A big Welcome to Paul Eveleigh to A Frankie View.
What music are you currently listening to?
Ella Fitzgerald Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas – on the Robert Elms show (Radio London)
CD, Streaming or Vinyl ?
Streaming these days Frank!
As a kid, I was the youngest sibling with access to pretty much a library of great albums to choose from! All those sleeve notes and lyrics to read. Add the credits section and all the musicians, engineers and producers I found out about! Wonderful memories! I never really got into tapes much and they always seemed to need a pen to wind the tape back in every time I saw my mates with them in hand.
Loved CD’s – not as much as vinyl – and joined one of those clubs where you could buy a load sent through the post, at a cheaper rate for 5 purchases at a time in/around the ’90s, so I built a library from there. Sadly alongside pretty much everything I ever owned, the CD collection was lost to an asbestos leak at my old Gaf in 2002. It taught me a sense of minimalism as result! I did get back into CD’s for a while, but at that time I was more interested in writing and recording music, than listening, so the focus shifted. In recent years, the radio took over and I wasn’t really tuned in with any specific focus, or music taste in mind.
Recently, I found out about streaming and decided on that route as the most obvious option. £9.99 per month for an instant library of access versus purchasing album by album, until there’s a whole load of music taking up space and not being listened to. NO BRAINER for me, albeit I’m aware that there may be some loss of sound quality attached. With very mild tinnitus these days it won’t affect my ability to enjoy great music as per the choice of the moment!
What, if push comes to shove, is your all time favorite album?
No push or shove needed!
Marvin Gaye ‘What’s Going On’ (1971)
I know Tom Burke loves it too!
Berry Gordy didn’t want to release it as it wasn’t Motown brand-related and I’m sure you’re aware Marvin was the Prince of Motown! He like many of the black artists of the time were conscious and involved in the struggle for equality and Marvin kind of went ‘off-piste’ in that period.
His dress styling blue denim the hat etc denotes the changes from the previous slick Motown operation. For me, Marvin is if not, THE GREATEST MALE VOCALIST, then he’s at the very top table of singers who’ve ever lived.
Vocals aside, the themes and ideas on What’s Going On are as relevant now as they were back then. Sadly, I think those themes will remain a constant question, that needs answering whilst humans act out being human AKA STOOPID!
Throw in wonderful musicianship, engineering and production and I don’t think there has ever been an album to match it!
It’s like a message from God!
What was the first record you ever brought? And where did you buy it?
Two part answer Frank!
1. My Nan (Mum’s Mum) took me to a sweet shop on Bishop’s Bridge Road Queensway section opposite what is now Waitrose and next to Mickey’s Fish bar. The shop was called Ginger’s and sold sweets, newspapers, records, small toys etc! Great little place and a stop on route home after a swim at Porchester Baths via a bag of chips! I was 4 and I suspect it might have been my 4th Birthday? The title song from the telly programme ‘Rupert The Bear’ Still love the song and the childhood memories.
2. Summer 1976 – two 7” 45’s. The Tavares ‘Whodunnit’ which I still love. More importantly ‘Sir Duke’ by SIR STEVIE of WONDER! ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’ was hitting our ears and consciousness at that time and Sir Duke was blaring from the radio and I fell in love with it! Nothing has changed! It’s still MAGNIFICENT!
What do you sing in the shower?
Sing in the shower? Mmmmn?
Well I’d like to say Wembley Wembley
We’re On Our Way To Wembley
But as you’re aware my football career faded as yours took off at The Flora!
JUST DON’T TELL PHIL BOWES! 😉
Seriously though, shower songs vary according to what’s on the radio or whatever comes into my head at that point!
Literally varies with that scope and choice!
What is your favorite Saturday night record?
Mmmmn?
Hard to state with any accuracy Frank.
I’ve been lucky enough to see many great gigs on Saturday nights including The Police at Twickenham
The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart at Wembley!
So that is one form of answer.
As a younger man with a pint in hand in a Boozer or club with The Chaps any song that got me a dance or a telephone number would have been favoured obviously.
For the realistic answer to home listening, I guess it depends as will all things music on mood.
That literally can depend on the company – girlfriend obviously – or being on my own and listening for the pleasure of great music!
Sorry not to give one answer but that’s it.
If it helps I’ll say Saturday Night Fever based on it being a Saturday.
Realistically it’s more likely to be something a bit deeper and less commercially focused.
And your Sunday morning record?
