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Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 11:06:47 +0000
Subject: MV162: Touring
From: Cary <email address>
A question occurs to me whilst listening to "A King At Nightfall" -
great album ... only 5 more to find now unless Steve's going to put
*everything* in RA in the web site!!
Ah, forgot ... I had a question!! When Pete was touring in the 70's
was he solo or did he have a backing group along with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_/\ /\_
Cary a a
Like Mary @
With a 'C' for cat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 12:25:03 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MV163 Re: MV159; MV155: Banality
From: email address (Stephen R Bennett)
Cary wrote,
>And now for the PA content .... I felt like I'd won a prize today.
>Searching through the 'A's' in a second hand record store in Leeds
>today and there it was .... 'A King At Nightfall'. Not in very good
>condition and the cover was disintegrating but I was happy.
Well what sort of prize do I get, I have just acquired from one shop the
following:-
Driving through mythical America
King at Nightfall
Road of Silk
Live Libel
Master of the Revels
all in reasonable / good condition at £3.00 each
total cost £15.00, whose a lucky boy then!!!!!!--
Why doesn't CJ do anything to encourage the resurgence of PA . Surely he
would benefit from the Re-release of all the original albums, or does he no
longer own the copyright to his/their lyrics?.
Perhaps CJ could be persuaded to add a nineties perspective to some of the
original material, I'm thinking of maybe a LIVE LIBEL 2 we have a lot of
potential targets from the 80's and 90's who would 'Benefit' from the pen
of the master lyricist.
We could even start a list of 'Victims' for CJ to consider:
Oasis/Blur....something old ,something Older,
something Borrowed , Something Bad.
The Spice Girls... Girl Power ..Maggie T really has
something to answer for.
Johhny Logan/Michael Flatley....The Irish Song/Dance
Phenomena
Steve Bennett
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..COME FRIENDLY BOMBS AND FALL ON-------------------.
Sir J.B.
==============================================================================
From: "Martin Nail" <email address>
Subject: MV164 Re: MV140; MV136
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 13:28:49 +0100
Cary said:
> >Colin wrote,
> >> >I am 100% with Rob when he proffers a poke in the eye with a
> >> >sharp stick to those who criticise Steve's efforts in creating
> >> >the website and also putting in the hours to run this group.
> >>
> >Have I missed something? I know there was some discussion over the
> >list distribution but I do not recall anyone critisising the website.
> >
I agree with Cary - could someone give chapter and verse for this
criticism? The fact is that some of us find all the quotes within quotes
etc confusing (see above for example), and it would also be useful if the
messages came with the 'From' field containing the original sender's name
rather than all having 'Midnight Voices'. Surely we can have a rational
discussion about the possibilities without being accused of criticising
Steve's efforts (for which I have enormous admiration).
So... I don't think it's necessarily true that the only alternative to the
present system is a fully automated one, which I agree would be
undesirable. I am pretty sure there is mailing list software around that
allows lists to be semi-automated, but moderated. Not my field really, but
I'll try to find out more.
Martin Nail
<email address>
Internet resources on English folk and traditional music:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/martin.nail/Folkmus.htm
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 09:49:28 -0400
From: Frances Kemmish <email address>
Subject: MV165: Mailing list comments
I was the one who started this discussion of mailing list software, but
unfortunately, I have been out of touch for a few days, so I missed the
discussion that has gone on so far. I assume I have all the messages,
though.
First of all, I intended no criticism of Steve's efforts for the group,
and I don't think that my message could be read that way. I think Steve
is doing a fantastic job in maintaining the web-site, and operating the
mailing list, and I hope he will be able to continue to do it. I was
simply commenting on the difficulty of following complicated discussions
with lots of duplicated quotes. Part of that problem can be dealt with
by our deleting the extra quotes when we reply, anyway, and quoting less
of the original post.
Someone suggested that we have alt.* newsgroup for discussion. I think
this would be a mistake. I belong to a number of mailing lists, and had
very little problem with junk mail until I joined on that was gated to a
newsgroup. This brought in a shower of junk that hasn't let up.
Newsgroups are archived in various public places, and any messages
posted can be called up through Zippo, or Dejanews with any search
engine.
I subscribe to lists which are part of H-Net, an academic humanities
group. Their lists are all operated by LISTSERV software, but they are
moderated and access to the list is by request to the listowner.[you
send a little intro message, like the Introductions many of us posted
here, and that is usually posted to the list after you join] Their
message archives are freely available, but it is possible to restrict
them to list members.
There are commercial services (at least here in the US, but I assume
also in the UK) which will provide the mailing list management to
listowners for a fairly small cost. It runs about $50 (fifty US dollars)
per year. The listowner is still left to deal with a lot of admin tasks,
and error messages though.
All this is intended just for information. Many people don't seem to
have much experience with membership of mailing lists, and I am a member
of several, both for my professional work and for my recreational
interests. How they operate is entirely up to the person who owns and
operates the list.
If Steve wants to take that route, I would be happy to share the
information that I have. Since the last two messages I received didn't
have those extra quotes in, I assume that he found a way to deal with
the problem.
Fran Kemmish
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 22:22:57 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV166 Re: MV165: Mailing list comments
Fran wrote:
>Since the last two messages I received didn't have those extra quotes in,
I >assume that he found a way to deal with the problem.
>
Yes, but neither did they have the sender's "from" line or time of posting.
I must say I hadn't myself seen it as a problem that there was a layer of
quotation in there to start with, but it seems to have upset some of our
members. Redirecting loses the message body in some early versions of
CompuServe software, Forwarding puts quotes in (and quote style is not
configurable in the mailer I'm using), and Resending loses the sender's
details.
Yet I'm not about to hand over management of the list to some listserver --
too many Voices are against that. Nor do I think we should join the usenet
alt. groups, with their burden of free dollars and free sex (have you
*looked* at some of those messages?) A Web-based digest would also allow
threading and requesting of individual messages but would require editing
of all posts to remove e-mail addresses, private addresses and phone numbers.
I'm tempted to say we've got a workable system which doesn't involve your
administrator in too much labour overhead -- we should put up with it and
quit bellyaching. There may well be e-mail clients available which will
automatically forward messages without quotes, and generate threads and
digests and all that good traditional stuff, all from the security of the
RWT lab, but if they mean more work here they just won't get used -- the
post office function is a long way down my priorities list.
