The Buggles' Continuing Adventures In Modern Recording

Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes also found a few spare moments to oversee production on a remix of the 1979 UK#17 hit ‘Back Of My Hand (I’ve Got Your Number)’ by English rock outfit The Jags. Credited as ‘Remixed by The Buggles’, the song reached #84 in the U.S. on it’s release in 1980. During mid 1980 a number of events unfolded that were to significantly alter the course The Buggles had been following. Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes had begun pre-production on their second album, and just happened to be working in the same studio complex as prog-rock giants Yes. Yes themselves were attempting to regain equilibrium following the dual departures of keyboard guru Rick Wakeman and vocalist Jon Anderson. Aside from working on the same piece of real estate, Yes and The Buggles were also linked via the mutual management services of Brian Lane. Long time admires of Yes, Downes and Horn, had produced the band’s 1978 album ‘Tormato’, just prior to The Buggles. They’d come up with a demo track titled ‘We Can Fly From Here’, which they felt could help Yes reignite their career. Initially, Downes and Horn were intending to offer their services as producers for the song, and hopefully the next Yes album. As it turned out the remaining Yes members, Chris Squire, Alan White, and Steve Howe, invited the pair to not only produce the album, but join Yes as fulltime members. Downes and Horn duly accepted the invite to join a prog-rock institution, and as of mid 1980, The Buggles were placed on hold indefinitely.

The resultant Yes album, ‘Drama’, was released in August of 1980, and ironically didn’t include ‘We Can Fly From Here’. Yes embarked on an extensive tour in support of ‘Drama’, which received mixed reviews - well it was a tough act to supplant Wakeman and Anderson - and in amidst the resultant fallout, Yes decided to go on hiatus in April 1981. That once again freed up Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn to return to a life as Buggles. They resumed work on their sophomore album soon after, but only a few weeks into proceedings Geoff Downes left, citing musical differences (the standard reason). In part Downes departure may have been due to the lure of a new ‘supergroup’ project being pieced together by Yes’ guitarist Steve Howe. Asia was unleashed upon the world later in ‘81, featuring Howe, Downes, bassist John Wetton (ex-King Crimson), and drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), and went on to stellar success (see Oct. ‘Battle Of The Supergroups’ post). As it turned out Downes only worked on a handful of tracks from The Buggles’ sophomore album ‘Adventures In Modern Recording’ (US#161), released in August ‘81. The album was released on an early incarnation of ZTT Records (Island had dumped the Buggles unceremoniously), and ended up being more of a Trevor Horn solo project, with session players John Sinclair and Simon Darlow stepping into help complete the sessions. On the whole ‘Adventures In Modern Recording’ was categorised by critics as somewhat of a misadventure in recording, though if looked at in the right context, could be viewed as an entrée to Horn’s future brilliance as a producer. The lead out single ‘I Am Camera’ was a reworking of a song that Downes and Horn and contributed to the Yes ‘Drama’ album, titled ‘Into The Lens’ (which had in itself evolved out of an early version of ‘I Am Camera’, so the song had essentially travelled full circle). But neither ‘I Am Camera’, or the follow up single ‘On TV’ could recapture the heady days of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. I haven’t heard the album in full, so can’t comment with any authority as to its quality by comparison with ‘The Age Of Plastic’, but regardless, by year’s end Horn had decided “we can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far”, and without fanfare, declared an end to The Buggles.

Whilst Downes had gone on to considerable acclaim as a long term (in fact the longest term) member of Asia, Trevor Horn didn’t rest easy on his Buggles’ laurels, and before long had established himself as one of the most innovative, respected, and much in demand record producers in the world. He soon established his own label ZTT records, and was the production wizard behind the Frankie Goes To Hollywood phenomenon. He has been at the helm for projects by (to name a few) ABC (see April 09 post), Cher, Simple Minds, Pet Shop Boys, Propaganda, Tom Jones, Seal, Paul McCartney, and among the highlights in a remarkable list of production credits, Trevor Horn produced Yes’ 1983 comeback album ‘90125’, which spawned their first US#1 ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’. He produced, in my humble view, the best song in popular music history, ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ by Grace Jones (see April 08 post), and co-founded the studio based powerhouse Art Of Noise (see future post).

Aside from a one off reunion in 2004 at the Princes Trust concert, captured on the concert film ‘Slaves To The Rhythm’ (and featuring many of the artists Horn had weaved his mercurial production magic with), Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn haven’t revived The Buggles name, though as part of his new supergroup called The Producers (also featuring Steve Lipson, Chris Braide, Ash Soan and Lol Crème), Horn has performed ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ a number of times in concert over recent years. Whether The Buggles ever record or perform again, the iconic ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, has assured the Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes’ project a permanent place of honour in popular music history.

