could be wrong, I could be right.

Stevie was dating Jimmy Iovine around 1984/5.
So IF M did a session of which I have NO memory, it might have flowed from that.
I have never heard of “Garbo” and I’m pretty sure M did not play on it, but as I say maybe Jimmy got him in on one dark and spooky night and Stevie sang “ OM ” and got him to strum.

When you say “he” used one of the instrumentals from Cal do you mean “she”?
Which instrumental?
Are you saying she put lyrics to a Cal piece?
Either way I have no idea what you are talking about, sorry .

I DO have a memory that she fully recorded a version of Romeo and Juliet and changed the gender round ( ooo a first 👄) to Juliet and Romeo or something like that and Jimmy told her it would be ok when it absolutely wasn’t!
M heard about it when we were playing in NY on BIA I think and I had to tell Jimmy to scrap it which didn't go down too well since they had spent a ton of money.
They should have asked FIRST.

[dustyvalentino]

Ok, my uncle Fred has a question:
 - I remember hearing that sometimes the band would soundcheck with The Man's Too Strong but with some rather vile alternative lyrics. Do you have any recollection as to what they were? "Strong" rhymes with "bong"  and "dong", but that's about as much effort as I've managed to put into my guesswork. Better question: After Making Movies was released it appeared that the band matured massively in terms of on-stage presence. Mark become much more natural at interacting with the audience, more relaxed, more swagger, less manic, lots of eye contact rather than staring at the fretboard etc. Do you recall whether that a conscious thing? It seemed to set them up for the arena life that was to follow.

In addition, my aunt (also named Fred) has a question:
 - Can you elaborate any further on Hal's departure? To me, Hal (and Jack) added a bit of international intrigue, and dare I say it, "cool" to what was otherwise in essence a giant pub rock band.

Cheers!

Yes.
Yes, I do.
No. I'm not telling you.
Way too politically incorrect and in today’s climate UNACCEPTABLE, really disgusting.
But they were funny and it was the whole song.
“Bong" and “dong" did not appear…...nothing like..…it was actually a very clever lyric but these days, would be considered offensive in the extreme.
I’m amazed no one recorded it.
I should add that M and I have a VERY similar sense of humour , same backgrounds, same taste in jackets, mutual love of hip hop and hardcore street country rap.
( Remember, you can't take the “try” out of “ country”. )

Hal.
I could but I won’t.
That's for the book if I ever get round to it…..surreal like so many things with DS.
John touched on it in My Life In DS but either he, or more likely the ghost writer, only scraped the surface ( but who would have been taping John presumably).
There's much I could say about Hal but he was young then and had an excuse.

They did play in some large pubs I’ll give you that.

Thanks for the part that touches me, Ed, it's exciting to read, it makes me laugh naturally, I understand well about being hilarious.😅 I just wanted to add an addendum, you left a gap here when you quote: "MK sounds like MK.
Tony Iommi sounds like Tony Iommi.
Hank Marvin sounds like Hank Marvin.
Joe Walsh sounds like Joe Walsh.
Richie Blackmore sounds like….and so on,
Brunno Ninny Nonny sounds like Brunno Ninny Nonny i.e crap." 🎸
And guitarist "(Rolo) Over Beethoven" sound like what? For "crap" to be complete, I'd like to know.😂

Wonderful stories, Ed. If you'll allow me, of course, my father, a young man of 65, a lover of the Golden Oldies sounds of the 50s/60s and of course, the 70s (which he says is where the "Filet Mignon" is in world music), having a son who loves Dire Straits, naturally listened to a lot of their discography (much more than he normally would) in addition to several bootlegs from 78/92, through me of course, and in view of this, he would like to know from you, six studio albums, six tours, which were the most memorable shows for you, if you want to name a top 5, that's more than enough.

Assuming that your participation here will be like Halley's Comet, a rare event that happens every 75–76 years, many of us will be old by then (yes, very soon science should allow many of us to live to be 180 years old in good health, depending on how much money you have in your bank account, it is very likely that I will not be on that team), I need to ask you one last question, while you are in our orbit:

About possible archived material of the band.

