The song was written in the garage in 1985 and was one of the finest songs we ever wrote at that time, unfortunately it was never played live or recorded...except on a practice tape....I still have loads of practice tapes but have no idea where they are.....so it looks like this one will go to the grave with the 5 of us!!! But it is nothing to do with the dream about minnie..
Yeah I just wanted to say that I read your book a while back..I can't remember a great deal around that time so it was strange to read a passage from my youth.....cheers for that
My pleasure, hope you enjoyed it (and that I didn't get anything too badly wrong).
Can't believe no one on this board is leaping with excitement at having a proper real ex-Pulp member in their midst... perhaps they're all too scared to say anything. What did I've Got A Dream For You sound like? Was it a ballad or a rocker? And howcome nothing ever got done with it?
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
As I lived with Candida through the whole thing and spent alot of time with Pulp it really didn't feel that I had left, plus as you know I was involved with We Love Life....So no I don't regret it at all (got all the benefits without doing owt)
Hey Pete...are you still in touch with Candida these days then? Just that I play keyboards and managed to find myself a Farfisa Professional a couple of years ago and could ask her some questions about what settings she used on different Pulp songs and stuff! :)
I'm still intouch with Candida yes...but I don't think I will be having any conversations about keyboard settings...as I think she would be a little confused...I bet she cant remember anyway
Hope you don't mind being bombarded with all these geeky questions Pete... but seeing as we're on the subject of long-lost tapes, maybe you can clear this one up. John Nicholls (who sometimes posts on here) is certain that sometime after he recorded the Sudan Gerri demo, he did another tape with Pulp which there doesn't seem to be any record of. He doesn't have a copy, but reckons it included versions of Mark Of The Devil (with Jarvis recording his vocal lying flat on his back and asking for his voice to sound distant "like Mary Hopkin in Those Were The Days") and Being Followed Home. I thought he might mean the Ping Pong Jerry tape but apparently it's not. Tried asking Russell but he's not sure. Any idea?
What was your involvement on We Love Life by the way? How did your co-writing credit on Sunrise come about?
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Wow. Welcome to the board! Sorry to be late with the welcome, I was in London watching lycra-clad men on bicycles. And now I am indeed too scared to say anything.
I don't have any questions, or any relevant ones at least, so, um, have a load of stars instead.
I remember doing quite a few demos at the Wicker but personally cant recall anyone lying or singing on their back, but you can certainly take Johns word for itonce again if I find the old tapes I will listen to them and see if anything fits the puzzle!!
As for my song writing credit on sunrise: I often played music with Jarvis in his basement around 98/99 we basically wrote the core of the song togetherthats why.
Thanks for the reply Pete. Interesting about you jamming with Jarvis around that time, I had no idea about that (and why would I, come to think of it). Did you contribute to any of the unreleased songs that got demoed in the run-up to We Love Life, like Cuckoo, Quiet Revolution etc?
Speaking of which, a few years ago Russell mentioned that you were working on some songs with someone else, acoustic-y kind of stuff - he spoke very highly of it, which surprised me because acoustic balladry obviously isn't generally a Senior-endorsed genre.... anyway, did anything ever come of that?
About the demo session, I don't know if this list (from the old official site) jogs any memories...
'Bad Maureen' demo (are you on this one or was it before you joined?) I Want You / Coy Mistress / Little Girl / Maureen Vibrasound Studio, Jan 84
'Sudan Gerri' demo Don't You Know / Anorexic Beauty / Take You Back / The Will To Power / Simultaneous / Little Girl (with Blue Eyes) / Srpski Jeb / Cousins / Maureen / Blue Glow / Silence Wicker Karate Rooms, May 84
'Ping Pong Jerry' demo The Mark of the Devil / Simultaneous / Maureen / Anorexic Beauty / Back in LA Castle Table Tennis Rooms, Nov 84
And then after that it goes into the Fire Records EPs and so on. Does that look like a complete list or is something missing?
By the way, I saw Tim Allcard at the Artery reunion concert a few weeks back...
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Around the time we were jamming I'm not sure if any of the material contributed to any other songs other than sunrise, we taped quite alot of stuff.
And as for the band I was in for a couple of years, we did 4 demos at Island, the singer was Iain Banks who use to be the singer with Trolly Dog Shag. It wasn't just acoustic stuff if was very mixed, but I think Russell only has the the softish demo, and ofcourse bad substances got in the way, so that was the end of that!!
The list is correct and yes the one at vibrasound was my first ever recording, but I know there are more, you should know.
And as for Mr Allcard I'm off camping with him next week....Should be fun...ish
No questions for you Pete, but I just wanted to tell you that I've spent way too much of my life listening to "Freaks", and I think it's a grossly under-rated album. I even get a little angry when Jarvis slags it off. "What the hell does he know! He doesn't even listen to his own songs!"
