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| About this release |
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Ray Davies today |
As a top arranger on the London circuit, Ray Davies was able to gather together the cream of the UK session players to appear on his albums throughout the 1970's. Ray recorded some of the funkiest and most desirable albums of the period, featuring top names like Alan Hawkshaw on organ and Alan Parker on guitar, both of whom are featured on this, the first Licorice Soul release. Leagueliner and Organ Grinder's Swing were originally recorded for the cult Boosey & Hawkes music library, and subsequently released in 1973 on the obscure Pye album 'All In An Afternoon's Work' credited to The Terry Cavendish Orchestra. It was the among the last releases in Pye's short-lived Quadrophonic series; like many record labels, Pye quickly withdrew from this market as it became clear that the cost of quadrophonic equipment was prohibitive to all but the most dedicated audiophile. The fictional Terry Cavendish Orchestra was a pseudonym comprising the first name of the session's engineer and the name of the music publisher for the tracks! The whole album is actually the work of in-demand arranger and top session trumpeter Ray Davies, better known for his work with the popular 'Button Down Brass'. |
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| LS: Perhaps we can begin with the story behind the Terry Cavendish LP? |
| RD: It originally came out on Cavendish 9 or 10. I'll tell you who Terry Cavendish was; well, Cavendish from Cavendish Music, and Terry from a producer there; Terry Moss, so he was 'Terry Cavendish'. It was his idea and he wanted to do the stuff on it. He left Cavendish soon after and went back to South Africa; he'd only been back a few months and he died-quite young I think. |
| LS: We understand that the tracks are also to be found spread across a few different library albums. Were multiple sessions drawn together for the LP? |
| RD: We used to usually do three sessions for an album; four tracks per session. It wasn't a compilation or anything-they were especially recorded. I was contracted by Cavendish to arrange and conduct the orchestra. I remember the players on the LP-there were certain players that they used all the time; if there were conga drums then it was Denis Lopez-he did every record of mine-tuned percussion was Stan Barrett. Nine times out of ten the organ and synthesizer player was Alan Hawkshaw, although Harry Stoneham was on the early ones. Alan Parker on guitar, Herbie Flowers on bass-I used to use Herbie a lot, and always Eric Ford on acoustic guitar. Trombone was always Johnny Edwards. The other trumpet player was either Eddie Blair or Tony Fisher. When it first started there was just me on trumpet, and of course I used to do a lot of overdubbing as well, but then they wanted me to do more and more solos and things and then I had two trumpets. |
| LS: So why was the Terry Cavendish LP not released under your name? |
| RD: I don't know-I think he just wanted to see his name on a record, but why he chose Cavendish I don't know. |
| LS: So you had no say on how the records were presented upon their release? |
| RD: No. My name was on the album as conductor and arranger, so that was fine. |
| LS: Do you have any memories of 'Leagueliner'? Was it a session filler? |
| RD: No; my own tracks were not the filler at all. I always used to try and get some of my own stuff on there- it's always nice to have your own stuff on, apart from the money, it's the ego I suppose, or the fact that it showed that I can write this sort of thing too. |
| LS: The Terry Cavendish album contains a lot of jazz standards- a very different style for you. |
| RD: I'd always been interested in the jazz and big band stuff; it's always been there- music's music! People say to me 'What sort of music do you write?' and I say- 'What sort do you want?'! |
| LS: How did you first get to make records under your own name? |
| RD: When John Gregory used to do recordings for Jack Baverstock at Fontana I was always on trumpet and I used to do a lot of the solos with a bit of a funky sound. It was Jack Baverstock's girlfriend who said that he ought to use me with a little group, with Howard Blake on organ. |
| LS: Were you going for the Herb Alpert sound at the time? |
| RD: A guy called Chuck Gerhart was a producer for Readers Digest and I'd been doing some things with big orchestras for them. Herb Alpert had just started and he more or less wanted cover versions that they could sell to the Midwest of America. He asked me to do this thing, just with two trumpets and one trombone-Spanish Flea and all those things. From that I started to do a few other different things. Then I started doing some broadcasts with the BBC. It was the Readers Digest guy who coined the name Button Down Brass…like a tight, buttoned-down sound. |
