Odyssey Studios is today’s episode of my blog.
https://willyoumeetmeonclareisland.wordpress.com/2022/03/09/the-studios-of-london-odyssey-studios/
Marvin, a bread van, Alf and The Rubettes
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Tony Waddington – a man of many talents. Not only did he write a number one single, he was also manager of Stoke City
And also found time to invent several board games
Top Pop, Top Trumps.
Your research and story telling really is top notch.
Another great tale from a Studio I only know from the liner notes of The Who’s Face Dances
Amen!
Thanks.
Essex, in case no-one here’s heard it, was a bloody good album.
The not-very-limited 2CD edition of Singles contained a fantastic live set on the bonus CD.
I’m sure we already know that Weak In The Presence of Beauty was a cover version, originally by Floy Joy, from their second album. I prefer their earlier stuff.
Goodness, he’s a pretty boy isn’t he?
….er…. if you like that sort of thing….
…see the Bears game last night??
Pretty much all of these blog posts have at least one Trevor Horn connection. In this case, John Richardson from the Rubettes is one of the drummers on The Age of Plastic. Plus you mentioned Anne Dudley (-actually a genius). The connection on others has been Tina Charles.
Are you considering a bio of Trevor? I think you could do it.
I did feature Trevor’s story in this one:
https://willyoumeetmeonclareisland.wordpress.com/2021/12/30/the-studios-of-london-sarm-west/
I found this a fascinating read. In the late 1980s I had an unrealistic aim to get a job working in a recording studio. I saw an ad for a tape operator job (£9,000 per year!) at Odyssey Studios and got called in for an interview with Wayne Bickerton. I arrived at the studio completely unprepared and had a fairly excruciating half hour being grilled by Wayne about my non-existent background in the industry and why I wanted the job. I didn’t have the ability to articulate that in a way that could have made me employable … and Wayne gave me good advice about thinking more carefully about what I wanted to do with my life, what the pitfalls and hardships of a tape op role would be, and sent me on my way basically telling me it wasn’t a viable career for someone like me. Odyssey’s loss was, er, local government’s gain!
Just out of curiosity, can you remember what the pitfalls and hardships of life as a tape op were supposed to be?
PS Paul da Vinci’s “Your Baby Ain’t Your Baby Anymore” is a piece of top pop.
I don’t think it was so much the job itself, more the challenges of living/working in London on a very low salary, plus I remember him saying how it would take years to progress and that most of the job involved making the teas and coffees etc – did I really want that when I could earn more money and have a more secure job elsewhere? Basically he was trying (nicely) to put me off – interesting interview technique! I’m sure he found someone who was better suited to it.
Great story.