the finest article i've read in a while is the bill wyman interview in the UK daily telegraph conducted by robert sandall. i have attached the article here for your enjoyment.
mr. sandall is not your usual journo.
he is a former punk and post punk musician and a member of bands that "have never gone down in history". he's a former ski-bum, he’s worked at Q magazine and the UK sunday times…and was a good choice for bill wyman.
whilst at the UK times he wrote what must have been the last, or almost last, piece on the revered champ of brit DJ's, the late john peel. (you can read here)
peel spoke with robert just before he left for his last holiday in peru, which is where he died. sandall was actually editing the piece when the news broke that peel had died. tiz a moving piece, it was as much a friendly, concerned diagnosis as anything else the article contained.
i may have met sandall in the mid-90's. it was the oddest of occasions. i was in london and to have dinner with my barrister. (a barrister is the legal person who stands up for you in court and wears a white wig and black robes and
addresses the judge as "m' lud"). my barrister was a very accomplished
lady named margaret puxon. in the UK high court system they are known as QC's. you may be familiar with them from a myriad of tele and/or filmed efforts. these efforts range range from "witness for the prosecution" to TV's "rumpole of the bailey". anyway it was an odd place to meet robert but my QC liked to "keep in touch with what youth was up to".
i like the bill wyman article because mr. sandall has allowed bill to skate over the sensitive area of his relationship, both personal and professional (with the rolling stones), without having bill fall through the ice (the hole determined by sandall's pen). in addition the sub-editors (those who determine the headline) have gone gentle on both the subject and topic which is a rarity in the UK and almost anywhere.
we live in an era where pro-tools have both improved and debased our music
and it's potential to affect our daily lives. at the same time the computer has both improved communication and debased the meaning and standard of
journalism, via the "everybody is a star" blog-ville in which we all reside.
of course it's more than computer, it's a whole social discourse ranging
from rupert murdoch to the decaying of the family unit by economical and
egoic wants and needs. also its our affection for schadenfreuden and the
belittling of others seemingly more fortunate than we may be. this article
is from the old school about the old school and it works. it's a rarity.....but so is bill.
***********************************************************************************************
a couple of months ago i raved both on my shows and on this page about the
eric clapton biography. i had read an extract that was published in VANITY FAIR. a few days ago i popped into my english book
carrying shop here in bogota and picked up a copy of the actual book.
i was concerned about it from the moment of purchase. it was thinner in pages than i'd thought it might be, it was lacking in photographic amities to the written
proceedings and the cover was brasher than i'd imagined. the cover was more Rosanne barr or farrah fawcett than gore vidal or gay talese. i sorta ignored this as i cancelled my nightly meet with " law & order" and set into eric. i was
disappointed.
vanity fair had done a superb job of presenting the best aspects of the book. the rest did not stand up to that standard. i have written two volumes of biography and am hard at work on a third. it is a very thin line, like the one tightroped by bill wyman, chez robert sandall in the above telling the truth without going tabloid. with ronnie wood there is no danger, he does not even notice it. regarding eric, had my life been changed and futured by seeing God in it's forms as cream and/or blind faith and had that treasured moment trampled on by eric talking about the gig or tour that had improved my lot as something he was " not there for"…i'd feel like whacking him. honesty has to be respectful to another fellow's recall.
another vomit moment is eric's naff betrayal of his "best friend" , the late beatle george harrison. by betrayal, i do not mean it was back in the day. i refer to the way it is written up now. eric has given both God and musos a bad name with his self-serving agenda of dismissal and moving on.
sorry eric, but this God can move to the judus section of the table.
******************************************************************************************
staying in the realm of the musical holy we have some great VATICAN PICKS
coming up on the UNDERGROUND GARAGE. our "vat-man" has come up with a slew of goodies for the upcoming weeks.
this week it's the stones and "get yourself together", recorded in november of '66 at olympic studios in london. i do not actually remember this session. the times they were a-straining and some six months later i would be leaving the band. this track is hitherto unreleased. glyn johns was the engineer. ian stewart is tentatively playing piano holding back whilst wondering whether
his little three chord wonders are going to pull it off. they don't, otherwise it would have been finished, mixed and released. the human riff (keith)
has the figure down, the bottom end is starting to swing and mick is gamely
trying to secure a song. tiz a gem.
we have quite a few more gems coming up from VAT-MAN in the coming weeks so please listen in.