Sure I could cut and paste message details into a new message every time a
post comes in to MV, as I shall do (just by way of demonstration) with this
one. But by the time one Voice quotes another in a post we already start
the layers building again, so is my initial effort worthwhile? After all,
you, the recipient, only have to read, or choose not to read, or even to
delete the messages. And surely it's no effort at all to set your mailer to
filter all MV messages (by "MV" start to subject line, or by sender) into a
separate folder, read them at your leisure, and sort them in date order.
Is it too much to ask too, or is it counter to too much hallowed Unix-based
net tradition, that those posting to MV refer to messages by name and
number, instead of quoting great chunks of them? Then there'll only ever be
a single layer of quotes, which shouldn't impair legibility too much even
for the busiest of our readers. Something like:
Rob said (in MV666) he thought Pete's 9th album the best yet, but Cary
(MV628) had earlier condemned the use of the electric nose-flute, the
second harmonic of which ruined the effect of the flattened 9ths in the
chorus. My opinion is ...
At the end of the day I feel I should be democratic, but with 87 members,
most of whom are content to read, that ain't easy ...
Other matters:
Thank you Helen (MV157) for alerting us to Bill's Independent bit -- I've
added a link to the Website -- scroll down past ET!
Thank you Rob (MV152) for the Magpie update on the See For Miles release --
great news. I think Pete's still waiting for confirmation from them.
Cary (MV162) -- yes, his touring band was called Mama Flyer and consisted
of Les Davidson (lead guitar), Maurice Adamson (bass guitar) and Andy Munro
(drums).
Criticism of the Website isn't forbidden though -- just be gentle! For
instance those of you with slow connections might wish I hadn't added that
bunch of TV screen shots, or might be tempted to turn images off. Be
patient -- I'm working on a new look which puts mainly low-bandwidth GIF
menu images on the front page, so it will load more quickly, and also
splits the Discography into menu-accessed disc-at-a-time blocks. And that
Monyash review *will* appear, as soon as I've written it. Charlbury (thanks
Colin MV127 and Jeremy MV128) will appear first though. And has anyone done
a speed comparison between my RWT, Pipex, GeoCities, Dragonfire and
CompuServe sites to see which serves the page fastest, at different times
of day? I suspect UK browsers will always find Pipex faster than RWT. Given
sufficient evidence I might switch the main site.
Regards to all
Steve
==============================================================================
From: Cary <email address>
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 23:05:14 +0000
Subject: MV167 Re: MV163 Record finds
Congratulation Steve, that's great ... and the prize is ....... you
get to record them all for me. How's that for a prize :-)
> Well what sort of prize do I get, I have just acquired from one
> shop the following:-
> all in reasonable / good condition at £3.00 each
> total cost £15.00, whose a lucky boy then!!!!!!--
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_/\ /\_
Cary a a
Like Mary @
With a 'C' for cat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(should show a cat - if not ...
picasso eat your heart out!!)
==============================================================================
From: email address (Simon Reap)
Subject: MV168 Re: MV162: Touring
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 22:42:00 GMT
Fellow 'Voices,
Intro: I'm Simon Reap, 37, spent 13 years as a computer programmer
but have now segued neatly (and thankfully) into the role of
Househusband for our two daughters (aged 3, and 6 weeks). I first
heard PA at University College School in the mid 70s where he used to
come once or twice a year to do an evening concert in our school
theatre. I worked in the theatre so got to hear all of Pete's visits
for free. Could I be one of the few 'Voices to have acted as sound
engineer for our hero? My 5-album collection from the time has long
since "disappeared" ("been helped on it's way"?), so until I picked up
Road of Silk for 5 quid last week I have been surviving on rapidly
disintegrating cassette copies. My musical taste revolves mostly
around singer-songwriters - John Hiatt, Loudon Wainwright III, Jake
Thackray, kd lang, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nick Lowe, amongst others
(who says you wouldn't find us in the Country section!). I missed
Monyash since it happened just 3 days after daughter II appeared, and
Charlbury was just too far to drive for someone surviving on a couple
of hours uninterrupted sleep a night. I seem to remember it *does*
get better eventually, so I *will* get to see Pete Real Soon Now.
Now, back to the plot. On Sun, 28 Sep 1997 12:11:54 +0100, Cary wrote:
>Ah, forgot ... I had a question!! When Pete was touring in the 70's
>was he solo or did he have a backing group along with him?
When I saw him he appeared alone - just him, a piano and a couple of
guitars. I didn't know he had a backing band (vide Steve in MV166),
but I think I prefer the songs with just the simple accompaniment. A
more extreme example of the difference a band makes comes from Jake
Thackray. His gritty Yorkshire approach with just a guitar
accompaniment disappears completely on one of his albums when the
Geoff Love Orchestra (yes, really) backs him up. Just try to imagine
being pithy and biting with Geoff's strings engulfing you.
Simon
--
Simon Reap - <email address>
- http://www.pipemedia.net/~sar
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 00:57:16 +0100
From: gerald smith <email address>
Subject: MV169
I've never had any problem with the harmonics on MY electric nose flute....!!
Gerry.
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 03:09:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ian Chippett <email address>
Subject: MV170: Pete Atkin and Joe Cocker
When I said that PA was not really a singer as such, I meant that he was not
really a singer like Joe Cocker, Elton John and all those others who have to
put on exaggerated unauthentic American accents in order to distract
attention from their trivial material. Before anyone leaps in with "what
about Randy Newman,eh? He can't sing, has a totally contrived accent and
writes brilliant songs which have been covered by Joe Cocker." Well, we can
all be inconsistent and I don't like JC's interpretations of Randy Newman's
songs. All that howling and growling. Why can't he just sing the songs and
leave it at that? And I bet that if he tried to sing for example "The Double
Agent" or "Secret Drinker" he would have a lot of trouble just finding the
notes. Sorry if I have upset any JC fans. Not Elton fans. They have only
themselves to blame! I remember Clive James wiping the floor with him in an
Observer review many years ago.
I agree that Randy Newman's influence on PA is undetectable. He probably
thought "This is great. I'll try to be as good in my own way". And he is.