A strange answer possibly, given my musical background and tastes….. In previous times whatever I fancied at the moment. In recent years Radio 2, Steve Wright followed Michael Ball followed by Elaine Page followed by my favourite show Johnny Walker’s Sounds of the ’70s which takes me back VIVIDLY to our childhood. For the rest of the week, the radio is tuned in to Robert Elms on Radio London. Both radio stations require me not to be busy obviously but if I’m free and there is an opportunity to listen to music that’s the morning option!
Do you know what was number one in the UK the day you where born?
The day I was born? No, I don’t but I’m about to Google!
AH! It’s a wonderful favourite of mine and my favourite band. Yellow Submarine hit No. 1 on 14th August 1966 and stayed on top for 4 weeks until September 11th when it was replaced by ‘All Or Nothing’ by The Small Faces
Blur or Oasis?
BLUR! No doubt!
A couple of associated stories… My nephew was an impressionable 13/14 years old when the great debate kicked off! He asked which I thought was best? ‘ Well, Nick I don’t really listen to modern music! as it was at the time. That’s your privilege now and I’m off on a different musical journey. However, Oasis seem like the second-HAND version of Beatles and they can’t play more than a few chords! I was occasionally teaching him some guitar techniques as and when he’d made a natural improvement and it was time to reveal something new to work out. ‘ However, that Blur mob seem a bit different.’ They seem to be mimicking Bowie so that’s typical but not original.
However, of the two bands, I think they’re the most original.’ Turns out I was right! Damon Albarn drinks – well used to until the refurb – in my local and lives around the corner. I can’t print what Paul said about Damon for fear of being sued.
However, he’s an original for sure. Can’t help thinking he was smart enough to blend Bowie’s love of dissonance in musical sounds alongside LAD’S CULTURE! The Fred Perry’s casual styling look that would appeal to the masses as it did to the Skinheads, Mods and Ska Boys when we were at school Frank. Throw in the MOSH PIT anthems that Blur seem to do very well and it’s a recipe for commercial success even if on the outside they come across as Art House! I really like a few of their songs. Park Life Obviously and for me The Universal is MEGA!, and my favourite song of theirs. However, I went to see them at Hyde Park at the closing ceremony night of the Olympics in 2012! Took my ex-girl along as she is a fan. We were both bored SHITLESS as they were very self-indulgent and boring as result. Knowing what I missed of the closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium I was MIGHTY PISSED OFF at my choice!
Oasis have some great anthems for the lads of course and no arguing the talent of Noel to be able to create them.
He’s a very average musician who’s been able to blend basic guitar talent with a very strong ability to pen a tune or four.
Liam – is a complete #$@##
Me and my mate were seconds away from making the front pages of the newspapers when we had a run-in with him and the band and a few of their mates in a boozer in Henley about 10 years ago.
Noel wasn’t there!
Liam has grown on me in recent years as he’s genuinely very funny and a good frontman if a little one dimensional in front of the mic with the hands behind the back slightly leaning into the mic technique.
I wonder if he ever takes that bloody Parka off!
Beyond that it’s Blur ALL THE WAY!
To be honest I much prefer a few other Brit Pop bands Frank Ferdinand and Supergrass for me are far more ‘Arthouse’ and musically talented respectively than Blur or Oasis!
Sting or David Bowie?
Ah, Frank how can you ask me such a question!
I am HUGE FAN of Sting and The Police In fact I drifted away from Bowie into Sting World after he spilt from The Police and started his solo career.
I remember being fascinated the day I saw the news on telly when he organised a music workshop in New York and invited Jazz musicians along to see what could come of it? Well the cream of New York’s Jazz community turned up and the result is his first solo album ‘The Dream of the Blue Turtles’ (1986) ‘Set Them Free’ was the opening single followed by Russians I think? It’s a wonderful album and I was lucky enough to see him perform ‘Set Them Free’ at Wembley at a Nelson Mandela gig. Birthday gig? Set Nelson free gig? Can’t remember which theme!
I’d previously been to Clapham Common with Steve Aslin to a Free Nelson Mandela gig around summer 1986 Big Audio Dynamite were second on the bill to Peter Gabriel who sang ‘BIKO’ and the hairs on the back of the neck stood up’
I DIGRESS – AS PER
That will be my brass plaque on my memory bench one day!
Back to Sting…. One of the GREATEST songwriters of the lot!
NOT IN DOUBT!
His second album ‘Nothing Like The Sun’ (1987) is my second favourite album behind Marvin Gaye and ‘What’s Going On’ I’ve been lucky enough to see Sting at Hammersmith Odeon now Apollo and The Police at Twickenham‘ The Police won that battle by a country mile.
However you’ve asked me about David Bowie!
Not sure how long you’ve got and the lads at school will remember me being THE ONE Bowie fan in our year and one of two I was aware of at Manning David Quinn in the year above us being the other one.
