In 1984, totally disillusioned with the Gypsies changing line-ups, not in the best of physical or mental health, and quite honestly feeling I had bitten off quite a bit more than I could chew, I decided I needed a singer/ frontman.
After many auditions I found a guy called Kef, we did a few gigs, but it wasn't really working. Then Kef decided about four days before two Marquee shows that he was unable to make it to the shows. I flipped, sacked him and paniced.
I remembered Phil Lewis from Girl had been hassling me a year or so before to join the Gypsies (he didn't seem to understand that, for me, the Gypsies was about NOT having a lead singer/frontman! It was about jamming, never too easy with a frontman. Though I liked him, I just thought that he was yer typical loudmouth singer).
But, on the other hand, ever pragmatic in a bad situation, I went round to Phil's place and begged. I crawled before Phil to get him to do the gigs. Phil very kindly saved my dumb ass and did the gigs: magnificently. Stunningly. Onstage it was a marriage born in heaven. Offstage maybe it wasn't always quite that good!
Those first Marquee gigs were magic, but Phil at the time felt his major obligation was to the band he was in, the New Torpedoes. It took many months, and many brilliant stand in Torme gigs for Phil to finally commit to joining Torme..... hey, maybe it took so long was because it wasn't called the Electric Gypsies!
We played the Marquee and sold it out probably more than anyone else on the planet ever has: we packed it out so often we got the same split as Phil Collins and ZZ Top did after they were megastars. People queued round the blocks at six pm (it wasn't open til seven! We didn't play until 9.45!) But could we get a recording deal? Of course not, this was London in the mid 80's, with as about as much interest in loud rock'n'roll as my dead granny.
But I remember that time: it was totally brilliant, We ruled: we banned journalists, they crawled in through the toilet windows anyway, and still gave us good reviews. Every gig was an orgy, it was a two year long party. I wouldn't exchange that memory for anything, more fun than all my memories of Ozzy and Gillan put together.
Anyway, we never did get a major deal, which reflects far more on the pathetic state of the UK music business at the time than on us. We did three albums on shitty independent labels (Back To Babylon, Die Pretty, Die Young, and Official Live Bootleg), which all suffered from dire production, and never even vaguely approached the level and excitement of the band live. They sold lots nonetheless.
Its my pet project for next year to produce an album of outtakes, which I hope will be half as good as the band was. And will therefore be at least 100 times better than any of the records which have come out.
here are some pictures:
party time in the sewer: me, Phil, Chris Heilman, and Ian Whitewood
bored shitless again; me Phil and Chris
hey, its Madrid I think! Imagine if they had the Cafe Margate in London. Or the Cafe Skegness in Manchester: so whats Benidorm got that Skeggie hasn't? L to R Ian, Chris, Phil and me.
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