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GRAHAM GOULDMAN ARCHIVE

Talking with Proust - Eric Stewart interview
MAY 4th, 2003:

(photo kindly delivered by Gilly Hewer, E.S's number 1 personal assitant)

'It’s wonderfully uplifting if you can have a great laugh with somebody'

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the golden duo from the Beatles, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart played that role in 'the second Beatles', better known as 10cc. McCartney (60) is on a live tour at the moment, his friend and collegue Eric Stewart (58) is celebrating his fortieth anniversary as a musician with a new cd, 'Do not bend'. Stewart currently lives as God in France (and England) and his own studio. His favorite Beatles-songs? Strawberry fields forever and Paperback writer. But he his also very proud on his own work for 10cc, Eric Stewart explains to John Bruinsma, who confronted him with intriguing questions by Marcel Proust. Although this is - still - the Graham Gouldman Things website - and it will stay that in the future -, hospitality is our trademark. So let's make room for the answers of a good friend!

What is your present state of mind?
I am very happy, really.
What's your favourite passtime?
My favourite pastime is collecting............many many things, from 1950’60’s pin-up artwork and calenders, Vintage Aviator Memorabilia, particularly
wristwatches, Vintage wines, mainly Bordeaux, Vintage cameras, particularly Leica, and finally, Antiques, mainly French 18th Century. I obviously live in
the past don’t I ?
What is your dream of happiness?
Pretty much as I live at the moment, writing and recording, enjoying good French food and wine, the Gods are smiling, this must be heaven !
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
People starving on a planet so rich in resources, tragic.
Who are your favorite characters in history?
Great leaders who bring about amazing changes, such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Oliver Cromwell, Ghandi
Who are your favorite painters?
My favourite painters are Henri Fantin Latour (Fr), Gil Elvgren (US), Monet (Fr), Berte Morrisot ( Fr), Vermeer (Dutch)
Who is your favorite writer?
Charles Dickens
Which living person you admire the most?
Nelson Mandela
Who is your favorite fictitious hero?
I think Indiana Jones from the Spielberg movies
Which person has had the most influence on your life?
No single person, there are too many fields to pick from here, but my important musical influences are Lennon and McCartney, all 50’s rock stars,
Ry Cooder, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi.
What's your most precious property?
My love of music and the ability to use it.
What's your favorite virtue?
Honesty
What's your most marked characteristic?
A sense of humour
What is your principle defect?
I'm too quick to criticise
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
Good health
Where and when were you at your happiest?
Yesterday, drinking a good bottle of claret and talking about music, motor racing, and art with good friends.
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
To not be able to play music
Where would you like to live (what's your favorite country/city?)
Fortunately I can always live where I like to live as my life develops, and have no problems with moving about the World, as I have done for 40 years.
What are you the most afraid of?
Any serious illness, personally and with loved ones
If you could change anything about yourself what would that be?
The size of my I.Q !
What do you detest the most?
I detest injustice, liars, politicians, misers, dictatorships, and religions, in that order
What's your favorite color and your favorite flower?
My favorite colour is Blue, and my favourite flower is the Rose.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and generosity
At which occasions you are ready and willing to lie?
I would lie in order not to hurt somebody, ‘White Lies ‘.
What do you consider to be your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement is my work with 10cc.
What do you appreciate in a woman?
What I like most in a woman is a good sense of humour, it’s great if they don’t take themselves too seriously, and I adore de-flating egos
What do you appreciate in a man?
The same goes for a man, it’s wonderfully uplifting if you can have a great laugh with somebody.
If you could return as an animal after your death, which animal would that be?
If I could return as any animal I would like to be an eagle, I love flying, and the feeling of freedom up there in the High Sierra must be wonderful if you can get there under your own power.
If you could return as an object, what would that be?
Claudia Schiffers bra! no, a racetrack like Monza in Italy
Do you live by any motto or rule?
We reap what we sow
How do you prefer to die?
In my sleep, but not yet, please God
'Talking with Proust' is based on the famous question list made by the French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922). Answering the questions was a popular family game in his era. A short version of the Proust-interview with Eric Stewart was published in the Dutch (regional) newspaper 'De Gelderlander' in april 2003, on the day Paul McCartney performed in the Gelredome stadium in the city of Arnhem. The (slightly changed) intro of the article comes from the newspaper version.