The Buggles Lament The Passing Of An Old Friend

At midnight on August 1st, 1981, the (then) U.S. based cable television network MTV launched operations, heralding one giant leap for the medium of music video. Over the course of the previous decade (actually as far back as the mid 60s, when The Beatles produced custom made videos when their touring schedule precluded them making promotional appearances in person), the concept of the promotional music video had come along in leaps and bounds, aided in no small part by shows like Australia’s very own ‘Countdown’. But until the arrival of MTV, there was no dedicated avenue via which music artists could reach a mass television audience - 24/7. Previously, that territory had belonged exclusively to radio, and the airwaves (or self proclaimed rulers of) often meant the making, or breaking, of up and coming artists. The explosion of the promotional video concept during the 1980s, signalled a decline in the, previously almost singular, power of radio over the fortunes of aspiring pop-rock stars. If radio refused to play your song, there was now another viable mass media avenue via which you could reach millions on a single broadcast wave, not to mention the means for you to add a key visual dimension to your music - it was advertising for your music on an unprecedented scale. It was entirely appropriate therefore, that the very first music video aired on MTV, was ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ by The Buggles. Whilst the music video medium (which now comprises hundreds of dedicated cable and satellite channels) may not have killed off radio per se, it has relegated the notion of a radio star, to somewhat of an anachronism, and pictures may well have broken radio’s heart, irreparably. With the advent of the internet, and associated broadcast mediums, artists now have a broader, and more direct, range of access options than ever, by which to connect with a wider audience - think Arctic Monkeys and Panic! At The Disco as two recent examples of artists to gain their big break via the worldwide web - prompting the question, will anyone come up with a song titled ‘The Internet Killed The Video Star?’. The Buggles’ original 1979 mega-hit ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ was an astutely timed portent of things to come, but though its musical prophecy may have come to fruition, well in part at least, thankfully radio still has its role to play, and will likely always comprise at least part of the formula for a music artists road to commercial success.

Whilst The Buggles may have only scored one major hit, that major hit, ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, remains to this day a key symbolic marker on popular music’s evolutionary road, and the group itself featured two prodigious musical talents in Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn. The pair had originally met during the mid 70s, whilst working as backing musicians for U.K. singing sensation Tina Charles (see future post). The multi-instrumentalist Horn, and keyboardist extraordinaire Downes, had also worked extensively as session musicians during that period, and following their tenure with Tina Charles, both embarked on their respective career paths. Downes spent a period of time penning advertising jingles, whilst Horn took up residency as the bass player at the Hammersmith Palais, whilst honing his production skills on other artist’s work on the side. Trevor Horn then signed a recording deal with Sonet Records, and released a couple of singles under the moniker of ‘The Big A’, but neither cracked the charts. By 1978, Downes and Horn had started writing songs together, in partnership with Tina Charles’ old guitarist Bruce Woolley, with whom they’d toured previously. The trio penned a stack of material (including the track ‘Baby Blue’ by Dusty Springfield), and soon began to entertain the notion of forming their own studio based band called The Buggles. There was one track in particular that gave the trio cause for feeling optimistic - ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’.

The song was co-written by Downes, Woolley and Horn, but the original lyrical inspiration for ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, came via Horn reading a science fiction story that told of an opera singer in a world without sound, who no longer had the means to express herself. With the burgeoning medium of video spawning a whole slew of (arguably) talentless musical hacks, the futuristic tale had resonance in the present world of the then late 70s. With a hook laden, cutting edge synth-pop sound, ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ sold itself, and fortunately the magic came through on a demo of the song (featuring vocal harmonies by Tina Charles) offered to Chris Blackwell, head honcho of Island Records, who immediately signed up The Buggles to record the song proper. But Bruce Woolley would not become an official member of the group, instead opting to start his own new wave outfit called The Camera Club (which featured a young keyboard guru by the name of Thomas Dolby - see May 08 post), and who later released their own version of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. Woolley’s name would appear in the writer’s credits for a number Buggles’ songs, but aside from collecting the royalties, he had no further involvement with the project.

Downes and Horn set to work recording and producing a studio polished version of their little synth-pop gem. Among the guest players during the sessions, were a young keyboardist by the name of Hans Zimmer (who would become a renowned composer of film scores), and drummer Warren Cann (from Ultravox). There are conflicting accounts as to who re-recorded the female vocal parts (the “ooah-ooah” and vocal harmonies), with the name Rachel Fury cropping up in a couple of sources, and Linda Jarmin with Debi Doss being mentioned in others (though Jarmin and Doss were credited by Horn as being the original backing singers, when the Buggles performed the song live, 25 years later). Up and coming Australian director Russell Mulcahy (who went on to work extensively with Duran Duran) was recruited to helm production on the accompanying music video. The finished product was an inventive use of the storytelling capacity of video, to augment the song’s poignant lyrics. Horn and Downes (with guest appearance from Zimmer), appear in an abandoned recording studio, which resembles some kind of futuristic bunker. Both alternate between looking like futuristic rock stars and scientists, with Horn wearing his (soon to be) signature big rimmed glasses. It was a dazzling engagement of the very medium over which the song lamented. ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ invaded both radio and television airwaves during the English Summer of ‘79. By early September it had debuted on the British charts, and a month later had rocketed to #1. Soon after the Buggles conquered the Australian music scene, when ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ hit #1 during December of ‘79, and went on to spend a mammoth seven weeks ruling the charts. The song’s synth-pop charms even made an impact in the U.S., where it delivered The Buggles their only hit Stateside (#40), though following the videos airing on MTV two years later, sales surged once more in the few territories that then had access to the fledgling cable network. ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ has been covered countless times in the thirty years since, most notably by The Presidents Of The United States Of America on ‘The Wedding Singer’ soundtrack.

