1 - On The Beat

OTB 0192, Saturday 7 October 1989, Noon – 1.30pm Paul Gambaccini The perfect interviewee, no false starts, no er’s and um’s and coming from a broadcasting background, Paul Gambaccini knew exactly what was wanted. I saw him at his home in Holloway, north London, close to Joe Meek’s former studio, and spoke to him in his lounge. There was a door open and a room contained wall-to-wall American comics. If he had collected them over the years, he could hardly have made a better investment as superhero films had become the order of the day. Like Bill Clinton and Kris Kristofferson, he had been a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University but unlike them, he had finished the course. Gambaccini was very good on talking about American broadcasters like Alan Freed and Ed Sullivan, “who looked as if he had formaldehyde in his veins”. He talked of American DJs’ gimmicks and idiosyncrasies, and the skill in getting out of a record before the lead vocal starts. “You think they’re not going to make it but they do.” That was certainly a skill that Gambo mastered. Gambo had acclimatised himself to British culture: “With all respect, how could ‘Tears’ have been the No.1 best-selling record of 1965 when it was the peak of the Beatles, the Stones, Motown, Dylan, but of course I have learnt how popular Ken Dodd was.” He is all for CDs and praises the sound quality of Carole King’s Tapestry. Another listener had sent me 35 demos by Gordon Lightfoot and I played his version of ‘Gossip Calypso’ so he was too assimilating British culture. Another listener had alerted me to a biography of Gordon Lightfoot which had been published in Canada and revealed that he had once slept with nine women in a night. I review Frank Zappa’s autobiography, more favourably than his music as it happens, but I liked ‘Elvis Has Left The Building’. Local artist. ‘Sides’ – Tymon Dogg. Sessions. ‘Lessons From A Pro- - David Edge Competition for Willie Nelson’s memoir with four different voices singing ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’. I had to find an alternative prize for the winners of Eddie Kidd’s competition. The tour had been cancelled and not a single ticket had been sold for the Liverpool Empire. ‘Singers In Short Supply’ by Elaine Morgan and written by Ashley Hutchings as an answer to Randy Newman’s ‘Short People’. A listener pointed out that the original of ‘Someday We’re Going To Love Again’ was by Barbara Lewis, which I played. I wonder how I got hold of that one as obscure records were, well, obscure back then. Gambaccini Cass 048 T

OTB 0193, Saturday 14 October 1989, Noon – 1.30pm.Michael Clarke (Byrds) Michael Clarke and Skip Battin (Byrds) By now, ‘fake groups’ were rampant and it was said some lesser-known group members gathered a few blokes in a pub and went out as the Original Drifters or what have you. Certainly, there were bad vibes around the Byrds featuring Michael Clarke. Just who was Michael Clarke? Actually, he had street cred: he was the Byrds’ drummer from October 1964 to November 1967 and I know this because I have a Rock Family Tree of the Byrds, Pete Framed to my right. It wasn’t a poor line-up as it included Skip Battin who had been with the Byrds from October 1969 to February 1973 (that Rock Family Tree again) and with a very interesting career on the side-lines (he had been half of Skip and Flip), but he was not billed and I was surprised to see him. It was however a little against street cred that this so-called Byrds was touring with Herman’s Hermits, but they sounded good at the soundcheck at Preston Guild Hall. I spoke to both Michael Clarke and Skip Battin for my programme. Of the new group, Michael says that the new line-up was better and more powerful than the original band: “We topple houses.” Michael Clarke’s voice suggested that he was no stranger to Jack Daniel’s and when I asked him why he had left the Byrds, he said, “Because I hated every one of them.” A couple of days after the show, I met Joe Butler of the Hillsiders and he gave me a hug, “That was great. I’ve never heard anybody say that before and I know what he means.” The original Byrds did have a brief reunion in 1991 and Clarke died of liver failure in 1993. There is a point in the interview where Michael Clarke says what a decent guy Gram Parsons was and I exclaim, “Ah good, somebody you like!” Michael Clarke: “Mr. Tambourine Man’ was a wonderful piece of poetry and we put poetry to music.” He didn’t think that the Byrds owed much to the Searchers but “It’s a nice compliment. I loved the Searchers.” Gene Clark of the Byrds was meant to be touring the UK and I wanted to meet him in Manchester but the tour was cancelled because of “an ear infection”, which could mean anything. Rockabilly artist Mickey Hawks had died. “He had said, ‘If Gene Vincent can get away with ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’, why shouldn’t I sing ‘Bip Bop Boom’?” Is music for greens the next trend? ‘If A Tree Falls’ by Bruce Cockburn. Nothing to do with the Byrds, but I played a local demo: ‘Sweetheart Of The Rodeo’ from Harvey. Clarke Cass 050 T; Battin Cass 050 T

