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This programme
contains strong language.
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Rockfield Films, Ozzy,
A/B camera marker.
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MUSIC: Love Spreads
by The Stone Roses
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Everyone's phones off?
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Ah, OK.
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Oh, fuck off.
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# Yeah, yeah, yeah... #
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Thank you. That is very sweet.
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# Yeah, yeah, yeah... #
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It's all about you, this.
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I can't remember a fucking thing,
to be fair.
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Recording. One, two, three, four.
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MUSIC: We Can Take You There
by Hobo
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# If you're lost and you can't
see through things... #
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REPORTER: A pop group on their way
to a recording session, heading not
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for the stifling pressures
of a London or New York studio,
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but to the peace of the Welsh hills
near Monmouth.
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Kingsley and Charles Ward
are farmers
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who've gone into the pop business,
converting the outbuildings
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of their farm into one of Europe's
best-equipped recording centres.
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Before we start,
are you going to ask, like,
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how did I personally get into the
music business, what influenced me,
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or are you going to start when
Charles and I got the band together?
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There's me when I went to school
and got into rock and roll,
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and three years later
I left school, I was 17,
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and that's when Charles and I
started to go around together
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and get a band going.
You can start either way, see.
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So where did it start?
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The start of the story,
we were brought up playing Chopin
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on this piano -
on this very piano.
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We come from a family of farmers,
you see,
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so we're used to cows and things.
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We bought this farm in 1958,
my parents bought it,
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and it was a stud farm
for Shire horses
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and we converted it into
massive piggeries and things
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and we had a milking herd as well,
so we were basically farmers.
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There's no money in farming, there
never was, we never made money
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out of it, and my parents
obviously thought we'd end up
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taking it over, but in reality,
we weren't having any of that.
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I just could not believe
when I heard
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Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel,
and all that stuff coming out.
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I was in Abergavenny Grammar School
at the time
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and we were into music
and that's what changed me really.
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When Rock Around The Clock
came to Monmouth...
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# One, two, three o'clock,
four o'clock, rock... #
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..that's how everything
in my life changed.
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In 1956,
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I bought myself an acoustic guitar.
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I learned a few chords, three finger
chords and this sort of thing,
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and gradually came into
playing the guitar that way.
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Rock and roll, man. Cool.
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Eh?
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Charles and I are obviously
brothers, you know,
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and we started a group.
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We borrowed this little tape machine
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and Charles strummed his little
songs out, which were good,
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good little songs, and that
was our first little venture
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into recording something,
in my mum's front room.
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We were already very ambitious,
but we didn't know what to do now,
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so we were looking at the record
label and it said EMI Records,
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Hayes, Middlesex, so off we trooped
with our little tape machine.
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When we arrived there,
it was the wrong place altogether.
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It was EMI's present factory.
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But the gentleman who manned the
barrier going into the factory...
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He said, "I'm here to get rid
of people like you."
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He said to us, "You should have
gone to Manchester Square,
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"where the main music company is",
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and he very kindly rang up
the doorman over there for us
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and said we're coming over,
so we go to Manchester Square.
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Out we get with our tape machine
and there's the doorman
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and there's this secretary,
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and eventually we went in
and saw George Martin.
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We said, "You've got to hear it
on this tape recorder."
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We were on our hands and knees
under this table.
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I don't know what sort of plug
we had in there
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but we couldn't get the bloody plug
in the...in the thing there.
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I think he was fascinated with us
because it was the first time ever
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somebody had walked into his office
carrying a tape machine.
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It's like booking the greatest
restaurant in the world
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and taking their own sandwiches.
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But he didn't sign you?
Well, no, he didn't.
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And I left my cup of coffee, too.
I never touched it.
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But that's where it clicked to us
that if we got some equipment,
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with all the space we had,
we could do something with it all.
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Upstairs is the attics where we
built our first recording studio.
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Oh, God.
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It's a right mess up here.
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In those days, you must remember,
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that there were no commercial
studios outside the major ones,
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which was RCA, EMI, Decca,
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Philips, they had their studios,
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but there's nowhere to record
anywhere,
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so the best you can do
is do it yourself.
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Oh, my God.
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Now, typical farmers,
when we first built this studio,
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we knew nothing about
acoustic material
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so we actually got a load of
what was feed bags for pigs, look.
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BOCM, they were.
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We used those stuffed in the wall
to get a separation
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from the control room
to the drum room.
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We bought a little mixer, we bought
a little Ferrograph tape machine,
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we had some microphones.
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And that's where we learned
how to record properly
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with our own group,
the Charles Kingsley Combo,
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and many other local
little Welsh bands.
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# As I look, I can see... #
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# Lucy, hynod a hyfryd wyt ti
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# Lucy, hynod... #
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We used to get bands in to record
and charge them £5 or £10
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to make an acetate.
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In the other building, we had
500 pigs. Can you believe it?
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But up in the attics
is miles away from the farm
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so you couldn't hear anything of
the animals, so that was fine, like.
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May I introduce you to Ann?
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A picture of loveliness
if ever I've seen it.
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I first met her when she was 17,
three months older than me,
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and I couldn't believe my good luck
because I'd never had a girlfriend
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in my life before and Ann turned up
and I was so happy.
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Her father wasn't, but I was.
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It's just that you came from
the one side of town
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and I was from the other side.
She's from the posh side of town
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and I was from the other side
of the tracks, that's what
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you're trying to say. Well, you
were a farmer, weren't you?
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Ann was a bank clerk, right,
which was very handy to us
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because she does accounts and
she could type and do all that.
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The main farmhouse
where my parents now live,
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that was my grandparents' house,
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and in the farmhouse, there's
a flat, so we lived in the flat.
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Our sitting room doubled up
as the office
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but also it doubled up as the place
where the bands
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would come and have tea and coffee.
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Lisa and Amanda, they knew how
to operate the telephones.
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The band member would phone us
in the office.
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Whoever was there, myself, my sister
or whatever, would answer the phone,
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and they would quite often
be quite shocked.
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"Yes, tell us the number.
We know what to do."
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00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:11,200
How old were you doing this?
I was probably only five or six.
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All of my childhood memories
are linked up with being here
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and bands, and some of them
lived with us.
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Spring are a band from Leicester
originally.
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They were living in Nan's
front bedroom,
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but living with us
and eating with us.
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So I'd have these five lads...
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..and Lisa and Amanda,
and the only quiet time I had
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was at 1:45pm...
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..when Trumpton came on.
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The boys would be sat there,
and the girls on the floor,
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all watching Trumpton.
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SHE LAUGHS
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Here is the clock,
the Trumpton clock,
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telling the time steadily, sensibly.
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TRUMPTON THEME
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They stayed with us
for quite a few years.
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I can't remember how long now.
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And that is when Rockfield
became the world's first
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residential recording studios.
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Aston was working-class,
terraced houses,
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and it was just hand to mouth,
you know.
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I went to school with Tony,
Tony Iommi.
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Although we weren't mates in school,
I knew of him,
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and he would bring his guitars
to school.
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My mum got me a job,
factories and different jobs.
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I wouldn't last more than
a week or two.
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I'd go, "Mum, I've got a job."
"Oh, great."
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"Mum, I quit my job."
"What? Again?!"
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I could never hold one down.
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I'd go, "Is this it for my life?"
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I was like a racehorse
wanting to run,
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but I had nowhere to run, you know.
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00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,920
I said to my dad,
"Dad, can you sign for a pay bund?"
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A pay bund was a money lending
of £250,
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and I got me a microphone,
a microphone stand...
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..and a 50-watt Vox PA.
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Had he not signed for me, I would
not be sitting here right now.
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Cut a long story, we all managed
to get together and form a band.
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Which was horrible.
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What do you mean? At the time.
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Because we got this band together
and we'd never played together.
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I didn't even know Ozzy could sing,
to be honest.
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# One for the money,
two for the show
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# Three get ready and go, man, go
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# But don't you
step on my blue suede shoes
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# Do anything but don't you
step on my shoes... #
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We used to rehearse
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in a community centre in Birmingham.
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We could only get in at nine
in the morning
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and we had people going, "Keep the
noise down! You'll wake the dead!"
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Come on.
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Oh, blimey.
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00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,760
Oh, my God.
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00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,520
Right, we're now in
the Coach House studio,
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built in 1968-'69
by Charles and myself.
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It was stables before.
It's changed very little.
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Charles and I bought
an 8-track machine
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which means our new studio was equal
to any studio in the world.
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# Ah-ah-ah
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00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:39,520
# Baby, I love you... #
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00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,280
REPORTER: That sound,
already way up in the charts,
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00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,760
started its upward journey here
in a derelict barn in Rockfield,
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00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:47,520
Monmouthshire, Wales,
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00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:51,160
140 miles away from the gloss
of London showbiz.
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00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,040
The barn used to house half
a dozen horses and their hay
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00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:58,040
but is now crammed with £50,000
worth of electronic hardware.
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It's the sort of armoury
you need these days
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00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,440
in the battle to reach the top.
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00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:07,400
And from that moment, we never
went that way, we went that way.
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00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,440
TELEPHONE RINGS
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00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,200
We had a phone call
and it was Black Sabbath,
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00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,840
who we'd never heard of because in
those days, we didn't, you know,
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00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,440
and they were one of the first bands
to use our new studio.
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Just to go from Birmingham
to Monmouth was an adventure.
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00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,360
We'd never... You don't understand,
we'd never been in a studio.
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00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,600
We'd never been on a farm!
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00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,040
We'd never... So everything was new.
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00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,440
You know, coming in and seeing
a cow in a field.
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00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,280
We were from the streets of Aston.
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00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,040
The only thing we ever saw
was a police horse.
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00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,360
It was brilliant.
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00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,200
I remember Ozzy outside.
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00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,520
He had a bow and arrow,
I remember, with a target,
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00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,040
and I remember the band.
A good band, by the way.
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00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,040
But we were all starting off,
weren't we, like, you know?
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00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:09,280
But they were an introduction to
what was a really heavy rock sound
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00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:11,920
which is what Rockfield
is famous for, you know.
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00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,960
MUSIC: Paranoid
by Black Sabbath
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00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:25,760
# Finished with my woman
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00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,120
# Cos she couldn't help me
with my mind
228
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,280
# People think I'm insane
229
00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,280
# Because I am frowning
all the time... #
230
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,000
We were loud.
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00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,520
We were very loud for that time.
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00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,040
This has still got basically
the same sort of thing
233
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,080
that they've always had.
Which is what? Basic.
234
00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,520
# Nothing seems to satisfy
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00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:56,920
# Think I'll lose my mind
if I don't find something to... #
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00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,040
That's what it allowed
is the freedom,
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00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,720
because nobody was playing
as loud as that.
238
00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:04,720
# Occupy my brain... #
239
00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,280
The roof tiles would rattle,
you know.
240
00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,040
# Yeah... #
241
00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,360
CHARLES: I came up the drive
and rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
242
00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:19,160
To tell you the truth, I thought
the roof was going to come off.
243
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,440
We didn't realise
what we were doing.
244
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,280
We didn't go, "I know,
let's invent heavy metal."
245
00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:27,920
It just happened.
246
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,040
# See the things that make
true happiness... #
247
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,120
But when Black Sabbath with
all the amplifiers turned up,
248
00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,040
they were deafening, really,
249
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,480
and it was different to what we were
used to, because, back in the '60s,
250
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,120
it wasn't that sort of
heavy rock sound anyway.
251
00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,520
Kingsley was like one of the lads.
252
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,400
He was a nuisance.
253
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,600
He'd come in and start talking away
254
00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,040
and you'd go,
"Kingsley, we're rehearsing."
255
00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,040
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, OK, OK, OK."
256
00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:58,920
"We're rehearsing, then."
257
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,960
"All right, I'll be quiet."
258
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,280
What did you personally make
of heavy metal?
259
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,960
Well, I was brought up, you know,
with pop music, really.
260
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,040
Hiya.
261
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,040
Over there are my Jersey cows.
262
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,040
COW MOOS
263
00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,680
See? He's even talking to me
over there.
264
00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,320
He wants feeding.
265
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,520
What used to happen was,
they had this studio working here
266
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,760
and Charles and Kingsley
both had a milking herd.
267
00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,040
Hello, girls. And boys.
268
00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,040
I've come to say hello.
I've come to feed you.
269
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,280
So they'd go up to milk the cows
in the morning,
270
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,040
then the band would turn up
for recording,
271
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,280
and we'd have to get
a message up there
272
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,520
and say, "Come on, quick,
the band's here."
273
00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,520
So they'd come down one side
of the house, go in, change,
274
00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,440
and come out looking like
respected businessmen.
275
00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,840
We still smelt of cows though,
didn't we?
276
00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:01,480
I just thought I'd...
277
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,520
I just thought I'd look after you.
You like that, hey?
278
00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:06,240
Hello, Amber.
279
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,120
I think a lot of pop groups
are used to staying in flats
280
00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,360
and things like that in London
and it's very claustrophobic,
281
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,760
I should think, whereas down here
it's very spectacular, you know?
282
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,200
We all lived together,
they come and fed us.
283
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,040
We could make as much noise
as we want,
284
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,280
mess around on the river.
285
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,040
We used to build rafts.
286
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,040
And I would be shooting
my guns around.
287
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,560
Do you remember waking everyone up?
288
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,040
Oh, yeah.
289
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,040
I had my repeater and go...
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
290
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:40,800
"What the fuck?!"
291
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,960
And then Ozzy got up in the morning,
light the fire,
292
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,040
so we'd have a big fire roaring away
which, you know,
293
00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,160
he was known for setting
chimneys on fire.
294
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,760
People can't build fireplaces
like that.
295
00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,520
It was like a smelting factory.
296
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,280
The heat was horrendous.
297
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,200
Rockfield Studios,
it was an interesting place to be.