Though both The Buggles and Island had confidence that ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ was going to be a hit, they didn’t foresee just how much of a mega-hit it became. The duo of Horn and Downes had a few more songs already in the can, but they didn’t yet have enough to constitute an album’s worth, which necessitated them writing ‘on the run’ in between relentless promotional engagements. The follow up single from the forthcoming album was ‘Living In The Plastic Age’, but its success was confined almost exclusively to Britain (#16) in early 1980. Having been devised as a studio project, The Buggles didn’t have live touring as an avenue by which to consolidate their profile, but they did play a handful of ‘live’ performances on BBC Radio 1 during 1980, and not to discount the power of television, made several appearances on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and the like. In February 1980 The Buggles’ debut album ‘The Age Of Plastic’ debuted on the British charts (UK#27/OZ#49), and continued the duo’s ‘futuristic’ theme, where humanity treads a fine line between technological splendour, and dystopian nightmare, all encased within a very Gary Numan-esque come Kraftwerk synth-pop package. It was equal parts celebration of the very cutting edge gadgetry the Buggles themselves employed with such wizardry in studio, and the potential compromise of our own humanity, in said technologies cold, spiritless wake. The album spawned two more hit singles in ‘Clean Clean’ (co-written with Woolley, and also recorded by his band The Camera Club), which only managed to clean up a top forty spot (#38) on the British charts, and ‘Elstree’ (in reference to the famous film studios), which signalled the end of The Buggles’ association with the singles charts (UK#55) in late 1980.

Gary Wright - Dream Weaving Becomes Reality

By 1973, Harrison (of the Mike variety) and Wright, neither of whom had enjoyed much commercial return on their solo work, decided to give the Spooky Tooth venture another burl. They recruited guitarist Mick Jones (future Foreigner), bassist Chris Stewart, and drummer Bryson Graham, and recorded an album of new material, titled ‘You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw’ (OZ#55/US#84). The album ‘Witness’ (US#99) quickly followed, but soon after Mike Harrison split to once more pursue a solo career. Gary Wright was left at the helm of Spooky Tooth, and recruited vocalist/keyboardist Mike Patto to fill the gap left my Harrison. But with a hit single still eluding them, and modest sales for the 1974 album ‘The Mirror’ (US#130), Spooky Tooth finally called it a day soon after.

Gary Wright then embarked on his second, and by far most successful, foray into solo artist territory. In June 1974 he signed to Warner Bros. resulting in the 1975 album ‘The Dream Weaver’, one of the first albums to be recorded almost exclusively via synthesizer technology (and produced by Wright himself), and establishing Wright as a true pioneer in the synth-rock field. The mellow synth-laden set was a beautifully crafted work, and the title track ‘Dream Weaver’ soon propelled the name Gary Wright to near the top of the charts. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 during January ‘76, and soared to #2 (OZ#24), becoming a signature song of the era. Wright was inspired to pen the song, via his interest in Hinduism. Though the original version is brilliant, I actually prefer Wright’s 1992 re-recorded take on ‘Dream Weaver’, which features added mystical synthesizer sounds in the intro/outro. By most standards, an album would be considered a success if it yielded just one top five hit, but the platinum selling ‘The Dream Weaver’ (US#7/OZ#31) set produced yet another U.S.#2 hit, with the follow up single ‘Love Is Alive’ (OZ#71) (it also spawned the US#79 hit ‘Made To Love You’). During the next year, Gary Wright was a regular support act for the likes of Peter Frampton and Yes.

Gary Wright’s brand of mellow soft-rock was soon a staple on FM radio across the U.S., but his follow up album ‘The Light Of Smiles’ (US#23/OZ#75), which featured support players Jim Keltner and David Foster, didn’t light up the charts to the same degree as its predecessor. Lyrically, much of Wright’s work was incorporating his interest and dedication to Eastern mysticism, and proto-New Age views (as evidenced on tracks like ‘I Am The Sky (Paramahansa Yogananda)’), but musically at least, he stuck to the same middle-of-the-road, soft rock territory. ‘The Light Of Smiles’ yielded just one minor hit in ‘Phantom Writer’ (US#43). In 1978 Gary Wright made a guest appearance alongside The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton in the Beatles’ tribute film ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, but that aside, it was a relatively headline free year for him. The 1978 album ‘Touch And Gone’ (#117) was a commercial flop, and Wright ventured into the singles chart just once more in the 70s with the title track ‘Touch And Gone’ (US#73). 1979’s ‘Headin’ Home’ (US#147) saw Wright’s slide into pop-rock obscurity gain momentum, arguably another victim of disco’s dominance at that time. But in 1981, Gary Wright re-emerged with the finely crafted album ‘The Right Place’ (US#79), and with disco in its death throws, his music once more got a look in on commercial radio. The single ‘Really Wanna Know You’, co-written by Ali Thomson (see future post), must have proved at least a partial inspiration for Foreigner’s 1985 #1 ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’. It became Wright’s last major incursion into the charts (US#16/OZ#49), followed by the minor hit ‘Heartbeat’ (US#107), which was later sampled on a 2007 dance hit for Topmodelz. The album track ‘Comin’ Apart’ was also sampled in 2004 by Armand van Helden on the club hit ‘My My My’, proving Wright’s work of that period had longevity, at least in terms of providing pre-fabricated melodies for dance acts.