In an interview - Top of the Pops, London, UK, 16th March 1984, Mark mentions that he was satisfied that 17 different performances were not filmed for Alchemy, although some nights in Paris were filmed, but they were not used.

So, what happened to the recordings and filming of the Paris Show, in June 1983, a month before Alchemy? The live version of Portobello Belle on the 1988 Money for Nothing compilation was taken from one of the nights in Paris 83, which underscores what MK mentions in the interview. Is it possible that these recordings from Paris 83 still exist? After the completely unreleased show at Rainbow Theatre 79 on the Live 78/92 box set released last year, a spark of hope lit up in me. What do we know about the Paris 83 footage, dear Ed? Was Rainbow Theatre 79 filmed in its entirety as well?

Phew...
Anyway, I've finished my "almost scientific article", boring, something for nerdy fans.🤓😅

If you meet Bruce Welch's, please extend all my gratitude for everything he has done with the guitar, everything he does is beautiful and very competent, he moves the music like no one else through his guitar and I am another one who learns a lot from him. 

As Spock would say in Star Trek: Live Long and Prosper.🖖🏻👽

Good question.
Memorable shows, wow so many.

The first one I saw at Dingwalls Dec 13 1977 because it changed my life and I changed theirs.

The first Princes Trust on July 20 1983 .They did a great performance, we met Chuck and DI AND Duran Duran, got incredible press and TV coverage.

Any of the BIA at Wembley Arena 1985... ..great run.

Live Aid on BIA just because it was Live Aid ( the 20 mins went by in a flash).

Madison Square Garden NY BIA tour with guests Billy Joel and David Sanborn RIP.
Number One album and single, perfect alignment, amazing show, tremendous audience.

Any Australian BIA especially Sydney, maybe that last one that was televised.

Auckland, 102,000 punters, BIA tour, the biggest show we ever did, magical night .
 
Nelson Mandela with Eric Clapton and a cast of thousands including Chubby Checker who several of us mistook for Winnie Mandela and where Whitney Houston burst into our dressing room snd asked, “ Does anybody know when Nelson Mandela is going on?”  SERIOUSLY.
 
Many I can't recall because they were in obscure places nobody remembers but one thing about DS is they were consistent ..I can't recall a poor one EVER after David left ….up to then we had a quartet with three people in it.

Halley’s Comet. What the fuck..I’ll be dead !!
I’ve asked that on my headstone someone engraves “ I told you I was ill “ .

I have no memory of the Paris show (s) being filmed. I wonder who by?
Are you sure it was?
Which night (s)?
I don't know what M said in what interview? (see what I say re Top of the Pops below)

I suppose the P Belle version could just have been an audio recording with no filming …..
It wasn’t done for Alchemy VIDEO that's for sure…I am absolutely positive about that because as I've answered before, the VIDEO portion was done last minute….I was still fine tuning the deal with PMV on the afternoon of the show because I nearly pulled it ( glad I didn’t ).
The wankers were trying to charge US bank interest on THEIR filming costs!  Shameless.

Maybe we were planning a live album off that tour and ended up adding the filming bit last minute. I just can't recall, it was decades ago.
I know we wanted to preserve Hal's performance for history and for AMIT which wasn’t even a spermatozoa then but I sensed that one day someone would think he was cool.

Rainbow …no idea.
I didn't even remember that Phil Lynott appeared nor can I remember who filmed it or why.
For TV?
That BBC Arena Special?

You lot bang on about how great they were and by most band’s standards, that’s true, BUT my memory is of an exhausted band going through the motions because everyone was so tired, one person teetering on a breakdown, actually two when I think about it, and after those and Christmas 79 I dumped everything we had set up for 1980 so we could all have a rest.

I would say that period September 79----December 79 was the lowest point in the band’s career and if they were ever going to break up it was then.

Mark wanted to cancel those shows and Lewisham Odeon about a week before because of sheer exhaustion but John and I talked him into them.
But I knew we had to stop the roller coaster before we all fell off it. .