| LS: How did you come by the 'Funky Trumpet' nickname? |
| RD: I don't know where that came from…it was the style at the time, you know, cool, funky man, that sort of thing. I used to use a bucket mute to get this…well…funky sound, before people started using flugelhorns. I used it very, very close up to the microphone and did a lot of half-valving to get that sound. |
| LS: Apparently you used to do a lot of work on cruise ships- anything to do with the title of Leagueliner? |
| RD: I only used to do one or two cruises a year. I always insisted that we took our wives and kids and had a mega holiday! They used to say, 'We've got a Mediterranean cruise we'd like you to do...' I used to say 'Oh, I don't know if I can fit that into my diary, have you got any others…what about the West Indies in November? I might just about be able to squeeze that in! There was absolutely no problem getting half a dozen guys for those, bringing their whole families along! We only used to play for about half an hour a night, and we didn't play in port, or the first or last nights either- it was a real treat! I was on a cruise with Alan Hawkshaw, and he used to play the most terrible pranks- he was such a funny guy. We were sitting by the pool off the South American coast, going to Rio, and over the tannoy came 'Will Ray Davies please come up to the bridge for a telephone call...' I thought it was another of his jokes. 'No- nothing to do with me...' he said, '...honest'. So I went up to the radio room and it was a transatlantic call from Tony Palmer, who was A&R at Pye. He said when you come back I want you to come to Pye and sign up for so many records. After that I moved around labels with Tony. |
| LS: The 'Why can't we all get together' LP marks such a change in your sound-where did that come from? |
| RD: I suppose styles were changing at the time and you move with the times, don't you? |
| LS: Was the cover version of 'Shaft' on the album the key to that? |
| RD: Yes, it probably was-trying to keep the whole thing in context. |
| LS: Who was R. Kendall, credited as author of 'Truckin'? |
| RD: That was me! They wanted to use a different name- they said that having too many of the songs from one guy didn't look good-Kendall is my wife's maiden name. |
| LS: Are you aware of how sought after some of your albums, like 'Funk in Hell' are these days? |
| RD: Not really. Some chap said to me that there was a record shop in Soho with pictures of me on the wall, but I've never been down to have a look. [At this point Ray produces a white label pressing of his 1974 LP 'Benny & The Duke'] Now- if you could find me a copy of this one, I would give you fifty quid for it-they lost the master tapes! Whether Pye released it I'm not sure- I suppose they must have done. It was one I'm proud of-the guys that played on it and the solos-Duncan Lamont plays tenor sax on 'Elegy in F' and 'Hadrians Wall' is another of those funky ones. It wasn't a departure really-someone came along wanting an album of big band stuff. Gordon Reed was the guy at Cavendish at the time, and said we've got all of these wonderful tunes on the catalogue by Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, would you do a thing with a big band in your own modern style and give them a new lease of life, so that's what I did. |
| LS: Moving on to your TV themes albums. Was that a commercially driven thing to do? |
| RD: I was on the John Gregory TV albums, which were fabulous- I've got those Chaquito records at home and they're lovely. It would be the producer who would suggest the idea and he'd come along with some possible titles. Some of them I would like and other ones would be difficult to get a decent arrangement from as they had very little musical content-they might have been wonderful music for the film, but there wasn't much there to work with. |
| LS: Those LP's are crammed full of Moog-who was the player? |
| RD: The Moog fitted in with the times and the sounds that were required, as it was often used on the movie tracks. People were expecting to hear that sound. That was The Hawk mostly. Some of it might have been Kenny Salmon- he used to do all of the Moog in the Top of the Pops orchestra. It wouldn't have been Harry Stoneham- he was always on the Lowrey organ for the early stuff, then Kenny Salmon a few times, but then after that it was always [Alan] Hawkshaw. Alan Phoned me up recently- someone had asked him a question about a track and he wasn't sure if he played on it. He said 'You've got the original- can you play it and tell if it's me or not?'- you'd recognise his style anywhere! |