All the best
Ian
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 10:01:48 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MV171 Re: MV168
From: email address (Stephen R Bennett)
Welcome Simon,
I'm a 40+ Househusband with all 3 kids at school,(reason I'm a HH is both
of the girls are handicapped Epilepsy and development problems, so I do the
night shift, up sometimes 6 times a night)
Like you I was surviving on a fairly beat up tape from 1988. Luckily for my
birthday this year I got the CD of 'Touch has a Memory'.
I can ' lend ' you a tape of the CD if you want. I stress LEND as I do not
want to breach Copyright and more importamntly do Pete out of any
revenue...
By the way Magpie Mail Order (tel 01784-24-22-24 for a free copy of the
catalogue) will be releasing 'Beware of the Beautiful Stranger' and
'Driving through Mythical America' on the 'SEE FOR MILES' label as a two on
one CD , within the next 4 weeks.
All the best for now,
Steve Bennett
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..COME FRIENDLY BOMBS AND FALL ON-------------------.
Sir J.B.
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 10:07:19 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MV172 Re: MV169
From: email address (Stephen R Bennett)
Gerry,
Wait till your Electric nose flute shorts out to the Mains. ...... Boy will
you find some great harmonics.
Better than 'nose candy' man...
Maybe I've got something here, any Columbians want to buy a patent !!!
Steve Bennett
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..COME FRIENDLY BOMBS AND FALL ON-------------------.
Sir J.B.
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 08:30:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Richard Gibson <email address>
Subject: MV173 Re: MV172; MV169
I've just spent a pleasant 30 minutes catching up on all the messages from
the weekend concluding with the, potential, image of Columbian drug lords
peddling electrically faulty nose flutes as the latest menace to society.
Of particular interest were the comments on our unshared musical tastes.
PA/CJ was and remains a unique musical experience and one which is difficult
to comptete with. But one of the things that listening to PA/CJ for the last
22 years has done for me is open my mind to the storyteller style of music.
Along the way I have found some wonderful, and some downright average,
music. Lyle Lovett was mentioned and deserves to be so. Van Morrison, if
only for his atmospheric Coney Island. Joe Cocker came in for some close
scrutiny but for me, he is a master of mood on his early work, I'd select The
Moon's a Harsh Mistress as his best. Even those with the lighter (read
commercial) touch like Rupert Holmes and Andrew Gold had the occaisional
flash of brilliance. The point of this rambling is that by continuing to
share our musical likes and dislikes we (and especially me) might be
fortunate enough to be introduced to a musician as yet unappreciated. I'll
look forward to reading more.
p.s. in a quick scan of the CD rack I saw that my, beloved, CD of Family
Entertainment (bought solely for Observations From A Hill) was published by
See for Miles. I searched for a long time for that CD and am grateful to See
for Miles for their commitment to the golden oldies.
Switching to CJ. I too was puzzled by his lack of discussion on his work
with PA. I would have thought it was a high point in his early career,
especially as I remember from his biographies that he had wanted to be a
published poet. Consequently, I am very pleased to hear that in the recent
interview he had fond memories of this times. I believe he could help a
great deal in revitalising public interest in PA. I intend to blatantly drop
his name in my contact to "Fresh Air" as he's relatively well known in the
USA. I am sure that if he is not an Email user himself, someone on his staff
is. Any ideas on how to track down an address for him?? Perhaps via his
most recent TV employer.
A final word on recordings. If PA owns the copyright on his work, what are
the options for a live recording at one of the forthcoming appearances?
Now my actual final word. I know it's early here in New Hampshire, but did I
really read that Jake Thackery recorded with the Geoff Love Orchestra!!! Now
I am convinced that there is no accounting for taste.
Regards
Richard Gibson
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 22:23:18 +0100
From: Leslie Moss <email address>
Subject: MV174 Re: MV173: Storyteller music
>But one of the things that listening to PA/CJ for the last
>22 years has done for me is open my mind to the storyteller style of music.
Nobody to my knowledge has mentioned Harry Chapin in this context. If PA/CJ
are the supreme UK storytellers, then Harry Chapin must be the US's answer
(or was, he died prematurely). Cat's in the Cradle, his opus magnum about
the consequences of being too busy for your son when he's young, still has
the power to reduce me to tears after countless listenings, especially now
that my own eldest has reached the age of ten where the song begins. HC is a
demonstration that thoughtful, literate music *can* find a mass audience if
properly marketed - a lesson here?
While on the subject of our likes and dislikes. In terms of 'mood' rather
than strict content, the early Joni Mitchell takes some beating. And I'd
like to add my support to Van Morrison, one of the most consistently
stimulating musicians in the last thirty years.
I think that Elton John has come in for an over-harsh press from this group.
Although he's now a fully paid-up member of the Jurassic Park of rock
sentimentality, in his heyday he and Bernie Taupin produced rock ballads to
echo down the years. Honky Chateau and Don't Shoot Me remain classic albums.
I've sounded off enough so I'm off to sleep.
Leslie
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 07:16:23 PDT
From: "Jones,David L" <email address>
Subject: MV175 RE: MV155: Banality
>From: Colin Boag <email address>
>Date: Sat, 27 Sep 97 10:51:45 +0000
>As someone who is relatively new to using this kind of e-mail, could
>someone please explain to me why some correspondents feel the need
>to have a banal slogan at the end of their e-mail?
It's called a tag-line, and many e-mail programs let you set up
one or more tag-lines, which are automatically added to your
message as it goes out. Often it's a random choice by the machine,
and the sender has no idea which one will go out. The original
intent was to allow people to append e-mail response info, maybe
even snail-mail addresses and phone numbers etc., but of course
it got extended beyond that. There are whole libraries of tags
that you can download and use.
Some of us, on the other hand, have to type in our own tags.
Dave Jones
"Marketing is the business of selling projects to management"
- Me.
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 09:21:58 +0100
From: David Sinfield <email address>
Subject: MV176 Re: MV174; MV173: Storyteller music
In message <email address>,
Midnight Voices <email address> writes
>Nobody to my knowledge has mentioned Harry Chapin in this context. If PA/CJ
>are the supreme UK storytellers, then Harry Chapin must be the US's answer
>(or was, he died prematurely). Cat's in the Cradle, his opus magnum about
>the consequences of being too busy for your son when he's young, still has
>the power to reduce me to tears after countless listenings, especially now
>that my own eldest has reached the age of ten where the song begins. HC is a
>demonstration that thoughtful, literate music *can* find a mass audience if
>properly marketed - a lesson here?