With his Warner Bros. contract expired, Gary Wright turned his attention to composing film scores. He collaborated with producer Shep Gordon to write the score for the 1982 Allen Rudolph directed thriller ‘Endangered Species’, but his most commercially, and critically, well received film score, was 1985’s ‘Fire And Ice’, which spent months inside the German top five. In 1987 Gary Wright teamed up once more with old friend George Harrison, on Harrison’s mega-selling comeback album ‘Cloud Nine’, contributing piano to several tracks. Harrison returned the favour, as one of an all-star cast of guest players on Wright’s own comeback album, 1988’s ‘Who I Am’, which also boasted performances by Indian classical music greats Lakshmi Shankar and L. Subramanium. Not surprisingly, given his profile via ‘Fire And Ice’, the album was very well received in Germany.

Following his re-recording of ‘Dream Weaver’ for the ‘Wayne’s World’ soundtrack, Gary Wright spent the next few years focussing on writing material for his next project, and it was during this period that he commenced a songwriting partnership with Bobby Hart (of Boyce & Hart fame). Wright’s 1995 album ‘First Signs Of Life’ was firmly planted in the realm of ‘world music’, incorporating rhythms and percussion from Brazil and Nigeria. Once again George Harrison dropped by to play on a track or two, as did ex-Zappa/Missing Persons drummer Terry Bozzio. E.L.O. guru (and Traveling Wilbury) Jeff Lynne guested on Wright’s most recent album offering, 1999’s ‘Human Love’, released on his newly established record label Larkio Music. Over the ensuing years Gary Wright has continued to work with artists (including his sons) signed to his label, and contributed to more soundtracks. Following the death of Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley in 2004, Gary Wright joined with Mike Harrison and Mike Kellie, to perform two special Spooky Tooth reunion/tribute shows in Germany. Most recently Wright has been a featured player in Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, touring throughout 2008.

Gary Wright - Evolution Of A Dream Weaver

Picture yourself as the host of a quirky, low budget, public access cable television show, in the Illinois district of Aurora. You’re chilling at a popular local night club, the Gasworks. You strut across the dance floor, heading for the bar, and doffing your baseball cap to patrons who may recognise you from your exploits as a late night television host. You turn and look at the band on stage, an up and coming hard rock outfit called Crucial Taunt, featuring the wailing vocals of the exotically beautiful Cassandra. Cue soft focus, slow motion as you gaze in awe - cue Gary Wright’s atmospheric synth-laden soft rock ballad ‘Dream Weaver’, to accompany you in your moment of mesmerization. You are Mike Myers’ cult comedy character Wayne Campbell - and this is yet another memorable moment from ‘Wayne’s World’ - it’s party time, it’s excellent, woowoowoowoo!

I tend to be referring to memorable moments in cinema a lot recently, but the medium is inexorably linked to popular music, and the two strands of popular culture compliment one another well. The Cassandra-Wayne ‘Dream Weaver’ moment wasn’t the only stand out sequence from ‘Wayne’s World’ to utilise a classic hit - think ‘Foxy Lady’ from Jimi Hendrix, ‘Radar Love’ from Golden Earring, and of course the (in)famous in car sequence featuring Wayne, Garth and crew lip synching to Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ - party on dudes! I have a soft spot for the ‘Dream Weaver’ sequence, as first time I saw ‘Wayne’s World’ at the cinema, I rediscovered a song, long lost in the murky mists of my memory. The re-recorded version of Gary Wright’s classic ‘Dream Weaver’ was one of the reasons I purchased the soundtrack CD from the film, though I already had most of the tracks featured (actually I did quite like the Tia Carrere take on Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’). Myers had already used ‘Dream Weaver’ in an earlier ‘Wayne’s World’ fantasy sequence, featured on a ‘Saturday Night Live’ segment in 1990. Wayne pictured himself beating ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and winning the hand of Gretzky’s wife Janet Jones, whilst ‘Dream Weaver’ played in the background.

By the time Gary Wright’s original 1976 version of ‘Dream Weaver’ hit #2 on the U.S. charts, Wright had already been a professional entertainer for more than twenty five years. New Jersey born Wright started out as a child actor (a bit like Phil Collins), and made his professional debut in 1950, aged seven, in the New York TV show ‘Captain Video and His Video Rangers’. Whilst still at school, he took regular work as an actor in local radio and television commercials, and later scored a support role in the Broadway production of ‘Fanny’. But all the while Wright’s love of music was growing, and soon he undertook formal studies in piano and organ. By the late fifties Wright was in high school, completely smitten with rock and roll, and consequently turned his creative energies toward playing in local rock bands. But, unlike many of his generation, Wright didn’t just drop out of high school to follow his rock and roll dream. Instead he followed the very non-rock and roll convention of studying psychology at a New York college, before completing his degree at Frei University in West Berlin during the mid 60s.

Wright elected to stay on in Europe, but rather than opening a practice as a psychologist, he once again pursued his love of popular music. By 1967, he was fronting an outfit called the New York Times, who scored the support slot for Steve Winwood’s ‘supergroup’ Traffic. Traffic were signed up to Island Records, and that brought the talents of Gary Wright to the attention of Island supremo Chris Blackwell. Blackwell introduced Wright to the members of London based band Art. Art were the prog-rock come psychedelic-rock offspring of another soul-R&B infused rock outfit called the V.I.P.’s. Vocalist and keyboardist Mike Harrison (a one time office clerk), was the driving force behind Art, who had just completed the album ‘Supernatural Fairy Tales’ for Island. Blackwell felt Gary Wright would be a good fit for the band, and as it turned out he was just that. Art renamed themselves Spooky Tooth, and in 1968 recorded their debut album ‘It’s All About’ (released in the U.S. as ‘Tobacco Road’ in 1970-#152), with the original line-up of Harrison, Wright, Luther Grosvenor (guitar - see recent Stealers Wheel post), Greg Ridley (bass), and Mike Kellie (drums). The band played a relentless touring schedule at home, and soon built up a loyal fan base for their hard edged prog-rock material, though their albums consistently racked up greater sales in the U.S. market, aided no doubt by support slots with Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones on tour. Following 1969’s ‘Spooky Two’ album (US#44), Spooky Tooth experienced the first of, what would be a turbulent sequence, of personnel changes, when bassist Ridley decided a slice of Humble Pie sounded appealing, and was replaced by Andy Leigh.

