gerry rafferty interview
For the time being I feel good at the moment.. Success, says Brewer, was the end of Rafferty. I went to the studio after I played the gig and I think one of the first songs we played was Baker Street. And I said, This is fantastic. Gerry Rafferty - Snakes & Ladders Album Reviews, Songs & More - AllMusic It contains an Some of these old ladies used to pass out. Individuals can subscribe to Rocks Backpages for three, six and twelve months to get unlimited access to the complete Rocks Backpages archive. So I picked up and moved [from London] back to Scotland to sort myself out., Eventually Rafferty was prevailed upon to rejoin Stealers Wheel, and he resumed writing songs that conveyed pretty scary kinds of feelings and condemned managers, record companies, the whole thing. (When I asked what he felt was the persistent theme of his music, Rafferty replied tersely and without hesitation, Alienation.) Though he and Egan sugarcoated their bitter pills with sweet melodies and glossy pop arrangements, they were unable to repeat the success of Stuck in the Middle., Editors picks His girlfriend Enzina Fuschini said she "felt that he was under some sort of evil spell. All his friends were kind of wishing him well.. The singer was wary of the media and disliked being asked to analyse his songs, particularly to those outwith his creative circle. [citation needed], Also in 1983, Rafferty announced his intention to take a break and devote more time to his family: "It dawned on me that since Baker Street I had been touring the world, travelling everywhere and seeing nowhere. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set Well do 4-3-2. They said, What? I said, 4% from the first album, 3% from the next album and 2% from the album after that, I wont disclose how much I earned, but it was a substantial amount of money.. Gerry liked to triple track everything, wed get three pianos, it became a bit of a Phil Spector issue. He then worked in a butcher's shop, as a civil service clerk, and in a shoe shop. In 1966, Rafferty and Egan were members of the band the Fifth Column. Gordon Laurie, director of the housing association behind the project, commented: "It is a fitting tribute to a brilliant musician who lives on through his music. "And that's when the fun started," says Brewer. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. He never let "Baker Street" be used for advertising, despite lucrative offers. The career of Gerry Rafferty from folk-roots to multi-million selling success and alcohol-fuelled demise was one of amazing highs and lows. [8] In the mid 1960s Rafferty earned money, for a time, busking on the London Underground. If you feel uncomfortable with it you shouldn't do it. Billy Connolly on Gerry Rafferty (Conan O'Brien, 2012) - YouTube And he played City To City and Baker Street a demo without the sax part. The duo disbanded in 1975. Becoming a member is easy. "[47] Finally, thanks to the Internet, it seemed Rafferty no longer needed the music industry: technology was allowing him to put his music directly in the hands of an appreciative audience. The lyric and the melody fuse beautifully and the lyric is complemented by the melody. After the duo separated in 1971, Transatlantic owner Nathan Joseph signed Rafferty as a solo performer. The third single from the album, "Home and Dry", reached No. In the same interview, he said that the entire record had been made for approximately 200,000, with half spent on travel, the recording system costing 75,000, and the website and marketing adding 25,000. Black Sabbath only stopped setting Bill Ward on fire after the drummer's furious mum called Tony Iommi a "barmy bastard" and told him to "grow up", How a huge onstage brawl with Deep Purple proved the making of AC/DC, Hollywood Undead's Johnny 3 Tears: 10 records that changed my life, How Bury Tomorrow went from near-destruction to being the UK's next great hope for metal: "this is our resurgence", Watch Iggy Pop's blink-and-you'll miss it cameo as a creepy paedophile in 90s cult movie Tank Girl, Every Bring Me The Horizon album ranked from worst to best, We once asked Leslie West who his favourite guitarist was: his answer was not what we expected, Remembering the time The Clash turned up in Northern Ireland for a gig, but instead ended up causing a riot, Gavin Rossdale: 8 songs that changed my life, How David Gilmour used a pair of pigs testicles to get one over on Roger Waters, The making of Deep Purple's Machine Head: "Smoke On The Water only made it onto the album as filler", Metallica's first set of the M72 tour: new songs, old classics, and one big surprise, Every issue delivered direct to your door. What did you do before Baker Street? theyll ask, and as he answers politely, concealing both his boredom and bemusement, through his head may well run the lines, Fools to the left of me, jokers to the right/Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.. His music is a testimony to what a great artist can. In 2000, he told the Paisley Daily Express that the second Stealers Wheel album, released in 1974, had been named Ferguslie Park, after a deprived[56] area of Paisley, "to get as far away as possible from all the bullshit of the music industry in London. Trending Rafferty was born into a working-class family in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. I wrote to Martin Wyatt at Anchor records and they said, We