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 Post subject: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 11:41 am 
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:32 am
Posts: 71
Location: Suffolk
Happy 70th Birthday to wonder drummer Paul Thompson.

An integral part of the early Roxy sound and probably the most experienced of the debut lineup after his single with Smoke Stack Crumble. (Eno had been on a Scratch Orchestra LP but as part of a large chorus vocal contribution on The Great Learning)

Not only drumming on the first six Roxy albums but most of the 70s solo LPs too before joining Angelic Upstarts (fellow Geordies) and US band Concrete Blonde.

Returning for the reunion of Roxy Music and now with Lindisfarne.

Many Happy Returns TGPT!


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 5:33 pm 
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Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:12 am
Posts: 340
Totally agree, a wonder drummer indeed, and never got 'above himself'; the one time I met him at the bar at the BBC Riverside Studios for their TOTP special, I said hello, he responded and then asked "reckon I can get a sandwich here?" Superb!

Meanwhile, the rest of the band were hiding in theirdressing rooms!

Exactly ten years older than me...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TGPT


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 7:07 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:21 pm
Posts: 390
I saw him in early 1980 in W2's treasured club Annabel's, in Sunderland. He was dressed in the suit he was photographed (and probably made to wear by BF) in prior to the Manifesto tour. His hair was still relatively short and he had a cool rifle tiepin.

W2 - he was standing with a friend beside the far bar on the lower level of the club....left hand side of the steps.

Anyway, after much "is it really him, shall we talk to him?" worried asides , my friend and I approached him. The chat went:

Me: "Hi Paul, I know you're into guns (he had a rifle shop in London) so the tie-pin gives you away (he laughed). Just want to say we love Roxy and your work and we can't wait for the new album to come out (this was a few weeks before F+B was released).

TGPT: Ahh thanks lads but I'm not on it, Bryan didn't want me.

Us: Err, what!!!????

TGPT: "Oh he just wants a different sound."

My mate and I now felt crap. My mate then said how sad he was to hear that and commented on how much Paul's drumming on 2HB, so many years earlier, had meant to him. I mumbled something about Sea Breezes.

TGPT: "Ahh thanks lads, that means a lot."

Fairly sad and brief conversation, we were devastated and wished him all the best and felt we'd ruined his night.

Bless him.


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 11:18 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:44 am
Posts: 1177
Wishing a very Happy 70th Birthday to Paul!! :)

To celebrate the birthday of TGPT I'm listening to If There is Something from Viva! Roxy Music. A drumming masterclass from the great man and one of his finest contributions to the band's legacy......especially at 1:37, 4:16 to 5:23, when the drums crash back in at 6:11, the intricacies between 8:04 and 9:02 then 9:15 onwards to the very last beat.

Nice posts above! A great drummer and a great guy!

8-)


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2021 5:30 am 
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Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm
Posts: 1568
rendezvous wrote:
I saw him in early 1980 in W2's treasured club Annabel's, in Sunderland. He was dressed in the suit he was photographed (and probably made to wear by BF) in prior to the Manifesto tour. His hair was still relatively short and he had a cool rifle tiepin.

W2 - he was standing with a friend beside the far bar on the lower level of the club....left hand side of the steps.

Anyway, after much "is it really him, shall we talk to him?" worried asides , my friend and I approached him. The chat went:

Me: "Hi Paul, I know you're into guns (he had a rifle shop in London) so the tie-pin gives you away (he laughed). Just want to say we love Roxy and your work and we can't wait for the new album to come out (this was a few weeks before F+B was released).

TGPT: Ahh thanks lads but I'm not on it, Bryan didn't want me.

Us: Err, what!!!????

TGPT: "Oh he just wants a different sound."

My mate and I now felt crap. My mate then said how sad he was to hear that and commented on how much Paul's drumming on 2HB, so many years earlier, had meant to him. I mumbled something about Sea Breezes.

TGPT: "Ahh thanks lads, that means a lot."

Fairly sad and brief conversation, we were devastated and wished him all the best and felt we'd ruined his night.

Bless him.


Cher Rendezvous,

Quelle belle histoire !

Annabel’s was truly a musicians favourite and has many Roxy connections, not least of all because North-East promoter, Geoff Docherty, used the club for after show R&R safe in the knowledge that his guests would enjoy it and would meet nice people.

In fact it was Geoff that got ‘Roxy’ their first big gig at Newcastle City Hall in ‘72.

Doubtless ‘what to say’ has perplexed many a music fan over the years and despite the fact that your timing with TGPT was not perfect vis-a-vis ‘Roxy’, W2 bets he liked that you appreciated his drumming.

