Martin Kinch: Hello Rick, and thanks
for your time answering a few questions.
Rick Pannell: It's a pleasure Martin
Martin: So where were you born and
brought up
Rick: I'm a Birmingham boy
Martin: Were you always interested
in music
Rick: From Saturday BBC radio 'Uncle
Mac'
Martin: Who were your music heroes
as you were growing up
Rick: Nina Simone, Ravi Shankar, Joni
Mitchell
Martin: A lot of the die hard ELO fans
will recognise your name as you were a sound engineer for the band back in the
70s, When did you start working for them and how did you get the job
Rick: I started in Spring 1973. There
was a musical equipment shop in Birmingham called 'Wasp'. It was the hub of 'interchange'
for many bands and 'roadies
Martin: Were you aware of the band
before you got the job
Rick: Yes, but mainly the 'roadies'
that worked for them
Martin: Had you worked with any other
bands/artists before that
Rick: My first band was 'Craig'. We
launched Carl Palmer ( ELP ) into the rock world.
Martin: I believe Craig released a
couple of singles on the Fontana label, were you with the band at the time of
those releases
Rick: I was part of 'Craig' from inception
to break-up. The singles were: 'A little bit of soap' and 'I must be mad'.
Craig - I Must Be
Mad (Fontana - 1966)
Martin: Did they get any airplay on
the radio
Rick: Not really. Our London Manager
Larry Paige had a success with the Troggs at the same time and we missed out
Martin: I think they are quite collectable
now, have you got copies
Rick: I've got a few…not for sale.
'I must be mad' has become highly collectable in the Psychedelic music scene
Martin: Did you record any albums
Rick: No. At the time we were more
a live act than experienced in the Recording Studio
Martin: Did you keep in touch with
Carl Palmer
Rick: Yes, I spoke to him a few months
ago and he's back in Birmingham.
Martin: Did you become a fan of ELP
Rick: Not really
Martin: So were you still in a band
when the ELO job came along
Rick: I gave up playing with the band
'Galliard' to engineer ELO.
Martin: Tell me a bit more about Galliard,
What did you play
Rick: I played guitar and sitar. Geoff
Brown was lead singer. We were musically more adventurous with keyboard and Brass,
introducing Elizabethan ( hence the name) and Classical styles with touches of
jazz. A fusion you could say
Martin: Did you release any albums
and singles
Rick: We released 2 albums:
Strange Pleasure and New
Dawn and we also released a single of 'I
wrapped her in ribbons'
Galliard - I wrapped her in ribbons (From
the album Strange Pleasure)
Martin: Did it cross your mind that
they might make it big after you left
Rick: I wanted them to succeed. The
real dilemma for me was giving up performing, though mixing a band can be a performance
of power!
Martin: What did the guys say when
you told them you were leaving - Did they carry on for much longer after you left
Rick: The band was already trying
different styles. They carried on for a number of years under different names.
Martin: The albums were released on
CD a few years ago - Did you get them and was it good to hear the albums again
with CD quality
Rick: I received them from bass player
Andy only a few years ago. Great sound but I can still hear my mistakes!
Martin: Did you write any of the songs
Rick: No
Martin: Do you still see any old the
old band members
Rick: Yes Andy Abbott. Geoff Brown
moved into the computer world like me and was behind the Games success Lara Croft.
He now lives in California.
Martin: The early days of ELO are well
known for their sound problems on stage, was this a big problem that you had to
deal with as soon as you started and what instruments gave you the biggest problems
Rick: Yes- feedback from the Contact
Mics on the Cellos and Violin and also the Mellotron could be temperamental after
rough handling.
Martin: Did it take you a while to
get the sound they wanted or did you get it sorted pretty quick
Rick: I built amplifiers for the strings
with graphic equalisers before they were available. This enabled troublesome frequencies
to be reduced. My background was electronics.
Martin: Can you remember the first
gig you worked on
Rick: A BBC recording at the 'Paris
studios' in London
Martin: So you were thrown in at the
deep end then! If it's the one that was recorded on 19/04/1973 then it was
released on CD a few years ago and it does sound great
Rick: Yes, that was the one, though
I only mixed for the stage and audience. That was important though to give the
band a good 'feel'.
Martin: Was it done like a normal gig
or could they stop and start again if there was a problem
Rick: It was straight through in front
of a live audience
Martin: Was the sound at the gigs all
your responsibility or was there a team of people working on it
Rick: The sound and production was
my responsibility. The quality and performance of the sound reinforcement equipment
was the responsibility of the hire company.
Martin: You must have been quite nervous
at the start
Rick: I joined before the first USA
tour. The band were very supportive.
Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Mike De Albuquerque, Rick Pannell, Richard
Tandy, Mike Edwards, and Mik Kaminski
Martin: Were some venues easier to
get a good sound from
Rick: Let me change that to - some
venues were impossible to get a good sound such as Birmingham Town Hall (before
renovation)
Martin: Soon after you started to work
for ELO they began to get big and started to play in bigger venues, Were the bigger
places harder work than the smaller ones
Rick: The big stadiums could lack
atmosphere, though the sound was more straight forward than odd shaped theatres.
Martin: So as a sound engineer, what
else is involved apart from getting the best sound from a band, do you have to
look after everyone's instruments between dates, tune up guitars, cellos, violins
etc
Rick: All of the bands electronics
was my responsibility including hair driers. It was a privilege to re-string and
tune Jeff's guitars.