5 comments:
"Get Yourself Together" may have been unfinished, but it still sounds better than 95% of the stuff that gets released today. For anyone who thinks of Keith Richards only in terms of his brilliant open-tuned rhythm playing, this track is further proof that he is, overall, in the top tier of players who have ever rocked the electric guitar.
Why is it Old Bill always comes across as being hard done by? It's all rather pathetic really, isn't it? And no ALO, I'm sorry, but I for one refuse to give up my right and privilege to belittle others seemingly more fortunate (or unfortunate) than I may be.
About Shan Colorado Finnerty, Coatlicue Theatre, Hortensia Colorado, and Elvira Colorado
We are a group of friends that know and worked with a young woman named Joy Loftin while she was employed at the Vanderbilt YMCA here in New York City. During the length of her employment, several extremely disturbing incidents occurred that cause us to be concerned and call into question the motives and the integrity of Shan Colorado Finnerty, Hortensia Colorado, and Elvira Colorado.
On several occasions, Joy came to work with visible bruises on her neck and arms. She eventually explained to us that Shan had punched, beaten, and choked her and she asked us for help. As wardens for the community, we tried to place Joy in women’s shelters around the city in an effort to mitigate the abuse. However, at the urging of Shan’s mother and aunt, Hortensia and Elvira, she returned to their apartment and refused to press criminal charges against Shan Colorado Finnerty. The abuse continued and one day, she came to work very early, visibly distressed and crying, with more bruises and abrasions. She said that Shan had verbally abused and beaten her once again; that she wanted to return to California, and that she was going to quit her job and reunite with her family. She tendered her resignation later that week. Out of concern for her safety and in an effort to find out what happened to her, we requested an officer from the domestic violence unit of the 5th Precinct conduct a welfare check at their home on Kenmare Street. However the officer was unable to find anyone at the apartment, and therefore could not verify that Joy was safe. We realize that she is suffering from battered women’s syndrome and may be unable to help herself due to the isolationist environment that the Colorados have formed around her. Abusive men are often enabled by their family, while the victim is persuaded to believe the abuse is her fault, and the pattern of emotional and physical trauma continues. Taking into consideration what has happened to Joy Loftin, it is especially deceitful that their display "Altar: El Llanto De La Resistancia" at the American Indian Community House was in part dedicated to victims of domestic violence.
In light of these events, we are dismayed, disappointed, and outraged to know that members of the American Indian Community would commit, condone, and perpetuate domestic abuse and violence, while simultaneously conducting workshops, writing and performing plays, and displaying works and art that would have the public and those who support them believe otherwise. It is a vulgar and offensive misrepresentation of American Indian Culture, and further support of Coatlicue Theater, Hortensia Colorado, Elvira Colorado, Shan Colorado Finnerty and their work is tantamount to supporting domestic abuse and violence. Considering their duplicitous behavior, having them represent American Indian Culture is an insult to the dignity of American Indians and an affront to human beings.
We therefore will not attend nor support any Coatlicue Theater productions or events where they will be featured. We will not attend or support any bands or groups where Shan Finnerty or his works are featured. We will be encouraging others that might consider attending, participating, or funding them to do the same. Our actions are warranted, and to be associated with the aforementioned individuals and Coatlicue Theater would be equivalent to enabling and contributing to such offensive behaviour. We are urging everyone to reevaluate their support of Coatlicue Theatre and the Colorados, and question the individuals concerned. Until the responsible individuals are held accountable and measures are taken to verify that the abuse is no longer occurring, we will continue with our boycott of Coatlicue Theatre and Shan Finnerty's work and we will strongly urge others to do the same.
Bill Whiner is worth a small fortune, he knows it I know it, who dosen't?
Clapton may be a sad and miserable bas***d but I sure do like Layla
The shit he's doing now is probably just to kill some time before he dies though.
Post a Comment