I'll see your Harry Chapin and raise you a Peter Case. If you haven't
come across him yet look out for Poor Old Joe and They Took a Walk In
the Woods.
Unfortunately Mr Case doesn't seem to have got much recognition (well
not in East Molesey anyway). Perhaps considered lyrics and just enough
production is not what the rest of the world wants.
You know what they want what they rilly rilly want :(
--
David Sinfield (Surrey, UK)
Not clever enough to make up a sig
and too proud to steal one.
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 14:02:20 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV177: CD Release Update from Pete
Hi gang --
Just had word from Pete, confirming the See For Miles CD should be
available during October (officially it's still a September release), see
Steve Bennett's MV171. Touch Has A Memory will be included (as per the
original Fontana release) but not Be Careful When They Offer You The Moon
-- not enough space on the CD.
Corrections re Pete's touring band: he points out that Mama Flyer, who
backed him on the Road Of Silk tour, were not actually 'his' band, but a
pre-existing Scottish outfit recruited for the job. For the Secret Drinker
tour he assembled another group, consisting of Neil Campbell, Dick Levens
and Jeff Seopardie, who also played on Live Libel. His other tours were
done solo.
To Mike Cross (MV154): Pete reminds us that CJ hasn't done the BBC-1 New
Year's Eve show since 1994.
Re Our Lady Lowness, a note from Pete:
I can understand some people's difficulty with Our Lady Lowness. I've
never ever felt inclined to try it live. I think I was trying for
something beyond my grasp, to be brutally honest with myself, something
heavier and bluesier than I was (am) capable of delivering. There's
always the danger of writing something I can't actually sing. And I
suspect that the heavy sections at least of Wall Of Death come into the
same category. I still quite like the quiet bits (Okiedoke, my armchair
hero... etc), and the way those bits come in (key change idea from E to C
pinched from (Pseuds' Corner ahoy) the first movement of Schubert's String
Quintet).
And on tag lines, he suggests, after Hilaire Belloc "It is the best of all
trades to make songs, and the second best to sing them"
Regards
Steve
==============================================================================
From: Mark Roberts <email address>
Subject: MV178 RE: MV177: CD Release Update from Pete
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 14:37:48 +0100
>Hi gang --
>
>Just had word from Pete, confirming the See For Miles CD should be
>available during October (officially it's still a September release),
>see Steve Bennett's MV171.
Yup, already got mine ordered, they are taking credit card orders over
the phone.
Regards,
Mark Roberts.
==============================================================================
From: Neil Lovelock <email address>
Subject: MV179: CD Release.
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 10:46:00 -0400
Do we know if the new CD will be available in North America? We can
only hope that it will!!
Neil.
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 17:24:42 +0100
From: gerald smith <email address>
Subject: MV180 Re MV 177
Never realised the E-C changes in the quiet bits on Wall of Death were the
same as Schubert uses in the first mvt of his string quintet. Jeeezz..
A. Pseud.
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:15:35 +0100
From: Leslie Moss <email address>
Subject: MV181 Re: MV177: Schubert's unfinished e-mail
>, and the way those bits come in (key change idea from E to C
>pinched from (Pseuds' Corner ahoy) the first movement of Schubert's String
>Quintet).
>
Lennon and McCartney, you've been overtaken by PA/CJ as the best songwriters
since Schubert.
Leslie
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 15:19:31 -0400
From: Mike Welbrock <email address>
Subject: MV182: By way of introduction..
So many emails... am I the only one who is unused to this sort of activity.
115 when I came back off holiday. But I've enjoyed reading most of them.
Any criticism about the administration of the list should be slapped down
straight away, as it's obviously the delirious ranting of someone who knows
too much about the Internet or subscribes to too many mailing lists.
The web site is wonderful and I've tried spread the word but even my
brother (the one who forced me to listen to Atkin LPs when I was 10 years
old etc. university etc. cheap beer etc. student gigs etc.) isn't
interested. I have however forwarded to him some of the more esoteric
emails (particularly that one about the chord progressions for Mansion on
the Hill, that one worried me) but he's too far gone into trad folk by now
and there's no return. Anyway forget chord structures, have you tried to
sing some of those bastard songs?
Am I the only one in the group that who's personal relationships have
suffered to the music of Pete Atkin? The other day I innocently printed out
the chords to Tongue Tied, Senior Citizens & Prince of Aquitaine from the
Web Site (as well as the details of the Islington Folk Club so I can go the
gig next month). I was later confronted, quite aggressively I thought, by
my wife about what she obviously thought was a highly unhealthy pursuit.
She subsequently said scornfully that she would actually be less concerned
if I'd 'found religion'.
Who else is going to the Islington gig on the 16th? I'll be there with my
vibrating broach. Has Atkin been doing gigs like this all through the 80's
& 90's or has it just been since the Monyash bash. I don't recall ever
having seen him play in London in the last 15 years.
Finally, favourite song? Nobody has mentioned it so far, which surprises
me, and it's been a long time since I've heard anything by him but it's
Between Us. Fabulous stuff.
Rgds,
Mike Welbrock
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 1997 09:12:45 +1200
From: Ramsey Margolis <email address>
Subject: MV183: by way of an introduction...
'Bout time I kicked in. Been quietly reading the discussion.
Some time in the early 70s I was introduced to the first album, BTBS, by
a very desirable woman in Hampstead, she was rich and I was struck by
her good taste in all things, yes, very struck. But then, if eternity was
still a good address...
I went on to buy each album as it appeared, I also found a copy of the
'Master of the revels' single. Our singer was greatly surprised when I
requested 'Touch has a memory' during the interval at a Camden Lock gig
some years later. He commented that I must have been one of the 15
people who'd bought that single. 'Live libel' I have to say didn't
appeal, guess I couldn't connect to many of the objects of irony.
The other time I saw the man perform was at Islington Folk Club, when
the venue was the Empress of Russia in St John Street (thanks for
that!), sometime in the late eighties.
So what happened to my albums? A sad story. Most are with my ex- who now
lives in Winchester, where he'll be playing -- ironically on my next
birthday. But as I'm 12,000 miles away from that town and and even further
from my ex- there's no chance of hearing him either way ... unless
someone will be attaching a DAT to the PA on the 29th?
