- Tubeway Army Place – De Lane Lea Studios, Wembley, United Kingdom
- Time – April 1978
- Artist – Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Were a London-based punk band led by lead singer and guitarist Gary Numan.
Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977 the band gradually changed to an electronic sound reaching number one in the UK charts in May 1979 with their single, Are ‘Friends’ Electric.
Punk had arrived
With the onslaught of Punk during the mid 70’s and being the explosive new genre for the young generation this was something as a producer I had to take a look at.
My manager and close friend Stuart Taylor suggested we should check out a couple of gigs.
Unfortunately we felt like a couple of geriatric dinosaurs amongst such a young audience intent on rebelling against the industry we knew so well.
Good Friends
Stuart, was in business with music publisher and friend Andrew Heath.
Andrew had just started working with Martin Mills and Nick Austin who had set up an independent record label called Beggars Banquet, which they ran from their small record shop in the Fulham Road.
They had recently signed a band to their label called Tubeway Army and Andrew was looking after their publishing.
After releasing their first single, they were looking for a producer to record a second single/EP for release.
Stuart, suggested we should go and see the band to see if I might be able to work with them, if so, he would suggest to Andrew and Beggars I should produce their next recording.
The Dinosaurs Enjoy a Night Out
In March 1978 Stuart and I went to see the band at a gig at Dingwalls in Camden Town.
We arrived to find about eight people in the whole place.
The band was thrashing through some unmemorable songs but the front man Gary Numan definitely had something about him, he really did look like a star.
He looked mean and confident and held his guitar way down like it was a Gatling gun.
With his short-cropped blond hair he bore a remarkable resemblance to Heinz from the 60’s instrumental band The Tornados, every girl’s idol back in the day.
This is something I did understand.
A Drummer with Amazing Charisma
But it was the drummer who was the star of the band in my view.
This young kid was the most exciting drummer I’d seen since the early days of Keith Moon.
Stuart and I both agreed the band had something even though we weren’t sure what exactly it was.
We waited until the end of the show and went backstage to say hi.
They were all pretty easy going, although the front man Gary, seemed quite withdrawn.
A Deal Was Struck
The next day Stuart spoke to Andrew who then spoke to the record company and a deal was struck.
I was to produce the next set of recordings.
Beggars, being a small independent, meant the budget was in the region of an expensive meal at a cheap restaurant.
Choosing Where to Record
I had the choice, of using a cheaper small and lesser equipped studio, which I would be unfamiliar with but would allow me a lot more time at a lower cost, or Wembley where I knew exactly how to achieve the best results.
No surprise which option I chose, we were destined for Wembley.
Being a lot more expensive studio meant I would have to book a lot less time to keep within the budget.
I also had the opportunity to, shall we say, “lose” a few hours of studio time as I filled in my own studio time sheet.
I decided to book the sessions on the weekend of the 15th and 16th of April., this would make it easier for me to continue in the studio a lot longer, with fewer staff around to verify the hours I had booked.
Rehearsals
I went to a couple of the band’s rehearsals in Slough on Friday the 7th and Sunday 9th of April.
The band and I were getting on well, but Gary was still quiet and introverted.
A Drummer Without Amazing Charisma
When the band arrived at the studio I was surprised to see that they had a new drummer.
Gary told me that the other drummer had left the band because his father was fed up with driving him to gigs.
This was a bit of a blow as the previous drummer was great.
All engineers and producers will start by getting a drum sound together, but unfortunately this set of drums was just one step up from one of those toy kits small children were pleased to receive at Christmas.
Despite using every mic technique and studio tricks I’d learned recording sub-standard drum kits, it still sounded like someone building a shed from the inside out.
I asked the drummer to play a rhythmic pattern, so I could try and perform a miracle
He duly obliged and it was then I knew I had major problems.
I asked him how long he had been playing drums roughly, mmm.
He confidently replied,
“Not long, but I play in a restaurant every Thursday night with a mate who plays the organ.”
It was confirmed, I was in the shit.
His playing gave a new meaning to the word average.
It reminded me of the old story,
Q: What does a not so good drummer who has a job say?
A: “Would you like fries with that?”
I will say that the rest of the band, Paul Gardiner on bass and Sean Burke on guitar, were competent players for the music they were making.
After a Gruelling Few Hours
We eventually got the three backing tracks down, Bombers, Blue Eyes and O/D Receiver.
We started to put down a vocal on the song Bombers.
The Real Meaning of Bombers
When I was a kid, bombers were drugs that would keep you going through an exciting weekend, so to get a better idea and confirm what the song was about, I had a peek at the lyrics.
“Look up I hear the scream of sirens on the wall
I see a policeman crying in the backseat of a dying ford
Hotel waiters leave the bedrooms of stars who are far too old
And no-one ever told me that I could be so cold”.
