Rawhide/Gunfight At The OK Corral

Dick – lead guitar (DeArmond T400), rhythm guitars, drum programming.
Warren – keyboards
Brian Bennett – live drums
Rowdy Yates – bass

I loved the old TV series when I was a kid – it was a kind of "thinking man’s western" and I always thought the theme would make a good guitar instrumental. The original by Frankie Laine had such a great atmosphere about it but the melody itself is quite repetitive and I was afraid that, on its own, it might be a bit limited. So I thought it might be an idea to link it with something else and "Gunfight at the OK Corral" seemed an ideal candidate since it was another good western theme that in itself was relatively short. I think the two tunes have gone together quite well. Warren had the idea of the stampede effect at the beginning. The guitar I used was my DeArmond T400, which Mark Pressling at Arbiters ordered for me. At the time, it was the first one in the country – Mark told me they had had no previous deliveries of the model. It’s a brilliant guitar and great value for money. Love those Dynasonic-style pick-ups!

Sound Clip

Top

The Ghost Of Old Compton Street

Warren – lead guitar (Squire Stratocaster), rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass & drum programming

I was asked by Barry Gibson to write a tune for his band and this was what I came up with. The title is obviously a reference to the 2i's coffee bar. This version is closer to the original demo and I used a Squire Strat that I bought from a friend about 20 years ago. I knew it would come in handy!

Sound Clip

Top

Galveston

Dick – lead guitar (Gretsch Streamliner, Hohner/Warmoth 6 String Bass), rhythm guitars, bass & drum programming
Warren – keyboards & drum programming

Jim Webb has always been one of my favourite songwriters and his "El Mirage" album would probably be one of my desert-island-discs. Personally, I think he does his own stuff better than anyone else does but Galveston here is obviously based on the Glen Campbell version. This was played on my Gretsch Streamliner. It comes from Gretsch's mid-price "Historic" range but it’s really beautifully made and despite the Bigsby, keeps its tuning impeccably. It’s a real looker, too! Dynasonics again but the Gretsch ones are built differently from the ones made for DeArmond and the sound is more typically Gretsch. The six-string bass verse in the middle I did on my Hohner Baritone, which is now fitted with a longer scale Warmoth neck. Mark Pressling did a great job sorting that out and it goes right down to the low E bright and clear. String arrangement courtesy of Wozzie.

Sound Clip

Top

The Ipcress File

Warren – lead guitar ('58 Guild X175), rhythm guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Brian Bennett – live drums
Dave Bishop – alto sax
Harry Palmer – bass

Do you know......... this is one of my all time favourite movies and film scores. John Barry is The King and I always thought this would work well as a guitar instrumental. I borrowed Dick's Guild XI75 for it and I love the sound it makes on its first entry (!). Thanks to Dave Bishop for some great alto sax and Mr. B for the drums!

Sound Clip

Top

Cala Mondrago

Dick – lead guitar (Fender Telecaster), rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass & drum programming

I wrote this in about twenty minutes sitting in front of the TV with my twelve string. It sort of turned up out of nowhere almost as if I had nothing much to do with it. It’s got a kind of country feel, I suppose, so it seemed an ideal choice for my Tele. I played it through my Alesis QuadraVerb GT, so it sounds a bit different from the rest of the album, which was mostly done using my little Fender Princeton. The Tele was a gift from The Shadows after I’d finished doing an album with them. They knew I was looking for a nice Telecaster and had Arbiters send it up to the studio for me. Thanks, guys! It’s a peach! The one problem I had with this track was to find a name for it, but my wife and I were enjoying a summer holiday in one of our favourite places on a little beach in southern Majorca when it suddenly came to me. The tune perfectly fits the vibe of the place. So that was it.

Sound Clip

Top

The Persuaders

Warren – lead guitar (’65 Epiphone Casino), rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass & drum programming
Danny Wilde – bass
Brett Sinclair – percussion

Another John Barry tune. Great memories of Sunday afternoons. Just after "The Big Match" with Brian Moore, The Persuaders came on starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore. I used my Epiphone Casino on this. Dick found it in a second hand shop in Watford. It's a great guitar and the case makes me look cool!

(Curses, curses!!…it should be mine…MINE I tell you!…rant… Seriously, one of the nicest guitars I’ve played. Damn and blast…splutter...foam, etc. ad mortem…Dick)

Sound Clip

Top

Here Comes My Baby

Dick – lead guitar (Jerry Jones electric sitar), rhythm guitars, bass & drum programming
Warren – keyboards, live drums

I confess that the inspiration for this came directly from The Mavericks great version. They are one band around who have some respect for a good, clean guitar sound! I used my Jerry Jones sitar for this – it’s a direct copy of the original Coral ones. Thanks to Woz for all the brass and keyboard parts. Also for joining in with the crowd at the beginning. Who does that sound like? Hmmmm.