OTB 0194, Saturday 21 October 1989, Noon - 1.30pm Bobby Vee Good start with ‘Some People Got No Money At All’ from Brendan Croker. I had seen the Byrds at Liverpool Empire and found that there were a tribute act with ‘Sail On Sailor’ and ‘Oh Pretty Women’, but then they weren’t really the Byrds. They were supported by Faron’s Flamingos. At BBC Radio Merseyside, we had unearthed some demos made by Faron’s Flamingos in 1968. I played ‘Blueberry Hill’ and ‘Lost And Found’, written by Keith Karlson of the Mojos: Keith was in the band at the time. Passing comment: “The Hillsiders’ album On The Road has a photograph of them in a boat on the front – and that’s why British country music has a bad name.” Were the Hillsiders the first to cover the Traveling Wilburys with ‘End Of The Line’? I had interviewed Bobby Vee before so I didn’t want to go through his hits again. This time I asked him about the artists he had seen over the years who included Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. Talking of session men, he said, “Barney Kessel didn’t have a feel for rock and roll but you could splash ink on a piece of paper and he would play it for you.” Unreleased local demo ‘Ian Peter Folksman’ Dave Howard Dave Howard of Harvey saw a death notice with a verse in Liverpool Echo for a baby, Ian Peter Folksman. He wrote the song at the time but didn’t think it was appropriate. Some years had passed and he felt it could be heard. Demo from early 60s: ‘That Innocent Look’ – Gordon Lightfoot Session. ‘Someplace To Go When It Rains’ David Edge Vee OTB 0194 T

OTB 0195, Saturday 28 October 1989, Noon – 1.30pm Tennessee Ernie Ford, Mike Gregory (Escorts, Swingin’ Blue Jeans, Big John’s Rock’n’ Roll Circus) Tennessee Ernie Ford and his new wife Beverly were on a cruise which was ending in Venice and then he was coming to London for a week. He could easily have appeared on a talk show like Wogan but he didn’t. As far as I know, I was the only person from the media he spoke to and I’m not sure how I pulled that off. The interview took place at the Savoy Hotel (an experience in itself) and I went with the photographer Graham Barker for a feature in Country Music People. He was very pleasant and the interview went well, ending with his catchphrase, “Bless your pea-pickin’ heart”. My pea-pickin’ heart was very pleased. I took along The Encyclopedia Of Rock which said that Tennessee Ernie had died in 1974 “That’s why I’ve not been getting any offers from the UK,” he joked. He had a rich, powerful voice, a bit like he was addressing a public meeting. We had early memories of Elvis Presley and the stories of hits like ‘Sixteen Tons’ and ‘Shotgun Boogie’. Quite a bit of detail about his gospel recordings and I loved his observation that Merle Haggard took his hat off to sing ‘Amazing Grace’. Mike Gregory from the Merseybeat band the Escorts was in live: he had been with the oldies band, Big John’s Rock’n’Roll Circus since 1974. He said that when he was in the Swingin’ Blue Jeans, the Liverpool-born record producer Wayne Bickerton persuaded them to record ‘Happy’ under the name of Music Motor: it didn’t sell. Ford Cass 049 T, printed in Country Music People, November 1989), Gregory Live T

