I met the wonderful Debbie Rogerson, BBC music supervisor, over lunch at the Crown & Sceptre, Great Titchfield St, W1 today. Always a total pleasure to catch up with her.
Tag: News
Vinyl labels
More good news: the test pressings for the production of Waterloo Sunrise vinyl albums with the revised labels arrived today from supplier David Noonan. The accompanying artwork is looking good and once the test discs have been given approval, courtesy of a session at Mike Thorne’s excellent studio, the latest manufacturing run will be underway.
Photo gallery
A key part of the Waterloo Sunrise album project has been the illustrative work by the highly-respected Richmond-based photographer, Jonathan Stewart. The collection boasts 160 frames, all taken in either the Waterloo area, or during the recording sessions at producer Greg Fitzgerald’s studio in Canterbury, Kent.
Jersey
A relaxing weekend thanks to a short trip to Jersey with Julie and Ben. We stayed at the Radisson Blu on the harbour in St Helier, which turned out to be a superb hotel with attentive staff, stunning views from our room across the bay, and ideal facilities by the way of its fitness suite and a pool.
Promo video
Filmed in August by Greg Fitzgerald, the introductory promo video for Waterloo Sunrise is now available on YouTube. This features brief snatches of four of the songs from the album, which accompany my outline of the aims and ideas behind the project. The vinyl edition of the collection is currently in manufacture and news of its release will follow very soon. In the meantime, you can view the lyrics from all the songs on this site.
Video shoot
I met with Greg Fitzgerald and Mark Batchelor at Waterloo today, as we prepared footage for a promo video for the new album. Locations included Roupell Street, Lower Marsh market, Leake Street, the steps at the Station, the garden of St John’s Church and the Southbank.
For Afghan women
I visited Pony Studios in Hackney this afternoon at the kind invitation of Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey to attend the recording of an anthem for the women of Afghanistan by UK based Hazara singer/songwriter, Elaha Soroor.
John Thirkell
A highly enjoyable day at John Thirkell’s studio in Buckinghamshire, as we collectively checked out both his superb contributions to the Waterloo Sunrise album and the collection as a whole.
Photo assets
A productive day in Richmond and Kingston as I dropped into photographer Jonathan Stewart’s office and Prinststore’s premises to collate and formally approve the gallery of images for the Waterloo Sunrise project.
Family archive
A weekend in the south coast sunshine as Julie, Ben, Lisa and I travelled down to Christchurch for my sister-in-law’s 60th birthday celebration at the local Sailing Club. A pleasure to join the gathering of the clan, included my brother Ken and his lovely wife, birthday girl Debz; my sister Janet and her husband of nearly fifty years, Frank; my niece Katherine, my nephew Steve, his wife Trish, and their daughter Beckie.
Mercato, Mayfair
During a visit to the West End this afternoon I walked the length of Marylebone High Street, stopping off at several of the area’s independent boutique outlets. I heartily recommend this corner of the city, just yards away from the mainstream bustle of Oxford Street.
Special Award
A proud moment last night as Ben received a special presentation from the Mayor of Croydon. 15 cadets from across the Borough and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and St Johns’ Ambulance, had been selected for the Greater London Cadet/Young People Awards.
Ben Nevis, Camden
I travelled into town today for lunch at St Pancras with one of my oldest friends, Chris Lawson. I have known Chris since we met at our first day at North London Poly in Holloway Road in September 1977. Having not seen him for some years, it was a pleasure to hear of his respected work in photography and training horses, plus to remind ourselves of our previous adventures sharing flats in the 1970s and 80s!
Test pressings
An important development in the production of my Waterloo Sunrise album today – the vinyl test pressings arrived from Key Production! A pristine five copies for our careful checking on a range of turntables and set ups. Thanks again to Ed and the team at Tileyard for their timely delivery.
Wickham victory
With the Beckenham CC 4th XI not having a match this weekend, Ben was chosen to play with the 5th XI today at Wickham Park. Captained with verve by Peter Lee, this is always an enjoyable experience, although this particular side have had a difficult start to the season in terms of results.
Rome
Julie, Ben and I flew out to Rome from Gatwick last Saturday, 25th May, for a city break to mark my 65th birthday. We stayed for five nights at The Building Hotel in Via Montebello, which proved an ideal base for visiting the numerous world famous landmarks the eternal city has to offer.
Turning 18
A special moment as our son Ben turns 18. It’s been a long but rewarding journey from Princess Royal, Farnborough, in May 2006 to being an upstanding six foot two corporal in the cadets, student in Public Services at Bromley College, a bowler for Beckenham Cricket Club and a caring and thoughtful young man.
Key Production
I visited the Tileyard office of Key Production (London) Ltd in Kings Cross today and met Account Manager Ed Cawthorne, who was extremely helpful and informative as we discussed arrangements for the creation of the vinyl run of Waterloo Sunrise. My thanks to Ed and everyone in the supportive Key Production team.