After the released of the ‘Ceremony’ album (US#92) in late ‘69, on which Gary Wright introduced the work of French electronic-music pioneer Pierre Henry to the mix, he left the band to pursue solo interests in 1970. In the year following, the Spooky Tooth band roster underwent a series of extractions and attempted bridgework, but following the release of the appropriately titled album ‘The Last Puff’ (US#84), Harrison called a halt to the dental procedures, er…the band - at least temporarily. The band’s members all went on to pursue other projects in the interim - guitarist Henry McCullough joined Paul McCartney’s Wings, Grosvenor to Stealers Wheel (then on to Mott The Hoople), and Harrison recorded a solo album, titled ‘Smokestack Lightning’. Meanwhile, after a stint as producer for Liverpool folk band Arrival, Gary Wright signed to A&M Records, and released his debut solo album, the appropriately titled, ‘Extraction’ in late 1970, which was much in the style of Spooky Tooth. That same year he contributed keyboards for a number of tracks on Beatle George’s triple album masterpiece ‘All Things Must Pass’. The collaboration was the starting point for a long term friendship, and creative alliance, between George Harrison and Gary Wright, one that would be play a major part in shaping many of the themes, lyrical and stylistic, behind Wright’s future solo work. It was during this period (well 1972 to be exact) that Harrison invited Wright to accompany him on one of his many sojourns to India, and Wright became an avid student of Hinduism ,and Indian literature and culture. Wright recorded a second album of solo material in 1971, titled ‘Foot Print’, which boasted the slide guitar of one George O’Hara, better known as Harrison, and in November ’71 Harrison played with Wright’s backing band for a live performance of the track ’Two-Faced Man’ on the Dick Cavett Show. Wright quickly followed that up with 1972’s ‘Ring Of Changes’, credited to Gary Wright with Wonderwheel. Gary Wright and George Harrison continued to work together throughout the 70s on their respective solo album projects.

Rafferty Rules Right Down The Line

Following the acrimonious split between Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan, both former axles of Stealers Wheel (not to mention their record label) fired repeated shots at one another via their respective management and legal teams, effectively preventing either party from recording. By 1978 the lawsuits had stopped, and the dust had finally settled on the bitter legal dispute. Joe Egan went on to record two album for the European based Ariola label, ‘Out Of Nowhere’ (1979) and ‘MaP’ (1981), neither of which returned Egan to the charts. Though neither Egan, nor Rafferty, had been able to release any material during the ‘litigious years’, it was clear both had been hard at work penning a substantial reserve of songs, several of which were clearly lyrical vessels through which to expel a considerable reservoir of bitter memories accumulated via the demise and aftermath of Stealers Wheel.

But whilst Egan’s creative efforts faded into relative obscurity, Gerry Rafferty was about to strike pay dirt with the biggest commercial hit of his career, and no doubt gloss over some of the pain of recent years. Now signed to a new deal with United Artists, Rafferty entered the recording studio with co-producer Hugh Murphy (who had produced Rafferty’s debut ‘Can I Have My Money Back’ set in 1971), to lay down tracks for his comeback solo album. He emerged in January ‘78 with ‘City To City’, an album that would in many ways become the centre piece of Gerry Rafferty’s career, certainly in terms of the stupendous commercial returns it garnered. The title track had been floated as a single a few months previous, but it took the release of the pop-rock masterpiece ‘Baker Street’ to propel Gerry Rafferty’s career to stratospheric heights. The lyric echoed the experiences of a world weary traveller, and was offset by a simply brilliant musical composition, that swirled seductively around Rafferty’s silky smooth vocals, before rising through pulsating waves of heavily amplified electric guitars, to a searing saxophone crescendo from Raphael Ravenscroft. It embodied everything that was good about slickly produced 70s pop-rock, and over thirty years later, endures as a shining example of the style, remaining one of the most frequently played tracks on ‘classic hits’ radio. It’s also been covered several times over the years, including a rousing rendition by Foo Fighters. ‘Baker Street’ swiftly became a much sought after address for record buyers, who pushed the song to #3 in Britain, #2 in the U.S. and #1 here in Australia, during the first half of 1978. For those unfamiliar with his previous work with Stealers Wheel (and the Humblebums), the name Gerry Rafferty exploded overnight, but with ten years of hard graft behind him, the singer/songwriter was finally getting his much deserved commercial dues.