OTB 0196, Saturday 4 November 1989, Noon - 1.30pm Chas White (Dr Rock) Another wonderful visit from Dr Rock, who had come over from Yorkshire and was researching an official biography of Jerry Lee Lewis. It would be published as Killer! in 1993: it took its time but then he did run a chiropodist practice with his wife in Scarborough. On the face of it, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis are two egotistical piano players, each thinking they are the king of rock and roll. There is a difference between them. Little Richard says he is the king and wants everybody to say how good he is. Jerry Lee is more arrogant, “I’m the best and you’d better believe it.” There are marked personality flaws and inexcusable behaviour with his love of weapons and his attitude to women, so the story is harder and harsher than Little Richard’s. Dr Rock is something of an apologist for him, blaming much of it on his upbringing. Live T

OTB 0197, Saturday 11 November 1989, Noon-1.30pm Jimmy Ruffin, Joe Boyd (on world music) A Motown show was at the Liverpool Empire with Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr and Junior Walker. I had expected to have a standard 15 minute interview with Jimmy Ruffin going through his hits, but not a bit of it. I’d never met Jimmy Ruffin before but he opened up about the problems at Motown and how he was held back by other artists. There was enough competition in the music business anyway and so to have the artists on the same label competing with each other didn’t make good business sense. In Jimmy Ruffin’s case, he felt he was always losing out to Marvin Gaye. “Marvin Gaye was a petty guy but I’m a Christian so I forgive him because they know not what they do.” “I’d have been happier anywhere than Motown. I didn’t fit in.” “I didn’t have that inner city mentality. When I saw Marvin Gaye in 1990, he asked me if I wanted a blow. I said, ‘No thanks’ and he said, ‘When we used to go back in the kitchen at parties, you never went’.” Jimmy got his brother David into the Temptations in his place as he didn’t want to join a group and have to do choreographed routines. Jimmy had a fine song for a single, ‘Beauty Is Only Skin Deep’ but David was asked to learn it with the Temptations and Jimmy’s version wasn’t released. Fortunately, it had been issued on a compilation and I could use it in the programme. We will be coming to the On The Beat interview with David Ruffin which is even more extraordinary than this one. (OTB 0287) One lunch hour I saw a short concert by Ivo Papasov and his Bulgarian Wedding Band at Liverpool Museum. I had my recorder with me but Papasov didn’t speak English. His producer Joe Boyd was around and I had a few words with him. He was delighted in the growing interest in World Music. He couldn’t have recorded this band in Bulgaria 20 years ago as an LP wouldn’t have sold 500 copies. Now it was likely to sell 5,000. It would be a few years before the Buena Vista Social Club with Ry Cooder would turn World Music into a million-selling phenomenon, but this interview indicates the groundswell. ‘Stay In School’ – A US commercial featuring Otis Redding to encourage further education. Actor Jack Webb as Joe Friday reading ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ like a murder rap. The death of Rita Hughes who fronted Jeannie and the Big Guys, Chester’s top beat group. Ruffin Cass 049 T, Boyd NT

OTB 0198, Saturday 18 November 1989, Noon-1.30pm Cliff Bennett, Don Andrew (on Merseycats) Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers was a London beat group that went for a soulful sound with horns. Cliff Bennett had a powerful voice and I’d heard he ran a tough ship, insisting on discipline and fining band members who stepped out of line. It turned out to be true. “I wanted to ensure that everybody went on stage sober and I was the only person who took it seriously. I had to incorporate fines and anyone incapable of playing well was fined a night’s wages. Dave Wendells fell over the back of his amplifier at Newcastle City Hall when we were playing with the Rolling Stones. He stayed there with the guitar feeding back and I had to sack him for that.” I interviewed Cliff when I was in London and he now had his own shipping business. But he was doing some oldies shows as part of the Rock And Roll Legends. It was going well but he was unsure whether to pursue this. His recent ‘Shakin’ All Over’ showed that he still had a great voice. Session ‘Crossing The Bar’ – Tennyson to music from David Edge Don Andrew on the Merseycats’ venue. He will reform the Remo Four next year. Bennett 031 T

