Paul Brett’s musical output over the last half century captures a dizzying range of musical styles, including recordings with Tintern Abbey, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera and Paul Brett’s Sage. Jason Barnard speaks to Paul to go through over 50 years of guitar musicianship covered in his very first anthology, Stone Survivor.
Firstly Paul, congratulations on the release of the Stone Survivor Anthology. It shows how incredibly versatile you are. Was it a hard task to find and choose the material?
It was reasonably easy to collate the track listing for the Anthology, especially when John Reed added the fourth CD to the package. I just followed the timeline of material I had the rights to and assigned the whole lot to Cherry Red. From there, it was fairly straight forward to follow my recorded material from the 1960’s to today.
Where are you originally from and how did you get into playing music?
I was born in Fulham, London and became interested in playing guitar at 14. My Metalwork teacher, Ron Carter, was a semi pro guitarist in a local dance band and he taught me a few basis chords. In class, when everyone else was making copper ashtrays, Ron had me making a tremolo unit! From there, it was the old way of learning. Bert Weedon’s great book ‘Play in a Day’ and slowing down 45rpm singles to 33rpm and painstakingly learning note for note, popular instrumentals like ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’ and ‘Apache’.
The set starts with tracks by SW4 from 1964. Were they your first band and is the r’n’b material recorded representative of what the band played at the time?
The first band I played with was an amateur outfit whose name I can’t recall. I then joined a semi pro band called SW4. The lead singer was Ralph Denyer, later of Blonde on Blonde. We played mainly R’n’B at the time, as did many other groups during that era. Bo Diddly, Chuck Berry and many other blues greats whose songs we covered.
How did you link-up with Arthur Brown and can you describe the evolution of The Union into the Crazy World of Arthur Brown?
I auditioned Arthur Brown for my band The Swinging Machine as we needed a singer. Arthur was a student at Reading University at the time. He had a great soulful voice and unusual stage prescence. Perfect for what we wanted. After awhile, we changed the band’s name to The Arthur Brown Union. There were 7 in the line up, including two brass players. After awhile, Arthur left and went to Paris to sing in a new club. He was replaced by Dave Terry, later Elmer Gantry, and we just went out as The Union. Arthur returned from Paris and asked me to get a new line up together and we went back for a 6 month residency at The James Palladium, the top music venue at the time in Paris, along with the Bus Palladium. After, we did a 6 month stint in a new Night Club in Spain for the same promoter. I came back to London to wait for Arthur, but as he didn’t come back for awhile, I joined another band as I had to pay the rent! When Arthur did return, he asked me to play on his first single The Devil’s Grip which I did. I didn’t join the actual Crazy World line up as I was playing with another band.
You played with a range of groups in the mid-sixties including The Overlanders, The Warren Davis Monday Band and The Soul Mates. Did you record/release any material with these groups or were you mainly playing gigs?
I recorded with lots of groups and artistes during the 60’s and early 70’s. Too many sessions to recall exactly who they were for but yes, I did play with the Overlanders, Warren Davis Monday Band and The Soul Mates. I recorded some tracks with Warren Davis and demos with The Overlanders, and gigged with them all.
Warren Davis Monday Band, late 1967: Paul Brett (wearing hat) Photo: Paul Brett
Tintern Abbey are a group who are now hugely popular in psychedelic circles. What period did you join the band, who was in the line-up and what were the circumstances that led you to join and then leave?
Tintern Abbey was a strange set up. They were based in a small terraced house in Chelsea that was owned by publisher and group manager Nigel Samuels who owned International Times. All we seemed to do was rehearse. Nigel would turn up occassionally and ask us to play for him. All I wanted to do was to play live gigs. He didn’t seem interested in that as he was paying us a small wage at the time and I got to feel we were like his pet band in a cage. We did some demos and finally got Spencer Davis Agency to take us on. We did manage a few gigs which went down well and I got Terry Goldberg in from The Mark Leeman 5. Things drifted after that and I was offered a gig with Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, who had lots of live gigs and a hit record, so I opted to join them.