Sound Clip

Top

The Knack

Warren – lead guitar (’65 Epiphone Casino), rhythm guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Brian Bennett – live drums
Dave Bishop – alto sax
Rory McBride – bass

Shock! Horror! Another John Barry composition. The theme was originally played on a cheesy organ sound - but was always a great melody. The film stars a very young Michael Crawford and an even younger Jacqueline Bissett. (Wahey!) Great stuff again from Bish on alto and also Megapops on kit. It's always good working with Dad - he's so cheap! (Joke courtesy of Hank Marvin 1994.) I used the Casino again on this.

Sound Clip

Top

Jezebel

Dick – lead guitar ('67 Gretsch Tennessean), rhythm guitars, bass & drum programming
Warren – live drums

Yet another Frankie Laine song. I just love the melody – it’s simply made for a guitar instrumental in my opinion. Quite western sounding again. I wanted to keep this track really minimal and basic – as if it was just a four-piece band doing it live. The lead guitar on this is my 1967 Gretsch Tennessean. I bought it from a guy in a band called "Magna Carta" in 1979 for £200. It’s worth a bit more than that now. It was during recording an album with "The Tourists" in which Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart made their first claim to fame. Dave had a beautiful Gretsch Country Club, which I totally fell in love with – I just had to have a Gretsch! But I couldn’t afford a Country Club and I saw the Tennessean advertised in The Melody Maker, so I got on the phone. It has Gretsch’s budget Hi-Lo-Tron pick-ups. Well, they may have been budget in cost but they’re very individual in their output and as far as I’m concerned Gretsch’s efforts at saving a few dollars on the manufacture of these pick-ups ended up being a real plus point. If you take them apart, they’re built in a very strange way, which obviously accounts for their sound. Anyway, I must go and collect my anorak from the cleaners……Oh, by the way, I played it through my Fender Blues DeVille just for a change. Now where’s that ticket…?

Sound Clip

Top

White Horses

Warren – lead guitar (Fender Jazzmaster), rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass & drum programming

A childhood favourite. I remember the show being in b&w and badly dubbed. I believe that the "Carr" in the writing credits could be Michael Carr who wrote, amongst other things, "Man of Mystery" by some group called "The Shadows". I used Dick’s Fender Jazzmaster on this because it happened to be in tune at the time. I have the original version sung by Jacky but apparently Pinky & Perky did it too!

Sound Clip

Top

On The Wings Of A Nightingale

Dick – lead guitar (DeArmond M75T), rhythm guitars, bass & drum programming
Warren – keyboards, live drums

I thought this would work well as an instrumental after hearing the Everly Brothers version on "The Mercury Years" album. I didn’t know Paul McCartney had written it till I looked more closely at the credits. I used my DeArmond M75T for it. It has the same DeArmond 2k pick-ups as the T400 but sounds different on account of the fact it’s a solid guitar rather than a semi. The problem with it is that it has one of those Bigsby-style VIBRATOS (Yay!) with the tension roller. They’re a nightmare ‘cos they don’t keep the tuning stable, so on mine I’ve ignored the roller and passed the strings straight on over to the bridge and now the tuning’s fine. I’ve got a regular type Bigsby on order for it, which Arbiters tell me, should be in by Christmas. God! I should get out more!

Sound Clip

Top

Joe 90 

Warren – lead guitar (Rickenbacker John Lennon signature), rhythm guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Sam Loover – bass
Professor McClaine – brain impulse galvanascope record and transfer device

FAB theme tune! I loved all the Gerry Anderson shows and all the Barry Gray music that went with them. I used my John Lennon Signature Ricky on this. It's a short scale guitar, which is good for me as I have a short scale ability! "Milk on the rocks please, dad!"

Sound Clip

Top

The Trucker

Dick – lead guitar (Gibson 335), rhythm guitars, bass & drum programming

I got the opening riff first and put the rest of the track around it. It’s really just a collection of blues licks strung together but it seemed to work and after I’d finished it, it kind of made me think of a big old Peterbilt driving across a lonely desert road, hence the title. I played the lead on my Gibson Dot 335 through the QuadaVerb GT. The riff is on my Seagull acoustic and Rickenbacker 350, which is a bit like Woz’s "John Lennon" 325 but with a regular length scale. Do you care? I can’t remember what balaclava I was wearing at the time, but I think I had run out of my medicine……"nurse!"…….

Sound Clip

Top

Dances With Wolves

Warren – lead guitar (Fender Stratocaster ’57 reissue), rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass & drum programming, live drums
John Dunbar – bass

I actually sent this as a demo to Hank a while back for inclusion on his "Marvin at the Movies" CD - but it never made the final list. Shame really, as I think it would have made a great live track as well as a studio track for him to do. It's another John Barry composition and one he won an Oscar for. I used my '57 re-issue Strat for this - and played it through my POD. I like the POD - I am a PODman - we are the PODmen – goo goo gajoo!

Sound Clip

Top