Moments in music where you'd liked to have been a fly-on-the-wall

[pearl]

8th December 1980. I'd have pushed Yoko in front of John...

 

[Lenny Rider]

Cultural as well as music based, when Sinatra made a stance over Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Junior not being allowed to stay at the Sands in Vegas despite playing there. According to his biography the meeting got extremely heated before Frank had the Hotel Boss by the throat, Cole and David Jnr checked in the same night.

 

[pasty]

When Midge Ure found out that Vienna was kept off number 1 spot by Joe Dolce's Shaddupayerface

 

[Seagull kimchi]

Dylans Electrification was a moment. I'm sure Woody Guthrie was nodding along.

 

[LU7 RED]

When one of the members of Black Lace said "Agggh-gahh-dooh" as he stubbed his toe, and just as the other one was about to say "we can make a song out of that" I clang him in the kisser with a frying pan.

Seriously though, I'd love to have been at the Haçienda the first time the Stone Roses played in 1989. I'm not a big Indie nut, but that would have been special. At the time though I was too busy trying to pull a munter in the 'Roxy' at the end of Eastbourne pier (whilst listening to bloody 'Love Shack' by the B52's) to notice any musical revolutions.

Dirty Indie clubs on the end of Piers are great. Did much the same (beer/munters) at Kaos on Southsea Pier in the mid 90's.

I miss the 90's...

 

[brakespear]

I have lots of these.

First up....the moment when whichever member of Rush said "what this prog rock track [spirit of radio] really really needs is a huge reggae breakdown."

What inspired this? And more importantly what we're the band member responses? Incredulity at the genius of locating the missing piece of this particular jigsaw? Or WTF? Did he have to convince the others? Or was it obvious this is what the song needed?

To be fair, it's a great track though It's not very prog rock either Surely Rush are a power trio with prog rock leanings?

Would have liked to have been present for the recording of 'Meddle' or 'The Wall' by Floyd or 'Alice' by Tom Waits.

 

[loz]

When Malcolm mclaran turned to John Lydon and said, " lets fly down to Brazil and make a record with Ronnie Biggs"

 

[pearl]

Watching a Band Aid minion have to break the news to Bono that his line was going to be "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you."

Despite being half Irish I cannot stand Bono so I would very much have liked to have been there when he read this:
She is the 16-year-old schoolgirl who was shot at by the Taliban in her hometown of Mingora in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be given equal education rights as boys.
Malala Yousafzai fled to Birmingham after she was hit by a bullet on a bus while she made her way home from lessons. Surgeons at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital performed life saving surgery and nursed her back to health.
Since regaining her strength the youngster has continued her crusade for education rights for women and won a raft of accolades, including Time magazine naming her as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World, and being nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
Bono extended a hand of friendship to the inspiring teenager who has captured the world’s imagination.
He sent her an iPod loaded with a load of his songs.
Unfortunately, the gift hit a bum note with Malala – a Justin Bieber fan. Malala’s biographer Christina Lamb revealed to a rapt audience at the opening of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature in Dubai: “As a normal teenager, she’s into Justin Bieber, as well as doing impressions of Mr Bean and wishing she was taller. She had no idea who U2 were.”

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I'd like to have been backstage after Bowie announced ON STAGE that his band were splitting up......despite them not being aware of it

 

[spring hall convert]

When Lou Reed presented RCA with 'Metal Machine Music.'

 

[Pevenseagull]

There's a great bit in the Creation Records biography near the end, as the label is in freefall and Alan McGee hears Kevin Rowland's new album 'My Beauty' and convinces himself it will save the label.

Then he gets shown the cover artwork.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting.

Or when the top brass at Creation heard 'Loveless' for the first time and started fiddling with speaker cables not knowing that it was supposed to sound that way.

 

[BBassic]

As a massive Oasis fan I'd have loved to have witnessed the various goings on during the recording of 'Be Here Now'

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Despite being half Irish I cannot stand Bono so I would very much have liked to have been there when he read this:
She is the 16-year-old schoolgirl who was shot at by the Taliban in her hometown of Mingora in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be given equal education rights as boys.
Malala Yousafzai fled to Birmingham after she was hit by a bullet on a bus while she made her way home from lessons. Surgeons at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital performed life saving surgery and nursed her back to health.
Since regaining her strength the youngster has continued her crusade for education rights for women and won a raft of accolades, including Time magazine naming her as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World, and being nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
Bono extended a hand of friendship to the inspiring teenager who has captured the world’s imagination.
He sent her an iPod loaded with a load of his songs.
Unfortunately, the gift hit a bum note with Malala – a Justin Bieber fan. Malala’s biographer Christina Lamb revealed to a rapt audience at the opening of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature in Dubai: “As a normal teenager, she’s into Justin Bieber, as well as doing impressions of Mr Bean and wishing she was taller. She had no idea who U2 were.”

My favourite Bono story (even though it may, or may not, be an urban myth)

Bono stops a U2 number mid-gig and asks for quiet.

Bono: "Every time I click my fingers, a child in Africa dies"

Heckler: "Well stop clicking your fingers then"

 

[Monkey Man]

I've often wondered what the reaction was whenever the people who thought up the band names Boston, Chicago, America or Asia announced the idea to the rest of the group.

"Er .. you do realise those names are actually taken, don't you? By, like, places?"

 

[Icy Gull]

The moment Syd Barrett rocked up to Pink Floyds recording session. Myth has it it was during "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" but that seems just a little too perfect to be true.

And when asked what he thought about the track said it sounded a bit "old fashioned" or words to that effect

http://www.feelnumb.com/2009/10/10/syd-barrett-visited-pink-floyd-at-abbey-road/

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

I suppose any drug fueled recording studio where & when 60's classics were first made/recorded-

No particular interest in 60's music or drugs but sounds appealing-

 

[jakarta]

The post-gig meeting in 1975 where Hawkwind (of all bands) tell Lemmy he is being sacked because of his drug use...

 

[NooBHA]

There's a great bit in the Creation Records biography near the end, as the label is in freefall and Alan McGee hears Kevin Rowland's new album 'My Beauty' and convinces himself it will save the label.

Then he gets shown the cover artwork.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting.

That was nothing compared to the meetings when VAT(Value Added Talent) the former promoters of the Rezillos and Depeche Mode had paid up front, Millions for venues for the up and coming tours of both bands. Only for them to disband and cancel the lot.

Also when Fairground Attraction were half way through recording their 2nd Album and the band had massive fall out and refused to complete the album, with several million pre-sales requests, sold on the strength of their ''First of a Million Kisses '' album. Promoters would have seen money slipping through their fingers like sand.

 

[lawros left foot]

It was. Syd had left the band long before.....but the rumour is he randomly turned up to the studio on the day the remaining members of the band were recording the song (if not, then certainly a track from that album).

They didn't recognise who the stranger was, as by this point he was fat and bald.

Doesn't legend have it, that he walked back to his home in Cambridge?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Why on earth did PH kick Jaxon out of VDGG after 40 odd years? I'd love to have heard that conversation....

http://www.progressiveears.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-382.html