298
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,040
I mean, you know,
it was a bit rundown really
299
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,920
cos a lot of the buildings were just
full up with hay and bales of hay
300
00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:19,520
and straw, and, of course,
used as stables as well.
301
00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,520
The essence of space rock music
is having all these wonderful
302
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,280
weird electronics with relentless
rhythm that used to pump away.
303
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,240
Dum-dum-dum-dum, you know.
304
00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:39,040
# I
305
00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,200
# I just took a ride... #
306
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,200
When Hawkwind originally turned up,
307
00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,920
of course, they were this rebellious
sort of band, very famous they were,
308
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,760
and I thought, "God,
what are they going to be like?
309
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,040
"Bad boys?" I wasn't too sure,
really.
310
00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,640
And I was in the studio
awaiting their arrival
311
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,680
and Lemmy was the first in
and he said, "Hello. I'm Lemmy."
312
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,680
I said, "I'm Kingsley."
"Hello, Kingsley. I'm Lemmy."
313
00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,520
Lemmy was heavily into, sort of,
pills and things.
314
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,520
It was in those days. It was all
pills and whatever, like, you know.
315
00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,040
And he said to me...
316
00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,480
"Where can I hide my stash?"
317
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,680
I thought, "Oh, blimey", but anyway,
he put them in the corner.
318
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,600
About 20 minutes later, Dave Brock
turns up. "Who are you?"
319
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,960
"I'm Kingsley."
"I'm Dave." "Hello, Dave."
320
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,280
He said "Is anybody here?"
I said, "Lemmy."
321
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,840
"Oh, is he?
Where did he hide his stash?"
322
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,960
"Blimey," I thought,
"here we go!"
323
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,040
Hawkwind, yeah. Dave Brock.
324
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,080
Yeah, they loved it.
325
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,040
When they came for accommodation,
we only had the bungalow
326
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,280
at the end of the drive and there
was one single room in there
327
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,360
and we shoved about six beds
in there
328
00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:44,680
and the lot of them slept
in one big room.
329
00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,520
And there was one toilet
between the lot of them!
330
00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,040
But, after 1967,
331
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,360
the summer of love,
it was what they wanted.
332
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:57,920
Everyone knows of Lemmy.
What was he like at Rockfield?
333
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,680
He did the same as what we all did
there. We used to smoke marijuana
334
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,640
and smoke a bit of hash
and play music.
335
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,760
Sometimes record under the influence
of organic mescaline
336
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,520
and we used to take LSD
down there sometimes
337
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,960
and record tracks on LSD and so on.
338
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,200
We were renowned for doing that.
339
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,240
# Space is dark,
it is so endless... #
340
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:35,760
I'll just show you the E chord,
which is the famous E chord,
341
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,040
if this guitar's in tune.
342
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,280
It's, erm... So it's in E.
343
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,040
So...so anything...
344
00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,280
If you go, like,
it's barring things, so.
345
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,680
Barring it.
346
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,600
And that was of the essence.
347
00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:10,280
So if you play Opa-Loka,
it would be...
348
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,320
STRUMS OPA-LOKA
349
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,520
I mean, if you listen to Opa-Loka,
350
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,040
basically, it's just
a rhythmic sort of drumbeat
351
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,280
and us just clonking away
on the guitars behind it
352
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,080
with weird sounds going on.
353
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,160
In one key, I might add.
354
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,280
We were good at playing in one key.
355
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,560
You could play half an hour in
the key of E and not be boring.
356
00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,600
MUSIC: Opa-Loka
by Hawkwind
357
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,120
I mean, sometimes, you'd think,
for God's sake.
358
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,280
I was in the Quadrangle once
and we'd done some recording
359
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,680
and I thought it was two different
bands playing at the same time.
360
00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:56,680
I wondered what was going on.
361
00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,520
So how much time did you spend
in all? Years.
362
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,080
HE LAUGHS
363
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,920
Not playing music
but just doing other things.
364
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,040
We were all drinking
and doing some drug or other.
365
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:16,520
We started off being a rock band
dabbling in drugs,
366
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,760
then we ended up being a drug band
dabbling in rock.
367
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,840
I mean, drugs fuck everything up,
you know.
368
00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:33,920
We never troubled the local police.
369
00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,520
It was only, the fact was
there was famous people here,
370
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,520
and in those days, you know, it was
damn sex and drugs and rock and roll
371
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,520
and I think the local drug squads
used to view Rockfield
372
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,480
as being a place where they should
direct some of their attention to.
373
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,840
We just noticed that
there would be cars parked
374
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,760
at the bottom of the drive
and we realised there was people
375
00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,560
just watching this place,
taking numbers and things.
376
00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,040
We always knew that tree by there
was a parking place for anybody.
377
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,720
You can see what goes on
in the studios, can't you?
378
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:08,480
Drugs and this sort of thing.
379
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,760
Unfortunately, my brother went
in there one night to clear it
380
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,520
and that sort of thing
381
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,280
and the police who had busted
Monmouth Grammar School,
382
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,280
they knew all about us all right,
383
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,960
and out they came
and they caught him red-handed.
384
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,040
It was the stuff that he was
going to dispose of.
385
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:28,920
And they put him in prison...
386
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,600
They took him in for the night,
in Monmouth.
387
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,280
Jailhouse Rock!
388
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,200
We personally never got
involved in it
389
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:42,840
but we can't help what
the clients do, can you, like?
390
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:44,920
We were just onlookers, really.
391
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,400
Very exciting, very interesting,
but that's what it was.
392
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,520
If you hear a lot of stories
about the past
393
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,920
and a lot of stories about some of
the bands that have been here,
394
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,360
the one thing that has probably been
central to most of it is my dad.
395
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:00,520
He's been in the middle of it all.
396
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,040
He's just a big kid, you know.
397
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,160
I can't say... No, he's not
getting into trouble.
398
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,280
Give him a long enough rope
and he'll strangle himself.
399
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,560
I'll say no more.
400
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,560
SHE LAUGHS
401
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,440
Good old George, you've got
a walk-on part now.
402
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,840
We're not ready yet.
403
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:25,040
This is where we built
the Quadrangle studio in 1973.
404
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,520
There's all echo chambers
down there.
405
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,560
We have three natural echo chambers
which are fantastic.
406
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:34,400
Hello?
407
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:37,120
You can hear the echo.
408
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:40,760
It goes on for about
three and a half seconds.
409
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,680
What used to be in here?
This used to be the pig sheds.
410
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,080
We had nearly 500 pigs
down here at one time.
411
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,040
# How long
412
00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,960
# Has this been going on?
413
00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,520
# How long... #
414
00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,800
Ace, How Long Has This Been
Going On, was recorded here
415
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:04,720
and that went to Number One.
416
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,600
We have guitar booths
for the separation,
417
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,760
we have a drum room there
and Charles built moving walls
418
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,040
in there in 19...middle '70s.
419
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,280
He built some walls which actually
move, which was a good idea,
420
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,920
and so we always progress,
you know, bit by bit.
421
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,360
Well, in 1975,
when Queen were here...
422
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:27,040
HORSE NEIGHS
423
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,040
Oh, bloody, I can't think.
424
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:33,040
Shall we say hello to Amanda?
Amanda. Get that camera off me!
425
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,680
THEY LAUGH
426
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,360
In 1975, when Queen were here,
I very well remember
427
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:46,040
Brian May and Roger, Frisbee was
the in game, throwing Frisbees.
428
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,760
I remember mentioning to Brian,
"You're not doing very much".
429
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:54,040
He said, "Well, Freddie is in there
playing the piano doing something."
430
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,920
So I walked into there,
which is now an office.
431
00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:01,320
In those days, it was a food store
with horses' saddles and all.
432
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,520
And Freddie was sat in the far
corner. I stood next to him.
433
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,280
And I didn't realise, he was
probably doing the finishing touches
434
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,040
to Bohemian Rhapsody.
435
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,800
Which was called Freddie's Thing
by the way. Amazing. Yeah.
436
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,440
And that's when the farming side
took a step back
437
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,040
and then the music business
took over.
438
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,520
This is a live room -
a big drum room, here.
439
00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,040
This originally was built
as a games room
440
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,120
but Brian put his amplifiers
in here,
441
00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,280
Rush put all their equipment
in here,
442
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,520
because they loved the sound of
the room, because we have curtains
443
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,320
which you can open and you can
change the sound of the room.
444
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,120
A lot of other studios
spent millions on this
445
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:08,040
and they've all gone.
446
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,920
We spent sod all and we've survived
the lot of them.
447
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,520
From the age of 19 to the age of 32,
448
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,280
I was on board a mysterious vessel.
449
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:27,360
And...
450
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:34,520
..it finally ran out of steam, air,
reality and everything in 1980.
451
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,560
When we lost John,
Led Zeppelin was no more,
452
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,280
so there was no doing anything else,
453
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:44,800
but moving on, you know.
454
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,760
There was thousands and thousands
of rock singers with no shirt on...
455
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,880
..so I was already a cliche.
456
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,520
I didn't know what on earth
I was going to do,
457
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,520
but I knew if I was going to
find out what it was going to be,
458
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,640
it would be in a place like this.
459
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:05,680
It's just space.
460
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,520
There you are.
461
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:10,760
It's pastoral...
462
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:14,400
..but it's pretty, it's got...
It's full of history.
463
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:18,160
Once we got rid of the pigs, then
we moved on to the music business,
464
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,920
so it's more or less the same,
except that the use has changed.
465
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,920
But... So you've got musicians
instead of pigs.
466
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:26,800
Yeah.
467
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:26,800
HE LAUGHS
468
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,040
It's got drama and success
and failure.
469
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,040
But it's all in this great,
sort of, arboreal,
470
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,040
this green, pleasant land,
you know,
471
00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:40,040
rather than going into a city
and grinding it out.
472
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,040
We were in the first year
of our recording career.
473
00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,520
We had made one album.
474
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,280
We recorded some of that
album in Abbey Road.
475
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,280
Now, when you think about it,
to be 19 and being in Abbey Road,
476
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,280
who wouldn't love that?
477
00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,520
I just shrunk.
You know, I thought...
478
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,040
"..Abbey Road?
What are we doing in Abbey Road?"
479
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:04,840
We'd hardly been out of Glasgow,
480
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,120
we'd hardly been
in a recording studio,
481
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:11,360
so to be in Abbey Road, it was
just a step way too far for me
482
00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:14,440
and everyone who worked in there
was called Hayden and...
483
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,080
You know, it was very proper
and very English
484
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,080
and very middle-class
485
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,480
and it just wasn't rock and roll,
486
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,040
so I couldn't wait
to get out of there.
487
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,520
All we wanted to do was play
and our producer John Leckie
488
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:32,520
had looked for residential places
and he said, "There's this place
489
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,520
"called Rockfield.
You'll love this place."
490
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,120
And we said, "Where is it?"
And he said...
491
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,360
.."Wales."
492
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,360
HE LAUGHS
493
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,200
I do remember, actually,
I think when we drove in there,
494
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,040
I think we passed by Kingsley
and he looked mental
495
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:54,440
and I remember thinking,
"All right, we're in the country!"
496
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,520
My first impression
with Rockfield was...
497
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:04,280
..crikey, this is a bit rough,
I suppose,
498
00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,760
because there seemed to be
more attention
499
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,040
going on with the farm
and the animals
500
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,280
and the general kind of
manure kind of stuff.
501
00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,520
But the equipment was great
and you had a lot of space.
502
00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,280
You had an instant feeling of,
hey, we can do anything here,
503
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,920
because of the size of the rooms
and stuff.
504
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,040
Well, in the early '80s,
Simple Minds turned up.
505
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:30,600
So did Adam And The Ants, you see,
and they were trend-setters.
506
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,360
# Well, I'm standing here
looking at you
507
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,360
# What do I see?
508
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,520
# I'm looking straight through... #
509
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,680
Music was changing because it
had come through the punk thing
510
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,160
and we were into what was called
the new wave.
511
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:49,120
# Until I learn to accept
my reward... #
512
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,520
And, of course,
new wave could be anything.
513
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,520
It still had to have the energy
and creativity,
514
00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,480
but you didn't have the boundaries
that you had before
515
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,760
so when we did
Real To Real Cacophony at Rockfield,
516
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,760
we could drum up any fantasy
in our minds
517
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,920
and create a song out of it,
518
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,920
which is the kind of attitude
the band had, you know.
519
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,360
So we were in the Coach House
520
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,280
and, you know, that was a big deal,
521
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:25,760
but we were always curious to know
who was in the main studio
522
00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:30,320
and there was a microphone set up
in the middle of the courtyard.
523
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,280
And we thought,
"What are they doing?"
524
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:39,280
Anyway, we could not believe
that none other than Iggy Pop...
525
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,040
..was booked. I mean,
we just couldn't believe it.
526
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,760
Can you hear me out there now?
This is our rehearsal,
527
00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,600
this is my band and these
are the afternoon barflies.
528
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,760
One, two, one, two, three, four!
529
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,600
But actually, probably
it was that Iggy was...
530
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,640
..on the wagon or off the wagon?
I always get them...
531
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,760
He was on the wagon in as much
that I think he was down there
532
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,280
trying to be a good boy
and not to be drinking
533
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,520
and not to be doing anything naughty
and just be seriously getting on
534
00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,040
with the work,
so they sent him down there.
535
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:16,040
There he was in the big studio,
and...
536
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,040
..within a couple of nights
he was creeping around
537
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,400
into our little studio
because we weren't on the wagon.
538
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:28,520
Not only was that mind-blowing,
but Bowie turned up
539
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:32,120
and he looked as you would imagine
David Bowie looking.
540
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,840
I always remember because
David Bowie was all in red.
541
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,840
He had red trousers and
a red shirt on and everything.
542
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,200
But he had this huge...
It was so Rockfield.
543
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,760
He had this huge bit of cheese
in his hand and a can of Heineken.
