Sham 69: Got What It Takes To Be A Star
- Place – De Lane Lea Studios, England
- Time – 1977
- Artist – Sham 69
- Engineer – Rafe McKenna
In early 1977 whilst working at De Lane Lea the managing director, Louis Elman, set up a new production arm to the studio complex, it was to be called Delben Music and to be headed up by Ben Nesbit.
Ben had just retired from his position as the MD of Feldman’s music publishing company, but continued to personally represent Bob Dylan’s publishing for Europe.
Delben music placed a large advert in Melody Maker, a weekly music magazine, stating they were looking for talent.
The banner headline read,
“Do you think you have got what it takes to be a star?”
Followed by “then contact Kenny Denton” plus the phone number and a postal address.
On publication date our phone lines became jammed and sonn after we received a mountain of post.
One of the first calls I received was from a young guy called Jimmy Purcey.
I told him he needed to send in a demo tape before he could audition.
He explained he didn’t have one but his enthusiasm was overwhelming and the band’s name, Sham 69, was strangely attractive.
I was impressed by his confidence and decided to give him the allotted three-hour studio time for an audition.
These auditions were also a great opportunity for the young tape operators to have a chance to practice recording artists.
I would oversee the setting up and advise on mic positioning, compression and general recording advice.
I decided to let Rafe McKenna engineer this session. Rafe had worked with me on many sessions as my tape assistant.
The session
The band arrived on time, which was about as professional as they got.
Once set up we started to run through the only song the band had in their repertoire.
Unfortunately it was apparent immediately that the whole thing was a sham, I could see where they had got their inspiration for the band name.
It was impossible for them to all come in together after the drummer’s count of four.
“One, two…” The guitar would come in.
“OK, let’s try again. After four.”
“One, two…” The bass would come in.
After fifteen minutes or so I explained that I didn’t care what happened after the song started, but I insisted that the band should all start playing at the same time.
I told Rafe to rehearse the intro over and over until they got it right and I would come back in an hour or so.
When I returned, to my amazement the band had mastered the art of all coming in at the same time, but that was about all.
On listening to a complete run through of their song, I was dumfounded by what I heard.
It was obvious that a six-foot cannon placed three feet in front of the band couldn’t hit anything worth saving.
I called the singer Jimmy into the control room. I said,
“The bass player, he can’t play a thing.”
“I know” he said, “He’s only got little fingers and can’t reach the notes.”
I explained to Jimmy that I thought perhaps the band needed to spend a few more months rehearsing and that just owning and holding instruments didn’t mean that they would play themselves.
After an excruciating three hours we finally got someting resembling a recording so Rafe mixed the track and gave them a couple of copies.
We wished them all the best as they went on their way, not expecting to ever hear from them again.
Surprise
It was less than a year later that Poyldor records signed the band and Sham 69 entered the charts with their first of several hits.
This is a true example of “There Ain’t No Rules In Rock n Roll.”
In the next few years Rafe would go on to have a very succesful career as an engineer. He has recorded artist such as UB 40. Wishbone Ash, Foreigner, Bad Company, 10cc., Wet Wet Wet and Big Country to name a few.
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