OTB 0200, Saturday 2 December 1989 Brendan Croker, The Devil Rides Out with composer Colin McCourt and cast member P.J. Proby The bluesy singer and guitarist Brendan Croker was picking up some media attention as part of the Notting Hillbillies with Mark Knopfler but he had a fine solo career of his own. Brendan Croker says there are bands everywhere in Leeds. He is a very good talker and of Elvis Presley’s ‘Baby Let’s Play House’, he says, “Who in England at the time would have said, ‘Come back, baby, I wanna play house with you’. What a wonderful description of future physical enjoyment. It is brilliant poetry, really.” I’d been playing a Johnny Otis CD in past weeks and I’d just realised that the backing vocals on his 1957 hit ‘Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me’ were repeated on ‘What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For’ by Emile Ford and the Checkmates. The theme of the two songs is identical too. All this took place in the first hour of the show. Then there was the news and the final 25 minutes. Colin McCourt had made but not released the score for his musical The Devil Rides Out, which was about to be staged at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton for the charity, Give A Child A Chance. I invited him in to talk about it and without telling me in advance, he brought along his guest star, P J Proby. Proby had one song in the show: he was playing an angel who prevents a lady from being stabbed. A couple of days earlier he had been in the headlines for molesting a technician at Sky TV. Through a combination of heavy drinking and ungainliness, Proby was finding it hard to get work. He was living in Bury and with suitable transport and accommodation, he agreed to appear in the musical. I didn’t know until 1pm that Colin McCourt was bringing in Proby who was holding hands with a teenage girl. She might have been his cousin, she might have been over 16, I don’t know but I do know that I was very uncomfortable. I played last week’s competition which was Dusty Springfield singing in German, and Proby said he would like to have recorded ‘Delilah’ in German as it sounds like a beer drinking song, and then he gave a demonstration, which was very funny. Proby had his first hits in the UK and then had “one foot on a banana peel and one on a plane” and thought he had nothing to lose if he recorded ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story. He thought artists like Johnny Mathis and Matt Monro had sung it too perfectly and not sold so “the best way to do it would be to bastardise it”. He got the deep voice from Billy Eckstine and the over-exaggeration from Sarah Vaughan “some,ah, where”. Proby said, “John Lennon gave me ‘That Means a Lot’. I thought how can I do it any better than their demo.” When I asked him what ‘Niki Hoeky’ was about he said, “It’s half French, half American, and as I don’t want to get you fired, you can do a bleep here.” I said, “No, Jim, this is a live show.” Of the song, he said, “Someone had come to my house in LA and sung this song. I said I would buy it and he said he was giving it to me. I didn’t want something for nothing but Pat and Lolly Vegas took it and I sang it.” Of the Sky TV incident, he said that he hadn’t brought his reading glasses to the studio and he couldn’t read the lyrics that the assistant was holding up. “I couldn’t read the words and so I thought I’d better play with her instead of singing.” We finished with ‘It’s Your Day Today’, which was on an album Radio Merseyside was selling at reception. “It’s my song for housewives to hoover by. Jimmy Young had it as his theme song.” Jim said, “If you’re a housewife, I love you baby.” By now P J Proby was shouting so it was just as well that the show ended at 1.30. Phew! Croker MD 182 PT, McCourt, Proby Live No T