JUNE 28th, 2002: Concert review of the Graham Gouldman and Friends performance in Genk, Belgium

(Review from 'Het Belang van Limburg',AS NAN GET TO cc

(The stage in Genk, a couple of minutes before the appearance of Graham Gouldman and ends. Photo's on this page by Ahmet Bilgin from Genk, Belgium)

Graham Gouldman and Friends. Concert at the 20th Swingin'Genk festival, Stadsplein, Genk, Belgium, Thursday 27th, 2002. Setlist (in order of appearance): Wall street shuffle, The things we do for love, Good morning judge, I'm Mandy fly me, Life is a minestrone, Art for art's sake, Bus stop (acoustic), No milk today (acoustic), Look through any window (acoustic), For your love, Silly love, Donna, The dean and I, From Rochdale to Ocho Rios, I'm not in love, Dreadlock holiday, Rubber bullets

Graham Gouldman and friends performing in Genk. From left to right: Rick Fenn, Mike Stevens, Graham Gouldman and Mick Wilson) Photo: Ahmet Bilgin

Billed as '10cc' on the tickets sold, performing actually as Graham Gouldman and Friends and introduced as such on stage, former 10cc-frontman Graham Gouldman left a strong impression in Genk, Belgium. Together with the band that he formed to celebrate the appearance, 30 years ago, of 10cc's first single, Gouldman performed at the opening of the 20th edition of the Swingin'Genk festival in the Belgian Limburg city, Thursday the 27th of June.
After having a pizza on a terrace in the city center of Genk for dinner, Gouldman and friends did a show that had a lot of resemblance with what they played on their English tour in May this year. It was a show that came as close to 10cc as it could get, musically. Measuring up easily to the standard that the real 10cc set in its days of live performance, the sound of Gouldman and band took away the bits of scepticism caused by the discussion amongst fans whether to take this more or less derivated version of 10cc - without Eric Stewart - serious or not. Hell, you should.
In a big tent on the city square of Genk, a town that experienced the rise and fall of mining industry, Gouldman and Friends performed in a package deal with the Hollies. Belgian beer was floating in the bars on the inside, Belgian chips - the big frieten with mayonaise - were eaten on the outside. Approximately 600 people watched the show. The majority of them can be easily described as middle-aged music fans in search of golden oldies and sixties revival. According to the enthusiastic response most of them came to see the Hollies do their biggest hits one more time.
But the fact is Graham Gouldman and Friends brought in the real musical quality. Together with old 10cc-fellows Rick Fenn (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Paul Burgess (drums) and 'newbies' Mike Stevens (keyboards, backing vocals) and Mick Wilson (percussion, vocals) Gouldman put out the biggest 10cc-hits and a couple of his selfwritten sixties-smashes on stage in a relaxed, yet dedicated and determined way.
By no means was this one of those poor performances by old wild men eager to grab a couple of pennies more in extra time and not able to stop doing their thing before it's too late. Graham Gouldman was playing there because he enjoys it. And it showed off. Here stood the man who dreamed of a band of his own as a teenager, who at first became big as a songwriter and finally also got his credits as a musician, being group member of 10cc, and who still is thrilled by the opportunity to make music with other people for an audience. As long as he manages to assemble a band with the distinctive qualities of the one he played with in Belgium, Gouldman could as well continue performing until he really has got lost of his voice.

(Mick Wilson singing)

A lot of the lead vocals, especially the ones sung by Eric Stewart in the 10cc-days, were already been taken over by
Mick Wilson. In the knowledge that he will always be compared with the vocal sound of the retired frontman Wilson had an ungrateful task. It was a duel he could not win. Therefore, the only judgement to make is how Mick Wilson sings as Mick Wilson. Well, his voice is definitely not one to be remembered from now on. His singing is reasonable, no more, no less.
On the other hand, at least at the Belgian stage, the musical qualities and approach of the band were beyond any doubt. Paul Burgess was drumming more '10cc'-ish than one could wish. Mike Stevens and Mick Wilson added to the firm yet bright sound with a convincing keyboard and percussion contribution.

(Rick Fenn playing solo on the left side. Behind the drums Paul Burgess)

The star of the evening, though, next to Gouldman, was Rick Fenn, with his breathtaking guitar playing. Especially his solo's were very impressive. Like the Pink Floyd-styled contribution to Art for art's sake and a thundering appearance in Rubber bullets. Strangely and unfortunately enough the solo-ending in Silly love was left out, in favour of another arrangement.
But there were more surprises. One of the funny kind: a mobile phone ring in Donna instead of the archaic one. And a couple of the positive kind. Gouldman played acoustic versions of his sixties-hits, with Fenn, Wilson and Stevens doing backing vocals. It may have been the first time the Belgian audience learned that those Hollies-songs they like so much were written by the man who was singing right in front of them. And he was pointing it out to them, still being proud of it. People's hands were also put together strongly for the acoustic version of Herman's Hermits' No milk today and the electrified version of the Yardbirds' For your love.