On a trip to London in 95 I managed to get hold of a copy of the CD.
'Touch has a memory' is a song I frequently catch myself singing, it
must really strike a chord, I was pleased to find that CD. Almost
didn't, the type on the cover is scarcely legible. I recorded it onto a
DAT, left it in a box when I went off and it's travelled well, coupled
with Granville Bantock's 'Pagan Symphony', the soundtrack of 'Latcho
Drom' and Marianne Faithful's wonderful '20th Century Blues'.
It's marvellous to hear the songs again, they've don't seem to have
aged, though I do miss the strings on 'Touch has a memory'. And when
each song ends I start to hum the beginning of the next album track and
laugh when something else starts.
As for what else I listened to at the time, I don't suppose anyone will
garner much from this mixed bag. Yes, there was Stackridge and the
Bonzos but also Terry Riley, Jacques Loussier, Georges Moustaki, James Taylor,
Fire Next Time, Tom Robinson as well as much jazz and an increasing
proportion of classical music, starting with Erik Satie at that time --
just as his music came out of copyright... To my satiesfaction!
Joan Armatrading was another performer whose lyrics moved me then,
haven't heard her for a while.
I'd urge afficianados of PA+CJ to check out musician and sometime singer
Steve Beresford. Some of his stuff is downright wierd, but at times he
produces good late-evening-with-a-glass-in-hand music. I just love his
(lack of?) voice and the obtuse lyrics on 'Signals for tea' are as
joyfully intriguing as some of CJ's. Steve's web page is at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/rec/ps/efi/mberes.html
Other performers whose choice of lyrics stretch the grey matter and
touch the emotions are Mike and Kate Westbrook. They have a song using
Verlaine's poetry on one of their albums! Don't know if they have a web
site, haven't looked.
Here in New Zealand, a couple of performers I've grown attached to are
Linn Lorkin and Hershal. Linn is a singer songwriter whose latest 'Linn
in Grey Lynn' has several excellent tracks, and together they're part of
a klezmer band, the Jews Brothers Band, whose performances are just a
hoot. They have a web site at http://www.rouge.co.nz/
Now, I listen to a lot of Mahler, Shostakovich, string quartets and the
like. Astor Piazzolla and a bit of contemporary Hawaiian such as Hapa
when in the mood.
Finally, a plea to whoever's arranging the Winchester gig: would you
mail a flyer to my ex- and her man without mention of this third party?
Please write to me. I'm sure they'd both appreciate it...switch on the
hallway
light, farewell a friend.
_______________________________________________________
| |
| R A M S E Y M A R G O L I S |
| computer technician school of art & design |
_ | auckland institute of technology | _
/ )| private bag 92006 auckland new zealand |( \
/ / | phone <phone and fax numbers> | \ \
_( (_ | email <email address> | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/->_______________________________________________<-\_|</ /)))
(\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////)
\ / \ /
\ _/ \_ /
/ / \ \
/___/ \___\
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 21:21:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Richard Gibson <email address>
Subject: MV184 Re: MV183: by way of an introduction...
Just read the last 10 messages, a good way to spend a half hour or so.
I would add Tom Waits to the list of interesting musicians and I plan to
research the New Zealand suggestions.
As for whether the CD will be available in the US, I doubt it, although
that's only my opinion. I'm sure See for Miles will ship overseas and CDs
generally travel well. We will need a few extra over here to stir up some
new interest.
I noticed another comment on the potential of capturing one of the
forthcoming live performances on DAT or MiniDisc even. Steve, any chance or
are the copyright's too complicated?
Regards
Richard Gibson
p.s. why are so many of us in the information technology business, or is it
just my imagination.
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 09:56:58 GMT
From: email address (Dr Jeremy Walton. Tel: <phone number>)
Subject: MV185 Re: MV182: By way of introduction..
Hi Mike,
>> I have however forwarded to him some of the more esoteric
>> emails (particularly that one about the chord progressions for Mansion on
>> the Hill, that one worried me) but he's too far gone into trad folk by now
>> and there's no return. Anyway forget chord structures, have you tried to
>> sing some of those bastard songs?
I guess you mean PA's bastard songs (as opposed to the trad folk ones).
Well, yes, I've had (very) modest success in public with a crucial
selection of them - notably "Tongue-tied", "Touch has a memory",
"Flowers and the wine" and one or two others - but many of them are
still beyond my reach. For example, I think that "Secret Drinker" is
one of his best songs, but each time I try to sing it, I find that I can
only get about half of it in tune. It's a different half each time I
try it though, so maybe there's hope...
>> Who else is going to the Islington gig on the 16th? I'll be there with my
>> vibrating broach.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
??? Sorry I won't be there to see it. ;-)
Cheers,
Jeremy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeremy Walton <email address> |
| The Numerical Algorithms Group Ltd, Oxford, UK Tel: <phone number> |
| Fax: <fax number> |
| IRIS Explorer Center URL: http://www.nag.co.uk/Welcome_IEC.html |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
From: Stephen Payne <email address>
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 11:44:26 +0000
Subject: MV186: miscellaneous
Re Our Lady Lowness: How unreal, and strangely thrilling it feels to
have responses from the artist to ones tiny misgivings about his work.
And I absolutely agree that the quiet bits of Wall of Death sound
lovely, although I had no idea about why. Thinks: must try my hand at
learning some music theory.
I've been wondering where the unattributed guitar chords on the web come
from? They all seem great, except: I just can't get Be Careful When
They Offer You the Moon to work. Probably my cloth ears.
Turning to Clive's writing/lyrics. I just read the Telegraph/Diana
piece, and agreed with many of the earlier comments. I was also struck
by how many of the images it invoked reminded me of the songs. He could
have called the piece "Between us there is nothing" both because of the
overall theme, and the use of a table-for-two images. There was also a
hint of Frangipanni was Her Flower.