OTB 0201, Saturday 9 December 1989, Noon-1.30pm Hal Shaper After the P J Proby fiasco, I was glad to be still around and to present a far more structured show. Hal Shaper was a songwriter, mostly a lyricist, whose work had included ‘Softly As I Leave You’ (Matt Monro), ‘Interlude’ (Timi Yuro), ‘My Friend The Sea’ (Petula Clark), ‘Theme From The Go-Between’ (Scott Walker) and, yes, ‘Momma Married A Preacher’ (P J Proby). He was a well-known publisher, running Sparta Music, and his own musical, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, was being staged at the Liverpool Playhouse. The best known song from the musical was ‘At My Time Of Life’, which had been recorded by Bing Crosby. Hal Shaper was in Liverpool for rehearsals and came onto the show live. He had a beautiful speaking voice and told his anecdotes extremely well. Hal had just been in Berlin and had seen the wall come down and he said it was “the best street party I have ever been to”. Talking of Eurovision, he said that if you submitted an outstanding song, the chances are that it would only be heard once. This means that songwriters end up writing “complete junk – the boom bang a bang shang a lang a ding dong songs – and that is the cynical songwriters’ approach.” Hal Shaper wrote ‘Softly As I Leave You’, which was originally a hit for Matt Monro. The lounge singer Jerry Vale told Elvis that it had been written by someone on his deathbed. Elvis introduced the song with this story, although Hal was alive and well. He didn’t want to correct Elvis in case he stopped doing the song. He praised Herbie Kretzmer’s lyrics for Les Misérables and said that ‘Master Of The House’ was “the benchmark for brilliance for humour in a show”. He had often taken friends and clients to the show and had now seen it eight times. Herbie told him, “If there’s something you don’t understand, just ask me.” Shaper Live T

OTB 0202, Saturday 16 December 1989, Noon-1.30pm Dave Sampson Dave Sampson and the Hunters were part of the British rock and roll scene prior to the Beatles. Like Cliff Richard, Dave came from Cheshunt and when he passed his song ‘Sweet Dreams’ over to Cliff in 1960, Cliff said he should record it himself and arranged a contract with his record label, Columbia. It entered the Top 30 but didn’t get further. With his act of kindness, Cliff had perhaps deprived his friend of major songwriting royalties. I had got a Dave Sampson EP from the BBC and the last person who took it out was in 1962. Dave was a very pleasant guy with stories of Billy Fury and an intriguing one of Del Shannon (Charles Westover) whom he met when was playing American bases. Del wanted to get up and sing Hank Williams. Next time Dave saw him was when they were both on at the Royal Albert Hall. Like Terry Dene, Dave was going to record for Steve Knowles in Manchester and he played a new demo of ‘Teenage Dream’. Sampson Live PT No show on Saturday 23 December 1989 as Liverpool v Manchester United was having an early kick-off and the match was drawn.

OTB 0203, Saturday 30 December 1989, Noon-1.30pm Max Bygraves Although some people might have turned away from Max Bygraves, he was an exceptionally good talker, responding to specific questions about his career choices in the 1950s. This was a longer version of an interview I had mined for Shakin’ All Over and two previous editions of On The Beat (OTB 0119 and OTB 0152), but it was worth doing, I think, and right for the year end. He talked about Mex Miller, Educating Archie, Tony Hancock, the cancelled Royal Variety Performance, the quality of novelty songs (though he didn’t remember ‘A Diabolical Twist’), not being available to appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy and a backstage incident where Irving Berlin pushing new songs to Judy Garland. At the Royal Variety Performance 1963: “The Beatles came into my dressing room to ask for my autograph…for their aunties.” I thought prior to meeting Max Bygraves that British acts wanted to make in America, but Max was more concerned about making it in Australia so he could go there in the winter. Good song about a songwriter: ‘My Friend Howie’ by Anthony Newley Sexy Thing The Lost Gonzo Band (Sample lyric: “She’s a sexy thing but she won’t leave her mother.”) Bygraves MD 209 T

