The Night-time Hi-jinx of Arnold Layne

From Chapter 24 magazine.

(via: http://iggyinuit.tumblr.com/post/174699964735/from-chapter-24-magazine)

"Octopus" by Syd Barrett

Trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro', you have no word
Trip, trip to a dream dragon, hide your wings in a ghost tower
Sails cackling at every plate we break
Cracked by scattered needles the little minute gong coughs and clears his throat
Madam you see before you stand, hey ho, never be still
The old original favorite grand, grasshoppers green Herbarian band
And the tune they play is "In Us Confide"
So trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro', you have no word
Please leave us here, close our eyes to the octopus ride!

Isn't it good to be lost in the wood
Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood
Meant even less to me than I thought
With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed

Well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border, hey ho, huff the Talbot
"Cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo, it's true in their tree they cried
Please leave us here, close our eyes to the octopus ride!

Please leave us here, close our eyes to the octopus ride!

The madcap laughed at the man on the border, hey ho, huff the Talbot
The winds they blew and the leaves did wag
They'll never put me in their bag, the seas will reach and always seep
So high you go, so low you creep, the wind it blows in tropical heat
The drones they throng on mossy seats, the squeaking door will always squeak
Two up, two down we'll never meet, so merrily trip forgo my side
Please leave us here, close our eyes to the octopus ride!

(via Gary Lucas)

Twink - Syd Barrett Stars Interview - 3/13

Syd Barrett Stars

Over the month of March, 2013 a group of Syd Barrett fans interviewed Twink, Mohammed Abdullah John Alder, about his time with Syd in the short lived group Stars. Here is Twink's account of his Syd Barrett Stars period:
Annette May: My name's Annette May and I live in Portland, Oregon USA. I look forward to your interview with Mohammed! I'm amazed at all the memorabilia he has; plus his memory is sharp as a tack when it comes to all the questions he's been asked. It's really a pleasure to see that Mohammed is doing what he does best as a musician. We are all so fortunate to have him around on Facebook sharing his stories, music, and photos so generously!

1) Alexander P. HB: 1972, how was Syd at that time?, How did Syd join Stars?

TWINK: Response to question 1. Syd was in good health qnd he was looking for people to play with. He found Jack Monck and I and then we then formed STARS together.

2) Anette May: Hi Mohammed! How long did you spend time in Morocco before your collaboration with Syd and Jack and did the trip change the way you've played drums prior to the way you played them beforehand?

TWINK: Hello Annette you are question 2. I only spent 10 days in Morocco it was too hot and I moved north to Portugal and then France. I was away about 3 months. In the short time I was in Morocco I learnt a lot about North African rhythms which did influence my playing thereafter.

3) Boab Thomas: Was Syd still creating? Lyric writing? Was he taking the whole Stars thing seriously?

TWINK: Hello Boab you are question 3. Syd was painting and performing live a very creative time for him. I believe he was taking STARS seriously..... he didn't miss a rehearsal or a gig.

4) Mark Ashkettle: Was Syd really interested in getting a band together and writing new material or just going through the motions?

TWINK: Hello Mark you are question 4 which was answered in response to question 3.

5) Matthew Horsley: Did Syd start to prefer to be called "Roger" in 1972?

TWINK: Hello Matthew u r question 5. He responded to both Roger and Syd at that time.

6) Mark Ashkettle: Was there any indication that Syd was writing new material or was interested in writing new material? Did Syd give any indication that he thought Stars were a long-term prospect, that they might record an album of new material?

TWINK: Hello again Mark and question 6. It was much to early for any of us to discuss writing new material or to consider whether STARS was a long term project with a view to recording an album. We were simply enjoying our time playing together.

7) Boab Thomas: Equipment - guitars/effects Syd was using!

TWINK: Hello Boab no 8. Black telecaster with no effects apart from slide ....amp and mike.......drums and bass.

8) Stephen Ballard What songs were rehearsed?

TWINK: Hello Stephen no 8. We rehearsed and performed LUCIFER SAM....WAVING MY ARMS IN THE AIR....BABY LEMONADE....AND OTHER SYD SONGS as well as some blues jams.

9) Memo Hernandez: How had Syd's guitar style changed from his days in the Floyd?

TWINK: Hello Memo no 9. Yes his playing had matured.

10) Kiloh: Did he have an EchoRec unit at this time?

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no 10. No Echorec.

11) Lisa Jolene Anderson: Where were most of the STARS practices held at? Who arranged to have Syd included in STARS and was he hesitant about it?

TWINK: Hello Lisa no 11: The STARS rehearsals began at Syd's house and then moved to my place. Syd decided to form a band with Jack and I.

12) Kiloh: How different was his playing from the UFO days?

TWINK: Hello again Kiloh no 12. His playing had matured and his fingers were faster.

13) Julian Massaldi: How was Syd musically by that point, in terms of knowing the chords and lyrics to his own songs? Was it normal to rehearse with him, like any other musician who wrote the songs you're playing, did he have to be reminded of how they went, or did he do them differently each time?