I used to get SO MUCH piss taken out of me at school for my love of Bowie. The lads always assumed I was ‘Queer’ as the term was then because Bowie was bisexual. It always made me laugh but got a bit boring in the end. Bowie – we all needed a hero or someone to hang our styling on and musical taste on at school. Whether you were a Mod, Punk, Ska Boy, Rockabilly Soul Boy etc it was a rights of passage and identity. For me it was Bowie. The music – some weird stuff in there for sure and I got bored with some of it, to be honest. In my 20’s I moved away from listening to Bowie because pretty much everything he was putting out was SHITE by comparison with the 70’s albums. I loved Let’s Dance (1983) and like Blue Jean (1985) After that Tin Biscuit or Tin Dog or Tin Shit, whatever his band (Tin Machine) were called was a sacrilege and I zoned out.
In later years I tuned back in. His last album – simply stunning HARD TO DESCRIBE what it felt like, listening to it after he left us and went back to outer space. I still miss him!
Let’s just say that the BIGGEST compliment paid to me was by my old best mate Shaun Beadsworth a London Oratory lad who was at primary school with me. He said ‘When I heard that Bowie had died, you were the first person that crossed my mind.’ Brought a lump to my throat. Throughout our teen years, I was a Bowie fan who loved Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. He is STILL… Bryan Ferry Fan No. 1
I am a big Peter Gabriel Fan.
Peter Gabriel lives behind Holland Park Ave Wonderful talent and good human being!
Great presence on stage despite being minimalist. He was in my local Internet cafe one day getting his phone fixed. The guy running it was from Iraq and didn’t have a clue who he is!
Back to Bowie a moment.
I mentioned all the negative stuff. The music and artistry attached – second to none. Anyone who has come afterwards has taken at least one thing from his music range, fearlessness chameleon-like stylings and ability to show the rest what’s possible.
No one will ever be able to match that. His range of music and body of work is almost incomparable as a body of work.
My favorite album? Station To Station
My favourite single – Space Oddity for personal guitar playing reasons but anyone who can write a song to match Heroes needs to be given attention!
Bob Dylan or Bob Marley?
Mmmmn? Well, one is probably the most popular musician and influence on positive vibes in the History of music. The other is probably the GREATEST storyteller of them all. I’ll leave you and your readers to work out which is which? I love them both, but don’t listen to them often, or with equal measure.
Billie Holiday or Nina Simone?
Nina Simone for me of the two. I love Billy Holiday’s voice and the songs I know. Funnily enough, Strange Fruit resonates on a deeply human level for the horrific message in the lyrics. It’s certainly not easy listening. Not sure you’re aware but as a result of her recording it J. Edgar Hoover when running the FBI had her monitored for many years which ultimately put her career in jeopardy with a lot of hurdles placed in front of her.
Nina Simone another very troubled soul who wanted to be a classical pianist. She was by training but a black woman given that honour and billing wasn’t part of the plan in those times. I’m not sure the classical world is ready – even in this day and age – to give top billing to a black classical pianist but I hope for change and doors to be left open. Nina’s music is SPINE CHILLING!
The musical artistry and that voice!
Brian May or Eric Clapton?
Neither!
However, I love them both for very similar reasons! Both are masters of the fretboard! No doubt!
They have a sound that is their own albeit Eric is a Blues Man where it’s harder to find your own unique sound.
NO ONE sounds like Bryan May and that for me makes him a TRUE GREAT!
Eric is up their too but Brian’s sound is easier to know who’s on your radio!
However, it’s a guitar-based question so given my backdrop I’ll add a bit more it’s that’s ok!
I think it going to be hard to stop you LOL
The Great Guitarists in my opinion… Anyone who you know it’s them the moment you hear the song. So despite all the usual WANK about Slash and all those Heavy Rock ‘Twiddlers’ for me Buddy Holly, Hank Marvin, The Edge, Johnny Marr, Andy Summers, All make it to the Top Table
However the GREATEST GUITARISTS For me?
George Benson and Prince, One for fretboard mastery. The other for the range of styles he plays.
My personal favourite guitarist is Lindsay Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac
It’s not the guitaring as such but how he chooses to layer the songs with his talent.
Sometimes less is MORE!
However, without Jimi Hendrix, there would be NOTHING as we know it!
He showed what was possible?
Thanks so much, very interesting stuff, of course, I knew that you like Bowie, since I left school have met other Bowie fans.
Oh forgot one of the truly great guitarists too with his own unique sound Carlos Santana! He’s up there for all and every reason a guitarist can be discussed! As for the live show – it’s a STUNNER!
Thank you Paul Eveleigh, stay safe.
