Rock and Roll Stories #41 - The Other side of Rock and Roll's wild things!

 This week saw the passing of a Rock and Roll legend, Jock McDonald, a great mate of The False Dots. There were many myths and fables about Jock. Whatever you may have thought about him, it was never dull to be in his company. Jock was one of a number of movers and shakers of the rock and roll scene that I have the privilege to know and to have spent time with. When I got over the shock news of Jock's tragic passing in a swimming accident, I reflected on a few of the fun times we shared. But it made me also reflect on the fact that Jock, like many of the wild things of Rock and Roll, had  a fearsome reputation, but in person he was a great person to be around. As someone who has dabbled in both the world of politics and rock and roll, I reflected on the differences between the two. Whereas politics is (supposedly) built on the principles of integrity and honesty, the individuals you meet in that world almost never live up to those principles. Rock and Roll is built on hype and bullshit, but you actually get very little of that from rock and rollers. Politicians seem to despise and resent the people who support them. Rock and Rollers love them. I am always shocked by just how much politicians, who are almost invariably totally without talent, think we are lucky and should be grateful to have them. Rock and Rollers are the opposite. We are always lucky and grateful to have fans.

Back in 1987, I found myself at a gig and standing next to me, at the bar was Bob Geldolf. We had a brief chat, I asked him if his next move would be into politics "No, they are all C**ts" was his reply. It took me three more decades to realise just how right he was. It is quite remarkable really that the greatest thing Great Britain acheived in my lifetime was Band/Live Aid. It was put together by a bunch of scalliwags, who less than a decade earlier had been seen as "the enemy within". Whilst I accept that it wasn't perfect, it was a serious attempt by the musical community to try and make the world a better place. At the time, I went to the alternative Live Aid at Dingwalls. I didn't see Queen or McCartney. I was bopping alng to Johnny Thunders, Mari wilson , Edwin Starr and The Glitter Band (minus Gary!). To this day, musically I think I made the right choice. One of the nice things about that day was that all of the bands hung around and chatted to fans.

It was one of many benefit gigs that I've been to, organised by musicians over the years. I've organised a fair few and the  likes of Lee Thompson from Madness, Chris Spedding, The Foundations and Kate Nash have all jumped in and donated their time for free. In fact often what started out as a gigs for the False Dots, where we raise a few quid, became a major fundraiser and we ended up bottom of the bill, as the likes of Lee Thompson roped his celebrity mates into doing slots! Of course our efforts are miniscule in comparison to what Live Aid raised, but many charitys are kept running by such things. It is important to keep doing such things. 

One of perhaps the most illuminating stories was when I was asked to be a character witness for the former bassplayer of The False Dots in a major trial. He'd been on crimewatch as part of a gang that stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from gaming machines in in motorway service stations. When he was caught, I was asked to say something nice about him. I wrote a a speech and ran it by Pauls lawyer. I listed all of the charity gigs Paul had played at over the previous six years and the money raised for charities. Paul gave his time and talent for free and helped make sure it all happened. His lawyer told me to go and rewrite my speech, deleting all references to the gigs. He explained that the court would simply assume Paul was pocketing the cash. I objected and said that he didn't have anything to do with the cash, but they were insistent. The British establishment simply couldn't understand that a scalliwag like Paul was capable of compassion and caring. 

People often ask me about the celebs that come through the studio and want to hear tales of larceny and bad behaviour. It is so rare as to be almost unknown. The likes of The Damned, Tom Jones, Amy Winehouse, Lee Thompson, Raye, Flo, etc have been regular customers over the years. All have been lovely and a joy to have around. The last time I saw Amy was in 2008 in a Camden pub. I was out for beers with my football mates. I saw Amy, worse for wear in the corner, with a group of hangers on. I didn't want to intrude on their fun. One of my mates said "I thought you said you knew her".  I replied "I don't bother people when they are out with friends". I was at the bar and got a nudge. It was Amy, despite having been, shall we say, over enjoying herself with substances that may or may not have been legal. she made the effort to come up. She said "How's the studios, give my love to Fil and Darren". We had a little chat and she returned to her mates. As stories go, it is rather boring, but that is how it is.

I'm not saying we've not had shenanigans and naughtyness, but it has almost always been good humoured. The worst, most horrible customers are usually people who are not professional musicians, but have a lot of money, not much talent and think it is Rock and Roll to be a twat. I am old enough and wise enough to have none of that. One particularly obnoxious customer reacted to being banned from the premises by announcing "You can't ban me, I'm a lawyer". I replied "I am not banning you for being a lawyer, I am banning you for being a twat". I genuinely don't think anyone had ever spoken to him like that. About two years later, I saw him at a gig and he humbly apologised. He has been well behaved since then and is allowed back in. It is perhaps funny to think it takes a bit of rock and roll to educate such people. 

I have a theory. I believe that you can't really make great rock and roll music in a band without some level of human empathy and the ability to work together. When we mix with our own, we remember that!