TWINK: Hello Julian no 13. Syd had no problem remembering the chords or the lyrics to any of his songs at rehearsals or gigs.

14) Marc Scobac: Which one of you came up with the name Stars? Did Syd decide the Stars set lists?

TWINK: Hello Marc no 14. Syd came up with the name STARS. Marc part 2 of your question. We all agreed the set list.

Syd Barrett Stars

Syd Barrett Stars

15) Julian Massaldi: Did he show any favoritism towards any of his own songs? We know he was quite proud of Octopus, were there any others that he was keen to play or wanted for sure on the set list?

TWINK: Hello Julian again no.15. It was a forgone conclusion that we would perform Syd's songs. Syd & Jack suggested songs and my suggestion was LUCIFER SAM. The blues jams were jams and very free form.

16) Julian Massaldi: Did he do any directing during rehearsals, did he give any instructions as to how to play them, or just let you play as you wanted?

TWINK: Hello Julian no.& 16. I remember Jack & Syd directing rehearsals which were very relaxed. We were all familiar with Syd's songs so once we got started on a song "it flew".

17) Joseph Morris: why was Syd growing a beard?

TWINK: Hello Joseph no 17. I can only speak for my beard. I didn't have the money for razor blades or shaving soap.

18) Memo Hernandez: Are there any more pictures? Maybe from the few gigs? Or from rehearsals?

TWINK: Hello Memo no. 18. Yes there are other pics all taken at the open air gig in Cambridge Market Sq by the friend of Steve Brink who moved to Australia quite soon after the show. I saw them and I had a couple of prints but not all.There may be other pics taken by others but I've never seen any.

19) Kiloh: What can you tell us about a set of pictures of Stars playing an outdoor gig in Cambridge Market Square in February (?) 1972, taken by an unknown Australian photographer?

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no. 19. See 18.

20) Gaz Hunter: How was Syd during rehearsals for the Stars gig, calm, paranoid, creative?

TWINK: Hello Gaz no. 20. He was humorous, calm & creative.

21) Marc Scobac: Was the Market Square gig planned in advance or did the band just show up and play?

TWINK: Hello Marc no. 21. The gig was planned in advance.

22) Kiloh: Can you write anything cool you remember as well as your strongest memory for each of the gigs below please:

Gigs:
1-26-72, King's College Cellars -- Barrett, Monck and Twink play a short set (also: Eddie "Guitar" Burns)
1-27-72, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England -- Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (also: Hawkwind, Pink Fairies)

February
2-5-72 the Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge, England
2-?-72, Petty Cury (near Market Square) -- Stars
2-?-72, the Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge, England
2-24-72, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England (also: MC5 / Skin Alley)
2-26-72, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England (also: Nektar)

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no 22.) 1) I was very happy to see Syd arrive at the gig with his guitar hoping to jam.
2) Exceedingly happy to see Syd come to the next gig, again with his guitar hoping to jam.
3)I remember Syd standing in front of Jack & I confident and performing a very nice set.
4) Definitely for our best gig, Syd had everyone in the palm of his hand.
5) Corn Exchange 1. The night before the show Syd, Jack, Jenny, Silver & I went out to celebrate and then back to Union Rd for a few laughs......the show was a disaster for STARS everything went wrong.
5) Corn Exchange 2. Good gig and recorded.
6) Dandelion another good gig.

23) Mary Cosco: Wonderful! How Syd was at that time? He was glad to get back on stage? Was he still using drugs? Did he of his Pink Floyd and their abandonment? Thanks

TWINK: Hello Mary no 23. Syd was healthy and happy. He was not using any drugs and never spoke about The Pink Floyd except in reference to his music.

24) Mark Ashkettle: Did they rehearse the unreleased Floyd stuff like scream thy last scream & vegetable man? did Syd talk about the Floyd albums released after he left?

TWINK: Hello Mark no.24. We never discussed the later Pink Floyd trax or albums only Syd's solo albums & PIPER ..... which we all appreciated considerably.

25) Kiloh: Yes, what did he say about Pink Floyd? Details, details, details... Was he bitter?

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no. 25. Syd never spoke about PINK FLOYD and never ever revealed any bitterness to me. He was happy !

26) Kiloh: Did he talk about his two solo albums? If so, what did he say? Did he talk about the botched mix of Madcap Laughs?

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no. 26. He only spoke of his 2 solo albums as reference points to songs we rehersed.

27) Alexander P. Hoffmann: Twink has brought him the later printed posters of The Stars. Then Twink has talked with him, of course. Perhaps Twink can tell a little bit about that meeting.

TWINK: Hello Alexander no 27. I didn't stay long at Syd's house I simply handed the poster to him he smiled, said "Thank you" and closed the door.

28) Joseph Morris: Where are the Stars tapes?

TWINK: Hello Joseph no 28. Only Allah knows.