I think one of the trademarks in his writing that I love is the ready
mixing of learnedness and high-brow vocabulary with sassy
street-language. Dunno how he pulls it off, but he does it brilliantly
- and I think it still comes across in his more recent tv work. As
someone who performs hopelessly a lot of the learning (e.g. literature
and military history) is beyond me, but I find it exciting when I do
recognise it, or when I come across it later........or when I have it
revealed to me in answers to queries by this group! So on that theme
here's some more questions about one of my favourite songs:
The Shadow and the Widower. I notice several Shakespeare / Blake
quotes, "to perdition with that rarified regret" "all those lineaments
of gratified desire" so I wonder whether there's a whole lot more in
there that I haven't noticed? Perhaps this song is for
literary-quotation what "Tongue-Tied" is for cliches? In which case, is
"The Shadow and the Widower" i.e. that phrase, itself a literary
borrowing?
Stephen Payne
==============================================================================
From: "Martin Nail" <email address>
Subject: MV187: Tongue-tied and other clichés
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 16:46:33 +0100
Stephen Payne writes (MV186) 'Perhaps this song [The Shadow and the
Widower] is for literary-quotation what "Tongue-Tied" is for clichés?'
To go off at a couple tangents: I can't get used to the title 'Tongue-tied'
since I learnt it as 'I need new words'. It is fascinating to see the two
versions side-by-side on the Website, but I cannot see the later version as
being an improvement - either in title or in text - apart perhaps from the
elimination of the repetition of the word 'sounds' in the middle eight.
Anyone agree/disagree?
And my nomination for the most brilliant use of clichés (practically a
whole song made from stringing clichés together) is 'What am I supposed to
do?'.
Martin Nail
<email address>
Internet resources on English folk and traditional music:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/martin.nail/Folkmus.htm
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 14:09:37 -0400
From: David Gritten <email address>
Subject: MV188: connected
Hi.
As a couple of people requested it, thought I'd post my Daily
Telegraph pre-Monyash article on Pete -- free gratis and at no expense to
the Midnight Voices gang.
To the guy who finds the Telegraph 'appalling' -- bad news,
sunshine. There was a CJ profile in the Telegraph Monday (29/9). Better
make
arrangements to get hold of a copy now -- without paying for it, of
course.
Anyway, here's the article:
Back in the 70s they were a songwriting team revered by literate,
discerning music fans; but in 1977, after six albums which sold poorly
enough to make them both cult and legend on the college rock circuit, Pete
Atkin and Clive James (yes, that Clive James) called it a day.
The two men went their separate ways. Clive James became, well, Clive
James; already a respected TV critic, he gained fame and notoriety as
essayist, novelist and Saturday night TV presenter. Pete Atkin moved into
radio, carved out a new career as a successful producer and virtually
stopped performing: "Until recently, I'd play a folk club maybe once or
twice a year, just to keep my hand in," he says.
Atkin and James were both Cambridge University students in the
1960s, and met through the Footlights Theatre Club. Their albums, like
Driving Through Mythical America, Secret Drinker and A King At Nightfall,
were recorded between 1970 and 1975; Atkin sang (in a wistful, sometimes
weary voice) his own melodies, variously influenced by pop, blues and Duke
Ellington-era jazz, while James supplied the complex, witty, often dazzling
lyrics. Until recently Atkin had no idea how many fans still felt deep
affection for his work.
But then a long-time fan started a Pete Atkin home page on the
Internet. The response was startling; Atkin devotees who came upon the site
while browsing the Web e-mailed to proclaim enthusiasm for his work, ask
him to play live more, and request re-issues of his albums. "I was really
gratified by all the attention and comments," Atkin says.
Inspired by this deluge of support, Atkin has resumed writing songs. He is
also negotiating with record companies for a reissue on CD of his albums
(which were deleted in 1977 and re-released only briefly in 1990). And he
will headline a festival in Derbyshire on August 16, organised by Steve
Birkill, the fan who started his home page.
An amiable, mild-mannered man with gold-rimmed glasses, Atkin now lives
in Bristol, where he was regional head of BBC radio for a spell. Since 1993
he has been a freelance producer; his best known credit recently is the
216-episode This Sceptered Isle, an oral history of Britain, for Radio 4.
He seems almost bemused by fans' unwavering enthusiasm for his music:
"Clearly there are people out there, saying: where can I get CD copies of
these records? But there was no way of knowing that. The Internet is the
first democratic way of gauging the interest, of reaching people like this,
and tapping into their personal memories. It's also a way of actively
inviting their comments – if they'd seen an article about me in a magazine,
say, they'd probably read it and put it to one side."
Now Atkin has his own web site, he sends Birkill masses of information
about his career, past live performances, and tapes of unrecorded songs. "I
regard Steve as an unofficial archivist," Atkin says. "He is absolutely the
ideal person to start a web site."
Indeed he is. Birkill, 50, is not just a veteran Atkin-James fanatic, but
has been an electronics and computer whiz for many years; in 1970 he rigged
up a special antenna on the roof of his parents' Yorkshire home just to
receive a London Weekend TV series "What Are You Doing After The Show?"
with Atkin and Julie Covington singing Atkin-James songs.
He now runs a small electronic design company, and was browsing the web at
his Derbyshire home when he saw a listing for Atkin playing at an
Eastbourne folk club. He made the 250-mile journey to see him, and asked to
start a web page. It started as a simple discography, but in a year has
expanded to include full lyrics of 150 Atkin-James songs, 20 of which can
be heard on-line, including recordings of Kenny Everett playing them on BBC
radio. The site receives some 200 visits weekly and meets fans' requests
for guitar chords to songs. Birkill has now begun the huge task of
annotating James' lyrics.
It also helps that Birkill is affluent; he owns nine acres of pasture land
near the Peak District village of Monyash. When organisers of its annual
folk evening on the village green sought to expand it into a day-long
festival, he offered his land, securing Atkin for an evening solo concert
on August 16. "I'm thrilled to host the event and be seeing Pete on stage
again," says Birkill. "And welcoming people who feel like me about this
great unsung talent."
Clive James, who talks with Atkin occasionally by phone, has visited the
website, and marvels: "The man who annotated the lyrics knows more about
them than me. It was an important period of my life, and I'm proud to have
been a part of those songs. My work on some of them is among the best verse
writing I've done.
"The interest in the records was always intense, and the fans were
enthusiastic. You'd rarely see them in second hand bins. Unfortunately you
rarely saw them first hand either. There wasn't a big enough audience in
Britain to sustain a career." James also wants to see the six albums
reissued on CD.
Atkin is invigorated by the depth of support relayed by fans via the
Internet. "This experience, and the attention paid to the work, has made me
go back to old songs I haven't thought about in 25 years," he says.
