Studio Blues. Tales from the Thames barrier.
Jan 2009
Hello folks,
I have just been given a nice cup of tea by Dennis here in the 45rpm recording studio in Charlton, London. I can assure you that this is an extremely rare situation as its usually the other way around, in fact, i almost feel like the tea boy here sometimes, ferrying tea and biscuits back and forth from the studio kitchen to the studio control room.
As i write, Dennis is actually recording a vocal on one of the new songs, Hit the ground running. We are in here for two weeks, starting around 10.30am and normally finishing around 9pm. We have had many guests come and go into the studio this week and the wine normally starts to flow around 5pm, well it does for the guys as i have to drive Gerry back to my home as he is staying with me and flying home to France at the weekend only to return on Monday to resume recording.
It feels very odd in my apartment in the morning when i wake up and Gerry and i are walking around in bed robes,..God knows what the old girls in the block are thinking this week?
On a slightly more serious note, Brendan and i actually did a double lead vocal on a song written by myself and Dennis yesterday called The Killing of Nathan John. Brendan actually has a sweet voice and it compliments the harmonies perfectly when we are all in the booth together.
The many people that have come and gone to visit us during the making of this new record have included Steve Martin, production manager for Kylie Minogue, Il Divo, Leona Lewis. Steve actually worked for us many years ago as on-stage tech in the early eighties and has now gone on to heady heights with the afore mentioned artists. Another wonderful suprise was Mr Mick Lister turning up last night to help edit/arrange some things around for us. Mick worked with Dennis when Dennis formed the Truth in 1983, and has now gone on to be a very respected writer/arranger/producer in his own right. Dennis' old pal Terry Rawlings turned up at tea time to help guzzle our supplies of French red and white wine
Our local cafe normally beckons around 4pm for a sandwich etc and the late finishing every night means i make last orders in my local in kent.
We have almost finished most of the fourteen or so backing tracks now and as i write Dennis is preparing to put some electric guitar on Hit the ground running.
Gerry is now putting finishing touches to a song he has been writing for a couple of months entitled Little by little, bit by bit, and that looks like being the last song on the session this week to be recorded.
Glen Tilbrook of Squeeze will be looking in on Monday hopefully, that is if he is not too Jet-lagged from his flight back from Japan.
Ok, will get back to you very soon friends at completion when things become a little clearer.
Feltham.