really want this, this record is fantastic, its a hit record. Has he undergone, by any chance, a religious experience? All rights reserved. But few people know the origin story of rocks most iconic sax riff, which is complicated, to say the least. [13], In September 2011, EMI issued a remastered collector's edition of City to City featuring previously unheard demo versions of "Baker Street", "Mattie's Rag", "City to City", and other tracks from the album. Months later, says Brewer, I get this call from Artie Mogull to say, Congratulations you have a number one album in America! I went, Are you out of your mind? He said, No, its at number one.. In 1972, having gained some airplay from his Signpost recording "Make You, Break You", Rafferty joined Egan to form Stealers Wheel and recorded three albums with the American songwriters and producers Leiber & Stoller. But 80,000? Maybe some new project would suddenly happen, but I knew he'd crossed the line as far as the record business went. Cherishing the Gerry Rafferty album "City to City" Saved Stories. But Gerry Rafferty is wearing a button warning, 'Dangerous Times Ahead,' and he's known bad times in the past as well. In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff, he once explained. Honestly, until receiving your email, I had never heard of Gerry Rafferty, or the song Baker Street, so Im pretty sure I dont have any meaningful insight to offer specifically about the song. Just graduated high school and was getting ready to head off to college. With due respect, theres only 13 chromatic notes, he said. According to his account, Baker Street had several gaps in it when he was hired to play, and he filled them. And he married her! I regard it as a great good fortune that I was able to meet and contribute something to Gerrys music, he told me over the phone from England. [73], Newspapers printed lengthy obituaries for the singer; in The Guardian, Michael Gray charted Rafferty's long downward spiral into alcoholism,[38] while a full-page obituary in The Times summarised his career more positively: "As well as being a singer of considerable talent who at one time had the pop world at his feet, Gerry Rafferty was also a consummate songwriter, blessed with sensitivity and an enviable melodic flair that at its best recalled Paul McCartney. First, he [Rafferty] wrote from his experience. Still, some would consider Raffertys decision not to tour America until next March, long after the excitement generated by Baker Street will have dissipated, an imprudent career move. Bonnie Raitt recorded a reggae treatment of "Right Down the Line" for her Slipstream album released 10 April 2012. No matter the true genesis of its sax riff, the song still endures. Things came to a head when the star told Brewer that he was planning to go on the David Frost TV show. [5][11][38] In 1987, Rafferty and Murphy co-produced The Proclaimers first UK hit single "Letter from America". The eulogy was given by Rafferty's longtime friend John Byrne. People werent quite used to that., Of course, theres also something about the saxophone. Rafferty himself said as much, during an interview taken not long before his death in 2009: "There have been periods in my life where I have experienced depression. He may be sitting on top of the world as he gives interviews in his rumpled room at New York Citys Plaza Hotel, yet he regards that world with a Scotsmans dour distrust. United Artists Records, Catalogue 1192 (US Release), 1978. ZigZag, In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff. Id got married, had a child, I was twenty-four, and one day it was like Id been living in a dream for six or eight years and suddenly I woke up. This was again on the Hypertension music label. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. According to Murphy, interviewed by Billboard in 1993, he and Rafferty had to beg the record label, United Artists, to release "Baker Street" as a single: "They actually said it was too good for the public. Raffertys rise to glory hadnt come about entirely by chance. It remained at the top of the adult contemporary chart for four non-consecutive weeks. Gerry Rafferty at home. - YouTube Succession Recap: Logan Roy Makes Shock Return, Shiv and Tom Get Kinky, After a long pause during which Raffertys eyes are downcast and the only sound to be heard is that of his chewing gum, he answers intently: I dont really think about it in those kinds of terms. Right Down The Line by Gerry Rafferty - Songfacts To be a star in inverted commas -that is probably the last thing I want. The 10 solo albums made by Gerry Rafferty during his lifetime form a distinguished legacy, from 1971's cult favourite Can I Have My Money Back, through the platinum-selling years of City to. He wanted his songs to be respected. And that all he wanted to do was write songs for his daughter., "I said, Right. Still, they managed to record a brilliant second album, Ferguslie Park, which was produced, like its predecessor, by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Gerry Rafferty in Amsterdam, 1972. The guitarist Hugh Burns has scored movies like Die Another Day and The Hobbit, and played with the likes of Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Jack Bruce, and George Michael throughout his storied career. They had Electric Light Orchestra, Kenny Rodgers, and the third artist was to become Gerry Rafferty. What is it going to take?, Jerry says, Jon, Ill tell you what well do: 3, 2, 1., He says, 3% on the first album, 2% on the second album and 1% on the third., I went, Oh, cmon, there must be another way., So that was the deal. Perhaps I was on the edge of a nervous break-down thats how it felt, anyway. Liner notes for the compilation album Right Down the Line (prepared with Rafferty's close co-operation[33]) confirmed this several years later, noting the singer was now "finding himself at the crossroads and looking to replace the treadmill with a new dimension in his life". Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library. Gerry Rafferty Biography by Timothy Monger As one-half of the Humblebums, Scottish singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty came up through the U.K. folk-rock scene of the late 1960s and early '70s before finding mainstream international success with his 1978 solo album, City to City. It included three tracks co-written with Rafferty's brother Jim, also a singer-songwriter, who had been signed to Decca Records in the 1970s. His wife had just given birth to their daughter and he told me that he didnt have any money to buy nappies, says Brewer. In a blog posting dated 31 March 2004 he wrote: "Let's get back to music: after all that's the only reason that this website has been set up." [80], This article is about the singer. The follow-up single "Get It Right Next Time" made the UK and US Top 40. They got married and ran off together. The deeply introspective lyrics of Sleepwalking suggest Rafferty found success far from glamorous: tracks like "Standing at the Gates", "Change of Heart", and "The Right Moment" suggest the singer was exhausted, burnt-out, and desperately seeking a new direction and continued his long-running theme of alienation. Rafferty married his fellow Scot, hairdresser Carla Ventilla, in 1970, and here he pays tribute to how she stuck by him through thick and thin. Jerry Gilbert, The Times, Wednesday 5 January 2011. I said, Youre just not the right person to do David Frost. [7][34], Another World marked a new departure for the singer. [4] His Irish-born father, an alcoholic, was a miner and lorry driver who died when Rafferty was 16. Politicians in attendance were the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond MSP, Wendy Alexander MSP, Hugh Henry MSP, and Robin Harper MSP. They never toured America because the band, according to Rafferty, when it existed at all, was a fucking shambles, and they wrangled angrily with their managers. But extricating himself from his management deal took Rafferty three more years, during which he commuted unhappily to London from the town outside Glasgow where he and his family still reside. "It was something I was fiercely protective of in myself. Then, in the most offhand, glory-belying way, Burns dropped in this aside: Strangely enough, another record that I played on, which was a massive hit, certainly in this country and I think in America as well, was called Careless Whisper, that also had a massive opening solo. And the final resolution of his legal and financial hassles accounts for the understated exhilaration of the songs last verse: When you wake up its a new morning/The sun is shining, its a new morning/Youre going, youre going home., Related "[76], The reaction of younger artists suggests Rafferty's music has also inspired a new generation of fans. Gerry Rafferty Buy album Year of Release: 1978 Appears in: 141 charts Rank Score: 881 Rank in 1978: 35 Rank in 1970s: 375 Overall Rank: 1,918 Average Rating: 76 (159 votes) Comments: 8 2. Gerry Rafferty: Bipolar alcoholic, industry misfit - and one of Britain "[78], In January 2013, BBC Radio 2 re-broadcast their 2012 programme "Bring It All Home Gerry Rafferty Remembered", which had been recorded live at Celtic Connections in Glasgow and was presented by Ricky Ross. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). I thought, well, if a little bit of that rubs off on us, perhaps we'll get in the charts as well, but actually, in practice, it was kind of a claustrophobic experience. ), The video for Baker Street has been viewed over 5 million times. In 1965, 18-year-old Rafferty met 15-year-old Carla Ventilla, an apprentice hairdresser from an Italian family in Clydebank, at a dancehalla story he later recounted in the song "Shipyard Town" on North and South. [19] Rafferty considered this his first proper taste of success, as he told Melody Maker the following year: "all the records I've ever done before have been flops. And he also seems to have overcome what he admits was a fondness for one drink too many (as we talked, he royed with a glass of water). Listen to Positive Charge, The Gaslight Anthem's first single in nine years, Eddie Van Halen was planning a farewell tour with the original Van Halen lineup, Coke! I did six albums with him. And as long as it was supported by radio play, who could say that it wasnt a genuine hit? Scott wrote chapters for two of legendary sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson's books (For The Love Of Vinyl (opens in new tab), 2009, and Gathering Storm (opens in new tab), 2015). From a Richard Thompson interview this spring, discussing the shelved Rafferty-produced 1980 sessions prior to the Shoot Out the Lights album. A Scotsman bred on traditional music, he was never a proper folkie - not really - and his alliance with Billy Connolly in The Humblebums at the end