Bruce Thomas on Story of 1979 Top of the Pops

[Goon Squad]

For all those this side of the pond, I caught an interesting programme last night on BBC4 called "The story of 1979 Top of the Pops". Basically it went through the year's music that featured on TOTP and not only did it feature Elv a couple of times, but I was amazed to see Bruce Thomas also briefly interviewed as I wrongly thought he had withdrawn and gone a bit reclusive. I'm sure it was a fairly recent interview although I may be wrong. Elv was described as "an angry young nerd" by the programme and was seen sporting a couple of natty outfits, namely a pink suit on "Accidents", and black and white check jacket on "Olivers". It also went on to say about his use of the "n" word in "Olivers" and what a furore it caused, although I was sure the controversy has only risen it's head retrospectively over the last few years. Bruce had a few comments and memories to share, but I especially liked how he said that Olivers Army was only going to be a b-side and was their version of an Abba type song with lots of "jangly pianos"!
All in all an interesting programme ( mind you it was my era as I am of that certain age ! ) and worth catching on i-player if you missed it.

[sweetest punch]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... y_of_1979/

[Goon Squad]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... y_of_1979/

Thanks SP, I wanted to do the link but it was way beyond my technical capabilities !

[johnfoyle]

Bruce wrote a few days ago about rediscovering the bass guitar he made as a child.


http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2146#comments

[verbal gymnastics]

It was great to see Bruce's "backing vocals". No miming there from him . Or Elvis

[martinfoyle]

Still of Bruce
http://instagram.com/p/iyTsz4l1vs/

He claims to have helped buy Al Stewarts Year Of The Cat into the charts, i.e. with multiple purchases at chart return shops, shocking!

[johnfoyle]

The bros pic -

[johnfoyle]

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2111

Speaking of the Get Happy!! sessions, I am always surprised to read that Steve Nieve had a difficult time on that record, or didn’t enjoy it. His keyboard parts are absolutely dazzling. The way the organ dances around your bass and EC’s Jazzmaster in that track is very tasty, but that’s only one example. Did Steve not appreciate the American soul music that was the template for the album’s feel?


Bruce says:
December 9, 2013

It’s fair to say he didn’t like it. It was all before his day — and his background was in the European classical tradition. He preferred doing the country album (which I hated). But despite himself he plays soul as well as everything else.

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That Kampuchea clip is smokin’! Great performance, Bruce. I always loved how EC & The Attractions played the rockers at super speed…it was a trademark of the early years and was quite a spectacle (no pun intended) for the eyes and ears. You guys were one of the best live acts in the world. I saw shows augmented by you name it later, but nothing tops just the four of you in the late 70′s/early 80′s. Also, this clip reminded me that you worked with Paul McCartney a decade before EC did. Were the Rockestra tracks fun to record? And thanks to Nick S. for sharing those great clips.

Bruce says:
December 13, 2013

You can only have a spectacle for the eyes. A spectacle for the ears is called a deaf aid. It was cool to meet one of the my favourite bass players — especially when he played the riff to “Chelsea” at me!

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Not to belabor the issue, but speaking of “Useless Beauty”, I was at all five Beacon “rehearsal” shows in New York for that album. I thought the band was in great form. When the studio recording came out, I wondered why EC just didn’t release it as a live album and taken the performances from the many to choose from at the Beacon. That at least would have given the thing some life. A friend put it like this: “If you have a band like The Attractions”, you should let them play”. Was the band not allowed its usual creative input on that record?
Reply

Bruce says:
December 3, 2013

To cut a long story short: it felt like he wasn’t interested in having a band at that point. On the the other hand, it could’ve just been me not being interested in a band like that. Hard to say.