Then MK and I went to NY in Feb/March I think and met with Jon Landau to produce MM. He was doing The River with Bruce ( Jon was literally in tears he was so tired so we weren’t the only ones ) and recommended Jimmy Iovine and the rest ISN'T history, it’s pop music. 🤪

Cue Quizzy for more of his intellectual babbling which is great.
I love a person who knows his/her own opinions and isn’t afraid to express them even when they’re wrong .
I have a question for him and I'm genuinely curious…….

Is Wet Ass Pussy ( WAP) by Cardi B, art?
Is BIA art?
Is Tales of Topographic Oceans art?
Is Dark Side of The Moon, art ?
Is What’s Going On, art?
Is Rock and Roll Parts 1 and 2 art ?
Is Kill the Foetus ( by Esham) art?
Is MC Hammer art?
Is Kind of Blue art?
Is A Love Supreme art?
Is Mahler’s 5th Symphony art?
Is Adagio for Strings art?
Is Wonderful Land art?
Is Like A Virgin art?
Who decides?
On what basis?

Back to that “interview” you quote, I am completely baffled.
Top of the Pops didn't do interviews, ever.
We only did it ONCE, a pre record for R and J in 1980 with no audience.
Acts only played their singles or they used videos.
What single are you saying we had out then?
I have no idea what M is talking about IF what you are reporting is accurate.
Are you mixing it up with another TV?
Is it important?
Why do dogs lick their balls?

Check out “ Mustang” by the Shads for some beautiful crisp rhythm guitar. I just played it….tremendous. 1961 their first EP with the great Tony Meehan RIP on drums.

[dustyvalentino]

Dear Ed, question: just how much did Mark practice the guitar, daily? Many thanks.

As I've said previously I never saw M practice the guitar, certainly not on tour ( when ? ).
I did see him doodling in the same way David, Hal, Jack and Phil twanged, Mel and Chris honked, Tommy and Guy whooshed, Joop and Danny clattered, Pick, Terry and Chris bashed, Paul F zinged, John walked forwards and backwards, then backwards and forwards, I tapped on my calculator and ordered people about, the roadies roadied, Chas turned the lights on and off, Robert Collins selected his earplugs for that evening.
 
But obviously M practiced, from the time he picked up a guitar, how long or how often I don't know, but enough to play the twiddly bits on SOS with style and panache even when Terry speeded up, Joop hit one and three on his gold plated tambourine, Terry hit two and four on his huge drum kit and it sounded like the first battle in Gladiator .

ROLO - DISCUSSION THREAD
I said I wasn’t going to bat back and fourth but I'm going to make an exception.
In the Discussion Thread items 120/124, Rolo is obviously a bit anxious at my response.
So firstly apologies, I did not mean to offend and I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic.
 
I generally do these answers late at night and I had been travelling so was a bit tired.
Plus as Dusty points out “ taking the piss ” is just a particular type of British humour which is not intended to be confrontational or brutal, just an extraction of urine from overfull bladders.
A kind of verbal “ Golden Showers” if you like.
So I'm going to go thru Rolo’s points by para.

1. Sarcastic. As stated that wasn’t my intention but sometimes its very difficult to convey the subtleties of humour in print when if we were speaking or zooming it would be much clearer.
Your English is pretty good and your reference to body language is exactly what I’m talking about, well put.
The “poll” was a poor joke, yes, even I am capable of poor jokes.
.
2. I understand and agree with all the points in your mini list.

3. I get why you find it curious.
No..I did not mean he was as “ bad ” as David OR that David was “ bad.” , those are subjective terms and I am not a guitar player.
I have favourite guitarists of course, but it was not my place to select musicians although I was “ consulted ” on drummers. .
The comments I have made about individuals come from the perspective of my dealings with them and my perception of their personalities if they had one.
I'm sure they would make comments about me if only they knew about AMIT but I’m not going to tell them ( Pick knows but does Paul Franklin? ).
I’m not aware of Hal doing sessions.
I am aware of his soundtrack work.
He ‘’ passed the audition ” and he was the only one we tried out, so he was in the band until he wasn’t.

