So I could have seen him around 1986, when Brussels was a venue for just about any European tour
1 Like
Given the timing Iâd say very highly likely.
1 Like
Aussie mega producer Mike Chapman (who produced Blondie during their rise to fame) said Clem was technologically problematic. Apparently his timing wasnât great and he was more about the display of chops than anything else. As a drummer he was certainly eye catching.
As an aside, Chapman had more than his fair share of excellent drummers come to him during his peak; the guys from The Sweet and the Knack were both brilliant drummers and top notch showmen.
2 Likes
Yeah, itâs funny how some of the great âliveâ drummers just arenât cut out for studio drumming (particulatly with regard to timing).
Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) is another who just struggles in the studio. Great live drummer, and has some great performances on record. However, heâs regularly been shut out of studio sessions by Chrissie Hynde. He says he doesnât mind and that live gigging is by far his preferred medium.
Run a metronome or click track over most pre-80âs music and youâll find the timing is all over the place. It was from the 80âs that things became far more metronomic and click tracks and quantisation began to be routinely used. It helps from an arranging and engineering perspective I guess.
I remember sitting in a studio and running a click track over stuff like early Crowded House and Hoodoo Gurus and being surprised how off the timing was. Then youâve got stuff like Dragonâs Rain, Australian Crawlâs Reckless and even Flowersâ Icehouse album, which are absolutely metronomic. Absolutely quantised.
4 Likes
2 shows
As per @bigallan would he had been Eurythmics drummer when I saw them at Narara in early 1984?
My memory of that drummer was that he was a ripper, were his cymbals on curved stands? Maybe, not sure, but was unusual at that time.
The one thing that did stand out was him bouncing his drumsticks off his drums into the crowd at different times. Again something I hadnât seen before, but it was great.
I donât think so. Think their drummer up to 1985-ish was Olle Romo.
Edit: I just looked up the line-up for the 1984 Narara Festival⌠Holy hell!!! You lucky bugger!!!
2 Likes
Which I think he described as ânot a happy placeâ. Given there were all sorts of recreational activities, lifestyle choices and personal issues in The Ramones, itâs probably not surprising.
1 Like
You a sound engineer?
Yes, in a fashion. Strictly amateur. Did fancy it for a career, until I discovered it was mainly who you know (not what you know), and you had to be prepared for years of doing unsatisfying live gigs all over the place, for a couple of pots⌠if youâre lucky.
I did score a few weeksâ of work experience in some of Melbourneâs bigger recording studios (Metropolis, Sing Sing etc.) in the early 90âs which was⌠um⌠illuminatingâŚ
2 Likes
Nice. Doing anything now?
Yep the Talking Heads gig was legendary, the infamous Stop Making Sense tour, I reckon they came on around midnight.
Still the best gig I have ever been too, so good in fact I saw them again down in Melbourne on the same tour.
4 Likes
Only my own stuff (for my own amusement) and occasionally for mates.
1 Like
I also caught the Stop Making Sense tour. At Sweetwaters festival in NZ, Feb 1984. Was transcendental. Easily among the best gigs for me too. Perhaps the best.
5 Likes
Just read a shortish bio about The Pretenders. The early internal consensus was that Martin Chambers was absolutely right for the job in a live and studio setting. Quite a number of Chrissieâs early compositions (first two albums) had tricky arrangements or were in odd time signatures and he apparently ate it up. Not sure where it went wrong between he and she.
2 Likes
Just remembered that U2 were originally going to be on the bill, but pulled out for whatever reason. It would have been their first tour here and just monthâs after Under a Blood Red Sky came out .
Would have been even more legendary then.
2 Likes
Hey Baakkeerrrr
Wasnât the drumming on the whole âBody and the Beatâ album just straight up powerful and in the pocket due to Terry Chambers? Heck of a drummer, ex XTC. I was lucky enough to see them with initially Chambers, and then later with Doane Perry/Tommy Emmanuel- and they slayed it live.
3 Likes
TC is credited as the sole drummer on B&TB, but he actually only played on about half of it. Kerry Jacobson played on Rain, session musos played on a couple, and a couple were drum machine. From memory, Wilder World was the only single he played on.
Terry lived here in Newcastle for a long time, but is now back in Blighty treading the boards as drummer in what is effectively an XTC cover band called Ex-TC (geddit?) They naturally focus on his era of the band, but do play songs from across the whole of XTCâs existence. Evidently theyâre very good, so Iâll probably check them out if they ever get down under.
2 Likes
Te Talking Heads concert is still the best gig I have seen.
4 Likes