| Page Three We arrived in London in the middle of April 1975, and soon made arrangements for mixing time with Geoff at Air in Oxford Circus. A few more songs were polished and after a month there were enough tunes in the can to begin shopping tapes. All the while Chris played and wrote on his Gibson Sunburst acoustic. When he wasn't playing he was cooking or doing other jobs around our basement flat on Kildare Terrace. We re-contacted several acquaintances from our earlier trip and were fortunate enough to find a true friend in John Tobler who at the time was a press officer for CBS Records. Through John we obtained lists of A&R men at virtually every record company in England. It is amazing how many times one can get rejections and still plod on to the next office looking for one person who understands what you do. Through John there were interviews arranged for British fanzines and a long lunchtime interview with Max Bell of New Musical Express. There were introductions to various press people who had been Big Star fans; they helped fan the flames of interest. All of this activity gave impetus to the goal of finding a record deal, which over the course of eight months yielded only two bites: Dave Croker at Rocket and Jerry Gilbert at Charisma. In the end, neither offered a deal, and that was it. Chris returned to Memphis for a six week period from late July to early September, during which he managed some studio time. He talked to Jody Stephens and Ken Woodley about coming to London to tour with one other musician as Big Star. He also contacted Alex Chilton to discuss fixing Alex's latest album and even the possibility of them working together again. The latter idea was quickly abandoned, as the two not only had musical differences, but had gone vastly different routes in their personal lives. Both Jody and Ken figure prominently on album cuts, especially Ken on bass and organ on "Cosmos," "I Got Kinda Lost," and "Though I Know She Lies." It should be noted that "Cosmos," "I Got Kinda Lost" and "I Don't Know (Get Away)," were all recorded in one night at Shoe Recordings in Memphis during 1973 or 1974. I was not present at this session but would have given my eyeteeth to be there. Chris returned to London on September the 5th; soon thereafter he began playing folk clubs to keep busy and earn an extra pound or two. Money was flowing out and precious little was coming in, but one lucrative night at a West End casino fortune smiled and afforded us a trip to Berlin. We had heard from the musician's grapevine that gigs were to be had for foreigners with guitars. We set out in the Volkswagen Beetle for the first night's stop in Amsterdam. My brother, as was his wont, delayed our departure long enough to make us miss the ferry at Dover. As a result we arrived very late in Amsterdam. The desk clerk at the Hotel warned us not to leave anything in the car, as the neighborhood was rather seedy. Exhausted, we both decided to trust the universe and were subsequently robbed of everything in the trunk of the car. The booty was not inconsequential. I was sick for several days; Chris was impatient, so I gave him some money for a train to Berlin. He was to leave me a message at American Express. Several days later, arriving in Berlin, I decided to treat myself to a good hotel. After checking in, I went to pick up my message at American Express. Of course, there was no message. We both had lists of folk-rock clubs that were offering work, so I began to scour them for Chris. Two nights later, in the green room of one of the clubs, I found him about to go onstage. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he might have been lost forever in Germany. God protects. This period began to be known as the Pension Funk: I swear that was the name of the place where we stayed. The trip to Berlin lasted about ten days, during which we did a photo shoot. It yielded a few commercial, yet interesting, frames. The pub gigs were quite easy to come by, but unfortunately did not command a very large purse. On one of our last nights there we stopped by the largest and best known of the clubs and asked for a spot during the break of the featured artist (some German with a record out, whose picture was plastered all over the entrance to the club). The management was quite accommodating and Chris was given fifteen minutes during the break. He was introduced and came to center stage with three white spotlights shining on him. The superb German audio equipment, together with the talented engineer, produced a short set that should have been recorded for posterity. When Chris was treated like a professional, he rose to the occasion brilliantly. It confirmed my belief that given the proper circumstances, his talent would truly soar. These adventures were great fun, but unfortunately they didn't generate any substantial income. With funds running low we decided to head back to London. Along the way we detoured and went to Chateau, to visit the friends we had made there. The hospitality was warm, and as it was my birthday they broke out bottles of champagne. The French still know how to do things well. On arriving in London we were faced with the problem of finding a new flat, as our lease had expired and our landlady had ignored our assurances that we wanted the flat for another three months. Now came a series of bed and breakfasts which were decidedly more bed than breakfast. More folk pub dates followed, which barely covered a day's expenses. The list of A&R men grew progressively shorter, as we seemed to approach the end of the tunnel without the proverbial light. Earlier plans for a reformed Big Star mini-tour came to nothing as Ken and Jody could not be coaxed to England and prospects appeared to be getting slimmer. We both decided around the end of November that chances for a record deal would have to lie in the U.S. for the time being. In December we gave up the English ghost, with the prospect of a frivolous bi-centennial year looming and we returned to Memphis. next page previous page HOME |