BARNSBURY BOY - ALAN FRENCH. MUSIC: our first album
First Album: Pictures of Life
In 1969 our first album was released on Marble Arch, a budget division of PYE. This was all recorded in about six hours from midnight. I can only think this was because of the cost of studio time.
We were well prepared for this session as rehearsals were intense. At the City Of York Tavern in York Way we hired the room above. We worked really hard on those ten songs. The first difficult decision was which songs to pick. We liked the voice of American Joe Tex. We just had to have a Bob Dylan song. A song we were going to release as a single. A song written by Bruce Channel that we played on stage with him. A Tommy James & The Shondells song and five self-penned tracks.
One track 'My Future Is Past' was played and recorded twice over. This made it sound more powerful and is known as double tracking. Usually only the lead voice is treated this way especially when a singer's voice is weak. Now when I listen to that track I notice a slight difference on the first note of the intro, this is because we couldn't do a count in, you have to be spot on. Today's techniques can probably rectify this. This song was originally to be a single but that idea was shelved. The Joe Tex song, 'You've Got To Build Your Love On A Solid Foundation' was released as a single. With very little airplay it's fate was sealed.
We never encountered any problems in the studio and had a real good time, although sometimes a little anxiety set it in. I thought the LP was a good effort as previously we only had about two hours recording experience. The producer approached us and with surprise we were offered a cash sum or a cut of the royalties. Having no manager to consult with we accepted the money: £100. This was a tidy sum then, cash in hand, although it had to be split four ways. The recording was made for American company 'Alshire International' and was also released in America. We had no input in the cover design although on the shelves it did look striking. The notes on the back of the sleeve are very kind towards the group. I have no idea how many copies it sold but it was available in Woolworths as well as large outlets and I bought a copy in a Red Cross shop about twelve years ago for 50p, a real bargain as it is now a collectors item being sold on Ebay and many online retailers.
[The album sells between £12 and £29 inc. P&P on Ebay - Ed]
Around this time we were introduced to up and coming vocalist Dominic Grant. I think he was in line to become the next Scott Walker. Great powerful voice. He had a record release and was looking for a backing band. We teamed up with him and travelled to Wales for some gigs. I remember one of these was up in the hills in a place called Cross Ash near Abergaveny. It was the local farmers’ yearly dance held in a massive barn. I think these farm workers had been working too hard, as an almighty fight broke out while we were playing. In these situations the band must carry on playing. The fight swayed from one side of the barn to the other just like a wave machine in a swimming pool. We were used to fights breaking out at gigs, we had a good grounding playing at 'The Nags Head' in Hackney Road, London.
Dr Marigold's travelled with Dominic Grant to Frankfurt, West Germany, as it was then. This was for a week at the 'Storyville Club'. It was a bad winter. Four of us plus Dominic Grant in our old Red Commer Van. Arriving in Europe was a nightmare. Snow and ice everywhere. It was so cold in that van. We arrive at the 'Storyville' and our sleeping arrangements were a joke. We were to all sleep in one room at the back of the club in bunk beds. This only lasted one night and we found rooms in a small hotel for the rest of the trip. This was really hard work. We had to play in the morning, the afternoon and in the evening. For that week Dominic was one of us. The rest is music history when Dominic went on to sing with the Boy/Girl band, Guys And Dolls, a very successful recording act. He is now a sculptor and his work is commissioned around the world. I heard that he sculptured the bust of his father-in-law, Bruce Forsyth, standing in the Cinderella Bar at the London Palladium.
Sunny days were coming up for the group as in the summer of 69 we had a chance to work with The Chantelles, a British girl band, in cabaret on P&O cruise liners. This was a great episode in our lives and has given me the taste for cruising.
In 1969 our first album was released on Marble Arch, a budget division of PYE. This was all recorded in about six hours from midnight. I can only think this was because of the cost of studio time.
We were well prepared for this session as rehearsals were intense. At the City Of York Tavern in York Way we hired the room above. We worked really hard on those ten songs. The first difficult decision was which songs to pick. We liked the voice of American Joe Tex. We just had to have a Bob Dylan song. A song we were going to release as a single. A song written by Bruce Channel that we played on stage with him. A Tommy James & The Shondells song and five self-penned tracks.
One track 'My Future Is Past' was played and recorded twice over. This made it sound more powerful and is known as double tracking. Usually only the lead voice is treated this way especially when a singer's voice is weak. Now when I listen to that track I notice a slight difference on the first note of the intro, this is because we couldn't do a count in, you have to be spot on. Today's techniques can probably rectify this. This song was originally to be a single but that idea was shelved. The Joe Tex song, 'You've Got To Build Your Love On A Solid Foundation' was released as a single. With very little airplay it's fate was sealed.
We never encountered any problems in the studio and had a real good time, although sometimes a little anxiety set it in. I thought the LP was a good effort as previously we only had about two hours recording experience. The producer approached us and with surprise we were offered a cash sum or a cut of the royalties. Having no manager to consult with we accepted the money: £100. This was a tidy sum then, cash in hand, although it had to be split four ways. The recording was made for American company 'Alshire International' and was also released in America. We had no input in the cover design although on the shelves it did look striking. The notes on the back of the sleeve are very kind towards the group. I have no idea how many copies it sold but it was available in Woolworths as well as large outlets and I bought a copy in a Red Cross shop about twelve years ago for 50p, a real bargain as it is now a collectors item being sold on Ebay and many online retailers.
[The album sells between £12 and £29 inc. P&P on Ebay - Ed]
Around this time we were introduced to up and coming vocalist Dominic Grant. I think he was in line to become the next Scott Walker. Great powerful voice. He had a record release and was looking for a backing band. We teamed up with him and travelled to Wales for some gigs. I remember one of these was up in the hills in a place called Cross Ash near Abergaveny. It was the local farmers’ yearly dance held in a massive barn. I think these farm workers had been working too hard, as an almighty fight broke out while we were playing. In these situations the band must carry on playing. The fight swayed from one side of the barn to the other just like a wave machine in a swimming pool. We were used to fights breaking out at gigs, we had a good grounding playing at 'The Nags Head' in Hackney Road, London.
Dr Marigold's travelled with Dominic Grant to Frankfurt, West Germany, as it was then. This was for a week at the 'Storyville Club'. It was a bad winter. Four of us plus Dominic Grant in our old Red Commer Van. Arriving in Europe was a nightmare. Snow and ice everywhere. It was so cold in that van. We arrive at the 'Storyville' and our sleeping arrangements were a joke. We were to all sleep in one room at the back of the club in bunk beds. This only lasted one night and we found rooms in a small hotel for the rest of the trip. This was really hard work. We had to play in the morning, the afternoon and in the evening. For that week Dominic was one of us. The rest is music history when Dominic went on to sing with the Boy/Girl band, Guys And Dolls, a very successful recording act. He is now a sculptor and his work is commissioned around the world. I heard that he sculptured the bust of his father-in-law, Bruce Forsyth, standing in the Cinderella Bar at the London Palladium.
Sunny days were coming up for the group as in the summer of 69 we had a chance to work with The Chantelles, a British girl band, in cabaret on P&O cruise liners. This was a great episode in our lives and has given me the taste for cruising.