29) Zachary Biggs: Yeah has any progress been made in finding any recordings?

TWINK: Hello Zachary no. 29. No progress as far as I know.

30) Kiloh: Supposedly, a soundboard recording was made of the gig with Nektar. Stars Roadie, Joly McFee, said that cassette copies were briefly circulating among band members and Staff. Do you remember such a tape circulating? If so, how did it get lost?

Here's what Joly says about the tape:

"Nektar, being prog, had state of the art audio—two WEM Audiomasters out front and monitors. I mixed the band. Another roadie was Nigel, who took care of the stage. I think it was a friend of his that taped the show. I was lent the tape by Nigel some months later and it sounded good; I gave it back without copying. I later heard he lost it. I believe that. If it were around, it would have surfaced by now."

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no. 30. I remember that recording and the tape that Joly had. I listened to it in his van on a trip from Cambridge to London. I sounded very good indeed.

31) Kiloh: Who was Victor Kraft? What can you tell us about him?

TWINK: Hello Kiloh no 31. Victor Kraft was a close friend of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland and STARS. An American gentleman living in Cambridge guarding his son Jeremy who was at school there. He came to all the STARS shows with a portable recorder and recorded some if not all the shows.

32) Steve Czapla: Did he have any particular opinion of the other bands on the bills -- MC5, Nektar, Hawkwind, etc?

TWINK: Hello Steve no. 32. MC5-The Greatest Rock n Roll Band ever, NEKTAR-Kool, Hawkwind-Great guys and The Pink Fairies - Nice

33) Memo Hernandez: Were there any plans in making an album?

TWINK: Hello Memo no.33. No plans to record.

34) Dave Folsom: Did he ever talk about Pink Floyd's albums with Syd? It would be great to know what Syd thought of Ummaguamma and Atom Heart Mother.

TWINK: Hello Dave no. 34. We only discussed PIPER ...... as a reference point for songs we were rehearsing.

35) Marc Scobac: Historically, it's been really hard to hear Syd's vocals on live tapes; did Syd sing softly at Stars gigs or could he be heard clearly.

Syd Barrett Stars

TWINK: Hello Marc no. 35. He could be heard clearly.

36) Michael Rawding: Jack Monck said the last Stars gig was his worst show ever. He felt that Syd was there in body only. What does Twink recall about the audience's reaction to the show?

TWINK: Hello Michael no. 36. Jack was referring to the gig before the last gig as he had forgotten about the NEKTAR show. When we finally took the stage after the MC5 set the crowd went wild with girls jumping on stage and dancing. Which was a bit off putting for Syd.Things got steadily worse culminating in Syd cutting his finger.

37) Alexander P. HB: Is the recording (the known) Olympia 1970 or The Stars 1972? , Are there photos of the performance in the hall of Corn Exchange ?????

TWINK: Hello Alexander no. 37. I believe that recording is STARS 1972 because I recognise my drumming and I can hear Jacks voice.

38) Marc Scobac: Why did the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band split?, Did anyone ever contact you about releasing the Last Minute Minute Put Together Boogie Band with Syd sitting in recording?

TWINK: Hello Marc no. 38. When Jack and I left TLMPTBB it continued so I have no idea why the band broke up. Watch this space about the recording you refer too: (link missing).

39) Marc Scobac: Were you surprised Syd quit; why or why not?

TWINK: Hello Marc no. 39. I was not surprised when Syd quit as it could have happened at any time by any one of us.

40) Mark Ashkettle: Did Syd give any indications in 1972 that he was finding it difficult to deal with audiences and being a pop star, that he'd prefer to live quietly and concentrate on painting? Did Syd have any favourite new bands in early 1972, was he still interested in current music?

TWINK: Hello Mark no. 40. Syd had the perfect balance in his life at that time. He enjoyed playing in STARS continued with his painting and listening to jug band music.

41) Chris Oliver: Please ask Twink if he and Syd wrote anything together. I also heard rumors that he was around for the Think Pink sessions, Could you ask him if this is true? thank you!

TWINK: Hello Chris no. 41. The only thing that could be considered joint compositions would be the spontaneous live blues jams. Syd was not there for the THINK PINK sessions.

42) Marc Scobac: Did you make any other attempts to work with Syd or get him to come back to Stars after he told you he was leaving?

TWINK: Hello Marc no. 42. We stayed in touch for a time and Syd did come to a TWINK demo recording session at Polydor Studios but did not play on the recording. We never talked about STARS again.

43) Rickard Alstar: Mr. Alder, If the 3 man experiment (Barrett, Monck, Alder) would have worked to its full potential, would you have initiated the next step and formulated an original studio project?

TWINK: Hello Richard no.43. A studio project would have been the next progression however we were not given that opportunity.

44) Neville Harson: If it hasn't been asked of him too many times, it might be good to know if he has any unseen footage or unheard recordings.

Hello Neville no. 44. I have no unseen footage or unheard recordings of STARS.