OTB 0204 Monday 1 January 1990, Noon-2pm Merseybeat Special - Chris Beazer, Bryan Biggs, Val Blake (Brookside actress), Davy Edge, Tim Flaherty (Poacher), Ritchie Galvin (TTs), Dave Gore (TTs) , Sam Hardie (Dominoes), Colin McCourt, Mick O’Toole, Angela Powell (Monkees Fan Club), Cy Tucker, Wally Shepherd (TTs), Gavin Stanley, Geoff Taggart and Karl Terry What a way to start off the 1990s. I played Ben Hewitt’s sting and remarked there are 14 people in the studio at present and they were still coming. This was a two hour, very good-natured special with plenty of music and laughter, though starting with a tribute to Lance Railton of Earl Preston and the TTs who had just died. Five TTs talk about him. Karl Terry had a wonderful litany of how the TTs kept changing their name. “It went from Johnny Tempest and the Tornados to Faron and the TTs, Earl Preston and the TTs with Cy Tucker, Vic and the TTs, Amos Bonney and the TTs, Amos and Karl and the TTs, Karl Terry and the TTs, the T Squared and then the Clayton Squares.” So now you know. Bryan Biggs from the Bluecoat talked about Stu Sutcliffe, says he was excellent on bongos and talks about an exhibition of his work that is coming to Liverpool. Colin McCourt had had a successful staging of The Devil Rides Out in New Brighton but P J Proby had to be sacked as he was too demanding. Also, his show in Liverpool was cancelled as he said he was going to shoot himself at the end. Makes a change from an encore. Eddie Fisher had cancelled his UK tour last year because he was having a facelift instead. Now he was available again but the fee had gone up from £5,000 to £10,000 a night. Val Blake (married to Davy Edge) and Gavin Stanley talked about their times on Brookside. Tim Flaherty of Poacher had an advance copy of his new single, ‘I Want To Hear It From You’. At the end of the show, the musicians formed an answer to Band Aid called Elastoplast and sing ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’. Live T (Note show is on three CDs)

OTB 0205 Saturday 6 January 1990, 12.30-2pm Ian Dury, Mickey Gallagher Ian Dury was at the Royal Court Theatre in the West End starring his musical, Apples, and I got an interview before one of the performances. Just before I got started, the stage door keeper came in the room with a cake. He said, “One of your fans has brought this for you.” Ian Dury said, “If she knew anything about me, she’d have brought a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.” Ian had one of the Blockheads, Mickey Gallagher, with him and they had written the score together. When I saw the show, there was a lad with Down’s Syndrome in the audience. I was impressed at the way Ian Dury managed to contain his enthusiasm whilst staying in character. I asked him about this some years later. (OTB 0711) The conversation opens with an interview with my youngest listener, played by Davy Edge: pretty corny. Surprising really how many groups and hit songs can be reproduced by baby sounds. Unissued. One Night Of Sin Elvis Presley New track. Queen Of The Hop Karl Terry & The Cruisers Charity track from Warrington country group, Poacher, ‘The Feeling I Get’ Session. A Stitch In Time Bev Sanders Dury Cass 055 T

OTB 0206 Saturday 13 January 1990, Noon-1.35pm Dave Marsh (The Heart Of Rock And Soul) Generally speaking, list books don’t usually work as it is hard to maintain interest without a narrative thrust. However, Dave Marsh’s The Heart Of Rock And Soul (Penguin) worked magnificently. He wrote about The 1,001 Greatest Singles Ever Made in such a way that he wasn’t repeating himself and was telling overall the history of popular music, albeit episodically as the records were not in chronological order. They were put in the order of how good he thought they were. The book listed obvious choices (‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, ‘Louie Louie’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’) and unlikely ones (‘The ABCs Of Love’, ‘Lodi’, ‘Jim Dandy Got Married’). An odd omission though was ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and why not album tracks? And what was rock and soul: ‘She Thinks I Still Care’ by George Jones, for example, was pure country. Sometimes he wrote essays on the records and sometimes it was a one-liner. The No.141 record, ‘Maybe’ by the Chantels (1958) was “Virginity personified as an unwelcome condition.” I was very pleased to meet Dave Marsh when he was in London as I had admired his features in Rolling Stone for years. I had read his book and we had good chat about it. Marsh talked about his next book: the story of ‘Louie, Louie’. I was happy to inform him that a Southport beat group Rhythm & Blues Inc had recorded it. Demo ‘The Seas Of Time’ by P J Proby, written and produced by Ron Ellis. Marsh Cass 050/1 T

