A while back I started, and had a bit of success with, a blog called Rock Legacy. It can still be accessed, but I wont be writing on it anytime soon. In fact, just checking it out I see that I have not added anything to it for over a year.
Rock Legacy was my attempt to do two things; bring new bands to the attention of the public and also to record for posterity, some of the lesser known facts about musicians and music.
Insofar as the brief was concerned, I succeeded. I managed to interview a lot of interesting people and get something different out of them. The reason I packed it in was purely down to the cost/benefit equation. It was costing me a lot in terms of time, dedication, application and money and what I actually got on the website represented about a tenth of the actual effort.
Strangely, I ended up spending hundreds of pounds chasing people who never appeared on it. I remember spending three days in the Midlands, cold and wet and miserable, trying to get something out of a burnt-out pro who'd been in two headline bands. In the end, and after hours of recording and indulgence, I realised I had nothing I could use. He, like many I have since met, was just too far down the line. So ok, the drugs were a thing of the past but they had left their mark and what this particular rocker had to say was beyond human understanding.
Another project ground to a halt after a similar large investment. Sadly the person concerned had domestic problems that simply would not stay in the background. Meetings happened, thousands of words were written, several band members were consulted and, in the end, it was clear that I was wasting my time. Not the least because one central band member decided that I should be kept at arm's length, while another, contacted me on a daily basis and was hugely helpful.
You might not be surprised to know that some of the people on Rock Legacy (the interviews are there for all to see) were really wonderful. In fact, all of the ones who made the final cut were wonderful. Mostly.
I suppose my reason for writing this piece is to try and explain to those who want to know, what it means to be a successful musician. All I can say, from my experience with those who have been there and done it, is that most of them are very fragile characters. Most of them have poor social skills and an extraordinary ability to drop you like a stone when you are no longer of use.
So, lastly I will drop a few names.
Of course, I cannot mention the baddies. Largely because, to be honest, I feel very sorry for them. I have had some (good and bad) stay at my house several times - they have done Madison Square Garden or Wembley or both. These days their drug stash usually consists of heart pills and anusol. There is one baddie I will mention and that is Rick Wakeman. Prima Donna isn't in it. Sufficient to say that he took exception to something that another interviewee on Rock Legacy said about something and sent me an email, IN RED CAPITALS to tell me what he thought of me and this other chap. I was really very sorry to find that he seems incapable of normal every day discourse. And very surprised too.
Biggest surprise? Without doubt, Roger Chapman, a man known not to suffer fools. He was lovely. Clem Cattini? He played on about 40 or so number one singles (he does not really remember them all) and is just one of the world's gentlemen. Cliff? The Shadows? Cliff Richard and the Shadows come from the days when you treated your fans and the public with respect. I shall never forget how polite and articulate they were when I interviewed them very many years ago.
I must mention Steve Hackett. Steve and his wife Jo were so very hospitable when they visited Edinburgh last year.
I must mention my friend, Dave Scott-Morgan and Richard Tandy. The three of us got together and produced a re-issue of their record, "Earthrise". It really does stand up as a very good record indeed and you can still get it on Amazon!!!!
Dave and Richard were of course, in the Electric Light Orchestra. I can't remember how I first got in touch with Dave, but it had something to do with his having a hit song that got covered by Sandra Ann Laur, called "Hiroshima".
There are one or two perks associated with having done the Rock Legacy project. I got to see some great acts, got some free CDs and met some interesting folks. I also got to hear a lot of demos that will never see the light of day.
There is one, from a former big-timer, which he sent to me just out of friendship. It is brilliant but he insists "it's only a demo". So far, he resists my pleas to put it out and so far, its just me and a few others who have heard it. Funnily enough, because it is worth its weight in gold, it is the thing I cherish the most out of the whole damn business.
Finally, here's a video. It's probably the reason I became interested in music in the first place and the reason that my knees turned to jelly when I met Hank and Bruce.
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