45) Rich Hall: Has anyone asked if Twink and Syd ever talked after 1972? If yes, what kinds of things were on Syd's mind, and if not, why? Did they have a sour parting of the ways with the demise of Stars?

TWINK: Hello Rich no.45. Definitely no sour parting of the ways and my conversations with Syd after 1972 are personal and private business.

46) Rich Hall: Oh. One more. Did Syd contact Twink to drum on the 1974 sessions?

THINK: Hello Rich no. 46. I dont know if he tried to contact me or not.

47) Steve Czapla: Twink, is there any video or outtakes from your time with Plasticland, and did you cover any Syd/Floyd songs with them?

TWINK: Hello Steve no. 47. I think there must be some outtakes from the live recordings with Plasticland. There are 2 unreleased trax from studio recordings at that time 1) The original version of "Seize The Time" & "Hey Momma Keep Your Big Mouth Shut". No Syd or Floyd covers from Twink & Plasticland.

48) Wade Born: I would like to know if ANY outtakes or demos exist,have they been released or will be released from TWINK'S FIRST Solo release...THINK PINK.What a great LP
that is...were there any unmentioned artist contributions to these sessions? Does TWINK have any special recollections from this recording time period?

TWINK: Hello Wade no. 48. There are bonus trax on the new Sunbeam Records re-issue of THINK PINK - TWINK out April 4th. Full artist contributions and extensive recollections on this CD & LP release with 8 bonus trax. Also look for The Think Pink and Nevereverland Demos by Twink on the Italian Get Back label.

via http://www.sydbarrettpinkfloyd.com/2013/04/SydBarrettStars.html

Vegetable Friends interview: Vic Singh

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/VegetableFriends/


Vic Singh has been so kind as to share some of his experiences with
us.. I am still in contact with him so watch this space..
ENJOY, VEGGIES....

Mr Vic Singh:
I started as a young photographer in Studio 5 in Shepards Market,
Mayfair London in the early 60's, other young photographers there
were Norman Eales, David Bailey. We were the founders of the swinging
sixties. At this time there were only men in drab grey suits unaware
of what was to follow. Studio 5 became very popular with its handsome
young photographers and dolly bird models, the start of the youth
culture. Suddenly fashion, music and design blossomed and invention
was the key word. The 60's exploded into a new universe and Carnaby
Street, Mary Quant, Vidal Sasson, The Beatles, Rolling
Stones etc. started happening. I was one of the "In Crowd" making a
load of money and having a groove.

> Can you tell us more about what happened around the
> time THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN cover photo
> sessions took place? (cues: CONTACT WITH Syd
> Barrett/Pink Floyd, the SLEEVE CONCEPT, what you know
> about the genesis of SYD'S DESIGN on the back sleeve)

Around 1966-67 the first time I set eyes on the Pink Floyd was in
Piccadilly Circus, there was some sort of event taking place. They
were standing under the statue of Eros and looked very spaced out and
we had a few words. Remember that at this time they were a unknown
group like many others. I was well known in the music business as a
photographer and friend besides taking fashion and advertising
photos. I had left Studio 5 and opened my own studio in Mayfair and a
short time after meeting the Pink Floyd their manager rang me and
asked me to shoot their first album cover. I asked "What would you
like on it" he said "Leave it up to you". I was a friend of George
Harrison and used to pop in to visit and have lunch at his house in
Esher, wife Patti doing the cooking, going for a swim in the
pool and sitting around chatting, anyway George had bought this
prismatic lens and did not know what to do with it so he gave it to
me. I did not know what to do with it either - until The Pink Floyd.
So I decided it was right for them rang their manager and asked him
to go shopping and get them bright phsydelic clothes that would stand
out because the lens multiplied the image and made it soft.
They turned up in the studio - we totally got out of it and had their
music very loud reverberating around the studio, they put on their
gear and I shot the photo on a white background with strobe lights on
a Hasselblad. It was a very spaced out session, the music was so loud
you could hear it wafting down Bond Street, I had a few complaints -
never mind. They were well pleased with the results and went off with
the photos. It was probably at this time that Sid got into designing
the "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" album cover, putting in the
lettering in the space on the front of the cover and designing the
back, in which I was not involved. I was just the initial spark that
set the whole thing rolling, it was like that in the
60's.....invention. You may notice that The Floyd have a fascination
with prisms and light spectrums even on their later albums. Light is
the mother of invention.

> What do you think of the REISSUE of Piper in
> comparison to the original release?

Looks like the record company has had a slick art director on the
job and brought it into the new millennium.

> Anything that may provide more insight in your
> relationship with Syd Barrett? :-)

I lost touch with Sid and the rest of the group after the session
simply because there was so much going on. Besides running my studio,
I lived in the Kings Road with my model girl friend. There would be
at least thirty people sitting around when I got home, at least 4
parties to go to, getting very out of it, going for a drink with 30
people, going to Alvaros for dinner (this was the "In" restuarant),
going to the parties and finally ending up in the WestEnd night club
until 4 in the morning, having sex and finally starting a shoot at 9
in the morning and the rest of it - an was an unbelievable time - I
probably over did it a bit.
I think Sid really got into the visual side and formed a group of
artists to work with.

