Among the more amusing revelations:
Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant was a dick
"I'd signed a deal with Led Zep's Swansong [Records]. Nick Lowe and I met up at the Nashville Rooms and said "Let's get a band together." But when we made an album as Rockpile, I signed something with Jake Riviera whereby I gave away my recording rights. Hell broke loose over that and I couldn't work with Nick again. The two managers weren't a problem, though. Peter Grant wouldn't have even recognized Jake. He'd be like a bug to be stamped on."
Paul McCartney was a bit of a dick
"I've worked with Paul a few times. He was OK. All right. You've gotta be careful. Filming Give My Regards to Broad Street, a horrible film with horrible songs, we'd always be jamming something -- Ringo, Paul, me and Chris Spedding. And Chris started trying to play something when it was down tools. And someone came across to him and said 'Only play songs that Paul plays.' [laughs] We can only have fun if Paul starts it."
George Harrison was a bit of a dick
"Carl Perkins wanted me to put this TV show together and George said, 'Well, if you do that, I'll get Ringo and Eric.' I knew George pretty well. I was hanging out a lot with him at Friar Park. But we didn't talk about music. Unless it was George Formby. With people like The Beatles, you don't want to be pushing into 'Let's write a song,' or you'll be shut out forever. So I'd watch the racing with him on TV."
And Chuck Berry was a dick.
"I've played a few times with Chuck Berry. Once was on his 60th birthday. I put a band together to play with him, with John Entwistle on bass. Midway through the gig, John started getting a bit over confident and busy. Chuck walked over right into his face and said 'Don't do that!' In the dressing room, I said, 'Do you have a set list?' 'No, each song starts like this. Da-da-da-dad-da...' 'No kidding. How about ending?' 'I stamp my foot.'"
That last bit is perhaps less surprising than the others, of course.
4 comments:
A few years agao, when I asked a good friend of mine who is very close to Nick Lowe, if Rockpile would ever get together again, his eyes widened and he shook his head. "No no no. Dave and Nick? Never in the same room."
Maybe Dave is a dick.
I interviewed Dave once, when "Subtle as a Flying Mallet" came out, and he was unfailingly gracious, even when I was being an idiot.
He may well be a dick, though; you never know.
:-)
that George/Carl HBO show is fantastic (excepting the "let's put everybody whose career is hot and sort of resembles rockabilly in it").
And after trying for years to get a VHS dub from a buddy you can now see the whole thing on youtube.
I can watch that version of "Your True Love" repeatedly.
I remember a Dave Edmunds concert being the biggest rockabilly overdose I ever got this side of Robert Gordon!
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