Rafferty was, understandably, somewhat of a reluctant ‘overnight sensation’, and largely shunned much of the intense media and public spotlight that had been suddenly thrust upon him with the success of ‘Baker Street’. Reclusive by nature anyway, Rafferty point blank refused to embark on a promotional tour of the U.S. in support of the ‘City To City’ album. No doubt sales of the album would have been propelled even further by a Rafferty tour, but regardless ‘City To City’ racked up sales in the millions, peaked at #6 in Britain, #3 in Australia, and went on to achieve platinum certification on its way to #1 in the U.S. I recall inheriting a cassette copy of ‘City To City’ in my early teen years, and by way of it discovered the brilliance of Gerry Rafferty, and the album was one of the first titles I ever purchased on CD (in late 1987). The album was wall to wall class, and seamlessly blended an, at times, eclectic mix of stylistic influences (folk, Celtic, blues, pop-rock), with Rafferty’s enticing lyrical vignettes, to create an inviting musical story book, that you couldn’t help but wish to revisit time and again. The follow up singles ‘Right Down The Line’ (US#12/ OZ#93), which is my personal pick, and ‘Home And Dry’ (US#28), consolidated Gerry Rafferty’s profile, city to city, town to town, house to house. It should be noted that Rafferty assembled a stellar line-up of studio players on ‘City To City’, including Andy Fairweather-Low, Barbara Dickson, Tommy Eyre, Henry Spinetti, and several former Stealers’ cohorts such as Gary Taylor and Rab Noakes.

After his decision to shun touring the U.S. in support of ‘City To City’ (to be honest he didn‘t tour much anywhere anymore), Rafferty instead focussed his energies on writing and preparing for the follow up album. In May ‘79, the album and accompanying title track single ‘Night Owl’ were both released, and both made an immediate impact on the British charts. The single ‘Night Owl’ flew to #5 on the U.K. charts (OZ#64), whilst its source album perched itself at #9 in Britain, #18 in Australia, and #29 Stateside. Once again, the brilliant album cover art was conceived and designed by John ‘Patrick’ Byrne, and once again Hugh Murphy was on hand for production duties. Rafferty offered up a deeply personal album, full of genuine emotional resonance, disguised within his typically understated approach, as illustrated on the second single ‘Days Gone Down (Still Got The Light In Your Eyes’ (US#17), and album tracks like ‘Family Tree’. Amidst some of the sombreness, Rafferty conjured up a glimmer of optimism on ‘Get It Right Next Time’, which once more got it right on the singles charts (US#21/UK#30/OZ#90) in late ‘79, rounding out a heady couple of years for Gerry Rafferty.

Rafferty was undoubtedly experiencing his most prolific period as a songwriter, and by early 1980 had completed work on his third album of solo material inside of two years, but like another Scottish singer/songwriter, Al Stewart (see Dec. post), who had also soared to new commercial heights in the late 70s, Rafferty was about to experience somewhat of a drop in altitude during the 80s. 1980’s ‘Snakes And Ladders’ album still managed to rack up respectable sales figures (UK#15/OZ#31/US#61), but the performance of its singles ‘Bring It All Home’ (UK#54) and ‘The Royal Mile’ (US#43/UK#67/OZ#52), highlighted that Rafferty’s career fortunes had stopped climbing ladders, and were now on a slippery decline. The album featured some interesting guest players, including Pete Wingfield (see future post), The Baron De Bon Bon, and Vixen Barking (the latter two more curiosities than names of note), and Rafferty revisited an old Stealers Wheel track on ‘Didn’t I’, something he would do more of in the 90s. There was no shortage of warm melodies and lyrical engagement from ‘Snakes And Ladders’, but there was also no ‘Baker Street’ to inspire the set to great heights. Shortly after the release of ‘Snakes And Ladders’, matters were made worse for Rafferty when his record label United Artists was sold off to EMI, as part of your typical corporate revamp. EMI showed little interest in backing Rafferty’s current work, let alone providing support for future projects, and Rafferty was soon looking for a new label stable (no doubt harbouring fresh cynicism about the corporate vagaries of the music business).

Gerry Rafferty found a new home at Liberty (distributed by EMI) for his 1982 album ‘Sleepwalking’ (UK#39/ OZ#80). I rate the album very highly, by comparison with Rafferty’s earlier work, and the opening track ‘Standing At The Gates’ is Rafferty at his defiant best. But regrettably all momentum had dissipated from proceedings in terms of commercial returns, and the album yielded just one minor hit with the title track (OZ#87). Rafferty was no doubt disillusioned by the tepid reception offered his latest work, and over the ensuing five years didn’t release any new material of his own, aside from contributing to the track ‘The Way It Always Starts’, from Mark Knopfler’s sublime 1983 soundtrack album ‘Local Hero’. Rafferty also sat at the production helm during The Proclaimers’ 1987 debut set ‘This Is The Story’, which yielded the UK#3 single ‘Letter To America’.

By 1988 Gerry Rafferty had signed with London Records and released the album ‘North And South’ shortly after (UK#43/OZ#49). The album was never going to soar to the heights that ‘City To City’ had done a decade earlier, by for Rafferty fans it was a welcome (and long overdue) offering from a truly refined performer. I recall seeing the promotional video for the album’s first single ‘Shipyard Town’, and didn’t hesitate to trek on down to the record bar to purchase the vinyl 45 (soon after purchasing the album on CD). ‘Shipyard Town’ is shown in the record books to have peaked at #69 in Australia, but I’m certain it rated higher, at least on ‘Rages’ weekly top 50. At any rate, the song was a Celtic inspired folk-rock gem, as was ‘Tired Of Talking’, but Rafferty was still equally astute at slower tempo fare, with the sweet lament ‘Hearts Run Dry’ another standout. Rafferty once more assembled an impressive roster of support players, among them Mo Foster, Alan Clark (who Rafferty had worked with on ‘Local Hero’), Jerry Donahue, and Rafferty’s younger brother Jim.