> Are there any written sources on any of these
> topics that you know of?

Yes. My friend John Cavanagh who works for the BBC has written a
book about "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and has done research on
the subject.



>Do you know what George Harrison thought of the Pink
>Floyd?

>Mr Vic Singh:

Can't remember George saying anything about the Pink Floyd,
he talked about mysticism a lot. A subject we all loved.
I did tell George that I had used the prism lens he gave to
shoot a cover shot for the Pink Floyd and that it had come
out smashing.

>Sofar you have given us some valuable insights in the
>genesis of the Piper sleeve. It may interest you to
>know that in Storm Thorgerson's book "Mind Over Matter
>- The Images Of Pink Floyd", Storm states the
>following:
>"I don't think this front photo was made by
>sandwiching transparencies or by multiprinting; more
>likely by a multiple exposure actually in camera,
>though I could be wrong. The picture goes some way
>towards evoking the contemporary sensibility - a nod
>in the direction of psychedelia - and provides a sense
>of the lovable mop tops (after The Beatles), as Nick
>likes to call early Floyd, as well as current styling
>trends in floral jackets and cravats. The Floyd
>themselves were probably too excited by stardom to
>have had that much input. Vic Singh where are you now,
>to tell us the the actual genesis of this piece?"

>Maybe you would like to comment on this paragraph?

I think Storm is trying to treat the subject as the interlectual.

When in reality it is quite basic.
The Floyd had no idea what they wanted in so many words.
It was more an invisible vibe, whatever you call that spaced,
psychedelic.
The photo was taken with a prismatic lens which happened to
be present at the time, with which I had not taken any pictures
because the lens was too farout - psychedelic form the norm. The Pink
Floyd and their music an innovation at the time. The lens fitted
their image perfectly, like a hand in the glove, so I used it as a
matter of chance, being at the right place at the right time.
Chance is a wonderful magical thing - how can anyone explain it and
its workings.
the clothes needed to have bright rich colours for the prismatic lens
which softened the image. So they got some floral jackets and
cravats - probably the only brightly coloured clothes they could find
at that time.

As far as the lovable mop tops (after The Beatles), thats another
story. I was a mate of Vidal Sasson his hair salon was in Bond Street
across the road from my photo studio, he actually loaned me some cash
to start up my studio and I used to shoot some of his early hair
styles. The mop tops were originally invented by Vidal for chicks,
becoming fashionable it spilled over to pop. Every pop singer had the
mop top after the Beatles success.

The true reality about the mop top is this - at that time if a guy
had his hair length below his ears he was jeered in the
street "bloody faggot, especially by workmen who would
catcall and shout obscence queer things like "look at her - get your
hair cut ninney" and a lot worse. It was against the law to be gay.

>[Storm Thorgerson in Mind Over Matter:]
>Vic Singh where are you now,
>to tell us the the actual genesis of this piece?"

I am sitting here writing to you about the actual genesis - fear not!

> Now, in the same coffee table book, Storm also
> mentions a millennium T-shirt design by Jon Crossland
> which was based on the album Piper At The Gates Of
> Dawn. This design had been a psychedelic cockerel, a
> "dawn piper", but it was rejected by the later Floyd
> in favour of a pixellated pic of Syd.
>
> This raises the question as to whether you yourself
> had considered any other concepts for the Piper
> sleeve, before the final prismatic lens design was
> approved?

No, there was no other designs. The sleeve was designed by chance,
beyond the realms of the marketing man and spin much more in the
realm of magic - how can one improve on something like that. I still
work my pictures in this way, finding that concious visulisation only
goes that far, but adding chance and the subconcious give magic and
mystery of art to the image - otherwise its another PR photo.

>To what extent were you involved in the
>repackaging project for the Piper CD?

Not involved.

> What do you think of the Piper album itself (musically)?

Very brave, the album commands respect. When I first heard it I did
not think it would be a success, because it was so different to all
the other music Beatles, Stones, Elvis, Beach Boys etc. of that time.
The Pink Floyd are one of those groups that should not
really be here and yet they are...... this in itself transcends all
the hypocrisy, arrogance in a society that sucks.

Best wishes,
Vic

>Thanks a lot for all your time, Vic. We highly
>appreciate the gesture.

Grimble Gromble,
VegetableFriends, 2003

Kevin Ayers Interviews

KEVIN AYERS

(Danny Clifforda)

A collection of Kevin Ayers post-2000 interviews and snippets both on video and in print...

Kevin Ayers about the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream

Uploaded by freakedeliqueful on Jan 9, 2010

All Kevin Ayers' contributes in the great documentary 'A Technicolor Dream'.