4. You are correct.
 
5. You are correct.

6. I don't know what he did after DS in terms of playing hence my sort of question.
ST’s ..yes and good for him, he carved out another career which is not easy .
Maybe no tribute band has asked him? Maybe he’d like to for fun? For cash? I don't know.
You know my view about TB’s…..good luck to them as long as they don't mislead the audience into thinking they ARE DS.

7. I understand and your comment re The Shadows is hilarious!
That's because Brian Bennett is my best mate.
From hero to mega pal.
Brilliant, the stuff of dreams .

8. I take your point because you answered mine. Pretty impressive.
 
9. Not sure I agree re gossip.
You can't “ listen " to gossip and by the way, if you haven’t read John’s book how do you know that?
It’s his take on his life, not just DS and my view of it is just that, MY view.
.
No disrespect but I don't believe you have never read books about or by guitar players.
If MK wrote one would you read his gossip? ( I can just see M now, scribbling away about me and my love of winding people up ).

I don't know any of you personally and yes, this is fun, but we do sometimes have a small but not significant language issue and also a cultural divide.
Humour is VERY different from country to country, town to town…..

Lastly, how deep you can put your finger in really depends on where you are putting it.
 
And yes Quizzy, I do read the questions , usually several times so I can be as accurate as possible in my slavish responses.
 
"Brunno Ninny Nonny" was another pathetic attempt at a cheap laugh which backfired.
I assume the position and await Rolo’s finger.

As far as obvious questions go, imagine you’re me ( I know, I know) what might YOU like to be asked which doesn’t necessarily involve DS/MK (or it might ) .

And now back to THE QUESTION THREAD.

[dustyvalentino]

dear Ed,
my son, Mats, would love to know what you remember from the Chet Atkins Musician days, back in 1998?
https://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=7146.0
is a link to where our favourite spaniard had collected a shitload of info about the event, including the news that PBS had apparently taped it all, any idea as to why it never aired? any way to still get it out?

Not much I’m afraid. I was there but don't recall seeing any cameras filming.
I think Johnny Cash and Chet were wheeled on and sat on a sofa on the stage but didn't perform they were too sick.
That was a bit weird ( Chet did at the end on “ Next Time My Arse Turns Brown” )
It was a bit of a trip to meet Cash.
His version of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” is beyond great as is all that stuff he did with Rick Rubin. .
I have no idea why it wasn’t transmitted IF it was recorded.
M wasn’t paid by them and I didn't sign any releases so…..

It was very much a favour and thank you to Chet. I did a class for managers and Mark did one with the American band for mostly guitar players.
You knew they were guitar players because they all brought tennis rackets.
A fun week.
No idea how you would get hold of it. Contact PBS?


NOT A QUESTION BUT MIGHT BE A QUESTION OR SEVERAL QUESTIONS OR NO QUESTIONS AT ALL. .
To all…this “last question thing” I posed…based on the discussion thread you’re overthinking it.
Not about money, parting with MK ( nothing to add on that here), selling my rights ( or that) , , not really about DS eg it might be my Desert Island Discs ( just an example) and it won’t matter if no one comes up with anything ….I was just musing.

[dustyvalentino]

Ok, my uncle Fred has a question:
 - I remember hearing that sometimes the band would soundcheck with The Man's Too Strong but with some rather vile alternative lyrics. Do you have any recollection as to what they were? "Strong" rhymes with "bong"  and "dong", but that's about as much effort as I've managed to put into my guesswork. Better question: After Making Movies was released it appeared that the band matured massively in terms of on-stage presence. Mark become much more natural at interacting with the audience, more relaxed, more swagger, less manic, lots of eye contact rather than staring at the fretboard etc. Do you recall whether that a conscious thing? It seemed to set them up for the arena life that was to follow.