544
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,480
CHARLIE LAUGHS
545
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:53,600
We went over there and Simple Minds
sang some backing vocals,
546
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,040
we all went in the studio
and clapped,
547
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,280
and a good time was had by all.
548
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,280
The lyric before we come in is,
"You're so..."
549
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,040
# You're too simple minded
550
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,920
# Let's play it safe... #
551
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,760
What was the chorus, Charlie?
"What do we have in common..."
552
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,680
# What do we have in common?
Play it safe... #
553
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:14,320
# ..da-da-da. #
554
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,760
# What do we have in common?
555
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,760
# Play it safe
556
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,040
# I'll tell you something safe... #
557
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:35,040
Leckie, in his sweet way,
would always remind you,
558
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,280
"The record company
are coming up next week."
559
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:38,760
"Oh, God.
560
00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,440
"Oh, God.
I haven't written any lyrics yet.
561
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:44,320
"We've been here a month."
562
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,040
The band hadn't really
found their footing.
563
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,320
It was still quite experimental.
564
00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:53,520
We were already in a lot of debt
because the first album had tanked.
565
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,040
They hadn't really had a hit.
566
00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,040
If you don't come up with hits,
if you don't recoup your money,
567
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,040
you'd get dropped,
the record doesn't get released
568
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,440
and everything stops
and the payments stop
569
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,360
and you're not going to make
another record after that.
570
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,520
I remember walking up
to the microphone,
571
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:14,760
we had a song called Changeling
572
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:19,040
and I think probably
the first time in my life
573
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,520
feeling, erm, a kind of, erm...
574
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,520
..a sober pressure.
575
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,520
John was like, "Track sounds great.
576
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,280
"How does it sound in
the headphones?" "Sounds great."
577
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,360
"You ready to go?" "Yeah."
And they hadn't heard a word.
578
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,280
Pretty good.
579
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:45,520
That's a cool riff.
580
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,120
It's nicked!
581
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:50,280
I had moved it along
and, "This is great,
582
00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:53,280
"this is great, this is great,
but what kind of lyric?"
583
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:58,520
And at the time, these new clubs
were starting in London,
584
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:00,280
these, erm...
585
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:04,040
They weren't called New Romantics
but they were on the verge of that
586
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,280
and they were showing pictures
in the magazines and the paper
587
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,600
about all these stylish
changeling people
588
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,760
and I thought,
"I'm going to write about them,
589
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,440
"sitting here
in the Welsh countryside."
590
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,280
In the Coach House,
there's this corridor,
591
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,760
and at the end of the room
is a door to a toilet
592
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,520
and if you put a microphone
in this corridor
593
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:39,520
and open the door to the studio,
594
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,720
it picked up this great resonance
from the drums,
595
00:34:42,720 --> 00:34:46,520
so the microphone in the corridor,
a secret weapon at Rockfield.
596
00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,000
It was fantastic.
597
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,560
Changeling is probably the best
track on the record for me, yeah.
598
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,280
# Changeling
599
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,280
# Well, changeling for you... #
600
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:01,760
It came out.
601
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,360
The record company hated it.
602
00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,760
Didn't think there was anything
radio-wise on it,
603
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,520
and they were right.
604
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:18,040
But the journalists liked it
and started to say, "You know,
605
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,560
"Simple Minds are worthwhile
taking serious."
606
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,520
The residential idea was,
607
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:30,760
you didn't have to break the train
of thought or creativity,
608
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,680
you could stick around.
609
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,040
Really quite a neat way...
610
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:41,440
..of people being almost prisoners.
611
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,520
I had no idea of writing techniques
with anybody else,
612
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,760
but I didn't have to consider,
really...
613
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:54,360
..anybody else's opinions any more.
614
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,520
I was free to fail.
615
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,280
I tried to embrace more or less
everything I could,
616
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,080
from contemporary sound,
bit by bit by bit.
617
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:12,760
And I suppose this was
the first time I used
618
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,760
any kind of mechanised rhythms
at all.
619
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,400
The famous TR-808 handclaps.
620
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:25,600
And bass drum.
621
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:27,760
Dreadful. Terrible, really.
622
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:40,680
We wrote Big Log.
623
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:44,280
The whole thing about the structure
of the song and the way it's played,
624
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,040
it's turned a corner.
625
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,680
# My love is in league
with the freeway
626
00:36:55,680 --> 00:37:00,520
# Its passion will rise
as the cities fly by
627
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:06,040
# And the tail lights dissolve
in the coming of night
628
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:10,680
# And the questions
and thousands take flight... #
629
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:14,040
Well, the Big Log was another
jazz cigarette, of course.
630
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,040
An African Woodbine...
631
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:20,520
..that was being shared mostly
by the rhythm section,
632
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,040
which was one drum box
and the bass player.
633
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,040
# In the secret that burns... #
634
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,280
It's a road song, though, isn't it?
635
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,760
Then, I could do anything, anywhere.
636
00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:41,520
There was this kind of feeling
of a new kind of pop music
637
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:45,280
and we were gravitating
towards that,
638
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,280
but I think we still... There was
still going to have to...
639
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,600
What's the song
that's going to do it?
640
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:54,360
I remember being in the rehearsal
room, it was the Old Mill,
641
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:57,520
and I remember the first time
Charlie played the riff
642
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,520
to Promised You A Miracle
and I thought,
643
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,200
"This is going to... This...
This will do it."
644
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,360
I must say, I'm extremely pleased
to introduce this next act.
645
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,040
It's a band I've championed a lot
on my radio show
646
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:12,520
and here they are, making their
Top Of The Pops debut. Simple Minds!
647
00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:14,280
CHEERING
648
00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,520
# Promised you a miracle
649
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,760
# Belief is a beauty thing
650
00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,760
# Promises, promises
651
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,040
# As golden days break wondering
652
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:33,280
# Chance
As love takes a train... #
653
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:36,280
It makes you feel good,
the riff makes you feel good.
654
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,000
It's full of optimism.
655
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,520
When I hear it, that's the emotion
I get from it.
656
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,960
It was kind of...
It was a funky pop song.
657
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,760
# Love sails to a new life... #
658
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,280
Well, it was Top 10, wasn't it?
659
00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:52,840
That album, New Gold Dream,
people still talk about it.
660
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,040
It's a landmark album for us.
661
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:57,360
Erm...
662
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,520
And, you know, commercial success,
663
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,280
and, critical, it took us
into all the big arenas.
664
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,520
One of the key changes
that happened to us then
665
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:09,520
was that we'd changed record labels
and, lo and behold,
666
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,920
Virgin had their own residential
studio called The Manor.
667
00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:15,040
A place for "pop stars".
668
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:16,760
And I think we thought,
669
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,040
"We're pop stars now
and this is the new shiny world."
670
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:23,760
The technology,
everything was moving on,
671
00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:26,280
and I don't know the story
of Rockfield then,
672
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,280
but I think it would have been
hard for them to keep up
673
00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,520
with Richard Branson's money.
674
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:37,400
Because Rockfield was a pioneer
and everybody copied us,
675
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,760
there was loads of studios
out there now, all residential,
676
00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,040
and, of course, there's only a
certain amount of work to go around,
677
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,760
and then the dreaded dance music
turned up,
678
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:48,880
which wasn't quite what we did.
679
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,760
Well, Rockfield has always
been known for rock music.
680
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,520
For bands playing together,
loud electric guitars
681
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,280
and drums and stuff,
682
00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,440
and I guess, as the '80s went on,
683
00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,760
there was a lot more electronics
being used,
684
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:07,520
there was the sampler, you know,
the Akai sampler got invented
685
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,520
and the little cute bass computer,
686
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:13,520
and so you could programme things
and trigger things
687
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,040
and create new music, really,
688
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,520
so you didn't need a drummer
or a big room for a big drum sound
689
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,040
because you could use
a sample of a drummer
690
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:25,360
and loop that
and play along to that,
691
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:27,760
so, as the technology took over,
you know...
692
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:32,400
..I guess people didn't book
Rockfield quite so often.
693
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,440
LISA: Well, it did get tough.
694
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:42,040
I mean, it's always been feast
and famine, that is the reality.
695
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,560
You know, in the '70s,
it was back-to-back
696
00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:49,280
and there was loads of work
coming in and it was fine.
697
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:53,040
My parents had nice cars
and we were off at private school
698
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:54,880
and all of that sort of stuff.
699
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,640
And then, you know, things changed.
700
00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:02,360
There didn't seem to be
as much work coming through.
701
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:05,560
And then my mum was out
and she would,
702
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,520
she always did books for people,
703
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,520
she did accountancy...
well, book-keeping for people,
704
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:14,760
and at one point, she had seven
different jobs doing book-keeping
705
00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:17,760
and that was to help
keep the place going
706
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:20,040
and keep money
coming into the house.
707
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:28,280
What happened to your and Kingsley's
doing Rockfield together?
708
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:32,560
In the end, I milked the cows
up until 1975.
709
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:35,800
We were frightened to go back
to where we were.
710
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:39,040
And I was left a bit behind.
711
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,280
That, there, is Rockfield Studios.
712
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,640
In 1987, we're a big company by now,
713
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:02,040
we decided, Charles took
one half of the company
714
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,040
and built Monnow Valley...
715
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:09,040
..and I kept the remaining
bit of Rockfield
716
00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:12,040
and carried on with Rockfield,
so it was no problem.
717
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:15,360
It's not a case of falling out,
it was a case of two different ideas
718
00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:18,280
and he did what he wanted to do
and I did what I wanted to do.
719
00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:20,160
There was no problem in it.
720
00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:30,520
I'm from Monmouth, so I grew up
just down the road from the studio.
721
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:35,840
Rockfield is like this mysterious
place that you knew about,
722
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,440
but you couldn't go out there,
but you would see bands
723
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,280
around the town and my dad
used to have the local taxi firm,
724
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,280
so he used to tell me about
this place and about Kingsley
725
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,080
so I knew little bits, but, yeah,
726
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,280
you didn't really know too much
about it,
727
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:52,120
but it was this great place that
everyone was proud of in Monmouth.
728
00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:55,760
As soon as you get old enough
to go into the pubs,
729
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,360
people would say
"So-and-so was in last week,"
730
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:00,520
and you get sucked into
waiting to see
731
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,160
who's going to come in
to The Nag's Head, you know.
732
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:06,760
I was into music, playing in bands,
and I was recording my rehearsals.
733
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,760
I always had the 4-tracks out.
I was always more interested
734
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,680
in recording the rehearsals
than the actual rehearsing.
735
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,680
I never thought about working here.
736
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:17,120
I knew it was here,
but I was planning on going away
737
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,520
to university
and studying something else
738
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,480
and then the opportunity came up
through a friend of mine.
739
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:27,240
A pretty strange job interview,
as you can imagine, with Kingsley.
740
00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:30,280
He had a moan about the music
business and then said...
741
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,120
He actually told me to go to college
and then university
742
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,520
and, "Think about doing
something else", he said,
743
00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:38,040
"But if you still want to do it
when you get home,
744
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,120
"give me a call
and there's a job for you."
745
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:43,280
It took me the time, ten minutes
in the car with my dad to get home,
746
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,760
and I'd decided I wanted to
come and do it.
747
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:48,800
You know, I didn't know where
it was going to lead.
748
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,280
1989, 1990, there was
a massive recession
749
00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:56,520
and the music business
suddenly caved in completely.
750
00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:58,040
TELEPHONE RINGS
751
00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:01,960
But life changed for us because
one door closes and one door opens,
752
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,040
I had a phone call from John Leckie,
a good friend of mine.
753
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:07,640
He had a band to produce
called The Stone Roses.
754
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:11,040
And I think they booked in
officially for a couple of weeks...
755
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:14,280
..but they stayed.
756
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:14,280
SHE LAUGHS
757
00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:16,920
And they left, I think it was
13 months in the end
758
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:19,280
that they were here,
and that saved us.
759
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,240
The Stone Roses saved Rockfield.
I can easily say that.
760
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:38,760
Are you fed up that it's taken
so long for people
761
00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:42,040
outside of Manchester and the
North West to catch up with you?
762
00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:43,680
No. No.
763
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:47,520
# I hear you knocking down
my door... #
764
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,520
They'd signed a deal where
they had to make the record
765
00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:52,800
at the record company's studio.
766
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,680
The band had to come down to London
and stay in a cheap hotel.
767
00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:59,040
We worked mostly night times
768
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:01,760
and I kept telling them
about Rockfield
769
00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:05,040
and saying this was a great place
and where we need to go.
770
00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:07,520
Through the record company
and personnel
771
00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:11,680
at the record company changing,
we got to go to Rockfield.
772
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,280
We did Waterfall,
a song called Waterfall,
773
00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:17,920
which we'd attempted in London
and not really got the best take,
774
00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:21,360
and most of all,
we did I Am The Resurrection.
775
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,280
We worked it out so that the band
could play it live,
776
00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:29,760
so the whole of Resurrection
is one complete take, really,
777
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:31,520
from start to finish.
778
00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:37,360
You all say that you expect to be
the best band in the world, so...
779
00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:39,040
No, we know that we are.
780
00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:42,680
We don't expect anyone else to think
anything in particular about us.
781
00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:44,440
They can think and do
what they want.
782
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:47,680
If you're the best band in the
world, why aren't you Number One?
783
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,600
Because the record isn't out yet.
784
00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:57,040
When the album came out,
they became...
785
00:45:57,040 --> 00:45:59,760
They became really, really
special people.
786
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:01,600
You know, everyone loved them.
787
00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,280
Well, you have to do better
the next time
788
00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:07,280
or you have to do as good as.
789
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,320
All sorts of things can happen.
790
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:16,040
The single after that
was called One Love.
791
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:18,280
We booked into Rockfield to do that.