Kevin Ayers and his 'normal' life with Sixties friends

Uploaded by UKRockHistory on Jul 16, 2011

Syd Barrett, Jimi Hendrix and some of the rip-offs of a musician's life in the Sixties

Kevin Ayers interview 2008

Uploaded by freakedeliqueful on Jan 9, 2010

Kevin Ayers interviewed in 2008 by catalan television Sputnik for their great documentary 'Les Illes Escollides', about musical scene in Balearic Islands during '60-'70.
This video collect all Ayers'interviewes you can find in the documentary.
Other persons who appear in this extract are: William Graves (with red polo, Robert Graves'son) and the guitarist Joan Bibiloni (black coat and pink t-shirt).

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/interview/kevin-ayers.htm

Interview

Kevin Ayers

ince the recent release of The Unfairground, the first new album from British singer-songwriter Kevin Ayers in fifteen years, there has been an increasing and long overdue acknowledgement of his position as one of the founding fathers of British psychedelic rock. Along with Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge and Daevid Allen, Ayers was a member of the original line-up of the Soft Machine. Following a grueling tour of the US in 1968, supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Ayers left the band and embarked upon a remarkably varied and consistently engaging solo career, releasing a series of critically acclaimed (if commercially under-performing) albums during the 1970s, before slowly sliding off the radars of all but the committed few during the 1980s. 

For his latest album, which marks something of a return to the freshness, eclecticism, and clarity of vision that characterized the best of his 1970s work, Ayers has enlisted the services of a wide array of younger collaborators. These include members of Ladybug Transistor, Architecture In Helsinki, Noonday Underground, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Teenage Fanclub, as well as Euros Childs (the former leader of Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, and a long-time champion of Ayers’ work), and the rising pop-soul singer Candie Payne. 

Ayers is widely regarded as an awkward and reluctant interviewee, whose distaste for self-promotion could be attributed partly to unreconstructed hippy anti-commercialism, and partly to classic upper middle-class English reserve (he is, after all, the son of a diplomat). Speaking to Stylus from his home in Southern France, where he leads a simple and mostly reclusive existence, he willingly submitted himself to a guided stroll through his solo career to date. Choosing his words slowly and carefully, with frequent pauses, Ayers’ natural wariness was tempered by a wry humor and a gentle, understated charm. 

To anyone who knew your work with the Soft Machine, your solo debutJoy of a Toy [1969] would have been viewed as a radical switch of direction: from free-form experimental jamming into a more traditional songwriting-based approach. Had you been storing up songs for future use over a long period, or was it a sudden decision, that you were going to change course and try your hand at songwriting? 

The latter. Basically, I’m a songwriter. I’m not a virtuoso musician, or anything like that. It was great to do the so-called “free-form” stuff—but after a while, you get the T-shirt, you know? I think that songs are more enduring, and more fun to do. A lot of free-form stuff is very self-indulgent. That’s why I left, because Soft Machine was heading more into fifteen-minute solos—and frankly, it wasn’t just Soft Machine. There was a whole era, wasn’t there? Endless guitar solos, and people just banging around. Which is great fun for a while, but then you just want to move on. 

You got out ahead of the curve, I suppose. But then with Shooting at the Moon [1970], you threw another curveball. You’re back with a band [the Whole World]—indeed, it’s your only album which is credited to you and a band—and there’s actually quite a lot of free-form stuff on there, where you’ve abandoned traditional rhythmic and harmonic structures. It’s not quite heading back in the same direction, but it’s certainly a surprise. 

Well, I was surrounded by some incredibly talented musicians, and it’s a side that’s just… there. I still have it, to a certain extent. 

Was that album more of a band effort, or was it more your vision as interpreted by others? 

Both. I always consider myself as a sort of catalyst, for these very talented people. I provided a sort of framework, and allowed them an incredible leeway. Letting them have their heads, basically. 

And I suppose you were also mentoring a young Mike Oldfield at that stage? 

In a way. He was quite a lost soul at the time. I think it provided some kind of stability for him. 

Onto Whatevershebringswesing [1971]. There’s a lot of eclecticism at work: you’ve got symphonic rock, vaudeville, avant-garde, and almost MOR balladry on there. This genre-hopping is a key part of your appeal, I think. What was the motivation? Was it experimentalism; was it showing off; was it restlessness? 

It’s just the way I am—it’s as simple as that—and it’s to my disadvantage, I think. If you think about most best-selling albums, they’re all basically one tone, one direction, repeating the same thing over and over again. I just wasn’t able to do that. But there certainly wasn’t any showing off in it at all, I can assure you. That’s just how my mind works. 




It seems to me that you were constantly picking a new genre and seeing what could be done with it. And then trying another, and then trying another… 

Yes. And also, a lot of stuff is kind of arbitrary. It happens in the studio. Choices are made, simply because some machine sounds better than another, or someone suggests another bass line, and you say: yeah, that’s a good idea too. So it’s kind of random. 