of the '60s always seemed a bizarre blend of opposites, though Gerry maintains it was . So theyd ship them, get big warehouses, put them in there. [34] According to Michael Gray, Rafferty's personal manager at the height of his success, he turned down many opportunities to work with other artists:[38] " he retained a healthy scepticism not just about the music industry but about society, money and politics in general. Burns told me that theres no question that Rafferty came up with the music that became the famous riff line on Baker Street. After Burns laid down the solo, Rafferty asked him to have a go at what obviously became very famous, which was the sax line. Burns tried it on guitar, but the two men agreed that it would be better on the saxophone. Before, I was never in control. [citation needed], In 1969, Rafferty became the third member of a folk-pop group, the Humblebums, along with comedian Billy Connolly and Tam Harvey. Two years after the release of Night Owl, Gerry Rafferty presented his fans with Snakes & Ladders, and although some of his former album's charm and lyrical appeal manages to resurface, the whole of the album comes up short. "You were very lucky to get that interview because he didn't do many. Gerry Rafferty 1 of 3 (Rare 2003 Interview) - YouTube So he goes on David Frost, and I think it took four minutes before hed lost his audience. Brewer's offices were just across the road. Gerry had had a tough upbringing in Glasgow and the manager sensed that he carried "tremendous resentment" about it. Thats why I especially liked the Everly Brothers.. Then Capitol records made a similar offer. "[34] It was ironic that Raffertya lover and collector of religious icons, who would later name one of his publishing companies "Icon Music"[54]was also an iconoclast. The Gerry Rafferty Interview - Rock's Backpages [26] In a 2003 interview with The Sun (Scotland), Rafferty commented on how profitable his biggest song had been: "Baker Street still makes me about 80,000 a year. [5][6] Heavily influenced by folk music and the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, Rafferty started to write his own material. The disputed history behind Gerry Raffertys 1978 hit. [2] A son of Joseph and Mary (Skeffington) Rafferty,[3] he had two brothers, Jim and Joe (died 1988). "[52] Reid believed Rafferty was fundamentally unsuited to the pressures of celebrity: "He struck me as a very, very sensitive man and for someone like that, fame was probably not appropriate. [citation needed], By the end of the 1990s, new technology enabled Rafferty to distance himself even further from the conventional approach of the music industry and work entirely on his own terms. He may be sitting on top of the world as he gives interviews in his. [70][71], A requiem mass was held for Rafferty at St Mirin's Cathedral in his native town of Paisley on 21 January 2011. [1] He is survived by his daughter Martha, granddaughter Celia, and brother Jim. There was change too in the songs. Rafferty says working with the legendary authors of Hound Dog and producers of (among others) the Coasters was trying. Listeners weigh in on our interview with 10-year-old Kathryn Aurora Gray, the youngest person ever to discover a Supernova; and our remembrance of singer and songwriter Gerry Rafferty, who died . [17], Legal issues after the break-up of Stealers Wheel meant that, for three years, Rafferty was unable to release any material. He is currently working on the official documentary on the life of Chuck Berry. And Gerry would barge into their umbrella, shout Oh my god!, and as he hit the ground hed take his glass eye out and let it roll on the pavement. Gerry Raffertys former manager Jon Brewer recalls what it was like managing the Baker Street star in the wheeling-dealing 70s the age of chart-fixing, payola and big money. It doesnt do that. Letters: Supernova Sleuth; Gerry Rafferty : NPR He didn't. From what shes said, I believe Linda was quite happy to have Gerrys hands on her, for a time. He has a flight to catch. Even more so than most people who work in this business, he saw it as not a good thing. [citation needed], Other artists continue to be inspired by Rafferty's work. "[20], "Baker Street" featured a distinctive saxophone riff played by Raphael Ravenscroft, although the origins of the solo have been disputed. [citation needed]. Right Down the Line - Wikipedia "[66][67] The album, titled Life Goes On, was released in November 2009. The Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, who has died aged 63 after a long illness, wrote the multimillion-selling hit Baker Street, which more than 30 years after . 28 in the US Top 40 in early 1979. Best Gerry Rafferty Songs: 10 Greats From Scotland's Beloved - Dig! Billy Connolly recalls his first impressions of Gerry Rafferty. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, August 1975. However, he explained in an interview, "But there was never anything else for me but music. This article appeared in the August 24, 1978 issue of Rolling Stone. Gerry had a glass eye I didnt know this until Billy told me this story and theyd wait until it was really pouring and theyd go out and all the old girls would put up their umbrellas.
Pa State Parole Agent Directory,
Melbourne Food And Wine Festival 2022 Dates,
2022 New Mexico Governor Race,
Houses With Guest House For Rent Tucson, Az,
Kid Birthday Party Venues Louisville, Ky,
Articles G