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Bruce, I, too, really dig Blood & Chocolate. Bought the English vinyl pressing, in fact. My one complaint — other than a couple l o n g EC-dominated tracks that I would generally skip ;0) — with that record was that the recording quality of your playing sounded somewhat lost (or downplayed) in the mix. (Or maybe out of phase?) Not the usual prominence I came to expect from your records. Your playing (performance) sounded great, but the recording did not do it justice. I had to listen harder for your playing. That disappointed me. I wonder if you (or other posters) agree about the recording quality at all?
Reply

Bruce says:
December 3, 2013

That record was made with the live stage amplification set up, in a big room. There was so much sound leakage it turned out to be unmixable. Whatever mike you turned up had everything else on it. For the same reason as we couldn’t adjust the levels we couldn’t adjust the EQ. In fact, we might as well have stuck one mike in the middle of the room. So your observations about the recording quality bear all of that out. It’s not the worst record we made, but it could’ve been so much better. I joked with Nick Lowe that it was like Phil Spector’s ‘wall of sound’ — only it was ‘a fence of noise’ (i.e. ‘offensive noise’).


In your opinion, why was that recording approach taken?

Bruce says:
December 3, 2013

I think there was a tendency always to react to what had gone before. EC considered PTC the glossy sound of the moment and so went the other way. AF was a more sophisticated approach after the beat-combo vibe of TYM. GH was being more spontaneous after the studied approach of AF, and so on.


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Though the audio/video quality is rather wonky here, this live performance of “From A Whisper To A Scream” is GREAT! Your playing drives this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KKja2WeL5Y


Bruce says:
December 2, 2013

The bass line was modeled on James Jamerson’s line on ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ by Marvin Gaye.

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Hi Bruce. Been up late learning your line to “Opportunity”, a great one, surely. Question: I’ve read The Big Wheel. You say that the book was NOT the reason you were asked to leave the band. If I may ask, what was then? The new guy just plays your bass lines. OK, he can sing a bit, but The Imposters are missing something.
Reply

Bruce says:
November 30, 2013

The first time the band split happened over a long period, we just drifted as EC got busier with his side projects. I’m the one who created the myth about me being sacked, to give the book a bit of notoriety / publicity. The second time was because of the ‘lone star’ incident in Spain, in 1996 — which is touched on in Graeme Thomson’s biog.’Complicated Shadows.

[InvisibleMan]

What's the "lone star incident"? Anybody who knows.

[And No Coffee Table]

What's the "lone star incident"?

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... _July_2003

During that album we became matey again. It rattled along for a couple of years, then went weird again. The defining moment was a gig in Spain in 1996. He was doing "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and, in the middle, I played a little blues lick. Next day he said, "I don't want you camping it up on-stage any more." He said the classic line, "There's only room for one star on that stage."

[johnfoyle]

More interesting comments from Bruce -


http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2146#comments

Nick S. says:
January 12, 2014 at 7:22 pm

Why is there no BBC (or other) documentary on Elvis Costello & The Attractions?! (Unless I’m unaware of any.) The omission of such is glaring. Is that something you (and perhaps the others) would be interested in participating in? Fans (like me) always appreciate rockumentaries.
Reply



Bruce says:
January 12, 2014 at 8:50 pm

There was one on BBC 4 in November entitled ‘Mystery Dance’ — followed by an hour compilation of various live clips.
Reply



Nick S. says:
January 12, 2014 at 9:30 pm

Did you see it? Was it any good? Are you (and other Attractions) interviewed in it? Doesn’t appear to be viewable on Internet . . . yet.


Bruce says:
January 12, 2014 at 10:46 pm

I didn’t see it. Only EC was interviewed as it was done primarily to promote him — which slightly backfired as reviews said that the earlier stuff was the most interesting.


Nick S. says:
January 13, 2014 at 1:45 am

I’d like to see an Elvis Costello AND THE ATTRACTIONS rockumentary — WITH Attractions interviewed as well. That would be good, interesting viewing. An EC documentary that doesn’t include interviews with The Attractions doesn’t really interest me. That period of his career (with A’s) is critical and deserves a good chunk of attention. Glossing over it seems to deny pertinent history.