With regards to TGPT, W2 thinks that when it comes to rock drummers, they don’t come any better and although Ferry did work with other great drummers within Roxy - notably Steve Feronne and Andy Newark - it is difficult to know what they brought to the table which TGPT couldn’t ?

Legend has it that he didn’t like the post ‘Manifesto’ musical direction but who knows ? Maybe we’ll find out all when Bryan publishes his biography?

In any event, TGPT is a great drummer and by all accounts an all round nice guy and W2 would like to join with the cognoscenti in wishing him many happy returns!

Salutations,

Windswept.


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 4:00 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:21 pm
Posts: 390
While not wanting to go off piste and hijack tributes to Paul, it's worthwhile mentioning Geoff Dochertys book A Promoters Tale:Rock at the Sharp End.

He had a few venues in the North East and handled all the huge acts of early 70s, Led Zep, the Who, Bowie, Free, Tull, etc..

His care looking after a really fragile Paul Kossoff is a great but sad tale.


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 9:58 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm
Posts: 1568
rendezvous wrote:
While not wanting to go off piste and hijack tributes to Paul, it's worthwhile mentioning Geoff Dochertys book A Promoters Tale:Rock at the Sharp End.

He had a few venues in the North East and handled all the huge acts of early 70s, Led Zep, the Who, Bowie, Free, Tull, etc..

His care looking after a really fragile Paul Kossoff is a great but sad tale.


Cher Rendezvous,
You digress to good effect.
There is a whole chapter to friend Ferry’s North-East formative years that is really yet to be told.
His first group was actually ‘The Banshees’. W2 never saw them perform but it was their drummer, Bruce Lowes, who initially recruited Bryan. He went on to form ‘The Jazzboard’ whilst Ferry formed ‘The Gas Board’ when he was at University.
W2 is pretty sure that Docherty booked them when he was running ‘The Bay Hotel’.
And yes, W2 certainly remembers Geoff bringing Koss into Annabel’s on a number of occasions. He was a great guitarist and a sad loss.
Geoff Docherty played a huge role in bringing bands to the NE and was the man that got Roxy their first really big gig.
That said, I don’t think they were particularly close. Geoff was a bit of a tough guy whilst Bryan ran with a more artistic crowd.
They were halcyon days and Annabel’s was really the after hours hot spot. Ferry, John Miles, Bob Marshall, Eric Burden - they all used to go when they were in town.
Salutations,
Windswept


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Mon May 17, 2021 8:56 am 
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Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:18 pm
Posts: 285
Windswept2 wrote:
They were halcyon days and Annabel’s was really the after hours hot spot. Ferry, John Miles, Bob Marshall, Eric Burden - they all used to go when they were in town.
Salutations,
Windswept

Loved the John Miles albums he made on Decca in the mid-70s, on which Bob Marshall played with him. I see from the John Miles Wikipedia entry that he was in a local band called The Influence with Paul Thompson. Did you ever see them, W2?


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 Post subject: Re: Paul Thompson 70 today
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2021 6:49 am 
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Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm
Posts: 1568
True2Life wrote:
Windswept2 wrote:
They were halcyon days and Annabel’s was really the after hours hot spot. Ferry, John Miles, Bob Marshall, Eric Burden - they all used to go when they were in town.
Salutations,
Windswept

Loved the John Miles albums he made on Decca in the mid-70s, on which Bob Marshall played with him. I see from the John Miles Wikipedia entry that he was in a local band called The Influence with Paul Thompson. Did you ever see them, W2?


Cher True2Life,
Unfortunately no, I didn’t.
The first time I saw John Miles play was with ‘The John Miles Set’ but it doesn’t surprise me they were in a band together. They were both Jarrow boys.
Looking back on that time, I can’t help but think how lucky we were. It was such a vibrant scene and there was so much enthusiasm for music and fashion.
It was a virtuous circle. There were so many gigging opportunities. The bands got good really quickly.
‘The Gas Board’ could really play. I saw them at least twice. The first time was at Club Agogo and the second was at ‘The Cellar Club’ in South Shields and they were no amateur outfit.
But this was typical for the time. If you were good there were just so many opportunities to hone your skills. You had the gaming clubs, the working men’s clubs, and the pure music venues. The list was endless and it gave rise to a huge amount of talent.
The Burden, Sting and Ferry stories are pretty well known but there was a whole plethora of local talent that went way beyond that and folk like John McCoy, Geoff Docherty and Michael Jeffries were at the centre of it, either as promoters, club owners or musicians.
Salutations,
W2


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