All four of us sang on ‘Bohemian
Rhapsody’(vol. 49).
Stu Calver can be heard hitting the absolutely amazing
high parts. This was recorded at De Lane Lea studios,
right next to Wembley Stadium. We usually took a
day to lay down lead and backing vocal tracks, and would
be on our way home by 11pm. Not this time!
As usual, I had the job of sorting out the vocal
arrangement. Normally this wouldn’t be too big a
deal, but with this song, I had to sit for hours at home
listening and making notes, and writing notes and
memorising vocal lines, apart from the other tracks we
had to do that day!!!
The time consuming job of, layering track after track of
vocals, ‘til we got the sound, and the voicing
right, seemed to take forever, but in the end, it had
been a great opportunity to find out how that song was
put together. What was quite amazing too, was the fact
that, when this album came out, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
was actually talked about on tv, by Michael Barratt (6 o’clock
news-round programme) and ‘Kenny Everett’
played it on his radio show. He played our version and
Queens’, cutting between the two, and asking “can
you tell which one’s the ‘ten bob’
version, and which one cost 6 million squid to make?”
I have nothing but admiration for the man who created it--------!
Freddy Mercury!!! WOW!!! What a record.
A bit different from ‘Little Willie’! |
Mojo article, September 2000 |
Apart from my ‘team’, some of the other
singers were,George Chandler and Jimmy Chambers
(who were two of the singers Paul Young would use, many
years later, on hits such as ‘Everything Must Change’)
they would take care of the ‘soul’ tracks
Tina Charles did all the ‘girlie’
stuff like maybe, Donna Summer/the Nolans, until she got
her own ‘hit’ with ‘I Love To Love’.
Ken Barry (is a great singer with a
voice like Mel Torme. There wasn’t much call for
that sort of voice on these albums, so he ended up doing
‘jokey’ things like ‘Convoy’ and
‘On The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine’!!!).
He also got some success, as the voice behind the kids tv
show theme tune, ‘Postman Pat’.
I used to watch and listen to Ken singing, with the
‘Phil Tait Orchestra’, at the Ilford Palais, in
the East End of London.
They used to do a great ‘Four Freshmen’
type arrangement of ‘Moonlight In Vermont’,
and every week I’d drive them mad, requesting it.
This was before I had any idea I’d do this for a
living.
Martha Smith, A girl who had a
great voice, from Manchester. She did a lot
of the girl ‘soul covers’ for a while.
All in all, a great team. I think some of these singers
were as good as, and in some cases maybe even better than
the ‘original artists’ who they were covering.
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See above
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