Because of this eclecticism, it is always difficult to recommend a definitive Kevin Ayers album, or even a definitive track, as somewhere for people to get started. But I think that the more unified Bananamour[1973] is as close as we get. 

I’m glad that you said that, because that’s one of my favourites. I think it sort of covers the ground. 

During an interview that you gave while supposedly promoting The Confessions of Dr. Dream [1974], you said that you were disappointed with your new album, and that Bananamour was superior. I thought that was such an extraordinary thing for an artist to be saying, especially as you had just switched record labels. So I went out and boughtBananamour and left Dr. Dream for a couple of years, because you told me it wasn’t very good. 

Oh, shit…! [laughter] 

Were you just winding up the interviewer, or did you have reservations about that album after it came out? 

I don’t know; I’m always saying things like that, and putting my foot in my mouth… and always getting told off for it too. Managers tearing their hair out, you know… [laughs] 

The live album June 1st 1974 [recorded with John Cale, Brian Eno, and Nico] sounds like one of the first Big Pushes, if you like. There was an attempt being made to turn you into a rock star, and it sounds like a pre-conceived showcase. You’ve said that you weren’t always too comfortable with that. 

No, I wasn’t. It was too stagey, and you’re absolutely right—it was Island’s attempt to make me into a kind of pop star, with high-heeled shoes and all that kind of stuff. It just wasn’t me; I didn’t fit the picture. 

And in any case, you were still promoting Dr. Dream, which is quite “out there.” It’s not something that you would expect to be pushing to a mass market. 

Not at all. Especially the second side, which is basically one track, all interlinked. It’s sort of the remnants of my Soft Machine days. 

It was round about this time that Ollie Halsall came onto the scene. He then stayed with you, as your closest musical associate, for the next eighteen years. At a time when an awful lot of collaborators were constantly coming and going, what was it about Ollie that led to the two of you sticking together for so long? 

[long pause] Gosh, that’s a really hard one. I think it was just instant empathy. I met him while I was in the studio doing Dr. Dream; I think he was working with members of Colosseum at the time. I needed a guitar solo for “Didn’t Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You.” I opened the door, and there was this guy walking along with a white Gibson. I said, “Do you fancy doing a guitar solo?” Sure, he said… and then came in and did this stunning solo, after listening to it just once. That was it. That was love, you know? 

Ollie worked with you closely on the next album, Sweet Deceiver [1975]. This is a problematic one. I listened to it again this week and absolutely loved it—I had forgotten what a good album it was—and I really do think that it’s one of your most underrated albums. 

Well, thank you for saying that. [emphatically] Thank you very much for saying that. 

Up until that point, you’d been the golden boy of the music press. You’d always had good reviews. And then all of a sudden they turned against you, maybe because you were saying goodbye to the avant-garde, and they didn’t like the idea of you going in a more conventional soft-rock direction. I think you were nobbled by the cool police, actually. 

Absolutely right. It was probably Nick Kent, or someone like that. It was panned. I think something about the title pissed them off. 

And the cover art maybe, because there’s this rather of-its-time line drawing of you. But these are very superficial reasons for dismissing an album. 

Well absolutely, but it’s so damaging to the artist. People don’t realize that. They sit there, sniffing their lines of coke, writing you off, sniping away… and you get slammed. At that time, the musical press was very powerful. Today it’s zero, compared to what it used to be. If you had a good review in Melody Maker orNME, you sold records. Now, no one really gives a shit. But thank you for saying that it’s an underrated album; I totally agree with you. 

And then came Yes, We Have No Mananas [1976], which makes me think of sunshine, beaches, palm trees… 

Falling in love does that for you. [laughs] 

That was the emotional context, was it? 

Of course. It always is. Either falling in love or out of love; those are the only two things that motivate anybody. 




You had John Reid, of all people, managing you at the time—and I think this may have been another attempt at a Big Push. He also had Elton John and Queen on his books, didn’t he? 

No, but the problem was that it wasn’t a Big Push. I was like a token, a golden boy, another charm on his bracelet. He totally abandoned me. He just bought me somehow, I don’t know how, and then proceeded to totally ignore me, in terms of any positive, constructive plan of what to do. 

Was there, at any time, any part of you that wanted that kind of mainstream rock star status, or was it always anathema? 

[long pause] I think probably when I very first started, with the Wilde Flowers or something way back then. It was part of the dream, yeah. But after that, not at all. 

By the time that Rainbow Takeaway [1978] came out, the ground had clearly been pulled from under your feet, in several ways. The album had no promotion at all, and punk rock had come along. All of a sudden, people didn’t want to hear about sunshine and palm trees; they wanted to hear about high-rises and dole queues. [laughter] Rainbow Takeawayisn’t even a rock and roll album, really. How did you feel about that kind of paradigm shift? Did it touch your world? 

I kind of numbed out on that. I kept working, but obviously it wasn’t working. I mean, another generation had just clocked in, you know? 

It was another explosion of creativity, but in a very different direction. 