As the 90s dawned, it was evident that Gerry Rafferty recorded new material as he so desired, and with considerable royalties from earlier work offering fiscal comfort, no doubt he could afford to do so. In late ‘92, Rafferty released the critically well received album ‘On A Wing And A Prayer’ (UK#73), and two years later the album ‘Over My Head’ included several retreated Stealers Wheel tracks, such as ‘Right Or Wrong’ and ‘Over My Head’, signalling a thawing of Rafferty’s previously icy relationship with Joe Egan. Rafferty’s only offering of new material over the last decade has been ‘Another World’ (2000), which was originally only available via direct website order. In subsequent years Rafferty has virtually retired from the music scene, and following a hospital admission for liver problems in 2008, reports have surfaced that Rafferty has dropped off the radar completely.

UPDATE - Sadly, after a prolonged battle with liver disease, Gerry Rafferty passed away on January 4th, 2011. From city to city, from north to south, many will mourn the loss of another gifted singer/songwriter.

Stuck In The Middle With Stealers Wheel

I’m an unabashed devotee of maverick writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s work, with his 1992 cult classic gangster film ‘Reservoir Dogs’, an ever present title on my list of all time favourite flicks. Aside from the non-linear narrative structure, kick-ass dialogue, crazy characters, and addictive visual style of Tarantino’s work, one of the facets that appeals most to me, is his astute deployment of classic popular music tracks at key moments throughout his films. Throughout ‘Reservoir Dogs’, the viewer is accompanied by the omniscient ‘K-Billy’s Super Sounds Of The 70s’, a nostalgic radio program boasting the laconic drawl of comedian Steven Wright, which plays tracks that the central characters strongly identify with, from their youth. As the film’s plot unfolds, and we discover just how brutal (and dysfunctional) these 30 and 40-something gangsters are, Tarantino utilises popular songs from the early to mid 70s to, not so much to augment, but offset the chaotic on-screen action.

For anyone who has seen the film ‘Reservoir Dogs’, you’ll be familiar with the infamous ‘ear slicing’ scene, but for those of you not in the know, and not inclined to hear about such things, be assured I’ll spare you the gory details during my brief appraisal of proceedings. To establish some narrative context, a makeshift gang of thieves have completely botched a jewellery heist, and the survivors wind up at a pre-arranged meeting point inside a warehouse. There are some underlying twists and turns unfolding beneath the surface, but one thing that is abundantly clear is that the gangster character of Mr. Blonde is completely psychotic. Blonde is left in charge of a local law enforcement officer, who he just happened to take hostage during the aftermath of the robbery. It’s pretty clear from Blonde’s demeanour, that Officer Nash is facing a spot of bother. In the ensuing sequence, Tarantino uses music for a dual purpose, and the 1973 Stealers Wheel hit ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ is the vehicle employed. Firstly, there is a perverse irony that here we have a ruthless, sadistic gangster casually dancing and singing along to a 70s pop-rock song, with knife in hand, eyeing off his next victim. But the most effective aspect to the song’s use, is to function as an aural dampener to the violent visual impact of the scene. We, the viewers, don’t actually witness the said ‘ear slicing’ act, but instead, off-camera we hear the victims screams, diluted and smoothed over by ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’, further accentuating the absolute absurdity of the situation, as Blonde displays a nonchalant, dismissive attitude toward his own cruel actions.

It’s without doubt one of the most disturbing, yet compelling juxtapositions of sound and vision, constructed in film, and for anyone familiar with the film ‘Reservoir Dogs’, just as with the song ‘Little Green Bag’ by George Baker Selection (which accompanies the opening credits), ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’, by Stealers Wheel, has never quite sounded the same since. Though Stealers Wheel may now be best known via that song’s infamous association with cinema, the band achieved a good deal more during their tenure together, and key member Gerry Rafferty, went on to pen/record some of the classiest pop-rock albums of the era.

At the core of Stealers Wheel were Scots Gerry Rafferty (vocals/guitar) and Joe Egan (vocals/keyboards), around which swirled a chronically unstable line-up of support players. After a period street busking, Rafferty’s first group of note were a local beat outfit called Fifth Column, and it was during his tenure with that band that he began to accumulate a collection of his own songs. In 1969 he took the punt of approaching a Scottish folk duo called the Humblebums, to get some feedback on his work. The Glasgow based Humblebums comprised Billy Connolly and Tam Harvey, and had been rumbling and humbling along since 1965. They’d just released their debut album ‘First Collection Of Merry Melodies’, when Rafferty approached them after one of their sell out gigs. Connolly and Harvey must have liked what Rafferty had to offer the group, and soon after invited him on board. But within a few months original member Tam Harvey departed the Humblebums, when it was made clear that Rafferty’s songs were going to dominate the group’s play list moving forward. Connolly and Rafferty carried on, and recorded two more albums together, ‘The New Humblebums’ (1969), and ‘Open Up The Door’ (1970). But Connolly’s comic bent, though originally a good foil for Rafferty’s straight up musical craft, began to encroach markedly into Rafferty’s musical space. Over time it became increasingly difficult for the Humblebums to strike a balance between the two, that would satisfy both Connolly and Rafferty’s creative inclinations. By 1971 Rafferty and Connolly made the decision to go their separate ways, with Billy Connolly of course going on to a stellar career as a stand up comedian, actor and writer.