792
00:46:18,280 --> 00:46:22,040
We planned to be there at nine
o'clock on Sunday evening for dinner
793
00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:26,280
and start Monday morning fresh,
so I got there with an assistant,
794
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,280
then the roadies came down
with a vanload of equipment
795
00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:31,920
and we set that up.
The band never showed up.
796
00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:34,760
Monday came and went
and I'm making phone calls.
797
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:37,080
"Just wait there. Stay there."
798
00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:40,040
So it got right round
until the Tuesday evening
799
00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:42,520
and we were just planning on
going home,
800
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:46,080
and shall we pack up and that's it?
No-one seems to be coming.
801
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:51,040
And the door opened
and Mani fell in the room
802
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:55,280
and Wreny just flopped
on the...on the settee,
803
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:58,360
and then I realised
they were all covered in paint.
804
00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:01,520
They'd recorded a single
called Sally Cinnamon
805
00:47:01,520 --> 00:47:04,280
and their old record company
had released it
806
00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,400
as their next single
without their permission.
807
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:10,600
They called into B&Q,
the paint shop,
808
00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,520
and went to his office
and just threw paint everywhere
809
00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:16,280
and jumped in the van
and drove to Rockfield
810
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,760
and sat there waiting to see
what the repercussions were.
811
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:23,040
I said, "Look, we're all set up.
Let's get out there and record."
812
00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:25,360
And they actually sat there
and recorded
813
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,360
with the paint still in their hair.
814
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:30,040
The police turned up at
eight o'clock the next morning,
815
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,520
arrested them,
and got them all out of bed.
816
00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:34,760
REPORTER: Gary Mounfield,
John Squire,
817
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:36,040
Alan Wren and Ian Brown
818
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:38,840
arrived at Wolverhampton Crown Court
to a noisy greeting
819
00:47:38,840 --> 00:47:40,520
from about 30 fans.
820
00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:43,560
MUSIC: Love Spreads
by The Stone Roses
821
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,040
The second album
with The Stone Roses
822
00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:57,760
was done through
an American record company.
823
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,520
Geffen were quite prepared
to throw lots of money,
824
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:06,280
millions of pounds, at the band,
to do whatever they wanted.
825
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,680
They told me, did I want to do
the next session,
826
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:10,520
and it was The Stone Roses.
827
00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:13,200
As you can imagine, 16,
very exciting.
828
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:14,920
Yeah, what an opportunity.
829
00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:18,040
A lot of pressure on them,
but they just seemed relaxed.
830
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:21,040
From day one, it was great fun,
absolutely great fun.
831
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:25,520
ANN: We had The Stone Roses here
and two of the cows had calved.
832
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:28,760
"Oh, gosh, we must go out
and see the calves,"
833
00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:32,760
so we had to take them across
the meadow to see the calves.
834
00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:37,960
NICK: Mani embraced life around
here. He was out fishing,
835
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:40,640
he became great friends
with a lot of the local lads.
836
00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:43,520
Mani became such a part
of Monmouth, shall we say.
837
00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:46,440
He met his girlfriend here,
they have a son together,
838
00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:49,160
and they met in Monmouth
when he was in Monmouth.
839
00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:52,960
JOHN: They stayed there
for 14 months.
840
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:56,400
That album was called
The Second Coming.
841
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,640
It was a long time coming.
842
00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:05,120
LISA: There was one occasion
that the executives from the label,
843
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:09,280
from America, were coming over
and they flew over on Concorde.
844
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:11,040
It was a big, big deal.
845
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,680
And they all came down
in their limos,
846
00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:16,680
and they arrived here,
and the band had gone.
847
00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:18,520
Yeah, they went home.
848
00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:21,320
They'd flown in and they,
yeah, they went home.
849
00:49:21,320 --> 00:49:23,760
And they'd taken the tapes
as well, I think,
850
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:25,680
so we couldn't play them anything.
851
00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:27,080
HE LAUGHS
852
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:47,680
The first time we went over
there was when we went to fucking
853
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:50,480
have a little snoop
on The Stone Roses, wasn't it? Yeah.
854
00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:52,560
You drove the combine harvester
over there...
855
00:49:52,560 --> 00:49:54,160
Yeah. ..in the middle of the night.
856
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,400
Just, we were going,
"What the fuck are they up to?!"
857
00:49:56,400 --> 00:49:59,240
Cos they hadn't been doing anything
for years and we'd sort of...
858
00:49:59,240 --> 00:50:02,080
And I'm on about a proper combine
harvester. Proper big one.
859
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:04,840
Ones that you've got to get ladders
up to and it's like miles...
860
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:06,880
It's higher than that fucking roof.
Yeah.
861
00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:10,400
And he fucking starts it in one go
and off we fucking go.
862
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:13,720
Irish blood. Crawling down the road
with the big fucking lights on.
863
00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:15,800
It looked like fucking...
It looked bonkers.
864
00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:17,720
War Of The Worlds.
And then we fucking...
865
00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:20,880
I think we drove it into the thing,
turned the lights off,
866
00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:23,520
and rolled over like something
out of the Professionals
867
00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:25,800
and fucking...
# Dum-di, dum-di, dum-dum... #
868
00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:28,400
Over the edge and then we fucking
pops up and we could hear some
869
00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:31,200
fucking bass line and drums going
on. And then we kind of heard...
870
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:33,960
And then, I think we got caught
and they brought us in, didn't they?
871
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:36,240
I don't think we brought
the combine harvester back.
872
00:50:36,240 --> 00:50:37,400
Yeah, we left it there.
873
00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:40,200
Very dangerous. Very dangerous,
yeah. I think we got fucking caught
874
00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:42,120
by someone and we went in,
didn't we? Yeah.
875
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:44,720
Had a little chat with Ian Brown
and a few people
876
00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:47,760
and they were playing some songs
and stuff and we might have had
877
00:50:47,760 --> 00:50:50,600
a spliff and that and then I think
we fucking fucked off.
878
00:50:50,600 --> 00:50:52,400
And then, I think they did it
the next night.
879
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:54,600
I think they come over...
Mani turned up on a tractor.
880
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:57,880
On a tractor... Yeah. ..while
we were in bed, and, so they say,
881
00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:00,680
they robbed all of Guigsy's weed,
all our weed and that.
882
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:05,840
We'd had one album,
everything was going well, I think.
883
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:07,880
And I think the money might
have started...
884
00:51:07,880 --> 00:51:10,920
Maybe it might have started
trickling in. Maybe it wasn't.
885
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:13,120
No, it was. Yeah, the money'd
started coming in.
886
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:14,440
Sales had gone well.
887
00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:16,520
Definitely Maybe was up there,
wasn't it?
888
00:51:16,520 --> 00:51:18,680
Yeah, so it was the second album,
Morning Glory,
889
00:51:18,680 --> 00:51:21,160
and I think we were completely
still off our heads.
890
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:23,600
Yeah, it felt mega.
It was like, you know...
891
00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:26,400
It was like, that's what you
sort of read about, you go, "Fucking
892
00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:29,600
"hell, this is what it's fucking
all about, this rock 'n' roll, man!"
893
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:33,400
You know, you lived there
and you didn't leave the studio
894
00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:35,720
until you had your album finished.
895
00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:38,920
It's like the Big Brother house,
isn't it? But with tunes! Yeah.
896
00:51:42,240 --> 00:51:45,000
Our first album went to number one,
it was like, I guess,
897
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:48,040
the height of the Manchester
kind of boom thing.
898
00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:55,040
Our manager at the time thought
it was a good idea to send us
899
00:51:55,040 --> 00:51:58,400
away to kind of write
and record an album
900
00:51:58,400 --> 00:52:04,240
and to spend six weeks in one space.
But, um, you know, it was...
901
00:52:04,240 --> 00:52:07,480
It was a great idea,
but it was also pretty nuts as well.
902
00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:14,480
No distractions. Well, apart
from going... Monmouth town centre.
903
00:52:14,480 --> 00:52:17,840
Which was rocking, you know, there
was two pubs there! Three, actually.
904
00:52:17,840 --> 00:52:19,240
Was there three? Yeah, yeah!
905
00:52:19,240 --> 00:52:22,360
We were in the middle of
the Welsh countryside,
906
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:25,680
with just other people who were
kind of quite like-minded people.
907
00:52:28,720 --> 00:52:30,920
You could get up to
whatever you wanted.
908
00:52:32,560 --> 00:52:33,960
So, you did.
909
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:37,720
Could have gone to all these
studios that had swimming pools
910
00:52:37,720 --> 00:52:40,080
and huge games rooms
and restaurants and stuff,
911
00:52:40,080 --> 00:52:42,640
but we'd rather just come
and play with the cows
912
00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:43,680
and stuff.
913
00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:50,560
For, you know, young people in their
mid twenties, it was ideal
914
00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:53,680
because we were just into getting
drunk
915
00:52:53,680 --> 00:52:56,480
and taking drugs and making music.
916
00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:59,520
There was no-one there telling you
what you couldn't do.
917
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:01,640
As long as the work was getting
done, you know,
918
00:53:01,640 --> 00:53:04,920
the record company would come down
and check every now and again.
919
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:14,800
And Columbia turned up from America
and the only person in the studio
920
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:18,760
was me and I was lying down with
my head in the Leslie speaker,
921
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:21,120
tripping on acid, kind of just going
round and round.
922
00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:22,320
I'd been there for hours.
923
00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:27,800
But, at the same time,
we were getting our dinners
924
00:53:27,800 --> 00:53:31,200
cooked for us, you know,
Mother's there in the kitchen...
925
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:36,720
And the ladies who would come in
and clean up for us.
926
00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:40,120
We'd come in in the morning
927
00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:45,400
and all our drugs would be lined out
really neatly on the side for us.
928
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:47,320
So it was perfect.
929
00:53:47,320 --> 00:53:49,240
Just perfect, yeah.
930
00:53:49,240 --> 00:53:52,720
The '90s was an amazing time.
931
00:53:52,720 --> 00:53:54,960
You know, we were booked nine
months in advance,
932
00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:56,280
both studios, back-to-back.
933
00:53:56,280 --> 00:53:58,920
We would have a session
leaving on a Monday morning
934
00:53:58,920 --> 00:54:00,520
and they'd be loading out
the one door
935
00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:02,760
and the next session would be
loading in the other door.
936
00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:04,200
And it was constant.
937
00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:08,640
But it was amazing time for
guitar-based bands in British music.
938
00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:10,480
You know, it absolutely was.
939
00:54:10,480 --> 00:54:12,200
Why men in guitar bands?
940
00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:15,240
I don't know. I don't really
know why that would be.
941
00:54:15,240 --> 00:54:17,880
I suppose, at the time...
I mean, obviously, there were
942
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:20,080
big female singers and stuff,
weren't there?
943
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:22,120
And there were big female rock
artists and stuff,
944
00:54:22,120 --> 00:54:25,400
but we tended to get the men,
that I can remem...
945
00:54:25,400 --> 00:54:26,480
That I can think of.
946
00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:30,360
Fucking...
947
00:54:30,360 --> 00:54:32,240
Fucking...!
948
00:54:40,320 --> 00:54:43,680
With Oasis, it was quick,
it was fast, cos, obviously,
949
00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:46,160
coming off the back of
The Stone Roses album
950
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:47,400
that took 14 months,
951
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:50,040
erm, and then other albums that
I'd done, they were fast.
952
00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:52,920
We was kind of working
on a song a day.
953
00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:56,960
Noel would get in and he'd put
a guide acoustic down, always.
954
00:54:56,960 --> 00:55:00,080
Whitey'd nail the drums and it'd be
like bass, in with the bass, Guigs,
955
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:02,920
me, him with the guitar, he'd do his
overdubs, he'd come in and sing.
956
00:55:02,920 --> 00:55:04,320
It was really quick
957
00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:08,280
and I remember a really quick
session, song after song.
958
00:55:08,280 --> 00:55:10,960
That's cos there was like loads
of pubs in town that we heard
959
00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:13,880
that were good, you know what I
mean? It was like, get in there
960
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:16,640
and fucking smash it out
and then fucking pub! Pub.
961
00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:19,440
For some...
We just loved being in the pub.
962
00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:22,120
What was Monmouth like?
Full of pubs!
963
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:25,440
I'd do bits of engineering,
keep the tape machines running,
964
00:55:25,440 --> 00:55:29,080
set up all the microphones,
you know, record the band.
965
00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:30,600
Um, a lot of driving to the pub.
966
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:33,400
All hours.
967
00:55:33,400 --> 00:55:34,520
You'd wait...
968
00:55:34,520 --> 00:55:37,040
Obviously, you'd wait until you
get your stuff done and that,
969
00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:38,680
but as soon as you get your stuff
done,
970
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:40,600
if that was done at one in the
afternoon... Pub.
971
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:42,920
..you'd be in the pub by
ten past one, you know what I mean?
972
00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:44,280
Did you ever work...?
973
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:47,040
Carry on doing stuff when you got
back from the pub at night?
974
00:55:47,040 --> 00:55:49,720
You'd have a go. You'd have a go,
but it'd be fucking...
975
00:55:49,720 --> 00:55:51,520
You'd sound like The Pogues.
976
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,440
Yeah, I mean, I would just go
to the pub till we came back
977
00:55:54,440 --> 00:55:56,400
and I would drive everyone back,
you know.
978
00:55:56,400 --> 00:55:58,640
Obviously,
somebody had to remain sober
979
00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:00,880
because we were on tape
back in them days.
980
00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:04,320
There was a little bit of debate
on who was going to sing Wonderwall.
981
00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:06,760
Noel was going to sing Wonderwall
and Liam was going to sing
982
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:08,160
Wonderwall, then Noel said,
983
00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:10,160
"OK, I'll sing
Don't Look Back In Anger,"
984
00:56:10,160 --> 00:56:11,560
and then Liam was...
985
00:56:11,560 --> 00:56:13,280
Wanted to sing
Don't Look Back In Anger,
986
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:15,400
so there was the debate on
who was going to sing what.