You could be led to believe that this lyric was suggesting a mind-bending hallucination leading to the Seven beams of Universal Light, but I wasn’t convinced.
For more clarification, I asked Gary what the song was about, he said
“Airplanes.”
Of course it was, airplanes, how silly of me.
The Introduction of an Analog Synthesizer
I suggested to Gary we bring in a Minimoog, which was an analogue synthesizer and we could use to add some sound effects of sirens and airplanes.
This would be the first synthesizer Gary ever saw and played with.
I have read other stories of how he first discovered the synthesizer but this was truly the first time that he had ever seen or touched one.
Once the basic recordings were down, it became apparent I would need at least another four hours to finish overdubbing the tracks before they would be ready to do the finished mixes.
On Friday the 19th of April, I asked Gary to meet me at the studio. I had booked an hour studio time from 5pm.
I booked the studio as a “playback session” this was a much lower cost per hour, giving me the opportunity to remain in the studio for the extra few hours I needed at no extra cost.
Gary turned up at half past four and we got underway overdubbing.
My Friendly Security Guard
At around 5pm, I found out that Albert had phoned in sick. Albert was my friendly security guard and nightly receptionist who wouldn’t care if my time sheet wasn’t exactly “correct”.
I then found out, that Pat one of the girls from the offices was to cover for Albert that evening.
The Studio Two entrance was just a few feet along the corridor from the reception.
Pat was a good friend, so I went to explain to her what I was up to, which she had no problem with.
A Visit from the Local Constabulary
After about an hour or so she rang the control room to tell me that she had just called the police, she explained that some trouble had broken out in Studio Three.
This was unheard of.
I can’t remember any other time in my history of the studio where someone had to send for the police relating to a session.
This wouldn’t have really been a problem except that she told me that she had to call one of the studio directors Peter Harris, to tell him about the Studio Three situation.
Pat, also told me that although he was at home he might be on his way back in to make sure everything was OK.
I foolishly thought being a Friday night and with all the rush-hour traffic that he wouldn’t bother.
We were close to finishing the session when Pat popped her head round the door and said,
“The police have come and gone and the clients in Studio Three have left, but Peter has arrived and told me to go home and his going to look after the phones and reception and lock up when the last session in Studio One finishes in about half an hour.”
Having only booked an hour playback from 5pm there is no way we should have still been in the studio hours later.
Waiting for the All Clear
Fearing my plan was unravelling fast and I would be discovered, I asked Pat to make any excuse to hang around. I told her to come in and let us know the minute Peter left the reception area so we could get out of the studio without being seen.
I knew we could leave via the fire exit at the rear of the building.
Ten minutes went by before she came back to tell us that Peter had just gone into Studio One.
The session was coming to an end and he would make sure once everyone had left he could lock the studio doors etc.
A Quick Getaway
I figured we had about five minutes before he would appear again, so it was time to make a run for it.
I told Gary, just follow me.
We both ran down the corridor like bats out of hell, just as Mike Batt, who had been working in Studio One, came out of the men’s room.
To his total surprise and ours, we all collided, Mike Batt hit the floor like a plate at a Greek wedding.
We picked him up and dusted him down whilst apologising and then made a rapid move towards the fire exit, leading us out into the sanctuary of the car park.
It did cross my mind at that time, maybe the cheaper, small lesser equipped studio might have been a better option.
I arranged to meet Gary on the following Sunday to remix the tracks, which we did.
The End Was in Sight
On Monday 3rd July I cut the master at Pye Studios with Tony Bridge.
I hated the track Bombers and still do to this day but thought Blue Eyes, really captured the spirit of the band at that time.
During the short time I spent with Gary I never managed to get past to his introverted character, I think he may have borrowed more from Bowie than just his vocal sound.
I did realise that he wasn’t keen on being directed by anyone including his record company, but lucky for Beggars he went on to be a commercially viable artist.
From Little Artists Grow Major Companies
This small label was the starting point for what has now become The Beggars Group, one of the world’s largest most influential independent label groups.
I liked both Nick and Martin for their love of music and belief in what they were doing.
I remember asking Nick how they chose an artist.
He told me they play demo cassettes in the record shop and if customers enquire about the music, they would sign the band and record it.
Simple, but very effective.
Editing The Title Once Then Editing The Title Again
Nick came to meet me one night at the studio for a drink.
He proudly played me a new record Beggars were about to release.
It was called I’m A Wanker by Ivor Biggun the original title was The Wanker’s Song, but it was edited to The Winker’s Song because of fears that shops would not stock it. The song was banned on UK radio but somehow, by word of mouth to chart at number 68 and remained in the charts for 12 weeks.
It reached its highest position of 22 on 1 October 1978, bringing Beggars Banquet Records their first UK Top forty hit.
There Ain’t No Rules in Rock ‘n’ Roll.
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