Bruce says:
January 13, 2014 at 12:41 pm

Yep — I believe there was a quote where he called his time as a ‘pop star’ a five-minute blip. It was at least a ten-minute blip.


Mike Miller says:
January 13, 2014 at 1:06 pm

He apparently wants to be a man of many hats. Guess the ole dome’s getting a little thin.

Actually, I don’t want to hammer on him too much. In my opinion, he’s in the top tier of songwriter/singers of my generation.


Nick S. says:
January 13, 2014 at 8:22 pm

Hopefully, some day, a more comprehensive EC documentary will surface. It should have suitable focus on EC & Attractions, including interviews with ALL 4 of you. Sure seems long overdue.


Bruce says:
January 13, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Tomorrow, tommorow … you’re only a day away


Nick S. says:
January 14, 2014 at 2:27 am

Ha! Good attitude, Bruce.


Mike Miller says:
January 14, 2014 at 4:46 pm

Unless there is a product to sell, A new massive, remixed, special vinyl, collectors edition CD box set, a new record, tour, or the bank account starts running low, I wouldn’t expect a documentary real soon.


Bruce says:
January 14, 2014 at 8:29 pm

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Nick S. says:
January 14, 2014 at 9:31 pm

I forgot about the Almost Blue documentary. In it, I seem to recall EC having what I consider the right perspective . . . he gave props to The Attractions, and saw himself as part of band. I’ll try to dig that clip up sometime and post here.(Recall feeling not enough Attractions in that film, too.)



Bruce says:
January 14, 2014 at 10:05 pm

That film had a good director, Peter Carr, who also did a doc about the Scottish cyclist Robert Miller winner of a King of the Mountains jersey in the Tour de France in the late 1980s — a good film.

Mike Miller says:
January 14, 2014 at 9:35 pm

Or, the Spanish Rice indigestion.

[InvisibleMan]

What's the "lone star incident"?

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... _July_2003

During that album we became matey again. It rattled along for a couple of years, then went weird again. The defining moment was a gig in Spain in 1996. He was doing "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and, in the middle, I played a little blues lick. Next day he said, "I don't want you camping it up on-stage any more." He said the classic line, "There's only room for one star on that stage."

Doesn't feel like something Elvis would say.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2162#comments

Nick S. says:
February 1, 2014 at 1:20 am

Interesting approach. I’ve browsed the book, The Beatles Recording Sessions, and recall that they spent much more time in the studio editing their songs than I’d imagined. They obviously cared about and labored over their recordings. Did you (and EC & The Attractions) apply a similar approach to recording?


Bruce says:
February 1, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Most of our albums were “played” because we did so much touring the songs were already arranged, rehearsed and played in. The most “crafted” album we did was “Imperial Bedroon” which was done with Geoff Emerick, who worked on “Sgt Pepper” and the “White Album” — and we deliberatley took that approach. Clive Langer built records from the ground up and so “Punch the Clock” is a fairly crafted album too — and, obviously, when you have horn section arrangements there’s not a lot of room for spontaneity. When the Beatles were still playing live, their early albums were played more or less live too — it was only the later ones, from “Revolver” onwards that were constructed, by which time they were solely a studio band.



February 1, 2014 at 11:21 pm

Geoff produced the ATUB album. Did he just phone that one in or was he overruled?

Bruce says:
February 1, 2014 at 11:40 pm

I got a desk mix of it before the other “co-producer” turned the vocal track up to eleven — I still didn't listen to it, though.

Nick S. says:
February 2, 2014 at 1:58 am

I read about ATUB online, and looks like it was a confused project from the start. Like The Singer didn’t really know what he wanted to do with that album. Sounds like it was no pleasure to make that record. Too bad he couldn’t make good use of the band that served him best.