987
00:56:15,400 --> 00:56:17,560
Everyone wanted to make the songs
the best they could
988
00:56:17,560 --> 00:56:18,880
and Noel wanted to do it too
989
00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:21,120
and if that breeded a bit of fucking
competition,
990
00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:22,720
then so be it,
you know what I mean,
991
00:56:22,720 --> 00:56:23,960
I didn't want to go in there,
992
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:25,920
be better than Bonehead,
or better than Guigs,
993
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:27,640
I just wanted to go
and be better than me,
994
00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:29,920
you know what I mean? I wanted
to go and do my thing and...
995
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:31,160
I just wanted...
996
00:56:31,160 --> 00:56:33,280
When I'd hear them
putting the songs on, I'd go,
997
00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:35,600
"Right, this fucking tune needs
a banging vocal,
998
00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:38,280
"so hopefully I can deliver it,"
you know what I mean?
999
00:56:47,160 --> 00:56:49,360
What did you think of Wonderwall
when you first...?
1000
00:56:49,360 --> 00:56:52,320
I didn't like it at first. I thought
it was a bit funky and I thought...
1001
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:54,560
I thought it sounded like a reggae
song to me. Yeah.
1002
00:56:54,560 --> 00:56:56,600
Proper sounded like a reggae song.
1003
00:56:56,600 --> 00:56:59,480
Yeah. I thought, "What's going on?!"
It's weird.
1004
00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:08,760
# Today is gonna be the day that
they're gonna throw it back to you
1005
00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:14,360
# By now you should've somehow
realised what you gotta do
1006
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:18,200
# I don't believe that anybody
1007
00:57:18,200 --> 00:57:21,280
# Feels the way I do,
about you now... #
1008
00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:27,080
How long did it take you to record
the vocal for Wonderwall?
1009
00:57:27,080 --> 00:57:29,760
Not long because the fucking party
was happy hour...
1010
00:57:29,760 --> 00:57:31,840
Saturday night, wasn't it?
Two for one!
1011
00:57:31,840 --> 00:57:33,720
Yeah, yeah, I think it was
like... Two for one.
1012
00:57:33,720 --> 00:57:34,760
It was early doors, man!
1013
00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:37,880
So I just whipped
that down in about 30 seconds, man.
1014
00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:40,440
# I don't believe that anybody
1015
00:57:40,440 --> 00:57:43,200
# Feels the way I do about you now
1016
00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:52,880
# And all the roads
we have to walk are winding... #
1017
00:57:52,880 --> 00:57:55,760
I remember doing Wonderwall,
had to set him up on the wall,
1018
00:57:55,760 --> 00:57:58,000
outside the Coach House studio.
1019
00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:01,440
So I've set the mics up up there
and he's doing...
1020
00:58:01,440 --> 00:58:04,520
The guide guitars for Wonderwall
were done on top of the wall.
1021
00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:08,080
So, I'd been into town... Oh, yeah.
1022
00:58:08,080 --> 00:58:10,880
Probably had a couple of lagers,
but I bought a remote control car,
1023
00:58:10,880 --> 00:58:13,080
right? Proper... You know,
big fat wheels on it.
1024
00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:17,360
And I'm looking out the lounge
and I see Noel sat up on a wall
1025
00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:20,480
with loads of microphones on him,
outside with an acoustic guitar.
1026
00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:23,440
And I was like, "What the fuck?!
What's he doing?!"
1027
00:58:23,440 --> 00:58:25,680
And he's trying to catch
the atmosphere, you know,
1028
00:58:25,680 --> 00:58:28,040
the birds singing
and all that stuff.
1029
00:58:28,040 --> 00:58:29,400
So I was like, "I'm getting him!"
1030
00:58:29,400 --> 00:58:32,240
So I've got this car and I'm like,
"I'm not having this!" Fucking...
1031
00:58:32,240 --> 00:58:36,520
So, I was like... Got it into first
gear, so this car's like, "Zim-zim!"
1032
00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:38,040
I can see Noel's head like...
1033
00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:40,680
In his headphones, "What the fuck's
that noise?!
1034
00:58:40,680 --> 00:58:43,880
"Is that a bird?!" You know what
I mean! Fuck it, man! Yeah, yeah!
1035
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,760
# You're gonna be
the one that saves me... #
1036
00:58:48,760 --> 00:58:50,640
We would definitely have a few
little nights
1037
00:58:50,640 --> 00:58:52,480
where we were all very pleased
with our work
1038
00:58:52,480 --> 00:58:53,920
and that and we'd go,
1039
00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:56,680
"Shall we listen to it back five
million times and fucking..."
1040
00:58:56,680 --> 00:58:59,320
Double loud. "..pat each other
on the back and that."
1041
00:58:59,320 --> 00:59:00,920
We definitely did a lot of that.
1042
00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:10,280
This one night, we were
sleeping in the front of the house,
1043
00:59:10,280 --> 00:59:13,440
and they were working in
the Coach House studio
1044
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:14,880
and we'd gone to bed,
1045
00:59:14,880 --> 00:59:19,480
normally, I suppose, I don't know,
11, 12 o'clock, something like that.
1046
00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:25,240
And we couldn't get to sleep because
we could hear the music so loud.
1047
00:59:25,240 --> 00:59:29,800
Kingsley kept saying, "I hope
the villagers can't hear it."
1048
00:59:29,800 --> 00:59:31,600
We stuck it out to four o'clock
1049
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:33,360
and Kingsley said, "It's no good.
1050
00:59:33,360 --> 00:59:36,360
"We're going to have to tell them
to stop it."
1051
00:59:36,360 --> 00:59:39,840
So I came down the stairs,
came out through the back,
1052
00:59:39,840 --> 00:59:44,240
and as I got to the studios,
the outside door was open
1053
00:59:44,240 --> 00:59:46,440
and the inner door was wide open.
1054
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:50,400
I was standing there like this. And
I could see them going, "It's Ann!
1055
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:53,600
"It's Ann!" And of course, he
switched all the lights on then.
1056
00:59:53,600 --> 00:59:56,160
"Oh, Ann, Ann, sorry...
Er, is there a problem?"
1057
00:59:56,160 --> 00:59:57,920
"Well, yes, there is, actually."
1058
00:59:57,920 --> 01:00:01,320
I said, "Kingsley and I haven't been
able to get to sleep
1059
01:00:01,320 --> 01:00:02,800
"because of the music."
1060
01:00:02,800 --> 01:00:06,400
And I said, "I don't know what the
villagers are like, but could I ask
1061
01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:08,560
"you to close the outside doors,
1062
01:00:08,560 --> 01:00:11,480
"or at least both doors,
while you carry on?"
1063
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:14,680
"Oh, right. OK.
Right, thanks, Ann. Thank you."
1064
01:00:14,680 --> 01:00:16,640
And they apologised to Ann
the next day.
1065
01:00:17,840 --> 01:00:21,760
# Wake up, it's a beautiful morning
1066
01:00:21,760 --> 01:00:26,360
# Wake up, it's a beautiful morning
1067
01:00:26,360 --> 01:00:29,080
# Wake up, it's a
beautiful morning... #
1068
01:00:29,080 --> 01:00:30,880
Shall I turn this off...?
1069
01:00:30,880 --> 01:00:32,440
As soon as I started playing it,
1070
01:00:32,440 --> 01:00:34,360
as soon as I played those three
chords,
1071
01:00:34,360 --> 01:00:36,680
I knew it was going to be
something different.
1072
01:00:42,840 --> 01:00:44,560
I really like minor chords.
1073
01:00:44,560 --> 01:00:47,280
I really like soul music
cos it's like uplifting
1074
01:00:47,280 --> 01:00:48,600
but sad at the same time.
1075
01:00:51,680 --> 01:00:54,080
I wanted to get a brass section in.
1076
01:00:54,080 --> 01:00:58,040
And I'd sent them a demo and a
couple of notes and they turned up.
1077
01:00:58,040 --> 01:01:02,440
I think it was Tom Jones's
brass section.
1078
01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:06,480
And it was so cheerful, what
they were playing, I was aghast.
1079
01:01:13,760 --> 01:01:19,360
"Can you not just...flatten
a few notes there?"
1080
01:01:19,360 --> 01:01:22,680
And they did and they still...
It's just too chirpy for me.
1081
01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:26,880
# Summer's gone, days spent... #
1082
01:01:26,880 --> 01:01:30,760
"Summer's gone, days spent
with the grass and the sun."
1083
01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:33,640
I was trying to get drug
references in!
1084
01:01:33,640 --> 01:01:36,960
But as soon as those first three
chords, we just went for it.
1085
01:01:36,960 --> 01:01:40,360
# Wake up, it's a beautiful morning
1086
01:01:40,360 --> 01:01:43,400
# The sun shining for your eyes... #
1087
01:01:43,400 --> 01:01:46,720
I think everybody were pinning
their hopes on that one track.
1088
01:01:46,720 --> 01:01:48,040
It just got played everywhere.
1089
01:01:48,040 --> 01:01:50,280
I mean, it still
gets played everywhere.
1090
01:01:50,280 --> 01:01:53,320
I don't know who plays it.
Someone's playing it all the time.
1091
01:01:55,520 --> 01:01:59,000
Rockfield now was rocketing,
and, in 1997,
1092
01:01:59,000 --> 01:02:02,440
out of the top ten albums,
Rockfield had seven in the top ten.
1093
01:02:02,440 --> 01:02:03,840
I can't remember who they were,
1094
01:02:03,840 --> 01:02:06,800
but we know that seven of the top
ten were done at Rockfield.
1095
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:14,920
OK? We grew up in South Wales.
Rockfield, it's a legendary place.
1096
01:02:14,920 --> 01:02:18,000
It was the first ever
residential recording
1097
01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:20,120
studio in the world, apparently.
1098
01:02:20,120 --> 01:02:22,080
Kingsley says! Kingsley!
1099
01:02:24,360 --> 01:02:28,760
It was definitely James who drove us
there, to go there in '97.
1100
01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:31,240
And we came out with
1101
01:02:31,240 --> 01:02:34,200
If You Tolerate This.
We thought it was a B side.
1102
01:02:34,200 --> 01:02:35,360
We went to Rockfield
1103
01:02:35,360 --> 01:02:37,400
and the magic dust turned it into
our,
1104
01:02:37,400 --> 01:02:38,920
you know, biggest number one.
1105
01:02:44,840 --> 01:02:48,720
One, two, three, four, five...
It's only six chords in the song.
1106
01:02:48,720 --> 01:02:51,320
You know, it's a really simple song.
1107
01:02:51,320 --> 01:02:54,440
Um, and, like, you know, of course
you've got the, like, you know...
1108
01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:58,200
# The future teaches you to be alone
1109
01:02:58,200 --> 01:03:01,000
# The present to be afraid and cold
1110
01:03:03,040 --> 01:03:08,680
# So if I can shoot rabbits,
then I can shoot fascists... #
1111
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:14,120
It was the last time we'd ever
really committed anything
1112
01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:16,000
just to tape without any...
1113
01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:18,600
The aid of Pro Tools or the digital
morass of stuff
1114
01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:22,640
that you have around, new tech,
to help make records now.
1115
01:03:22,640 --> 01:03:24,520
And it was quite effortless.
1116
01:03:24,520 --> 01:03:26,920
But that was the thing
about Rockfield.
1117
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:30,000
If something was sounding good,
you just didn't mess with it.
1118
01:03:31,200 --> 01:03:35,640
# And if you tolerate this
1119
01:03:35,640 --> 01:03:38,640
# Then your children will be next
1120
01:03:42,200 --> 01:03:45,720
# And if you tolerate this
1121
01:03:45,720 --> 01:03:48,360
# Then your children will be next
1122
01:03:48,360 --> 01:03:52,240
# Will be next, will be next,
will be next... #
1123
01:03:57,400 --> 01:04:01,280
Rob Collins, keyboard player.
He didn't really speak very much,
1124
01:04:01,280 --> 01:04:03,240
but he really drove the band.
1125
01:04:03,240 --> 01:04:07,680
Turned up on a Monday and Rob
was playing that... This riff.
1126
01:04:07,680 --> 01:04:11,200
Turned up on Tuesday,
he was still playing this riff.
1127
01:04:11,200 --> 01:04:13,960
# Da, doodle-da, da, duh-duh... #
1128
01:04:15,920 --> 01:04:19,080
And by the end of the week,
he was still playing it and I said,
1129
01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:22,400
"You thought about putting any other
chords in there, Rob?"
1130
01:04:22,400 --> 01:04:23,920
Got to the following week
1131
01:04:23,920 --> 01:04:26,320
and a couple of chords to
throw in on your riff.
1132
01:04:30,520 --> 01:04:32,440
# One to another
1133
01:04:32,440 --> 01:04:34,800
# Sister and a brother
1134
01:04:34,800 --> 01:04:38,200
# And it's changing the way
that you feel
1135
01:04:39,880 --> 01:04:41,560
# Pleased to meet you
1136
01:04:41,560 --> 01:04:44,000
# Hope I never see you
1137
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:46,840
# I'll be at ease watchin'
you sleep
1138
01:04:46,840 --> 01:04:48,840
# Watchin' you smile... #
1139
01:04:48,840 --> 01:04:52,360
The whole thing just kind of grew
and we just played around with
1140
01:04:52,360 --> 01:04:56,400
the sounds in the studio
and we did a load of overdubs.
1141
01:04:56,400 --> 01:04:58,560
# Love, I adore you
1142
01:04:58,560 --> 01:05:01,160
# Always lookin' for you... #
1143
01:05:01,160 --> 01:05:04,480
We just knew that we had this magic,
modern Northern Soul stomper.
1144
01:05:06,080 --> 01:05:08,760
You know, just very enthusiastic
time
1145
01:05:08,760 --> 01:05:11,240
and all of us sort of,
like, dancing on
1146
01:05:11,240 --> 01:05:14,080
the mixing desk
and, you know, crazy times.