(Graham Gouldman and Paul Burgess)

Quite surprising also was the setlist, with a lot of the old 10cc-hits, made when Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were still in the band. 10cc performing The dean and I: that must have been ages ago. Here, on the Belgian stage, Gouldman and friends did their version of the song. Again it turned out to be one of the greatest from the 10cc-catalogue. An absolute highlight in the program, where Gouldman's performance of I'm not in love was one of the weakest links. But together with his friends Gouldman ended in major, with a stunning encore: Rubber bullets, upgraded with an end in which Mike Stevens could let his saxophone roar and duel with the guitarwork of Fenn and Wilson. A great show it was.

(June 28th, 2002)

APRIL 18th, 2002: Graham Gouldman acetate discovery

At Ebay.com a new Graham Gouldman discovery is being sold to the highest bidder. It concerns a 1 song 10" 45 RPM pre-production acetate. It's not dated but the seller guesses it's from the late 60's or very early 70's. The track written by Graham Gouldman is "Wheel Spins" and it sounds like it could be Graham singing. The only clues are in the picture and the soundbites from the track, that you can approach via the seller's page at Ebay. Acetates are plastic coated steel discs that have music cut into them just like a record except with acetates the plastic can be removed and disc can be re-coated and re-cut. This was probably a reference copy for the producers. Until now English Gouldman-connaisseur David Jarvis, who drawed our attention to this discovery, is the highest bidder. But what bothers me is: does Graham remember he ever recorded or wrote this song? For more information go to E-bay

MARCH 26th, 2002: Graham Gouldman tours in England

Graham Gouldman tours in England in the coming months, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of 10cc. Here are the dates:

26 April Newcastle Opera House                                               15 May   Portsmouth Guildhall
27 April Hull City Hall                                                                16 May   Cambridge Corn Exchange
28 April Liverpool Philharmonic Hall                                          17 May   Cardiff St. David's Hall
1 May    Oxford Apollo Theatre                                                  19 May   Worthing Assembly Hall
2 May    Guildford Civic Hall                                                       23 May   Dartford Orchard Theatre
3 May    Stoke Victoria Hall                                                        24 May   Chatham Central Theatre
4 May    Blackburn King George's Hall                                        25 May   Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
5 May    Ipswich Regent Theatre                                                 26 May   Manchester Opera House
8 May    Reading Hexagon Theatre                                              27 May   Crawley Hawth Theatre
9 May    Bedworth Civic Hall                                                      29 May   Darlington Civic Theatre
10 May Basingstoke The Anvil                                                  30 May   York Theatre Royal
12 May Blackpool Grand Theatre                                              31 May   Bradford St. George's Hall
14 May Northampton Derngate                                                   1 June    Sheffield City Hall

MARCH 2002: THE WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TONY O'MALLEY INTERVIEW

(Tony O'Malley, performing in the third millennium. Photo 'borrowed' from Tony's own website, built by his wife Femke (her html-knowledge is better than mine, really) )

Don't you wonder sometimes what has happened to people who passed you by in one way or another? The question has driven your webmaster into the direction of Tony O'Malley, former member of 10cc who stayed in the band for the shortest period possible.

In 1977 he was added to the band to support its sound with his keyboard and his peculiar and recognisable voice, best to be heard on the 'Live and let live'-album, when he sings 'Art for art's sake'. And you know what, folks? 25 Years after I discovered Tony lives in Belgium, is married to a Dutch woman and still in music business.

I sent Tony some questions through e-mail (that I lost, strangely enough...) and a couple of weeks after very friendly mister O'Malley replied with a couple of answers.
According to what has been written about Tony in the 10cc-biography 'Worst band in the world' about his lifestyle one could possibly presume he has been lost and gone in the past decennia. But he's alive and kicking, o yes!

"In my personal life things couldn't be better. I have a beautiful wife, two lovely two year olds, Joseph & Patrick, and we live in a nice house on the outskirts of Brussels where my studio is set up in one of the garages. My only interest apart from music is Fem and the boys."