"I've been revisiting material – including stuff that would have been on
our seventh album. It's a natural progression from there to writing new
songs. The more you do, the more it generates ideas."
The Pete Atkin web site is at: http://www.rwt.co.uk/pa.htm
For details of the Monyash Summer Folk Festival, call: <phone number>.
ends
==============================================================================
From: "Maurice J. Lovelock" <email address>
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 23:46:09 -5
Subject: MV189 Re: MV177: CD Release Update from Pete
Thanks for the MUCH improved readability of the mail, Steve.
I doubt if the new CD will be released in North America, but maybe we
can make some arrangement to get some copies over here for anyone who
places an order. Whatdya say! I would be willing to act as a
distribution depot if required. M.
==============================================================================
From: "Martin Nail" <email address>
Subject: MV190: Laughing Boy
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 12:14:27 +0100
Cliff Smith wrote (some time ago now):
>as I see it, Laughing Boy (one of my favourites) expresses how CJ finds
>life, in all its richness, with all its sorrows and ironies, to be a
>source of joy.
It's one of my favourites too, which I sometimes perform. But I've always
thought the 'joy' to be ironic - after all the protagonist (not necessarily
CJ himself) is a 'crying man that everyone calls laughing boy'. So the
joy he finds in the little events of life which others might not notice is
a defence against his general feeling of alienation. Very sixties. Another
possible reference point: the archetypal comic who's a tortured man
inside?
and Jeremy Walton wrote:
>The last is a big favorite of mine, mainly
>because it mystifies my daughter: "*Why* can't he forget the way a girl
>lights a cigarette?"
I find it quite a striking image for some reason, but I find it harder to
construct a meaning for it than for the images in the other verses.
Martin Nail
<email address>
Internet resources on English folk and traditional music:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/martin.nail/Folkmus.htm
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 13:23:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rob King <email address>
Subject: MV191: Cover version
Talking of cover versions, which we have been occasionally, I would die to
hear Jake Thackaray give CJ/PA the treatment; maybe the Girl on the Train!!
Rob
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 21:38:18 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV192: The CD
I think a year or three has passed since British record shops (those that
sell new records anyway) filed stock under categories like 'progressive
male vocal'. Come to think of it, it's been a while since they (apart from
the 3 biggies in London) understood what "stock" was, beyond carrying
Top-40 stuff ...
How do we bring this monumental release to the attention of the World At
Large? Will it get a prominent and positive review in Mojo? Record
Collector, Q, MM, NME, Time Out, Playboy, Radio Times, the Deadly
Telegraph??? Is Peel going to be playing it? Wogan? Or Kershaw? And at the
right time? I don't think we can depend on Clive James to reach the right
people these days, even if his TV audience took anything seriously. Are we
all doing what we can to publicise it? There needs to be no doubt at See
For Miles about the follow-ups. We want RCA to beg Pete to return to the
studio and record the 7th album.
Being on SFM might help the CD avoid the 'Folk' tag. Or 'Easy Listening'.
But 'Pop and Rock' isn't much better. 'Eclectic' means nothing in an age
where folk is equated with 'World Music'. Pete reckons he should have his
own category, perhaps 'Difficult Listening' or 'Unpopular Music'.
The big record stores in Germany (like WoM) have a large section called
"oldies". There repose your Shadows, Hollies, Zombies, Fleetwoods, Bonzos,
Moodies, Caravan, Fairports as well as your early Elton, Bowie, John
Martyn, Dusty Springfield -- I could go on (please don't). Here (now)
"oldie" is synonymous with "wrinkly" so it wouldn't work so well.
At least the cover will be visible, legible, recognisable -- not dark green
and blue on purple, like the old RCA CD.
But (as well as the kids, bored with Blur and sick of Spice) how to reach
the person who sat next to us (both sides, front and back, and diagonally
-- that's 8 for each of us; we're approaching 1000 already) on the floor of
the union debating hall in 1973, who's now mid-40s, doesn't listen to radio
or read the music press, has no interest in the Internet, doesn't scour the
'pop and rock' racks in the Megastore, but has fond memories of Pete's
records and concerts -- to make him/her aware of the event. There's the
conundrum. Otherwise we might sell just 2 copies to each Voice ...
Publicity is what we need. Who do you know? Get them to plug it! Same goes
for next year's Monyash bash (if we do one) -- we'll expect every one of
you to distribute 1000 flyers and posters!
Ideas?
Steve
==============================================================================
From: Mark Roberts <email address>
Subject: MV193 RE: MV191: Cover version
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 09:26:11 +0100
----------
>Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 13:23:26 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Rob King <email address>
>To: Midnight Voices <email address>
>Subject: Cover version
>
>Talking of cover versions, which we have been occasionally, I would die to
>hear Jake Thackaray give CJ/PA the treatment; maybe the Girl on the Train!!
>Rob
Is that with or without the Geoff Love Orchestra ?
==============================================================================
From: Neil Lovelock <email address>
Subject: MV194: Re: The CD
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 08:11:00 -0400
Hi there,
RE: CD Distrubution.
Would it be expensive to get banners put up on the popular middle-age
web sites advertising the CD? I think that a lot of people would get to
see them and would just have to click on them to find out more info.
Who knows, we might even pass the century mark on the MV group, Steve
would have his work cut out for him then, wouldn't he?
Neil.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 13:43:05 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV195 Re: MV194 Re: The CD
" ... middle-age web sites"? What, www.oldies.com? pension.net?
one.foot.in.the.grave.co.uk? What can he mean?
Thanks Neil for alerting me to the GeoCities site clearance -- S.
==============================================================================
From: Neil Lovelock <email address>
Subject: MV196 Re: MV195
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 09:16:00 -0400
Actually I was thinking more along the lines of www.finewine.com and
www.goodmusic.com but oldies sounds good as well. Just some young man
humour, just kidding you guys, I have the utmost respect for my elders!
Neil
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 09:48:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rob King <email address>
Subject: MV197 Re: MV193; MV191: Cover version
I understand that Jake immediately took out a contract on the entire GL
orchestra the moment he heard the end result, but that no hit-man could get
within half a mile of them without being overcome by schmaltz.
==============================================================================
From: Adrian Stovold <email address>
Subject: MV198: Publicity for CD re-release
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 15:08:32 +0000
Dear All,
This weekend, a chum of mine will pop down to sunny Brighton to visit me.