Two Tintern Abbey tracks are featured on Stone Survivor. How much material was recorded/demoed for the album that never was?
I only recorded four tracks with Tintern Abbey, but after I left, they may have recorded more with other players. We were working on an album but I don’t think anything ever came of it and I don’t think any professionally recorded album was ever released past their initial single on Deram. Which, over the years, seems to have gained a halo as a psyche masterpiece. I do believe that Cherry Red have sourced and compiled enough material from various band members, including me, to release a CD in the near future however.
Were Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera formed when you joined? How did the band’s live sound compare to its records?
Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera were already a working outfit when I joined. Their guitarist, Colin Forster left, in fact I think he joined Tintern Abbey after I left. Bit like musical chairs ! I had worked before with Dave Terry (Elmer Gantry) in The Union, so I knew Dave really well and he was a great singer and live performer. I didn’t play on the first EGVO album, but did all the rest, including loads of live gigs. Our live set was really enjoyable and energetic. John Ford on Bass and Richard Hudson on Drums completed the line up. John and Hud later joined The Strawbs. We played all the songs we recorded live, so there was no split between live and recorded material. Hud even played Sitar on one tune. When Elmer left the band, we got British Blues 12 string legend Johnny Joyce in and made the Velvet Opera ‘Ride a Hustler’s Dream’ LP and a couple of singles.
At this time you also played on other sessions for other artists. Do you have any key memories from that time?
I played sessions on many other artistes and bands records over the years including The Strawbs, Roy Harper, Al Stewart and some I do not want to mention as their respective guitarists would not be happy bunnies if I said I played the solo on that record, but then I was being paid to do a 3 hour session and often, three of these a day. I also played on lots of songwriters tracks, some of which were released and others circulated to other artistes looking for material to record. I did some out of comfort zone stuff too with albums for TV Stars Max Bygraves and Tony Blackburn, the Radio 1 DJ. I also did a very blue Rugby Songs album for Jack Dorsey, which I doubt would be released now in this PC world!
Was it through Dave Lambert that you played with Fire during the recording of The Magic Shoemaker and then Strawbs’ Dragonfly?
The Strawbs ran a great club in The White Bear in Hounslow which everyone, including David Bowie would attend. I played regularly there with the Velvet Opera and as an acoustic duo with Johnny Joyce. That is where I met Dave Lambert, who with Bob Voice and Dick Duffall made up Fire. Dave asked me to play on an album they were recording which Ray Hammond was producing. It was called ‘ The Magic Shoemaker’. I did this at Pye Studios and Dave Cousins of The Strawbs also guested on banjo. I also joined the group for awhile for some live performances. Again, over the years, the Shoemaker album has become a psyche icon and fetches hundreds of pounds in the vinyl collectable market today.
Was it a quick process to form Paul Brett’s Sage and sign to Pye?
Paul Brett’s Sage was formed out of my assiciation with Fire. Me abd Bob Voice teamed up to play some Ritchie Haven’s style acoutic guitar and percussions songs. We wrote and worked out a live set and did a few gigs to see if there was any mileage in it. This went very well and I sent a demo to Cyril Stapleton, the famous Big Band Leader who was head of A&R at Pye records. Cyril rang and offered us a contract imnediately to record an album with him producing. Fire had split and Dick joined us on bass and we got in Nicky Higgenbottom to play flute and sax. We recorded the album which included 3 D Mona Lisa, our first single at Pye Studios and whilst we waited for release, Bob and I played with Cyril’s Orchestra in Blackpool for a Sumner Season. After a few weeks, I joined Lonnie Donegan’s group as his guitarist left suddenly. I loved playing with Lon, as we were both Leadbelly fans and if it wasn’t for Lon’s input in the 50’s, British Pop Music would never have turned out the way it did.
‘3D Mona Lisa’ brilliantly combines an acoustic and electric sound. Do you have any recollection of its writing and recording process?
