Act One - Goodbye My Love (We're Through) (1974)

Found this wonderful B Side whilst running through a pile of singles this morning - I always judged Act One on "Tom" but this shows the soulful side of them - worth looking out for.

 

Mercury - 6008 005

45Cat Entry

    

Phill Brown - Are We Still Rolling? (2011)

I came across this during my research for Made In Walthamstow and ordered it as it seemed a rather unique take on the record business of the 70s and on - from the perspective of a well respected and accomplished sound engineer.  How fantastic that I found it even more enjoyable as it talked about the work of some of my heroes and favourites (Robert Palmer, Alan Spenner and Steve Winwood in particular) and about albums that I was responsible for manufacturing whilst I was at PolyGram (1978-1983).  It is a personal account of Phill's journey through a career of many highs both commercially and artistically (and at times chemically); of the characters that worked the industry for good or bad (a third devil category are those, there by chance and who treated it all with indifference); of the creation of some fantastic music; of the techniques used and the knowledge, experience and luck that brought them together.  Robert Palmer's forward describes it well when he says -

"This is not a technical manual (although it will certainly function as one) - it's a contemporary thriller.."  "That's what Phill Brown has written here - an adventure story.."  "It's a how-to book and a love story! A self-driven need to understand why creative people do what they do, and how to survive it and them"

When I was trying to get into the business I was told "get a job making the tea and then make yourself useful" - Phill Brown had an entry via his brother who worked at Olympic Studios and he would go and watch/help, obviously fascinated by the process - he found his way in and then did the "make himself useful" bit by working as tape operator at many of the never ending days and night owl sessions of the stars of the day including Hendrix, the Stones, Dusty Springfield. 

I love the mix of tech - mic set ups and reverb units and echo capture and the commercial reality, but the description of the periods of frantic creative process handled by a mixed cast for each new project; the issues (face fits? perhaps?) that led to being on a session or not all give another angle to the industry that interests us all.

One story of a recording struck a particular note with me.  Almost by accident, the author got involved in the recording of an album by Paul Carrack ("NightBird"), eventually co-producing the tracks and organising the sessions comprising a band (for me) to die for (Spenner, Lindscott, Hubbard, Renwick, McCalla, Collins).  Released in 1980 this was one of the last albums I worked on at the PolyGram factory before moving "up west".  I was making the vinyl of some of my heroes. Excited to see Carrack's name on the release sheet ("How Long" remains a favourite) I was disappointed by the artwork and the lack of interest actually given the release by Phonogram - i think we pressed all of 2-3,000.  Reading the chapter, and knowing some of the record guys concerned, tells me why.  I like it as an album - not a favourite - but it has class and epitomises the British rock,soul sound that was fairly ignored by the labels through the late 70s - shame because the Brits were pretty good at it.

As he moved on from the 70s working with Talk Talk, Faithless and Dido you get the feeling he pined for the old days - certainly (like me) he felt the presence of less record men and more money men.  At times his dilemma was compounded as he loved the work that he did and for one reason or another he never got to finish the final product (or be paid) or would lose the friends he had made over the years (his feelings after hearing of Spenner's death and of attending his funeral are understandable).

I finished this liking Phill Brown, seemingly a straight up ordinary guy, who worked in a high period for the industry, just before the suits moved in, he evolved and survived through the respect gained from his previous work - what better recommendation to have.  He doesn't pull punches but also refrains from putting people down, many biogs of this type big up the author by rubbishing their contemporaries - it and he are all the better for it.

He continues to work in the business - holding on to those "old" values of putting the creative process beyond the accountant and by the end you feel that he has (just) come to terms with the 70s being history - he and this book are part of that story and these pages are a worthwhile read and are highly recommended.

ISBN: 978-0-9779903-1-3

Tape Op Books

Phill Brown Web Site

Blues and Soul Magazine

My soul music education was supplemented very much from this magazine in the 70s.  I bought import (and unheard of UK) singles and albums on recommendation by it's trusted reviewers.  I've just unearthed a pile from my loft and supplemented the collection from ebay (the originals cost 15-20p/ebay £7.50!).

Much soul music was ignored by the music press at the time so a specialist mag (and this was the only one until Black Music appeared later in the 70s) was a real treat. Published fortnightly it had a heavy predominance of coverage of the northern soul club scene.