| LS: 'Funk in Hell' sees you talking on Santana- was he a favourite? |
| RD: Oh yes- it's marvelous stuff! |
| LS: Why the vocals on that LP? |
| RD: It' s such a long time ago that I didn't realize there were any vocals on it. I had to dig out the record before we met. I though 'Oh yeah... who's that singing?' I can see the guy now, but don't ask me who he is. He was just brought in for the session and wasn't even a real session singer- he's good though isn't he! It must have been Tony Palmer who wanted the vocals. I'm sure it was nothing to do with me. I was a bit worried about the title; Tony Palmer said 'I've got a great title...' I said 'You can't use that!' |
| LS: After that you returned to TV themes on 'Cops & Robbers'. Was it because Funk in Hell didn't sell? |
| RD: No. I think Dick James had given DJM to his son Stephen and they probably decided to have more TV themes stuff in their catalogue-that's usually what happens. If they didn't have a Latin LP in the catalogue they would have asked for one of those. You are really writing to order. In fact I think I prefer it that way-I like to be commissioned by a producer that gives you a good brief. They know what they want and that's it. The hardest thing in the world is when somebody says to go and do whatever you want and they wont tell you what it is that they actually want. You can spend weeks or months thinking about it and then when you do it they might say that it's not what they really wanted at all. To me that's a nightmare. I love it when they say-do me a 'Cops & Robbers' and I want it to sound 'Cops & Robbers', and I think- great! Or a dozen bossa novas or with the big band LP-Benny & the Duke, all great tunes on there-the guy said can you do them in a more modern style with a big band; eight brass, five saxes and all that with an all modern style rhythm section. You really enjoy doing the writing then. |
| LS: How did you and Tony Palmer work in the studio? |
| RD: He was in the control room and he would change a few things and so on. It was 50/50 really. |
| LS: Was it all done live or were there many overdubs? |
| RD: The only thing that wasn't usually done live were my little funky solos. There was even a track with my own vocal on- 'I believe in music'. Tony Palmer said you'd better put a vocal on it- I said I couldn't sing. He replied that all musicians can sing... have a go! |
| LS: After that you returned to TV themes on 'Cops & Robbers'. Was it because Funk in Hell didn't sell? |
| RD: No. I think Dick James had given DJM to his son Stephen and they probably decided to have more TV themes stuff in their catalogue-that's usually what happens. If they didn't have a Latin LP in the catalogue they would have asked for one of those. You are really writing to order. In fact I think I prefer it that way-I like to be commissioned by a producer that gives you a good brief. They know what they want and that's it. The hardest thing in the world is when somebody says to go and do whatever you want and they wont tell you what it is that they actually want. You can spend weeks or months thinking about it and then when you do it they might say that it's not what they really wanted at all. To me that's a nightmare. I love it when they say-do me a 'Cops & Robbers' and I want it to sound 'Cops & Robbers', and I think- great! Or a dozen bossa novas or with the big band LP-Benny & the Duke, all great tunes on there-the guy said can you do them in a more modern style with a big band; eight brass, five saxes and all that with an all modern style rhythm section. You really enjoy doing the writing then. |
| LS: Were you involved with the final mixes? |
| RD: Oh yes. We'd mix the album in a day. My son Rhett is in the business and he spends six months recording and maybe another year before the final release. He's done Brian Ferry, Dire Straights, Talking Heads, Roxy Music and the B52's. He's a very clever young man and I'm very proud of him. He followed his own path into the business. |
| LS: Can you tell us about your library work? |
| RD: I did a little bit for KPM. I started with JW Media. When Gordon Reed was at Cavendish he introduced me to Stephie Lengaur at JW, then I started doing some stuff for Gordon in the early 1970's. The last ones I did for JW were maybe five or six years ago. Mostly I now work with Boosey Media [Cavendish Music]. |
| LS: Was it a regular session? |