Yes, and the best of punk rock is great. I was just rather out of context. 

Once again, with That’s What You Get Babe [1980], the NME absolutely savaged you, with the reviewer [Ian Penman] decrying the whole concept of the Cult Figure, and holding you up as an example. And in some ways, you are the living archetype of the Cult Figure—at least in terms of someone who’s actually living, of course. Is it a description with which you feel comfortable? 

Having never been in any kind of cult, I don’t really know what that means. 

I think it means that there’s a small number of people who really get what you’re doing, as opposed to having a larger number of people who might only have been half listening. 

Cult is the wrong word, then. It’s a selective audience. [laughter] 

You then left your major label, moved to Spain, and Diamond Jack & the Queen of Pain [1983] came along. In many ways, this is your strangest album. It’s the only time where it sounds as if you’re trying to follow fashion. There are typically Eighties-sounding synths on there, and so on.

That’s because it was commissioned. Someone offered to pay for it, but on condition that I agreed to his producer, and his musicians, and his ideas as to how things should be. I was very poor at the time, so I had to do it. And that’s really all there is to it. 

Listening to it, I almost sensed an invisible stick, just off-camera, forcing you to sing in a way that’s not your normal singing style. 

Yeah, you’ve got it. Absolutely right. 

Various albums then emerged during the Eighties, which are less well-known: Deia Vu [1984], As Close As You Think [1986]—which isn’t available on CD, and which few seem to have heard—and Falling Up[1988], which sounds like you’re just having fun. One of the Amazon reviews says it’s as if you’ve “just drifted up from the beach bar to the studio with old friends.” Was music perhaps less of a priority during this period? 

I think Falling Up was a good record, though. [pause] I mean, hopefully what you said was right. It was coming up from the beach and having fun with friends? Well, that’s good then. Leave it there. 

But there’s a track on there called “Am I Really Marcel” in which you seemingly hold your hands up to being lazy and lacking ambition, in a way that suggests that you’re very comfortable about it. Should we take that at face value? 

Well, obviously I’m not that lazy, or else I wouldn’t have had a whole career in the business. But you have to be clear in terms of what “lazy” means. It just means that you don’t need to be involved in the day-to-day hustle, or hassle, of city life. You can actually exist as a person on your own, without all the trappings. “Lazy” means you don’t necessarily have to keep making an effort to make yourself liked. 

Still Life with Guitar came out in 1992. Shortly after its release, Ollie Halsall tragically died—and then you didn’t release another album of original new material for fifteen years. It’s very tempting to draw certain conclusions from that. 

Well, you’ve got it, yeah. [pause] I mean, you’ve answered… it’s a rhetorical question. 

OK. Well, I could delve further, but I kind of don’t want to. 

[evenly] No, I don’t think you should. 

Let’s fast-forward to The Unfairground, which is being hailed as your best album in over thirty years. What gave you the impetus to return to recording after so long? 

That’s a really tough one to answer. Firstly, I need to earn a living. Secondly, I need some kind of intellectual satisfaction, and life. I need to feel that I’ve been vaguely useful on the planet. 

But there must have been a change in your general mindset… in your confidence, maybe, I don’t know… 

Well, it’s probably been made more from a lack of confidence. I need to re-affirm that I still exist, you know? It’s my job; it’s what I do; it’s been my whole life. I kind of have to do it—otherwise I’m dead. Dead to myself. 

With some of the 1980s albums, it didn’t feel as if you were so firmly in the driving seat—but I gather that you personally directed every note onThe Unfairground. Was this a happy experience? Was it a long hard slog, or was it a joyous explosion of energy? 

A long hard slog. It always is! There’s no such thing as a joyous explosion in recording studios. 

I’m outside of it; I can romanticize these things. [laughter] 

You might have it for a while. You might have a few moments of it, but then you find it sounds like crap on tape—and then it’s the long hard slog. It’s work; it’s like anything else. 

Tim [Shepard], your manager, helped bring in a range of younger collaborators. Has it led you to a curiosity in their work? 

Sort of, but I don’t really listen to pop music these days. I listen to jazz—the old jazz—and classical music. I’m not trying to be snobby about it; there’s just so much crap around. I turn the radio on, and listen, and I just have to turn it off again. I’ll listen to world music, but mainstream pop, or whatever, I just find to be totally uninteresting. 

There has been a sustained period of publicity involved with this album, and I know it’s not your favorite activity in the world. Are you longing for the buzz to die down, so you can go back to your quiet, bucolic, rustic life? 

It’s like a punishment tour for me. [laughs] No, you have to support what you do. You don’t necessarily have to enjoy it. But I do enjoy talking to people, sometimes. And other times, it’s not enjoyable at all. 

I would imagine particularly when they’re asking you questions which they could have found out for themselves, without too much effort. 

Well, particularly when they know the answers already. But I’d like to thank you for intelligent questions. 

By: Mike Atkinson Published on: 2007-10-23

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