The first Sage album was a mix of acoustic and percussive songs with a smattering of electric guitar and the odd drum kit thrown in. There was one orchestral arrangement track ‘Reason for your Askin’ in the songs and that was orchestrated by David Palmer, who was later with Jethro Tull. 3 D Mona Lisa was the first single and that seems to be the track that paved the way for future albums.
How did the line up for Paul Brett’s Sage evolve?
PBS evolved from the first album as Nicky left and we invited Stuart Cowell from Titus Groan to join on guitar. The second album Jubilation Foundry was fuller in sound and we used more drum kit tracks and balanced the acoustic harmony songs with heavy rock songs. The title track Jubilation Foundry starts with Bob hammering a Blacksmith anvil. We toured with this heavy monster and finally dumped it under a hotel bed in Portugal! Schizophrenia was our final album and towards the end of the bands life, Stuart left and violinist Mike Piggott joined.
What are your highlights from that period?
Lots of highlights during this period, including when we did Top of the Pops, telling Jimmy Saville if he didn’t take his arm from my shoulder, I’d break it and shove it up his arse! Of course, my stint with Lonnie too. French TV with John Lennon and Bob Dylan. The great Weeley Festival. It was a very fast moving and creative time for lots of musicians back then and I had the privilege of working with many of them.
What did you do after Paul Brett’s Sage?
When PBS split, Mike Piggott and I went on a National tour with Status Quo. We were then signed to Bradley’s Records for a two album deal. We added firstly, cellist Nick Stirling then multi instrumentalist Dave Griffith to the line up and we recorded these albums. We did lots of gigs and a National Bradley’s Tour which ended with a live album being recorded in London’s legendary Marquee Club in London, produced by the Yardbirds singer Keith Relf.
‘Earth Birth’ shifted your sound in a more progressive direction by the late 1970s. How did you collaborate with around that time?
Mike and I did a tour with Ralph McTell and Mike joined Ralph after the tour and I went solo. I lived in France for 6 months in the Camargue, in an old Fisherman’s hut at the end of a Vinery! Wrote a whole new album called Phoenix Future. Came back to the UK and started my own Independant label with Fulham Printer Michael Tickner and World Famous artist Ralph Steadman. Phoenix Future we released privately and Ralph did the cover artwork. We sold the initial 1000 pressing in a couple of weeks and I started doing solo gigs. As I was hooked on 12 string playing by then, I brought a £40 12 string from Woolworth and composed and recorded ‘Earth Birth’ the first ever suite for solo 12 string guitar, which Ralph produced and did the cover artwork again. We released this privately, sold the initial copies in a few weeks and started getting rave reviews in the press. Smack bang in the middle of the Punk revolution! Got a call from RCA records, who wanted to release Earth Birth Worldwide, met them, signed a 4 album deal and up and away on another musical journey!!!!
I recorded 3 other albums for RCA. Interlife, Eclipse and Guitar Trek. Tubular Bells producer Tom Newman produced Interlife and Eclipse and I added full band line ups for these and some orchestrations here and there.
At the end of the 70’s, TV advertising company K Tel asked me to record a 16 track ‘Romantic Guitar’, fully orchestrated album, which I did and it went into the UK charts and achieved Gold and Silver sales awards. Unfortunately K Tel paid me a total royalty of just under £18, so I ended up taking them to court. They finally settled with an out of court payment and gave me sole rights to the recordings. This left a bitter taste in my mouth and the only positive thing I took from it was that at least I was one of the very few solo UK guitarists to achieve a high chart album. K Tel also used one of my tracks on the number one selling album Chi Mai.
Why did you take a break from recording in the 1980s and 1990s?