Tony met his wife Femke on a trip in London in 1995. She's from your webmasters country, the Netherlands, coming from Texel, one of the Wadden isles in the northern part of the country. "She's been living and working in Brussels since 1989 and we met while she was on a trip to London in 1995. She saw me playing at the very famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho."

O'Malley recorded his first solo album, "Naked Flame" in 1994 at Ronnie Scot's. His second album, "Sunshine Everyday" was recorded in '96 and released in '97 on the Millennium label. His third, "Freedom Road" was recorded in '98/99 and has yet to be released. "The fourth album, "Negenna" has already been recorded here in Belgium and will be mixed imminently." Being a mix of jazz and (rhythm and) blues O'Malley's music is quite different from what he was doing in 10cc. "Trouble is, from a professional point of view, there's not a lot of work to be had here in Belgium for my type of music, although recently I've been singing with Belgian R&B band, Blue Blot. "

Contact with the world of popular music, and 10cc in particular, was already made by 1969. That year Tony O'Malley met Graham Gouldman while on a club tour in the north of England with his band, Arrival, which, incidentally, went on to have two significant hits, "Friends" and "I Will Survive" in 1970 (also hits in the Netherlands). "We became friends and kept in touch. When Kevin & Lol left 10CC, Graham called and asked if I was interested in helping them continue to re-create the 10CC sound. Of course, I agreed to give it a try and, as they say, the rest is history."

Chatting with O'Malley means setting some historical points straight for the record. For instance, Tony does not remember ever having said that playing 10cc-music was boring. "Where did you read that?!?" In the latest 10cc-bio, Tony. "You have to understand that I'd been a founder member of Kokomo, a band of shit-hot musicians who could groove the arse off of a Muslim. It was great fun and the music was fucking sensational, especially on a good night! A great live band. 10CC just weren't in that kind of league. Myself and the other three hired musicians played more or less what had been recorded on the previous 10CC albums and the new one, "Deceptive Bends". The music doesn't really lend itself to wild improvisation, which is fine by me." And, as Tony says, "they had that something special that Kokomo didn't have. Lots of cash!!"

O'Malley thinks the live double album was the only recording he made with 10cc, "apart from some things we did in Stockport one time, but I can't remember that far back..." For the Live and let live-tour Tony and the other band members rehearsed for a couple of weeks before taking it out on the road and around the world. "It was great fun up to a point. Eric and Graham are lovely people and I believe there was a mutual respect between us all as musicians/singers/songwriters etc., etc. But it was their band and they called the shots, although I was a very naughty boy in those days and sought to get high as much as possible, which I did quite successfully, so I've been told!?!"

In addition to what was written about his drug conviction in Australia that time, Tony states that he was busted one evening while the band was in Adelaide. "I was fined 350 dollars (or 53 days!!) the following morning and then caught a plane to Perth, where the TV cameras were rolling. I denied everything blaming it all on my poor brother, Kevin." That he was nicknamed Tony O'Marlboro is something Tony says he didn't know, "until a couple of years ago when 10cc-fanzinemaker Phil Loftus told me this is what the guys called me. I guess I should be honoured!"

These days Tony O'Malley does not listen to much music, "apart from my own because I hear it all day long in the studio, and Gordon Haskell. I try to keep up with what's going down in the music industry." Tony thinks there's not alot of really GREAT stuff around. Now that's something hard to deny. "What I mean is that there doesn't seem to be anybody around like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder or Aretha Franklin, people who could really sing from where it really matters. But what the fuck do I know, anyway.......!!!"

Well' one thing Tony knows is Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman wrote some great songs together that will go down in pop history. "Like I'm Not in Love etc., etc. What's Eric doing these days, anyway?" Tony met him and Graham in 1995 at Ronnie Scott's for the last time, when they came to one of his gigs there. "I keep in contact with Graham. I also saw Paul Burgess here in Belgium last year playing with Chris Farlowe. Would love to see Eric again."

If you people would like to see and hear more of Tony O'Malley, visit his own website, www.tonyomalley.com There's a lot of information and you might catch a date to visit him at one of his gigs in Belgium.

Graham Gouldman was one of several representatives of British music industry who was awarded with the Gold Award 2000 of the Mechanical Copyright
Protection Society, one of the world's largest royalty collection societies. The MCPS licenses the recording and use of music in all its shapes and forms - both
classical and popular. There are millions of compositions in the MCPS-catalogue. The organisation ensures that the music of its members is properly licensed, and
that royalties are paid to the artists. So now you all know where part of Graham Gouldman's income is coming from...