Anyway, if I were forced to list my top 10 Pulp songs, I'd probably have to include "Don't You Know" and "I Want You". But then... 10 songs... tough choices!
I think why people including myself find freaks somewhat difficult to listen to is because the recording has no true reflection on the power and energy of the material at that time, people who saw Pulp during this period live will tell you the same....It was as if the soul had been taking away......but hey what do you want for £600 (thanks Fire records for all your support).
Regardless of whether Freaks achieved what you initially set out for, what you produced still stands as a worthy document on it's own qualities. I've never been one to nitpick about technology. Most of my favourite records were recorded in dodgy studios by people who couldn't play their instruments properly, yet the raw talent seeps through. Tape hiss and distortion can be quite charming.
It always seemed to me that, as Pulp gradually shifted toward mainstream acceptability you ( i mean Pulp) expressed loads of public shame at ever having produced anything as left-field as the songs on Freaks or MotU. I've always felt Jarvis should wear those early records like an indie badge of honour instead. Critics are always heralding the C86 bands like they were some unassailable moment of musical genius, right? Well, to me, Freaks was like Pulp's evil twin to what The Pastels and Primal Scream were doing back then, and it's something worth being proud of.
Changing topics slightly... when you sit around in the pub with Candida or Jarvis, or any of the Pulp guys, do you ever have a laugh about the way your fans have a stronger attachment to your songs than you do?
"It was pissing with rain at Leeds 2000. That song was and is something else."
it certainly was Mick, Thunderbolts & Lightning the lot!
It remains the best concert I have ever seen. Sunrise rocked. It was a new song they played that night which I had heard beforehand. It was truly magnificant! A classic as soon as they started playing it and I guess the torrential rain played it's part in making me feel that way about it.
I remember being slightly annoyed at the sunshine Oasis had the following night!
Also, when radio 1 played the highlights a few months later my radio kep't cutting out due to a massive thunderstorm. "What a coincidence!" I thought.
I couldn't help but think about this when I got soaked on my way to the Royal Festival Hall a few weeks back. That too was a big mother of a thunderstorm! "Coincidence? Or are there higher powers at work?" Hmmmmmm.......
I think freaks should have had more distortion and bum notes, we should have recorded it live for half the price and spent the other £300 on a nice fish supper.
'it certainly was Mick, Thunderbolts & Lightning the lot!
It remains the best concert I have ever seen. Sunrise rocked. It was a new song they played that night which I had heard beforehand. It was truly magnificant! A classic as soon as they started playing it and I guess the torrential rain played it's part in making me feel that way about it.
I remember being slightly annoyed at the sunshine Oasis had the following night!
Also, when radio 1 played the highlights a few months later my radio kep't cutting out due to a massive thunderstorm. "What a coincidence!" I thought.
I couldn't help but think about this when I got soaked on my way to the Royal Festival Hall a few weeks back. That too was a big mother of a thunderstorm! "Coincidence? Or are there higher powers at work?" Hmmmmmm....... '
Well all I can say is I hope the sun shines one day when you see Jarvis or Pulp!
And as for the band I was in for a couple of years, we did 4 demos at Island, the singer was Iain Banks who use to be the singer with Trolly Dog Shag. It wasn't just acoustic stuff if was very mixed, but I think Russell only has the the softish demo, and ofcourse bad substances got in the way, so that was the end of that!!
That's a shame... are you doing anything musical yourself at the moment?
The list is correct and yes the one at vibrasound was my first ever recording, but I know there are more, you should know.
The only other recordings from the Manners/Magnus era that that I know about are the ones listed on the official site (and the sessionography that the fan club put out years ago), ie just the sessions for Little Girl, Dogs Are Everywhere and Freaks, all at Input Studios. So do you reckon there were other tapes done around that time that are floating around somewhere? Did stuff like Snow and Nights Of Suburbia ever get recorded?
Who else is on that Vibrasound tape by the way? Was it just you, Jarvis, Magnus and Russell?
Interesting to read your thoughts on Freaks - like a lot of people on here it's an album I've got a lot of enjoyment out of over the years, even though the 2-bob recording probably doesn't do the songs a lot of favours. It might help if someone now could do a really good remastering job on it, but I guess that's unlikely to happen at this stage in the game.
Out of interest, do you feel the same way about the preceding EPs, Little Girl and Dogs Are Everywhere? For me, the magic shows through on those records a little more often than it does on Freaks, although I couldn't say exactly why.
Hope you enjoyed your excursion with Tim...
-- Edited by Sturdy at 23:30, 2007-07-14
-- Edited by Sturdy at 23:31, 2007-07-14
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"