Romantic Guitar was released in the early 80’s and following this I was offeted a job,out of the blue, as MD of a company named Pan Polychord. I accepted this as I wanted to take a break from being a pro musician, especially after the K Tel affair. During my time at Pan, I set up a new ladel Nu Disk and signed and produced varioys artistes and bands including Pete Haycock’s Climax. Pete was a former member of the Climax Blues Band. I also met my future partner Michele Breeze, (daughter of one of the most popular male singers of his generation, Alan Breeze, singer with The Billy Cotton Band) who had just spent nearly 4 years playing the title role of Eva Peron in the world hit musical Evita. I produced an album for Michele and started her own touring show. I spent a couple of years at Pan, then left to work with Michele as the bookings were coming in thick and fast globally for her show. I never broke away from recording during this period as I dabbled with a few different PBS line ups but never released anything until later. I spent around 12 years with Michele’s various shows and we were the leading show producers for the Rank Holiday Division for most of that time and American Cruise Company Majesty Cruise Lines.
You have been incredibly prolific in the last twenty years, including the Acoustic Power album. What inspired you to get back in the studio?
Towards the end of the 90’s, I got together with my old mate Johnny Joyce and recorded ‘Acoustic Power’ which got rave reviews. We wanted to have a cd of instrumentals we had played together over the years. We followed this with a Live album, recorded by Tom Newman at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Sadly Johnny died in 2004 just as Desmond Carrington on Radio 2 was playing ‘On the Road’ from the album. A fitting play off to John’s departure from the planet.
You’ve recorded a mix of original material and interpretation of other writers tracks during this time as a solo artist. How do you choose which songs to remake?
My choice of recorded solo material just happens. Bit like a painter. Things just inspire me whether it is an arrangement of a known song or an original composition. Whatever I do, I always put my own interpretation to it. I study a lot of historical events and some inspire me to create songs from early poems and writings.
You also reactivated Paul Brett Sage building on the group’s legacy. How does the new material compare with the original PBS songs?
I reactivated Paul Brett Sage (dropping the ‘s) in 2014 and released an album called ‘Emergence’. A few others followed after that and I am working on another currently. I am just trying to keep the name of the band alive plus the fact, I enjoy creating band style music with different line ups and keeping my hands fresh in electric playing. I have tried to keep the balance between our original PBS format of featuring acoustic songs with band songs and adding vocal harmonies.
You’re also very well known for collecting and writing about Vintage Guitars. Can you tell me about your collaboration with them and how you ended up designing guitars for them?
I have always been a Music Journalist in one way or another. I wrote for Melody Maker, International Musician, NME, Sound International and was the Assistant Editor for Live in London. After I appeared as an expert on TV’s The Antiques Road Show, I was approached by a new magazine ‘Acoustic’ to write Vintage Guitar Features. I did this for 11 years until the mag ceased. I have always been a collector of Vintage and Antique guitars and over the years have designed a few. In the mid 70’s, I designed 6 and 12 string acoustics for Aria. In 2010, the boss of Vintage, Dennis Drumm, called me to ask if I would design acoustics for them which I readily accepted and to date, I have 19 different acoustic and electro acoustics available in over 100 countries.
Is much material featured on the set played on a Vintage guitar?
I feature many of my Vintage models on recordings and videos since inception from 2010 onwards. As I have created a range of different guitars and sizes, this gives me a wide vista of sound choices when it comes to recording and live shows.
How did you approach complementing Edgar Allen Poe’s writing? Did the meter suggest melodies?
I end the Anthology with tracks from my latest album featuring the poems of Edgar Allen Poe. My favourite Gothic writer of dark material. I used my whole range of Vintage guitars in these recordings including a guitar I created for Goth looks. I named it The Raven, after Poe’s famous poem which became a classic film. Poe’s poems in the main, do not follow any set meter in delivery, so you have to be a little creative in fitting them into songs. However, I excel in this area and enjoy the challenge of setting such classic literature and stories to music.
How do people keep up-to-date with you?
Interested parties in my work can go to YouTube and view well over 100 videos, including Paul Brett’s Sage early tv ones or contact me via my Facebook page. I don’t do Twatter! Or they can visit my website www.paulbrettguitarist.co.uk
Paul Brett: Stone Survivor – Anthology, 4CD is available from Cherry Red Records.