In addition, my aunt (also named Fred) has a question:
 - Can you elaborate any further on Hal's departure? To me, Hal (and Jack) added a bit of international intrigue, and dare I say it, "cool" to what was otherwise in essence a giant pub rock band.

Cheers!

Let me go back to Reply 130 and the second part of the first question ( I already part answered the bit about TMTS spoof lyric. )

Really good question and cheeky to slip it in ( there’s a joke there somewhere).
 
It did mature .
I agree 100%.
.
The first and probably most important factor was David’s departure.
I made a joke that we had a quartet with three people in it but that really was how it seemed to me right from day one.
Literally ( and you’re going to LOVE this one…..).

At that  Dingwalls gig Dec 13 1977 that was the FIRST thing I said to John Stainze the Phonogram A and R guy who took me there when I was looking for a support to Talking Heads.
 “ I can hear a rhythm guitar but I can't see a rhythm guitarist”
“  He's hiding behind the pillar BUT WE CAN FIX THAT ”.
If only he knew ….

There was a constant battle with David turning his amp volume down so it didn't register a signal and Peter Granger RIP FOH sound man pushing his fader up to ten, nowhere else to go.

Then Pete Murdoch who was doing backline, would hide behind the amp and turn David's volume up without him seeing.
Peter G would then move the fader down to compensate.
Then David would realise, turn his amp down and the cycle would start again.

This went on for the entire show and was ridiculous, absurd, and just plain weird.

It came to a head when I went up to the Durham University gig they played whenever.
I was sitting with Peter G on the FOH desk and watched him moving D’s fader up and down. When I asked why he explained as I just set out in pretty colourful language and said “ go and look at the volume control on David’s amp when they finish”.

After the show I went into the dressing room and asked David what he was doing.
“ If I play any louder then Mark plays louder and I’m going deaf ”.

That set M off, obviously.
A row broke out, a big row.

As he always did Pick left the room.
Quite rightly he would not participate in post gig squabbles which 95% were always between M and D.
John generally stayed calm and rational and tried to act as peacemaker, impossible as he admitted to me right before the Rainbow shows in Dec 79 when things between M and D had reached rock bottom and M wanted to cancel them ( they and the two Lewisham Odeon’s were long sold out.)

This was driving me nuts …..I really thought during that second US tour they were going to collapse ( there were other personal factors and economic reasons at play ) and I was having mega rows with David because apparently I was “ conspiring with Warners against the group”, this because I was pushing them to sell even MORE records !  He wanted me to get them to pull independent promotion “ because they are gangsters” ( hearsay and I couldnt have cared less ) and sell LESS.

This volume thing never really got resolved ..in fact D then started complaining to me about flying…” it's making me deaf.”
“ Well hold your nose and blow down it! “  ( these were short flights to do European TVs. )

So after D left ( he just couldn’t cope with the rise and rise…” it wasn’t supposed to be like this” ), the addition of Hal and Alan gave M a new confidence in the players behind him.

He wasn’t having to “carry” D or deal with his insecurities or their sibling history or whatever that was.
Plus we now had keyboards which really shifted the sound, we had a huge album, an epic in TOL, a classic in R and J, a hit in many territories with Sk, and a new inspired purpose all round.

I would say it was sub conscious but when you go from constant arguments to no arguments , AND enjoy huge commercial and critical success, AND get your personal life in order ( M had met Lourdes on the recording of MM), AND have one of the greatest teams behind you AND the greatest manager since the previous greatest manager, then you can for sure swagger, talk to audiences,  and raise your game.
Which is exactly what M did.
They ALL did.

I know it comes over that I'm hammering D but I can honestly say I never had an interaction with him that wasn’t immature, naive, fraught, rude, confrontational and unbelievably it got WORSE between him and M after he’d gone which I can't get into here.
You’d think I was making it up anyway ( I did address one issue a while back about M and I “diverting" his royalties which was just his ignorance but very hurtful to M.).

I haven’t had any direct dealings with him since 1980.
44 years and writing this is making me anxious all over again.
So let's move on.