1147
01:05:18,600 --> 01:05:21,760
We were all taking
a lot of drugs at the time. Er...
1148
01:05:21,760 --> 01:05:25,240
I can't speak on behalf of everybody
in the band, but I was.
1149
01:05:25,240 --> 01:05:26,600
Yeah.
1150
01:05:26,600 --> 01:05:29,720
Who were the most hedonistic
in the band?
1151
01:05:29,720 --> 01:05:31,680
Me and Rob.
1152
01:05:31,680 --> 01:05:33,680
Rob Collins,
1153
01:05:33,680 --> 01:05:36,040
our keyboard player.
1154
01:05:36,040 --> 01:05:38,240
We experimented with
different ways of...
1155
01:05:41,560 --> 01:05:44,240
Of getting deeper into our music.
1156
01:05:45,920 --> 01:05:47,880
That was the idea, anyway.
1157
01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:51,600
And experiment
with each other as well.
1158
01:05:51,600 --> 01:05:55,200
You know, as people.
We were like human experiments.
1159
01:05:55,200 --> 01:05:58,520
You know, Rob would go clubbing
quite a lot in Bristol and then come
1160
01:05:58,520 --> 01:06:02,760
back and, you know, early hours and
then sort of, like, do little bits.
1161
01:06:02,760 --> 01:06:07,560
We'd have a song
and we'd wake up the next day
1162
01:06:07,560 --> 01:06:11,480
and it had become like, you know,
an acid house track!
1163
01:06:13,240 --> 01:06:17,960
And then, we'd be like, "What the
fuck is this?!" You know, and...
1164
01:06:18,960 --> 01:06:21,720
And then,
bring it back to something else.
1165
01:06:21,720 --> 01:06:26,360
What had happened that night?
Just, like, ecstasy.
1166
01:06:26,360 --> 01:06:30,440
But then, that's pulling
and manipulating
1167
01:06:30,440 --> 01:06:32,760
and working things out
and stretching things,
1168
01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:36,120
which I think is an amazing thing,
so it was a struggle,
1169
01:06:36,120 --> 01:06:38,080
but I don't know,
it was pretty good.
1170
01:06:38,080 --> 01:06:40,560
Listening to Tellin' Stories now,
you know,
1171
01:06:40,560 --> 01:06:44,480
it's just the most vibrant-sounding
thing.
1172
01:06:44,480 --> 01:06:47,480
We did all of it in Rockfield,
that album.
1173
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:48,680
Although, to be honest,
1174
01:06:48,680 --> 01:06:51,120
we would swap and sort of like go to
Monnow Valley
1175
01:06:51,120 --> 01:06:54,800
and then come back to Rockfield to
do vocals and things like that.
1176
01:06:54,800 --> 01:06:58,200
So, you know, Tellin' Stories was
the last one that we did there.
1177
01:06:58,200 --> 01:07:01,240
But you know, as you know,
it kind of all...
1178
01:07:01,240 --> 01:07:03,240
You know,
it kind of ended there as well.
1179
01:07:05,840 --> 01:07:08,920
The first time was so easy,
it was really easy.
1180
01:07:08,920 --> 01:07:10,520
We were getting on really well.
1181
01:07:11,760 --> 01:07:17,440
Whereas the last album, Kingsize,
we weren't getting on very well.
1182
01:07:21,880 --> 01:07:25,600
It's weird because Rockfield
enhances your experience,
1183
01:07:25,600 --> 01:07:27,280
so if you're having a great time,
1184
01:07:27,280 --> 01:07:29,240
it's just the best place
in the world.
1185
01:07:29,240 --> 01:07:32,640
And if you're not, then you're just
getting on each other's nerves.
1186
01:07:34,080 --> 01:07:35,400
Because you are in that...
1187
01:07:35,400 --> 01:07:39,440
Pushed together in that place,
there's nowhere else to go, really.
1188
01:07:39,440 --> 01:07:41,760
The magic goes out of the walls.
1189
01:07:46,760 --> 01:07:51,840
Being in a residential
studio, it's 24/7.
1190
01:07:51,840 --> 01:07:55,240
At the end of the day, it's a very
intense relationship within
1191
01:07:55,240 --> 01:07:56,840
bands and you're talking with...
1192
01:07:56,840 --> 01:07:59,760
About creative people, aren't you?
1193
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:04,920
You know, and with that creativity
comes high emotion, shall we say?
1194
01:08:04,920 --> 01:08:08,680
And it all gets magnified
in a place like this.
1195
01:08:10,200 --> 01:08:12,440
The trouble with being in
a residential studios
1196
01:08:12,440 --> 01:08:14,040
for a long period of time,
1197
01:08:14,040 --> 01:08:15,640
they start off all great friends,
1198
01:08:15,640 --> 01:08:17,840
and, eventually, it starts to
get a bit edgy.
1199
01:08:21,040 --> 01:08:24,440
Bands are either the type that
do this or they fall apart.
1200
01:08:24,440 --> 01:08:25,960
A bit like families, isn't it?
1201
01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:33,160
Cos I don't play any instruments,
you know what I mean?
1202
01:08:33,160 --> 01:08:35,640
And a lot of the... All the rest of
the band play an instrument.
1203
01:08:35,640 --> 01:08:37,520
I sort of do my singing and
I'd be sort of bored,
1204
01:08:37,520 --> 01:08:38,680
do you know what I mean?
1205
01:08:38,680 --> 01:08:41,040
So then I'd be sort of just going
and twiddling my thumbs
1206
01:08:41,040 --> 01:08:43,240
and I'd think, "I'm fucking going to
the boozer,"
1207
01:08:43,240 --> 01:08:45,400
so I'd be in the pub
most of the time with whoever.
1208
01:08:45,400 --> 01:08:48,080
So then I'd bring a few people back
and I think that's when...
1209
01:08:48,080 --> 01:08:51,160
I think that's when it all went
a bit tits up with me and Noel
1210
01:08:51,160 --> 01:08:52,840
because I think...
1211
01:08:52,840 --> 01:08:55,200
I don't know where he'd gone,
somewhere, but like loads of
1212
01:08:55,200 --> 01:08:57,880
people come back and started looking
at his guitars and shit
1213
01:08:57,880 --> 01:08:59,800
and you're not allowed to look at
his guitars.
1214
01:08:59,800 --> 01:09:00,840
And it all went a bit...
1215
01:09:00,840 --> 01:09:03,400
Yeah, had a little argument
and then that was it.
1216
01:09:03,400 --> 01:09:05,200
I think we had a little bit of a...
1217
01:09:05,200 --> 01:09:07,200
It was a proper fight. Proper brawl.
1218
01:09:07,200 --> 01:09:10,280
Yeah, cricket bats and air
rifles and... Dustbins.
1219
01:09:10,280 --> 01:09:12,720
Noel might have used the cricket bat
to hit me,
1220
01:09:12,720 --> 01:09:15,840
or just wave it at my head.
I don't remember much, but...
1221
01:09:15,840 --> 01:09:18,240
We had air rifles.
We locked them up. Yeah.
1222
01:09:18,240 --> 01:09:20,880
They got locked up cos they
might have got used.
1223
01:09:20,880 --> 01:09:24,400
There was just a lot of running
around and fucking throwing shit
1224
01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:27,560
at people and I just remember him
getting in the car and driving off
1225
01:09:27,560 --> 01:09:30,880
and I was stood there like a
fucking wild bastard, just going,
1226
01:09:30,880 --> 01:09:32,920
"Come on, you fucking shitbag!"
1227
01:09:32,920 --> 01:09:35,760
Didn't you throw a dustbin at the
car, or something? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
1228
01:09:35,760 --> 01:09:36,880
Yeah, I might have, yeah.
1229
01:09:36,880 --> 01:09:39,480
As it was flying up the drive, yeah.
Yeah, I should have... Yeah.
1230
01:09:39,480 --> 01:09:42,000
Just little things, but them
little things are just little.
1231
01:09:42,000 --> 01:09:44,360
You know what I mean?
It's the craic, innit?
1232
01:09:44,360 --> 01:09:46,680
Was that one of the biggest fights
you ever had with Noel?
1233
01:09:46,680 --> 01:09:49,200
Probably, yeah. It was one of them.
But... It was a proper one.
1234
01:09:49,200 --> 01:09:51,320
As fights went, it was a good one.
1235
01:09:51,320 --> 01:09:52,680
It was carnage!
1236
01:09:52,680 --> 01:09:54,800
You know, some things got
broken, some...
1237
01:09:54,800 --> 01:09:58,480
I mean, here, I didn't really know
what to make of all that
1238
01:09:58,480 --> 01:10:02,640
cos it was the first time I'd kind
of seen something like that.
1239
01:10:02,640 --> 01:10:03,960
I wasn't used to it.
1240
01:10:03,960 --> 01:10:08,200
But everybody here seemed to take it
in their stride, you know.
1241
01:10:08,200 --> 01:10:11,560
I think they'd seen it all before,
so nothing was going to shock them.
1242
01:10:11,560 --> 01:10:13,600
So, yeah, they just cleaned it up
the next day
1243
01:10:13,600 --> 01:10:16,040
and it was like nothing had
happened.
1244
01:10:16,040 --> 01:10:18,000
Yeah, I think Noel went home.
1245
01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:21,120
He's always been a bit like that,
you know what I mean?
1246
01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:23,960
"What are you doing, bringing
people back when we're working?"
1247
01:10:23,960 --> 01:10:25,440
And I get it, you know what I mean?
1248
01:10:25,440 --> 01:10:28,920
But my argument would be,
"What you doing fucking taking 900
1249
01:10:28,920 --> 01:10:30,600
"takes to fucking do one guitar riff
1250
01:10:30,600 --> 01:10:32,800
"when you should be in the
fuckin pub with me?!"
1251
01:10:32,800 --> 01:10:35,360
Do you know what I mean?
Entertaining me!
1252
01:10:35,360 --> 01:10:39,440
Were you close at that stage? Yeah,
super close. We're all close. Yeah.
1253
01:10:39,440 --> 01:10:42,560
Not as... We weren't like
Bros or anything.
1254
01:10:42,560 --> 01:10:45,440
We weren't fucking like...
Like fucking Jedward, do you know
1255
01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:48,120
what I mean? Jedward! You know what
I mean? We weren't like...
1256
01:10:48,120 --> 01:10:50,240
We'd just go, "All right."
And he'd go, "All right,"
1257
01:10:50,240 --> 01:10:52,000
and then that would be it,
know what I mean?
1258
01:10:52,000 --> 01:10:54,640
That was the story of
the band's life really.
1259
01:10:54,640 --> 01:10:58,600
It'd sort of be good one minute and
then it'd be chaotic the next.
1260
01:10:58,600 --> 01:11:01,040
Until the poor lad had enough
one night in Paris.
1261
01:11:02,480 --> 01:11:05,040
And then he took his bottle home.
1262
01:11:05,040 --> 01:11:07,880
And that was when you split?
That was when we split, yeah.
1263
01:11:09,760 --> 01:11:11,840
But is the same stuff that was
between you
1264
01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:14,880
that caused the arguments, the same
stuff that made it also good?
1265
01:11:14,880 --> 01:11:16,840
Yeah. We were bang into it 24/7.
1266
01:11:16,840 --> 01:11:19,280
We were also, which is our
downfall...
1267
01:11:19,280 --> 01:11:22,560
We were also into fucking
the other side of it as well.
1268
01:11:22,560 --> 01:11:24,480
The party side of it,
you know what I mean?
1269
01:11:24,480 --> 01:11:26,040
Like, all these bands that sit there
1270
01:11:26,040 --> 01:11:28,560
and go, "Yeah, we're fucking great."
Yeah, you're great.
1271
01:11:28,560 --> 01:11:30,920
You were shit at getting off your
box though, weren't you?
1272
01:11:30,920 --> 01:11:32,640
So, youse lot can go.
You know what I mean?
1273
01:11:32,640 --> 01:11:35,200
We were good at being in
the studio and we were also good at
1274
01:11:35,200 --> 01:11:36,880
being in the pub,
you know what I mean?
1275
01:11:36,880 --> 01:11:40,240
And I'm proud of that, as much
as I am of the great vocals
1276
01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:43,360
and the fucking takes in the studio,
you know what I mean?
1277
01:11:43,360 --> 01:11:45,880
We were fucking into
the whole thing, man.
1278
01:11:45,880 --> 01:11:48,600
# How many special people change?
1279
01:11:48,600 --> 01:11:51,800
# How many lives are living strange?
1280
01:11:51,800 --> 01:11:56,520
# Where were you
while we were getting high? #
1281
01:11:56,520 --> 01:11:59,760
We were walking and talking in
a certain manner and singing
1282
01:11:59,760 --> 01:12:02,320
and whatever and playing in a
certain manner
1283
01:12:02,320 --> 01:12:04,680
that it had to go off,
you know what I mean?
1284
01:12:04,680 --> 01:12:06,560
The music went with
what we were saying.
1285
01:12:06,560 --> 01:12:08,480
Had swagger, you know what I mean?
1286
01:12:08,480 --> 01:12:12,640
# Someday you will find me
1287
01:12:12,640 --> 01:12:16,080
# Caught beneath the landslide... #
1288
01:12:16,080 --> 01:12:18,400
I felt we enjoyed the life,
you know what I mean?
1289
01:12:18,400 --> 01:12:21,240
Can you hear that in the record,
do you think? I think so, yeah.
1290
01:12:21,240 --> 01:12:25,320
Definitely. There's a happy vibe
on that album, I think.
1291
01:12:33,160 --> 01:12:37,800
It's all... You know what? It's all
a bit of a blur, really. Um...
1292
01:12:39,680 --> 01:12:42,440
We'd been to one of the...
1293
01:12:42,440 --> 01:12:45,360
One of the pubs in the town.