Bruce says:
February 2, 2014 at 9:32 pm
He did know exactly what he wanted to do with that album — and that was (quote) “to make the voice the most prominent thing on it” (unquote).

Mike Miller says:
February 2, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Well, you look happy on the CD cover.

Bruce says:
February 2, 2014 at 6:22 pm
The picture was taken first.

Mike Miller says:
February 2, 2014 at 10:12 pm
And, there’s a dummy on the front cover.

[sheeptotheslaughter]

Oliver's Army was on this weeks TOTP from 1979. Kid Jensen called Elvis 'the man of the moment'.

One interesting clip to me was The Jacksons, including Michael. This must have been just before he became the global superstar. The crowd could not have looked more bored with his performance if they tried.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2180#comment-25174

Spot the Riff!

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Bruce

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG4WKKWSw1E



Here’s a good old ‘Northern Soul’ track from Don Covay and the Goodtimers, with a riff that was shamelessly stolen by a New Wave popster bass player … no prizes for guessing who … or for what song.


David Witherington says:
March 11, 2014 at 1:45 am


Hey, Bruce! I love this Don Covay track and never knew that it inspired “Goon Squad” until now. Too cool…I also thought that you guys’ “Time is Tight” on speed arrangement of “Temptation” was brilliant. And then there’es the straight blues covers you played so wonderfully, like Percy Mayfield’s “Danger Zone” on the BBC. That’s a real gem, as was the outtake of Bobby Bland’s “I’ll Take Care of You.” I loved the EC&A’s albums so much then that I would seek out the records you covered, and boy was the Bobby Bland catalog from Duke Records a treasure to discover. Thanks for these tidbits of background. They always flesh out the picture and put the reader there. I’m still hoping for your memoirs…maybe you could revise and salvage the best parts of “On The Road…Again” for it too. I’m sorry I missed that one, and the price is a little out of my range right now.



An earlier exchange on Bruce's site -

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2162#comments

Jerry Cohen says:
February 25, 2014 at 2:55 am
I was listening to the excellent Hollywood High gig tonight. Songs like Party Girl were pretty new. Were these tunes learned on the road right after EC wrote them? What was that process like. I also notice that between this tour and the first time I saw the band live (1981) the band had stopped doing backing vocals. Was this EC’s decision?


Bruce says:
February 25, 2014 at 10:55 am
Some songs were learned “on the fly” as they were written, some rehearsed before the tour. “Party Girl” had quite a worked out bass part so, I reckon that must’ve been done in a more considered way. As for the “backing vocals” — I stepped forward one night to sing the chorus of “Oliver’s Army” and there was my microphone …gone!



Nick S. says:
February 25, 2014 at 4:17 pm
I always wondered why Steve and you no longer sang backing vocals. I liked your backing vocals. They added to the music. Sounds like an early sign of The Singer’s “lone star” mentality. Either that, or gremlins stole the mic.


Bruce says:
February 25, 2014 at 7:25 pm
I think it’s the first.

Nick S. says:
February 25, 2014 at 7:49 pm
I think you’re right. My apologies to the gremlins.

Sounds like insecurity. I’m reminded of all his public bad-mouthing of other artists back then, too, etc. Let the music speak for itself. And be grateful for and to fellow band members who really helped make the music possible. That much seems Uncomplicated.

Nick S. says:
February 26, 2014 at 4:39 pm
The Singer would feel at home in Texas . . . the Lone Star State. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Ugh.)

Bruce says:
February 26, 2014 at 5:44 pm
It’s been said before.

[FAVEHOUR]

Oh, please.

Now I love Bruce Thomas, he was always very a nice guy when I encountered him, and he is a FANTASTIC bass player who absolutely MADE some of the classic Attractions songs with his inventiveness. But anyone who has ever heard a soundboard recording of him providing backing vocals knows exactly why that microphone disappeared.

Dave

[verbal gymnastics]

Absolutely.

I've also heard Steve sing. Not pretty.