| RD: Not really, just every now and again. A few years ago I was taken quite seriously ill and I thought I would pack up and take it easy. Everyone kept asking me to do a bit more, but I kept saying no-I'd just play golf and take it easy. Then Andrew Sunnuck and Ann Dawson at Cavendish talked me into doing some more. I said I wouldn't do a whole album, as it can get very stressful. It was bad enough with twelve track LP's, but now with CD's you're talking about 25-30; a lot of tracks, and a lot of work. I didn't want to get that involved mentally in a project, so I said I'd do two or three tracks. But I ended up doing about half a dozen. I wasn't looking forward to it at all, but they said I could have any size orchestra I wanted. I used a seventy-piece orchestra for the Hollywood series, and recorded at Abbey Road studios; I really enjoyed doing it. After three or four years of not writing I really enjoyed doing the writing at home, even though it was a lot of hard work writing for a big orchestra and doing the recordings. |
| LS: Did you ever get a commission for an original TV or movie theme? |
| RD: No, I never was commissioned for anything in that direction. I was commissioned for a lot of jingles. When commercial broadcasting first started, the very first station was Beacon Radio 303 in Wolverhampton, and I wrote all their theme music, and from that I did another twenty radio stations; Liverpool, Manchester, Swansea, the lot. |
| LS: What about your pop sessions? |
| RD: Let's see... Tom Jones-'Its Not Unusual', Petula Clark-'Downtown', Englebert Humpadink-'The Last Waltz', Shirley Bassey-'Big Spender'. I was on one of the very first sessions that The Rolling Stones did, but I'm not sure if it ever came out. VV. What about during the years you were making your own albums? RD. The session work carried on all the time. You had to earn a living and making albums didn't make that much money, so you had to do sessions. I was doing sessions up until the early 80's. The last session I did was on Top of The Pops with the Johnny Pearson orchestra. The musicians union called a strike, and the producers found out that they could still do the program without using an orchestra so they didn't use them anymore after that. But I'm still getting money coming in from Top of The Pops, because they're using all of the old stuff on TOTP2. I did it every week for twenty years. |
| LS: Going right back to your early days, what did you study at the RCM? |
| RD: Trumpet, and I had to take something else, so I did composition. When I was there the war was on, so they weren't all that interested in you as a pupil. My teacher there was a guy called Ernest Hall. When I left I worked with Teddy Foster's band and learnt more in two weeks than in six months at the college through practical experience-actually playing in a band. |
| LS: Why did you want to be a musician in the first place? |
| RD: My mother made me learn piano at about six or seven and I hated it! I've got a lovely piano at home and if you asked me to sit down and play God Save the Queen, I couldn't! I can do composition, but to actually sit down and play a tune-forget it! At the beginning of the war I joined the Sea Cadets and they had a brass band. A pal of mine went on the cornet and they told me to go on the tenor horn. I didn't want to play that and my mother said have a saxophone, that's easy to play…little did she know, but I said I wanted to have a trumpet. This was 1941, and Swansea was only a small town and there weren't any trumpet players as they'd all got called up. We used to do these dances when the GI's came over and the band consisted of a twelve year old (me) on trumpet, a blind pianist and a blind saxophone player…but we were great! They all went on to other things as well. The pianist George Taylor, he changed his name to Peter Gray and he came up to London and played in the Mayfair hotel for years. |
| LS: Why did you quit playing trumpet? |
| RD: The parts went a little bit higher and the trumpet players got twenty years younger! You'd go into the studio and some of the young kids would come in and they were brilliant players. |
| LS: Would you prefer that your other styles of music were more listened to than the funky numbers? |
| RD: No, I get a kick when they use anything-I don't worry about that anymore. |
| LS: What are you involved with these days, apart from the work for Cavendish? |
| RD: I devote a lot of my time to being chairman of the Performing Rights Society Members' Fund, and I am on the committee of the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters. |
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