1294
01:12:45,360 --> 01:12:47,880
It was the furthest one
1295
01:12:47,880 --> 01:12:49,480
from Monnow Valley.
1296
01:12:51,680 --> 01:12:55,840
There'd been a bit of an argument
over, um, one of the guys who
1297
01:12:55,840 --> 01:13:01,560
was doing some extra
mixing on the record.
1298
01:13:01,560 --> 01:13:05,240
We'd had a bit of a barney
with Rob about it.
1299
01:13:05,240 --> 01:13:07,600
I said, "Come on, let's go.
Let's get out of here.
1300
01:13:07,600 --> 01:13:10,200
"Let's go," and you know,
it was fine.
1301
01:13:10,200 --> 01:13:15,800
Rob had a half a lager and he was
playing the bandit all night,
1302
01:13:15,800 --> 01:13:18,960
which was what he liked to do.
1303
01:13:18,960 --> 01:13:22,840
So, me and Mark went back.
Rob was driving behind us.
1304
01:13:22,840 --> 01:13:28,120
From Monmouth town,
it's quite like windy roads.
1305
01:13:28,120 --> 01:13:31,920
Lots of hedges and lots of corners
and stuff like that, lots of fields.
1306
01:13:31,920 --> 01:13:36,960
And he was speeding up and he
was kind of, you know, being crazy,
1307
01:13:36,960 --> 01:13:39,720
like something in a film.
1308
01:13:39,720 --> 01:13:41,920
And then all of a sudden,
just disappeared.
1309
01:13:43,680 --> 01:13:47,520
We all thought that he'd taken
a detour
1310
01:13:47,520 --> 01:13:51,160
to go and get some supplies,
or something.
1311
01:13:51,160 --> 01:13:54,880
You know, and didn't really think
much about it at all.
1312
01:13:54,880 --> 01:13:59,520
Maybe about 45 minutes went by
and the police came round.
1313
01:13:59,520 --> 01:14:04,440
And said that you should get
yourself to Abergavenny Hospital.
1314
01:14:07,000 --> 01:14:10,480
And that's when I thought,
"Oh, what's he done?
1315
01:14:10,480 --> 01:14:12,480
"What's he done now?"
1316
01:14:12,480 --> 01:14:15,520
And me and Mark went to
the hospital and...
1317
01:14:17,680 --> 01:14:19,520
..I heard it on the radio.
1318
01:14:19,520 --> 01:14:21,480
It was just going through my head,
the lyrics,
1319
01:14:21,480 --> 01:14:23,800
every lyric that was in it,
it was just like, you know,
1320
01:14:23,800 --> 01:14:25,440
"One to another,
sister and a brother,
1321
01:14:25,440 --> 01:14:26,800
"changing the way that you..."
1322
01:14:26,800 --> 01:14:29,800
You know, it just kind of felt like
it was... I just knew that...
1323
01:14:29,800 --> 01:14:34,040
I knew what I was going to face
when we got there.
1324
01:14:34,040 --> 01:14:37,520
We knew The Charlatans.
We knew them pretty well.
1325
01:14:37,520 --> 01:14:41,640
And I do remember just one night
and I was here, happened to be
1326
01:14:41,640 --> 01:14:45,640
staying here, and you can hear
the main road and I just heard
1327
01:14:45,640 --> 01:14:47,800
this car driving incredibly fast
1328
01:14:47,800 --> 01:14:52,120
down the road, and then you heard
sort of the du-du-du-duh of
1329
01:14:52,120 --> 01:14:53,680
them going over cat's eyes.
1330
01:14:53,680 --> 01:14:56,560
And you thought, "God! He is going
at some pace," you know.
1331
01:14:56,560 --> 01:14:57,840
"He's driving fast."
1332
01:14:57,840 --> 01:15:01,800
And there's a really nasty deceptive
bend at the end of our meadow.
1333
01:15:01,800 --> 01:15:03,760
And then you heard the crash.
1334
01:15:03,760 --> 01:15:06,600
What happened?
And he'd... He'd just...
1335
01:15:06,600 --> 01:15:09,120
The car, I guess, had gone too fast
round the corner
1336
01:15:09,120 --> 01:15:12,360
and had gone out of control,
turned the car over.
1337
01:15:12,360 --> 01:15:15,480
You know, and when we found
out that it was Rob...
1338
01:15:15,480 --> 01:15:17,440
You know, it was just awful.
1339
01:15:26,600 --> 01:15:28,040
You know, Rob... Rob was...
1340
01:15:29,680 --> 01:15:33,360
He was the first person
who ever put me up, you know.
1341
01:15:33,360 --> 01:15:36,120
When I went to see The Charlatans,
1342
01:15:36,120 --> 01:15:38,480
he was the first person
who put me up
1343
01:15:38,480 --> 01:15:39,520
and I stayed at his house
1344
01:15:39,520 --> 01:15:41,600
and we'd listen to people's
records
1345
01:15:41,600 --> 01:15:44,720
and talked about how we were
going to change the world.
1346
01:15:44,720 --> 01:15:47,400
We talked about all that
all the way through,
1347
01:15:47,400 --> 01:15:50,320
you know, the times of
making records.
1348
01:15:50,320 --> 01:15:55,080
And with Tellin' Stories, he's on
it, a lot of the recordings,
1349
01:15:55,080 --> 01:15:59,840
we tried to keep as much of his
stuff intact as we could.
1350
01:15:59,840 --> 01:16:02,760
And, yeah, he's always going to be
a part of that record,
1351
01:16:02,760 --> 01:16:04,960
he's always going to be a part
of Rockfield.
1352
01:16:04,960 --> 01:16:06,240
He died there, you know.
1353
01:16:06,240 --> 01:16:09,840
And, um, he's always going to be
part of the Rockfield story.
1354
01:16:09,840 --> 01:16:13,560
And I think some of his ashes
are scattered there as well.
1355
01:16:13,560 --> 01:16:15,240
But, um, you know, he's not gone,
1356
01:16:15,240 --> 01:16:17,440
he's just in a different
dimension, yeah.
1357
01:16:21,200 --> 01:16:23,120
One, two. One, two.
1358
01:16:24,240 --> 01:16:25,960
It's good for me.
1359
01:16:30,800 --> 01:16:33,200
He's playing tonight.
1360
01:16:33,200 --> 01:16:35,360
It's... We...
1361
01:16:35,360 --> 01:16:40,000
From those times, you know, we run
like little samples and loops
1362
01:16:40,000 --> 01:16:43,000
and Rob's been on tour
with us since...
1363
01:16:43,000 --> 01:16:44,440
Since he died.
1364
01:16:54,080 --> 01:16:58,960
Feels quite comforting, you know,
when you're playing and...
1365
01:16:58,960 --> 01:17:01,200
And, you know, every night
that we play,
1366
01:17:01,200 --> 01:17:03,400
you know, that they're still
playing.
1367
01:17:03,400 --> 01:17:05,520
# Pleased to meet you... #
1368
01:17:05,520 --> 01:17:08,800
The isolation and the place allowed
us to create our own world
1369
01:17:08,800 --> 01:17:11,640
and we captured... We captured...
1370
01:17:11,640 --> 01:17:13,840
You know, the rooms allowed us to
capture that
1371
01:17:13,840 --> 01:17:16,920
and I'm forever grateful about that.
1372
01:17:16,920 --> 01:17:21,920
I love it. So many amazing memories
there, such a positive place.
1373
01:17:21,920 --> 01:17:27,520
MUSIC: CORO A BOCCA CHIUSA
FROM MADAME BUTTERFLY BY PUCCINI
1374
01:17:48,920 --> 01:17:53,360
As I remember, it was 1999.
1375
01:17:53,360 --> 01:17:56,800
We had just been students and then
after that, we were cleaners a bit.
1376
01:18:00,040 --> 01:18:02,960
We had never recorded out
of London before.
1377
01:18:02,960 --> 01:18:05,280
We'd never really recorded
before, to be honest.
1378
01:18:05,280 --> 01:18:09,160
We'd done one session a few months
before in London,
1379
01:18:09,160 --> 01:18:11,120
which hadn't gone so well.
1380
01:18:11,120 --> 01:18:14,160
So we were going there, it was kind
of a make-or-break session.
1381
01:18:17,760 --> 01:18:21,080
I think we knew absolutely nothing
about Rockfield
1382
01:18:21,080 --> 01:18:22,720
before we went there and, I mean,
1383
01:18:22,720 --> 01:18:25,080
I remember sort of vividly
when we turned up
1384
01:18:25,080 --> 01:18:27,320
when we drove down,
it was like a little unmade road
1385
01:18:27,320 --> 01:18:28,480
and there was cows.
1386
01:18:30,280 --> 01:18:33,080
And I sort of wondered what on earth
we were doing there.
1387
01:18:34,920 --> 01:18:38,920
So it was our first real dip into
a proper recording studio
1388
01:18:38,920 --> 01:18:41,640
and we'd heard that The Stone Roses
had spent
1389
01:18:41,640 --> 01:18:43,320
about two and a half years there
1390
01:18:43,320 --> 01:18:45,400
or something like that,
or maybe more.
1391
01:18:47,640 --> 01:18:52,560
By the time we got to Rockfield,
it was like, this is your...
1392
01:18:52,560 --> 01:18:56,080
You know, we'd been given kind
of six months to get used to
1393
01:18:56,080 --> 01:18:59,000
being signed and stuff
and then our label were like,
1394
01:18:59,000 --> 01:19:01,240
"You've got to kind of make it
happen now."
1395
01:19:04,120 --> 01:19:07,680
So it was very much like some sort
of musical Hogwarts, you know.
1396
01:19:07,680 --> 01:19:10,600
We were sent away to figure it out.
1397
01:19:14,200 --> 01:19:16,200
We were recording a song
called Shiver.
1398
01:19:17,800 --> 01:19:21,320
And we went outside to have, like,
a breather
1399
01:19:21,320 --> 01:19:24,560
and it was just
so beautiful outside.
1400
01:19:24,560 --> 01:19:26,880
All four of us were outside
1401
01:19:26,880 --> 01:19:31,520
and Ken and he was like,
"Look up there, lads!
1402
01:19:31,520 --> 01:19:33,160
"Look at the stars."
1403
01:19:33,160 --> 01:19:34,880
He literally said,
"Look at the stars,"
1404
01:19:34,880 --> 01:19:36,520
which is the first line
of that song
1405
01:19:36,520 --> 01:19:38,000
and it was really mindblowing.
1406
01:19:38,000 --> 01:19:40,560
We'd been in London for, like, five
years,
1407
01:19:40,560 --> 01:19:43,120
so we hadn't really seen
anything
1408
01:19:43,120 --> 01:19:44,960
beyond smog for a while.
1409
01:19:46,760 --> 01:19:48,040
So that line was in my head
1410
01:19:48,040 --> 01:19:50,000
and then, I was thinking about
1411
01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:52,880
how Neil Young sings the word
"stars" like,
1412
01:19:52,880 --> 01:19:54,600
"Starrs... Starrrs..."
1413
01:19:54,600 --> 01:19:56,720
Like he does a sort of bend in it.
1414
01:19:56,720 --> 01:20:00,480
So then I went back in to try
and do this acoustic.
1415
01:20:02,080 --> 01:20:03,560
So...
1416
01:20:04,520 --> 01:20:05,640
So a normal tuning...
1417
01:20:07,200 --> 01:20:10,040
That isn't it.
1418
01:20:10,040 --> 01:20:11,120
Right?
1419
01:20:11,120 --> 01:20:13,400
So we had this song called Shiver,
which is like this.
1420
01:20:21,640 --> 01:20:24,680
Which was like our attempt
at a Jeff Buckley song.
1421
01:20:24,680 --> 01:20:26,040
And we were recording that.
1422
01:20:26,040 --> 01:20:29,920
Anyway, I went back in
to sit behind the control desk,
1423
01:20:29,920 --> 01:20:31,640
mixing desk, waiting,
1424
01:20:31,640 --> 01:20:35,040
and something was wrong with,
uh, the machine,
1425
01:20:35,040 --> 01:20:38,160
so I was waiting, and I saw...
1426
01:20:38,160 --> 01:20:41,880
Then I... Then that chord,
I started doing that.
1427
01:20:43,160 --> 01:20:45,760
And I started thinking about
Neil Young and I was like...
1428
01:20:45,760 --> 01:20:47,280
# Stars... #
1429
01:20:47,280 --> 01:20:49,600
I was just messing around!
1430
01:20:49,600 --> 01:20:51,800
This is really
the very humble beginnings.
1431
01:20:53,160 --> 01:20:54,640
# For you... #
1432
01:20:54,640 --> 01:20:57,640
Then I tried like a...
That's a normal chord shape.
1433
01:20:59,520 --> 01:21:02,520
But it sounds different
in this tuning.
1434
01:21:03,680 --> 01:21:05,520
I don't even know
what that chord is.
1435
01:21:05,520 --> 01:21:07,120
I was just doing that.
1436
01:21:12,400 --> 01:21:14,320
Then I got the title
from the Yellow Pages,
1437
01:21:14,320 --> 01:21:17,840
which was about a 45 degree angle
over there.
1438
01:21:17,840 --> 01:21:18,880
# They were all... #
1439
01:21:18,880 --> 01:21:21,920
I was looking for a word
which was like uhhh, ehhh...
1440
01:21:21,920 --> 01:21:23,480
Yellow...
1441
01:21:23,480 --> 01:21:25,560
So then I thought, "I like this."
1442
01:21:25,560 --> 01:21:27,520
So then I went through.
1443
01:21:27,520 --> 01:21:29,800
Everyone else was watching football,
I think.
1444
01:21:30,800 --> 01:21:33,320
And I said,
"Guys, what you think about this?"
1445
01:21:33,320 --> 01:21:35,120
And they were like,
"Yeah, that's OK."