[johnfoyle]

More from Bruce -


http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2180#comments


Jerry Cohen says:
March 31, 2014 at 4:00 am

Thanks for posting the early version of B-Movie. You’re right, sounds a bit like an Attractions tribute band. Whatever you guys were having for “inspiration” in the pub really did the trick! To give credit where it’s due, I love the line “I can’t stand it when it goes from reel to reel to real too real”. Unfortunately you have to read the lyrics to realize how clever that is. Here’s a fellow doing a fair job with your bass line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-jhLUiXC20


Bruce says:
March 31, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Yeah — good job. I’m glad it’s not me having to learn it.


Jerry Cohen says:
March 30, 2014 at 9:17 am

Speaking of inspirations for EC & The A’s records, could you shed a little light on “B Movie”, one of my favorite bass lines? Whose idea was it to drop a beat from the chorus? Was there a particular soul song that inspired the arrangement?


Bruce says:
March 30, 2014 at 6:52 pm

You may or may not know that the original version sounded like a Blondie pop arrangement — we actually sound like one of own soundalike bands playing it. After a bit of a brain-storming session in the pub we came back to the studio and I just began jamming the bass line — it was neither jazz nor reggaw but a bit of both. Everyone else fell in with it — so what you hear on record is the first and only version we played! The missing beat was just a natural consequence of the way the changes fell played with that feel. I can’t say I had any song in mind when I started playing — I mean you’fe got to do something original now and again



Mike Miller says:
March 30, 2014 at 10:23 pm

The original concept from 4-12-79:

http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... -Movie.mp3

And also “High Fidelity” from the same:

http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... delity.mp3


Bruce says:
March 30, 2014 at 11:57 pm

One mp3 is worth a thousand words! “B-Movie” hasn’t got a bad bass intro — it’s the first time I’ve heard it since we did it! — if it had just been taken a bit slower it might’ve been alright. I cant’t image why we were playing it so fast. “High Fidelity” originally started out like Bowie’s “Station to Station”.


Mike Miller says:
March 31, 2014 at 5:33 pm

Some fine playing on Rhodette’s song by Bwana:

http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... s-Song.mp3

And also these:
http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... -Steps.mp3
http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... tunity.mp3
“Tiny Steps” a great song. More than a “B” side in my opinion.


Bruce says:
March 31, 2014 at 7:43 pm

I agree, “Tiny Steps” was one of my favourites and way better than a lot of tracks that made in on to an album.


Bosky says:
March 31, 2014 at 11:06 pm

Both of these versions sound like Armed Forces outtakes. I think they benefited from the ‘Motown’ treatment on Get Happy!!.


Mike Miller says:
March 31, 2014 at 12:37 pm

That’s why I posted them. I’ve only got 10 words maybe 15 tops.



Bruce says:
March 31, 2014 at 12:44 pm

You might like the other “B-Movie” pun then — “…there’s a rule book in Britannia that no-one tries to waive” Britannia rules the waves, but doesn’t waive the rules. I’m not sure it means anything though, other than the play on words. Never let anything weigh in the stand of a bit of wordplay.


Nick S. says:
March 31, 2014 at 3:48 pm

“Never let anything weigh in the stand of a bit of wordplay.” — Ha! That contradictory pun actually does weigh. Wordplay should mean something sometimes. Write on!


Mike Miller says:
April 1, 2014 at 12:37 am

Did he ever allow any lyrical input?

Bruce says:
April 1, 2014 at 12:53 am

Strangely enough, yes. I came up with the opening line “Lying about laying in bed” which he turned into a song for Dusty Springfield. “Possession” started off with the opening lines of “From Me To You” and was fairly collaborative at the start between the four of us on a taxi ride in Holland. More often, we rewrote his lyrics for our private amusement — as in “The Elephant for Dinner”.


Bosky says:
April 1, 2014 at 1:52 am

I remember reading about flying bass guitars during the Trust sessions. Care to shed some light?