I've scanned a few things from the copies I have and will post them where relevant.  Happy memories.

This front cover from July 1972 features the Stylistics (for some reason lying in the road).

I also found it useful as a number of the artists featured also had their releases pressed at the Walthamstow factory see Made In Walthamstow - so that adds to the research.

Made In Walthamstow

I've embarked on a new project.  I'm researching into the Philips vinyl record factory in Walthamstow.  I worked there in the late 1970's for a couple of years and for PolyGram for a few more years after that.  It was local to me and for the years from the 50s through to its demise in the 80s it was part of the community.  If things go to plan and i'm up to it i'll try to write something about it.  Meanwhile I've set up a website Made In Walthamstow.com in order to collect the information and share it with others who have an interest.  I've posted images of some of the products that would have been made there; posted a short history of the record business and The Factory's place in it.  We'll see how it goes but it's been fun and interesting so far.  Here's an extract from the home page...

Walthamstow, E17. On the edges of Greater London and Essex, bordered by the River Lea, Epping Forest and the North Circular Road. This is a North London suburb with a place in the History of Recorded Music.

If you are of a certain age and purchased vinyl records in the 50s through to the 80s by Dire Straits, The Who, Elton John, Blondie, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Roxy Music, Dusty Springfield, 10cc, Genesis, The Jam, The Walker Brothers, The Stylistics; the soundtracks of Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Fame or the great MGM musicals to name but a few; on labels like Polydor, Philips, Mercury, RSO, Atlantic, Stax, Decca, London, Arista, Chrysalis, Charisma and Verve; it's likely that they were made at the Philips (later Phonodisc then PolyGram) factory on Walthamstow Avenue, not far from the famous dog track.

There were many such factories in the UK during the boom years so what's the story in E17?

In the 50s Philips were early adopters of the "new" microgroove LP format that finally signalled the death of the 78; many technical processes later adopted by the industry as a whole were developed here; in the 60s Philips invented and launched the pre-recorded cassette and the first tapes commercially available in the UK were made at the factory; during its history the factory pressed releases by major artists - many of them visiting the plant on goodwill promotional visits.

From the perspective of the community - the factory was a major employer in the area; in the 70s it was progressive in its employment practices - changing shift patterns to accomodate the need for muslim workers to attend local mosques for Ramadam; recognising that flexible hours would enable staff to work around school hours and other family commitments; working for the greater good with Band Aid.

During it's existence the Philips record business went through major changes, acquiring the pressing rights for US labels Columbia, Atlantic, and Stax; The acquisition of Mercury in 1961; the joint venture with Siemens forming PolyGram the following year; the takeover of Decca in 1980 and the abortive merger with Warners in 1984. The demise of the factory reflected the changing face of the business - with regionalisation then globalisation of products, the fall of vinyl to CD and the hardening of a market for music that was once unchallenged in meeting the needs of the young audience.


These images are of products from the period when I worked at Phonodisc (previously Philips and later PolyGram).  For more go to Made In Walthamstow Images

The Original Mirrors - "Dancing With The Rebel" 12" Promo (1979)

This was a Mercury single back in '79. To promote it Phonogram pressed 500 white label 12" copies which then had the artist and title rubber ink stamped on them. I know as I worked in the factory and was responsible for getting them made. After they were pressed I stood with a lady in the finishing shop whilst she stamped away, boxed them up and passed them to me for dispatch to the label's west end offices. They were then destined for radio stations and for promotions all over the country. I'd had a sneak listen in a quality control booth as I was being told this was the next big thing. Great track. So on returning to my desk I asked my label contact if he would send me one for all my good work that morning. He agreed then promptly forgot. So 25 years later i'm on a quest to buy a number of almost long forgotten tunes. I'm at fairs and on ebay. Blimey i managed to find a copy. In Wisconsin! I pay £25 for it and it now sits on my shelf with a few others, has been played a few times and makes a short appearance here. This band were a forerunner of the Lightning Seeds as it featured Ian Broudie.  Hear it here



The B side of the 12" included a cover of the Brill building standard "On Broadway" 

p.s. (18th August) I have now found that there is a compilation album available which includes this track on one of those CD-R from the copyright owner (around $60) via Amazon