Following the dissolution of the Humblebums, Gerry Rafferty turned his focus to recording an album of his songs, with the emphasis being solely on music. Rafferty had still maintained ties with the Humblebums’ label Transatlantic Records, and also retained the services of several session musicians who had played on the final Humblebums’ album. In 1971 Rafferty released his debut solo set, ‘Can I Have My Money Back’, which though it didn’t crack the charts, did offer up a minor hit single in Australia, with the title track (#70). What the album did reveal was a gifted songwriter, capable of delivering finely crafted folk edged rock, with biting lyrics, in the true Dylan-esque tradition. The album’s title was inspired by Rafferty’s already growing cynicism toward the corporate side of the music business, a theme that he would explore (and have cause to explore) on later work. Rafferty also enlisted the help of an old school buddy by the name of Joe Egan, who contributed some vocals and co-wrote a track, and the pair soon identified that they had an in studio chemistry that should be developed further.

Rafferty and Egan formed the group Stealers Wheel during 1972, initially with guitarist Rab Noakes, bassist Ian Campbell, and drummer Roger Brown, rounding out the line-up. The band signed a recording deal with A&M soon after, but before entering the studio, Stealers Wheel lost the first of what would be several spokes over the course of their turbulent history. Noakes, Campbell and Brown all parted company with the band, with Rafferty and Egan having to rush assemble the new line-up of guitarist Paul Pilnick (ex-Big Three), bassist Tony Williams, and drummer Rod Coombes (ex-Juicy Luicy). The reconfigured Stealers Wheel entered the recording studio soon after, with the veteran production team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller overseeing work on the group’s eponymous debut album. Rafferty and Egan shared song writing and vocal duties across the album’s ten tracks, with the duo’s folky vocal harmonies proving to be a standout feature, prompting comparisons to the likes of Crosby, Stills & Nash, but with more emphasis on infectious pop melodies. Whilst the album didn’t shift quite the number of units its class and polish deserved (US#50/ OZ#44), the aforementioned song ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ provided a global top ten smash for Stealers Wheel (US#6/UK#8/OZ#16) during the first half of 1973. The Rafferty/Egan penned track offered up some cleverly crafted, and bitingly caustic lyrics, aimed squarely once again at those interfering, and controlling men in suits (presumably they constitute the “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right”). Unfortunately the other singles lifted from the self titled Stealers Wheel debut set, ‘Late Again’ and ‘You Put Something Better Inside Of Me’, didn’t manage to build on the profile created by ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’.

The chaos within the Stealers Wheel ranks continued in the weeks immediately following the release of their first album, with Gerry Rafferty having already jumped ship, replaced by ex-Spooky Tooth vocalist Luther Grosvenor for touring purposes. When that didn’t work out, Egan disbanded Stealers Wheel altogether for a brief period during the first half of ‘73. Rafferty was eventually persuaded to return to the fold, but in the interim Pilnick, Williams, and Coombes had all moved on to other projects (well they had to keep paying the bills - Coombes played with the Strawbs). Following such an intense period of disruption, Rafferty and Egan then made the decision to carry forward under the Stealers Wheel banner, but essentially as a core duo, augmented by additional players, in studio and on tour, as required - not unlike Walter Becker and Donald Fagen did with Steely Dan, or Iva Davies with Icehouse. The Stealers Wheel nucleus of Rafferty and Egan entered the recording studio during mid ‘73, with a backing band comprising of Gary Taylor (bass), Joe Jammer (guitar), Chris Mercer (saxophone), Andrew Steele (drums), and Chris Neill (harmonica), and a large role call of extras in support. The single ‘(Everyone’s Agreed) That Everything Will Turn Out Fine’ inched into the UK (#33) and US (#49) top fifties (OZ#90), but the pressure was increasing on Rafferty and Egan to match the success of ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’.

Stealers Wheel’s sophomore album ‘Ferguslie Park’ (US#181) was released in November ‘73, and though a consummately crafted collection of melodic folk-rock, its sales were disappointing at best, despite also spawning the band’s only other top thirty hit ‘Star’ (US#29/UK#25/OZ#67), penned by Joe Egan, in early ‘74. The commercial disappointment of the ‘Ferguslie Park’ album, when combined with the ongoing line-up issues for Stealers Wheel, led to an increasing friction between Rafferty and Egan. The production team of Leiber and Stoller parted ways with the band also, and for most of 1974 Stealers Wheel was less a cohesive musical unit, and more a euphemism for musical discord. But the duo were under contract to A&M for a third album, and so, right or wrong, a third album there must be. Rafferty and Egan offered up ten more songs, this time recorded with producer Mentor Williams, and with a handful of previous Stealers Wheel subordinates in support, along with new players Bernie Holland (guitar) and Dave Wintour (bass). Given the fractious environment in which it was recorded, the album ‘Right Or Wrong’, eventually released in early ‘75, turned out to be a surprisingly solid effort. But neither album, nor singles ‘Right Or Wrong’ and ‘Found My Way To You’, found their way into the charts, and by the time the album hit the stores, Stealers Wheel had already come to a permanent stop. The embittered split between Rafferty and Egan was set to effectively stall both men’s music careers for almost three years.