1446
01:21:35,120 --> 01:21:37,000
They weren't
particularly interested.
1447
01:21:37,000 --> 01:21:41,000
And then I went into the bathroom
in the living-room area.
1448
01:21:41,000 --> 01:21:43,600
And then the chorus came out, uh...
1449
01:21:43,600 --> 01:21:45,640
# Your skin
1450
01:21:45,640 --> 01:21:48,840
# Oh, yeah, your skin and bones... #
1451
01:21:48,840 --> 01:21:52,400
Then I showed them that and they
were like, "Yeah, we like that."
1452
01:21:52,400 --> 01:21:54,800
And that gave us our lives for...
1453
01:21:55,960 --> 01:21:58,600
..for the last 16 years.
1454
01:21:55,960 --> 01:21:58,600
CROWD NOISE BUILDS
1455
01:21:58,600 --> 01:22:01,760
One, two, three, four.
1456
01:22:23,240 --> 01:22:26,040
# Look at the stars
1457
01:22:26,040 --> 01:22:29,200
# Look how they shine for you
1458
01:22:30,920 --> 01:22:34,840
# Everything you do
1459
01:22:36,320 --> 01:22:38,760
# Yeah, they were all yellow... #
1460
01:22:38,760 --> 01:22:39,920
What was it about?
1461
01:22:39,920 --> 01:22:42,560
What's it about? I don't know.
1462
01:22:42,560 --> 01:22:44,520
Just someone awesome.
1463
01:22:44,520 --> 01:22:46,280
Was it about someone specific? No.
1464
01:22:46,280 --> 01:22:50,040
Most of our songs are about someone
or something awesome.
1465
01:22:50,040 --> 01:22:54,280
Whether that's a person or a girl
or a child or a...
1466
01:22:54,280 --> 01:22:59,320
..entity or...a figurative way
of speaking about the Earth.
1467
01:22:59,320 --> 01:23:02,000
We're always banging on
about love and amazingness.
1468
01:23:02,000 --> 01:23:04,040
And I think we always will.
1469
01:23:04,040 --> 01:23:07,000
# Oh, what a thing to have done
1470
01:23:09,880 --> 01:23:12,320
# And it was all yellow... #
1471
01:23:13,760 --> 01:23:16,960
I think that session at Rockfield
helped us,
1472
01:23:16,960 --> 01:23:21,480
uh...kind of solidify who we were
1473
01:23:21,480 --> 01:23:23,280
and what we were trying to do
as a band.
1474
01:23:23,280 --> 01:23:27,760
The sound of our first album
really came from Rockfield Studios
1475
01:23:27,760 --> 01:23:30,960
and that sort of
back-to-basics mentality
1476
01:23:30,960 --> 01:23:32,760
that was imposed upon us there.
1477
01:23:35,280 --> 01:23:39,120
Well, good songs will always be
written all over the place,
1478
01:23:39,120 --> 01:23:41,480
but I think what is changing
1479
01:23:41,480 --> 01:23:45,400
is that studios are going
out of business all over the world,
1480
01:23:45,400 --> 01:23:49,880
because of the ease of which you can
now record on computers and whatnot,
1481
01:23:49,880 --> 01:23:52,720
and also there's not
that many people willing
1482
01:23:52,720 --> 01:23:57,400
to put a band of four
kind of just post-teenagers,
1483
01:23:57,400 --> 01:24:00,320
you know, in an expensive
studio situation
1484
01:24:00,320 --> 01:24:03,320
and let them stay there for a month
and see what happens, you know,
1485
01:24:03,320 --> 01:24:06,120
not that many record companies
are taking risks like that.
1486
01:24:09,560 --> 01:24:12,440
Rockfield will always
be a part of me,
1487
01:24:12,440 --> 01:24:14,440
because we started
Black Sabbath there,
1488
01:24:14,440 --> 01:24:16,400
I started my solo career there.
1489
01:24:16,400 --> 01:24:19,480
I can go and live in Beverly Hills,
1490
01:24:19,480 --> 01:24:22,800
but for some reason,
I end up back in Rockfield.
1491
01:24:26,680 --> 01:24:30,200
It all helped to create what we did.
1492
01:24:30,200 --> 01:24:32,800
It's... It's just magic.
1493
01:24:34,960 --> 01:24:36,120
I loved...
1494
01:24:36,120 --> 01:24:38,680
I loved being in residential
studios,
1495
01:24:38,680 --> 01:24:40,000
I fucking loved it.
1496
01:24:42,000 --> 01:24:44,920
You're a proper band, aren't you,
when you're in there?
1497
01:24:44,920 --> 01:24:47,360
Who knows, man? I mean,
music's done differently now.
1498
01:24:47,360 --> 01:24:51,440
I do a lot of my stuff
fucking through e-mails, man.
1499
01:24:51,440 --> 01:24:54,080
You know, they fucking e-mail you
the drums and that these days
1500
01:24:54,080 --> 01:24:56,520
and go, "I'll e-mail you
the fucking high hat."
1501
01:24:56,520 --> 01:24:59,440
In ten years' time,
you've got half a tune done.
1502
01:24:59,440 --> 01:25:01,040
It's more of an old school vibe.
1503
01:25:01,040 --> 01:25:02,920
Where's the vibe of that,
you know what I mean?
1504
01:25:05,760 --> 01:25:08,160
Well, I'm still struggling on,
1505
01:25:08,160 --> 01:25:11,080
trying to make records
and write songs.
1506
01:25:11,080 --> 01:25:12,880
Where do you do it now?
1507
01:25:12,880 --> 01:25:14,600
Up in my loft, yeah.
1508
01:25:15,680 --> 01:25:18,880
Well, I can do anything up there
that we did in...in Rockfield.
1509
01:25:20,400 --> 01:25:22,960
Nowadays, with equipment, you know,
for recording,
1510
01:25:22,960 --> 01:25:25,320
all you need is a laptop, really.
1511
01:25:25,320 --> 01:25:27,760
When you're recording on a computer,
you know,
1512
01:25:27,760 --> 01:25:29,960
your song can be performed
perfectly.
1513
01:25:29,960 --> 01:25:31,840
It might take you a good few weeks
1514
01:25:31,840 --> 01:25:34,440
tweaking it
and fiddling around and stuff,
1515
01:25:34,440 --> 01:25:37,840
but it does have the potential
for perfection.
1516
01:25:37,840 --> 01:25:40,360
But perfection is not always
what you want.
1517
01:25:41,400 --> 01:25:44,200
You want something
that has emotion and feeling.
1518
01:25:44,200 --> 01:25:46,280
You have to capture some magic.
1519
01:25:46,280 --> 01:25:50,440
And some mystery, you know -
magic is mystery as well, you know?
1520
01:25:50,440 --> 01:25:52,760
There's often, you know,
something...
1521
01:25:52,760 --> 01:25:55,520
Maybe The Stone Roses record,
there's a lot of mystery about it,
1522
01:25:55,520 --> 01:25:57,680
which is why
people still listen to it.
1523
01:26:00,120 --> 01:26:04,640
Since our times at Rockfield,
we've built our own place
1524
01:26:04,640 --> 01:26:08,000
kind of to try and give ourselves
1525
01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:09,840
that same sort of freedom.
1526
01:26:09,840 --> 01:26:11,760
It's not as good as Rockfield,
no way,
1527
01:26:11,760 --> 01:26:13,880
but I like to make records,
1528
01:26:13,880 --> 01:26:16,120
and I'm really passionate
about making records.
1529
01:26:16,120 --> 01:26:19,240
Charles and Kingsley were passionate
about making recording studios,
1530
01:26:19,240 --> 01:26:21,240
and making them the best studios
in the world.
1531
01:26:21,240 --> 01:26:23,960
And they have achieved that.
1532
01:26:26,920 --> 01:26:28,880
We were very, very lucky.
1533
01:26:30,960 --> 01:26:33,040
But we...
1534
01:26:33,040 --> 01:26:36,080
..we turned the recording world
upside down.
1535
01:26:43,360 --> 01:26:47,680
BASS GUITAR RIFF
1536
01:26:49,200 --> 01:26:51,680
PERCUSSION STARTS AND STOPS
1537
01:26:53,680 --> 01:26:55,840
# Charming little woman, oh
1538
01:26:55,840 --> 01:26:57,800
# Who can set a man to rights?
1539
01:26:57,800 --> 01:26:59,960
# Charming little woman, oh
1540
01:26:59,960 --> 01:27:02,040
# Who can hoax and coax you too?
1541
01:27:02,040 --> 01:27:04,040
# Who can beat you black and blue?
1542
01:27:04,040 --> 01:27:06,080
# Who can love you better too?
1543
01:27:06,080 --> 01:27:08,040
# Charming little woman, oh. #
1544
01:27:09,480 --> 01:27:11,640
I was so excited about being here,
1545
01:27:11,640 --> 01:27:14,240
because of mainly Queen,
to be honest.
1546
01:27:14,240 --> 01:27:16,960
Have you encountered Kingsley
and Ann yet?
1547
01:27:16,960 --> 01:27:18,440
I have, I've met them.
1548
01:27:18,440 --> 01:27:21,960
We met Kingsley yesterday morning,
1549
01:27:21,960 --> 01:27:25,440
and he was out riding around
on his tractor,
1550
01:27:25,440 --> 01:27:28,760
and he was very sort of grumpy
1551
01:27:28,760 --> 01:27:31,080
about people coming to sit
on the Wonderwall,
1552
01:27:31,080 --> 01:27:32,640
and then he rode past in his tractor
1553
01:27:32,640 --> 01:27:35,120
and got a massive puncture,
pfft, like that!
1554
01:27:35,120 --> 01:27:37,840
And, yeah,
he's been fabulously grumpy
1555
01:27:37,840 --> 01:27:39,600
the whole time we've been here,
actually.
1556
01:27:39,600 --> 01:27:42,000
Grumpy and also welcoming
and full of stories.
1557
01:27:51,880 --> 01:27:55,760
We work seven days a week,
as we always have done.
1558
01:27:57,400 --> 01:28:01,000
We're a leisure-based company today.
We do a lot of holiday lets.
1559
01:28:02,160 --> 01:28:06,040
We do a lot of masterclasses,
our recording.
1560
01:28:07,760 --> 01:28:10,800
We're the milking stool.
1561
01:28:10,800 --> 01:28:13,000
With a milking stool,
it's always on three legs.
1562
01:28:13,000 --> 01:28:15,320
If you start on one leg,
you fall over.
1563
01:28:15,320 --> 01:28:18,080
Two legs, no good.
Four legs, you will rock.
1564
01:28:18,080 --> 01:28:21,120
But three legs, you're steady,
cos you can't rock.
1565
01:28:21,120 --> 01:28:23,880
The holiday lets cannot believe
their good luck when they come,
1566
01:28:23,880 --> 01:28:25,600
because I give them a tour.
1567
01:28:25,600 --> 01:28:30,000
There's so amazed at where they are
that they can't believe it.
1568
01:28:43,920 --> 01:28:46,240
No fighting!
1569
01:28:46,240 --> 01:28:49,320
No fighting. Don't have a go at me.
1570
01:28:50,680 --> 01:28:54,080
My mum always says the animals
are her sanity, you know,
1571
01:28:54,080 --> 01:28:55,680
because there is
something wonderful
1572
01:28:55,680 --> 01:28:58,200
about beginning and ending your day
with animals.
1573
01:28:59,840 --> 01:29:02,720
Whether that be, you know, feeding
the cows first thing in the morning,
1574
01:29:02,720 --> 01:29:05,160
letting the chickens out
first thing in the morning,
1575
01:29:05,160 --> 01:29:07,440
walking the dogs,
mucking out the stables.
1576
01:29:07,440 --> 01:29:09,160
And then, at the end of the day,
1577
01:29:09,160 --> 01:29:11,480
get the horses settled for the night
in the stables.
1578
01:29:13,800 --> 01:29:17,040
Beginning and ending a day
with animals, for me, anyway,
1579
01:29:17,040 --> 01:29:18,600
and I think it's the same
1580
01:29:18,600 --> 01:29:20,920
for my parents, definitely,
and my sister...
1581
01:29:23,840 --> 01:29:26,880
I just think that, you know,
nature is a leveller,
1582
01:29:26,880 --> 01:29:29,400
it's grounding, it centres you.
1583
01:29:29,400 --> 01:29:32,440
And I think that's really important
somewhere here.
1584
01:29:34,880 --> 01:29:39,480
It's about being a part of something
way bigger than you.
1585
01:29:39,480 --> 01:29:42,280
You're a part of something else,
rather than just it.
1586
01:29:42,280 --> 01:29:44,480
Very important for rock stars!
1587
01:29:45,720 --> 01:29:47,800
Well, you've got to
do something with your life.
1588
01:29:47,800 --> 01:29:49,960
Never give in, keep going.
1589
01:29:49,960 --> 01:29:52,600
The best is yet to come.
1590
01:30:23,760 --> 01:30:29,240
# How long has this been going on?
1591
01:30:31,520 --> 01:30:36,960
# How long has this been going on?
1592
01:30:38,640 --> 01:30:42,480
# Well, if friends
with their fancy persuasion
1593
01:30:42,480 --> 01:30:46,560
# Don't admit that
it's part of a scheme
1594
01:30:46,560 --> 01:30:50,120
# But I can't help
but have my suspicion
1595
01:30:50,120 --> 01:30:54,160
# Cos I ain't quite as dumb
as I seem
1596
01:30:54,160 --> 01:30:58,520
# And you said
you was never intending
1597
01:30:58,520 --> 01:31:02,080
# To break up our scene in this way
1598
01:31:02,080 --> 01:31:05,920
# But there ain't any use
in pretending
1599
01:31:05,920 --> 01:31:09,320
# It could happen to us any day
1600
01:31:10,520 --> 01:31:16,000
# How long has this been going on? #
134751
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