OTB 0208, Saturday 27 January 1990, Noon-1.35pm Joe Boyd (Part 2), Les Williams and Mike Easthope (both Dimensions) This programme continued the interview with Joe Boyd and covered the start of ‘folk-rock ‘ with the Lovin’ Spoonful, producing Fairport Convention with Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, the growing interest in Nick Drake, working with Maria Muldaur (‘Midnight At The Oasis’), Geoff Muldaur, the Albion Band (‘Poor Old Horse’) and Julie Covington. Of record producing, Joe Boyd said, “I think one of the biggest compliments that you can pay to a record producer is to say that you didn’t notice him., You can always tell a Phil Spector production and that’s great but I also admire the record producer who ensures that nothing goes wrong and who allows the music to take place as if that is the obvious, the only way it could have been made. The fact that George Martin disappears as a producer on those early Beatle records is a marvellous accomplishment.” Kylie Minogue had gone to the top with ‘Tears On My Pillow’ and I was asked to play the original Liverpool version by the Dimensions from 1965. I had mentioned this last week and asked if any Dimensions were still around. Yes, they were and Les Williams and Mike Easthope came in for the final half-hour. They were now working as Pendulum and were at Rainford Labour that night. Mike had been a grocery boy and gone to Menlove Avenue in 1963 when Cynthia had given him a shopping list. It was on the back of a letter to John from EMI. There can’t be many people who knew what the Lennons were eating in those days – and Mike did as he still had the list. Unissued. ‘I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen’ by the Dimensions. Karl Denver lives! Unissued. ‘I Wonder If I Care As Much’ by the Dimensions Boyd Cass 017 T

OTB 0209, Saturday 3 February 1990, Noon-1.35pm Joe Meek Special with biographer John Repsch, Jennifer Moss, the Midnighters (Brain Woods, Ian McQuair), the Executives (Gene Page) and David John There were relatively few bombs planted by the IRA on Merseyside but there were lots of bomb warnings. I worked at Royal Life and we were told to leave the building about once a month, so more than anything else, it was disruptive. It happened at BBC Radio Merseyside too and this Saturday morning a call was received. The police thought it was a hoax but it was up to me as to whether to continue with the show or not. I always thought that the IRA would be unlikely to bomb Liverpool as there are so many Irish residents here and similarly, when I stayed in London for work purposes, I checked in at the President in Russell Square on the grounds that it was American-owned and the IRA would be damaging its own interests if Americans were killed or injured. This logic was faulty but it meant I could sleep soundly at the President. However, I did think I should give my guests the option of leaving. They had all arrived by 11.45pm and I told them of the bomb warning and if they wanted to go, that was fine. They all stayed and we had a show and there was no disruption. Some authors feel that they have proprietorial rights over their material and, in my view, never more so than John Repsch. He was an actor who was fascinated by the unique sounds of Joe Meek, the UK’s first independent pop producer, although he relied on the major labels to release his product. Meek had a fiery temper and the fact that he could not be openly gay contributed to the tension. Repsch had written an invaluable biography, The Legendary Joe Meek, but instead of closing the door and moving onto another subject, he came obsessed with those who had seemingly taken material from him for their own projects, notably the team behind the film, Telstar (2008) The show was on the anniversary of Buddy Holly’s and Joe Meek’s deaths. Maybe I meant to make something of this but forgot with all that was going on. Live T (I wasn’t expecting Gene Page and given the chance to speak with David John, he gabbled. The transcript reads more coherently than he was.)