Bruce says:
April 1, 2014 at 11:47 am

The “flying bass” started on the early US tours where we played so fast we often finished the hour set in 45 minutes. One promoter insisted we go back on stage and finish our contracted time — so we went back on and trashed the equipment for 10 minutes. In the course of that I threw my bass at Pete, who was busy demolishing his kit. He saw it just in time and ducked. In retrospect, it might have done him some real damage as no one was holding back. The flying bass became something that was prone to happen at other instances of high emotion — though it ws hardly a daily occurence and the bas lived to tell the tale … until it was stolen.

I was in the support band (Quiver) at a Who gig in Glasgow — which was probably the best rock gig I’ve ever seen in my life. At one point things took off so much that Townshend unstrapped his Gibson SG and launched it into the crowd as he shouted “You know what to do with it!” A small crowd wrenched the guitar apart — and it was followed by SIX more as Townshend threw every guitar he had into the crowd to be torn apart. No one could out-do those boys!


Nick S. says:
April 1, 2014 at 2:20 am

Interesting background re. lyrics. Gotta ask . . . what was “The Elephant for Dinner”? (Was EC in on the joke?)

Bruce says:
April 1, 2014 at 11:38 am

“The Element Within Her”. He was aware of the joke, though it was against the amount that he would sometimes eat!

Mike Miller says:
March 31, 2014 at 1:13 pm

Those tracks are from an”import” CD, which no doubt was made from an LP that was probably from a radio broadcast. It’s a bit faster than even the band played it. You have to tune sharp from 440 to match up. Why you guys played fast, I have no idea either.

I really like this “High Fidelity” version. But, the released version fits the concept of the album better.


Bosky says:
March 29, 2014 at 1:12 am

Hi Bruce,

Long time fan of your bass playing. You have been a huge influence on my own playing.
Since the Attractions’ last split, I’ve lost interest in EC as far as his new endeavors are concerned.
The Imposters are just what their name implies. The Attractions were and remain the best rock combo
I’ve ever experienced.

I have a loaded question, which I don’t entirely expect you to answer: If EC (or one of his ‘staff’) were to contact you about doing another Attractions tour/album, what would your response be?

One can dream…


Bruce says:
March 30, 2014 at 6:57 pm

Easily answered — my response would be the same as it is when Obama rings me and says he’s had enough and wants me to take over, or the Dalai Lam get in touch for my advice on conflict resolution. In other words, I’m not expecting the call.

[johnfoyle]

http://guitarworld.myshopify.com/collec ... -mccartney

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2198#comments

Bruce Thomas - I’ve just done a six-page interview for the June edition of Bass Player magazine that features a transcription of the bass part for “Chelsea” and a bit of background info on the track. Obviously, this one is mainly for bass players!

Dipping into Bruce's site , some more Costello related comments from Mr T.


http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2180#comments


Jerry Cohen says:
May 4, 2014 at 10:47 pm

Per KOA: I was really pissed off by T-Bone’s comment at the time that “it wouldn’t have been fair to The Attractions” to use them more on that album. I thought it was rather condescending because that band certainly never had trouble playing any genre of music (to my ears). The proof is in the pudding: Suit Of Lights is the best-sounding thing on the record. I prefer that to hearing EC drunkenly scream his way through Eisenhower Blues any day.


BorisBrain says:

April 30, 2014 at 5:48 pm
Hey Bruce, hope all is well.

What light can you shed on the Attractions’ involvement (or lack of it) on the King of America album? Whilst I do like a couple of the songs on that album, I was disappointed to not hear more of the band, and Mr C has referenced some less than successful sessions in his various liner notes. Anything you can elaborate on?