Going by the name of John Robinson, he is currently employed as editor of
the albums page of the NME, and I shall therefore be quizzing him on how
best to achieve maximum publicity for the re-release. Naturally, he's
pretty clued-up about The Industry, so if you have any bright ideas which
might just work, please mail them to me at my home email address:
<email address>
... and I'll ask for his expert advice. I don't think that PA is the kind
of thing that the NME would always cover, but I suppose it's worth a try.
Yours name-droppingly,
Ady
(Technical author, age 26, single, CJ's baldness, PA's beard, seeks
Hypertension Girl to mope with.)
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 15:56:51 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MV199 Re: MV194 Re: The CD
From: email address (Stephen R Bennett)
We could put an 'off topic' comment in any Mailing list we belong to, given
our similar ages / interests we might get a few more reclaims or converts,
only a thought.....
--
Steve Bennett
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..COME FRIENDLY BOMBS AND FALL ON-------------------.
Sir J.B.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 13:42:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rob King <email address>
Subject: MV200 Re: MV198: Publicity for CD re-release
See For Miles does advertsise the release in the latest (october) edition of
Record Collector:
"These two very original and much-sought after albums were the first and
second albums of songs by CJ and PA, attracting at the time a fiercely loyal,
highly intelligent audience who became long-term devotees to this superb
blend of poetic folk-pop-rock (someone else struggling to classify PA!!).
These albums were both very highly acclaimed through a host of music and
mainstream press reviews. Even though CJ went on to become a household name
through journalism, his booksand TV shows, he still looks back fondly to his
lyric writing as the most satisfying and creatively enjoyable aspect of his
career."
That should gain a few more recruits.
On the subject of classification, I think it could be something along the
lines of Lyric Rock, or Hard Rhyme?.
==============================================================================
From: email address (Simon Reap)
Subject: MV201: PA Poster
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 22:02:34 GMT
I wonder if any 'Voicers can help.
Until fairly recently I had an old PA poster, featuring our hero
sitting with what I assume was a National Steel guitar on his knee.
I've lost the poster in one of our recent house moves, but I've
managed to convince myself that it was a poster for Road of Silk, even
though National Steel appears on Secret Drinker. Can anyone else
remember this poster and which album it was promoting?
Re MV199 (is it that many already?), I've posted a message about Pete
and the Web page on the John Hiatt mailing list - drumming up interest
in a basically American list may hasten the arrival of the new CD on
those shores. It wasn't even really an off-topic post!
Simon
--
Simon Reap - <email address>
- http://www.pipemedia.net/~sar
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 1997 14:26:30 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV202 Re: MV201: PA Poster
Simon wrote:
>Until fairly recently I had an old PA poster, featuring our hero
>sitting with what I assume was a National Steel guitar on his knee.
>I've lost the poster in one of our recent house moves, but I've
>managed to convince myself that it was a poster for Road of Silk,
>even though National Steel appears on Secret Drinker.
Yes, you're quite right. The photo did feature Pete with his National
Steel, although the poster advertised the Road of Silk album. We auctioned
a copy at the Monyash Festival -- don't know whether it was bought by a Voice.
-- Steve
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 1997 17:05:00 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV203: New Welcome Message
Hi, Steve here -
Welcome to Midnight Voices, the Pete Atkin e-mail discussion forum. This message
will go out to all newcomers to MV on or after today, Saturday 4.10.97, and I'm
also sending it to existing members since some of our details have changed over
the past 200 messages.
We began just five weeks ago and membership currently stands at 85, of whom 73
have elected to receive daily and 12 weekly updates. The idea came in the after-
math of Pete's appearance at our Monyash Festival, as a more interactive way
(than our Website) of keeping enthusiasts of Pete's music informed about events
such as club appearances and record releases, and of course next year's festival
(or whatever might replace it).
The idea is that any member with a question, answer, statement, comment or opinion
he or she may wish to share with the group mails ("posts") that message to the MV
mail address. Normally (though without guarantee) within a day the post will be
mailed back out, bearing an "MV" number, to all members on the daily list,
including the originator. Weekly members will receive the previous week's posts
in one long message or "digest" each weekend.
I maintain the list manually -- I have no plans to hand it over to a robotic
mailing list server or anything of that nature, so the membership list will remain
confidential. If you don't post a message to the list no-one but myself will even
know of your membership. And of course any "spam" to the MV address will go no
further than here. Handling of the daily posts has been revised to remove unwanted
first-generation quote marks which some members objected to. So you may use normal
e-mail quoting conventions. However I would urge members to keep quoted passages
short -- with numbered messages it isn't necessary to include the whole text of
the post you're replying to.
We don't yet have a FAQ, though I plan to create one.
Our Pete Atkin Web site is "Smash Flops", http://www.rwt.co.uk/pa.htm
The address for your Midnight Voices posts is:
Midnight Voices <email address>
My own e-mail address, for administration (add, remove, resend, change to daily/
weekly) is Steve Birkill <email address>.
The group topic is defined as "anything at all to do with Pete or his music, or
his associates at Cambridge or subsequently on TV, radio, record or on tour".
The new policy on bounced mails is to forget them -- I used to resend but one or
two bounced permanently and occasionally a message got through twice. If an
address bounces mail solidly for three days or more it will be deleted from the
list. All posts are serial-numbered, so if you missed one and need a resend,
just mail me (SJB, not MV) and ask.
As we move into our sixth week I'm also changing the policy on digests for new
members. Up to now I've sent all back issues to each new member as they joined
the group. With over 200 in the archive I've now switched to sending only the
previous week's digest, plus (for new daily members) the current week's posts so
far. At present we're averaging 40 posts per week. If you're new and you'd like
to receive all the back issues just mail me (SJB) and they're yours.
If requesting a switch from daily to weekly service, expect some repetition. You
will be removed immediately from the daily list, but the next weekly digest you
receive will not be customised, so you will receive all of the week's messages
including those you'd already had on a daily basis.
I hope that covers everything. Sorry if it sounds officious, it's not intended.
But I think with so many users everything must be stated clearly or someone's
bound to get the wrong idea about *something* ...
If you're new to the group, you're hereby invited to introduce yourself!
Talk superbly,
Stephen J Birkill
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