Bruce says:
April 30, 2014 at 7:16 pm

The concept for KoA was dreamt up by Elvis and T-Bone Burnett, on their long flights travelling the world on a joint solo tour. The idea was to have two bands present at the recordings, kept in splendid isolation from each other, to be used as and when required. The alternative musicians would be some of those I’d once seen backing the original Elvis in Las Vegas — with the addition of Mitchell Froom on keyboards and a few other LA session men. The Attractions would no longer be the first team but part of a squad-rotation system. Anyone familiar with the dynamic of soccerball teams will know that when capable players are put on the subs’ bench, simply because they’ve fallen out of favour, a lot of tension and resentment builds up very quickly.

Ocean Way recording studios in LA had been booked where T-Bone had the novel idea that we might engage with the creative process better if we knew what the songs were about! A small room was set aside where we could study a lyric sheet prior to recording a song, while Elvis would explain its meaning to us.
I scanned the opening lines of the song we had lined up, read them aloud, and glanced up at Pete, who raised his eyebrows Roger Moore style.

‘When England was the whore of the world, Margaret was her madam.’
‘Wos that about then?’ I said. It could hardly have been more obvious.

Elvis gritted his teeth.
Pete smirked and raised his eyebrows again.
T-Bone was oblivious, as were the rest of the US contingnet, with the notable exception of Mitchell Froom who chuckled at the dark humour of the situation.
It was at a time when Elvis couldn’t yet bring himself to totally reject/move on from the Attractions, so he simply left us all sitting in an expensive hotel for three weeks and we ended up on one track.


BorisBrain says:
May 1, 2014 at 8:34 pm
Thanks Bruce – must have been one heck of a room service bill…

Is it also true that the band was sidelined at the last minute for Live Aid? I was really looking forward to that at the time. What had been on the set list?

Stay groovy,

BB


Bruce says:
May 1, 2014 at 9:51 pm
I think we’d been sidelined for a while by then, though it still came as a disappointment. Still, the only band that anyone remembers now is Queen, who pretty much wiped the floor with everyone else.


From a discussion about songs that Bruce should use for videos demonstrating his bass playing -

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2198#comments




Jeff Owens says:
May 16, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Oh man, “Big Tears.” “Tiny Steps.” “Sulky Girl” (especially the fade-out). Too many cool ones to single out a single …

Cheers Bruce!
Jeff


Bruce says:
May 16, 2014 at 10:03 pm
Fade out of “Sulky Girl” — why what happens?

(Five minutes later) I’ve just had a listen to it on YT for the first time since it was recorded! Well the bass line influence is obvious — The Zombies “Time of the Season”. Pretty much identical. There’s a Jamerson-type fill on the out section I think tickled your fancy, but things like that are a one-off, I’d have to learn it off the record. It was only ever played once and maybe it should stay that way.

[Azmuda]

Haven't seen this before:
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news- ... o/89630625

Caption: 'Progressive Pop' group Village, 21st March 1969. Left to right: drummer Bill Porter, organist/singer Pete Bardens (1945 - 2002) and bassist Bruce Thomas. Bardens went on to form Camel, while Thomas later became a member of Elvis Costello's band The Attractions. (Photo by Estate Of Keith Morris/Redferns)

[johnfoyle]

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2198#comments

Mike Miller says:
June 10, 2014 at 5:41 pm

Since “Chelsea” is featured topic, here’s what may be a demo version, not sure. There’s a alt version on the Deluxe edition of TYM, not sure if this is the same only unmixed.

http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... helsea.mp3

I’ve heard many of the Lipstick Vogue/WTD medleys that have circulated over the years, but I think this is the best one. From the first US tour.

http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/upl ... SV-WTD.mp3



Bruce says:
June 10, 2014 at 7:45 pm

Chelsea sounds like an early rehearsal, LV / WTD sounds like an early live show.

[FAVEHOUR]

Chelsea's live from Eric's TV broadcast 8/2/77, isn't it?


Dave

[johnfoyle]

Bruce writes about a newly discovered tape of The Roadrunners, his first, 1960s band -

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/?p=2280