Martin: So you didn't have to set up
Mike Edward's exploding cello then
Rick: Mikes exploding Cello was a
special of course. Miraculously mending itself for every performance.
Martin: I would think that life on
the road is a good laugh, have you got any favourite funny stories from your days
with ELO
Rick: A tour in Spain, spring 1975.
A tour fraught with problems especially after the professionalism of the USA.
After a food stop with no service and poor food we did a 'run out' without paying.
Martin: You actually often appeared
on promo films and on 'Top of the pops' etc with the band playing a cello, how
did that come about
Rick: The band lost Cello players
in the early years. I stood in on Top of the Pops when Colin Walker suddenly left
the band.
Electric Light Orchestra - Showdown
on Top of the Pops with Rick on cello
Martin: Did you ever have to play it
live or couldn't you play it
Rick: I didn't play it live, but as
a guitar player I could make it look convincing.
Martin: There's some great stuff on
Youtube including a time when you were interviewed with the rest of the band by
a German TV presenter, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him when I see it,
had you all had a few beers
Rick: No Beers for a change. The 'in'
sayings from the time, like ' say no more' from Monty Python, reference to Mik
Kaminski's love of betting on horses and the Sporting life paper were beyond the
hip, long haired presenter's knowledge.
Interview with The Electric Light Orchestra on Szene 74 - German TV
1974
Martin: So was there a lot of drinking
and parties and all that going on
Rick: I must have missed them.
Martin: I assume there wasn't a shortage
of young ladies hanging around either
Rick: No, but sound engineers are
low down the rankings.
Martin: Were you all good mates, did
you go out socially away from work
Rick: The 'Birmingham boys' would
socialise occasionally.
Martin: Did you have any favourite
people connected with the band
Rick: Jasper Carrot was a good friend
in his Folk singing days
Martin: And who did you get on with
most in the band
Rick: Mik Kaminski. I put him at ease
for his audition and then shared rooms with him on early tours.
Martin: I imagine Jeff to be a perfectionist
- was he good company and was he easy to work with
Rick: Jeff was natural and easy to
get on with. I had to become a skilled football player on a holiday break with
him in Cornwall.
Martin: Were you an actual fan of ELO,
would you have gone to the gigs and bought the records had you not been working
with them
Rick: Of course!
Martin: Working with Jeff Lynne in
the early years, Did it surprise you at how big ELO became
Rick: Not really. Jeff and others
put a lot of work into ELO.
Jeff
Lynne, Rick, Hugh McDowell, and Bev Bevan on German TV
Martin: There's been a lot written
and said about the band's manager Don Arden, did you have much to do with him,What
are your thoughts about him
Rick: Don delegated his son David
to interact with me. I got on well with David and had fun with him so kept my
opinions of his father private.
Martin: Did you work with the band
when they were in the studio as well
Rick: Until I fell asleep
in the early hours.
Martin: So who was Ted Blight
Rick: I guess that was me!! The Cellist
that appears from time to time.
Martin: Is that you in the blurred
photo of the 'On the third day' album
Rick: Yes, in a velvet jacket.
Martin: Have you got any favourite
ELO songs
Rick: That is probably 10538 overture
for its originality.
Martin: Well, I must admit that it
is also my favourite too, I know Roy Wood had left by the time you started
working with ELO, but did you ever get to meet him at all, You still shared
the same management and record labels
Rick: Roy came to ELO's gig at Birmingham
Town Hall.
Martin: Have you seen him since then
Rick: I’ve met him recently at a number
of his shows at ‘The Robin ‘ in Bilston. Always friendly.
Martin: What did you think of his band
Rick: Such a dynamic show and a sell-out
Martin: Did you ever see Wizzard back
in the 70s - I believe they had similar sound problems to ELO to start with
Rick: I didn't get to see Wizzard,
probably because I was away with ELO so much
Martin: Did you ever meet up with
Jeff Lynne again after you stopped working for the band
Rick: No
Martin: So as a Brummie you must have
been aware of bands like The Move and Idle Race - Did you ever go and see them
live or anyone else from the 'Brumbeat' scene
Rick: Yes , I particularly remember
seeing the Vikings. when pubs were popular venues for groups .
Martin: Do you have a favourite period
or year with ELO
Rick: The Eldorado album period
Record Company executive with Mike Edwards (centre) and Rick on the
right
Martin: It sounds like a great job
to have, why did you leave
Rick: I left the band so not to have
a Divorce! The previous sound engineer suffered a Divorce (away from home
for 7 or 8 months of the year).
Martin: Can you remember when it was
that you left, What was the last tour
Rick: It was summer 1977 after a big
USA tour.
Martin: Was it a shock to them or did
they know you were thinking about it
Rick: The signs were there that the
band would only last another tour. It was probably a surprise that I left before
the big world tour.
Martin: So though it stopped you getting
a divorce, did you have any regrets at leaving. Especially soon after you left
they went on to do the Out of the blue tour and album which I would think was
the biggest thing they had done,
Rick: I had to shut off from the rock
world to make a break without regret.
Martin: OK, So what job did you do after
that
Rick: I went back into electronics
and the fast developing computer world at a University.
Martin: Did you follow their career
at all afterwards
Rick: Only in the media.
Martin: Did you ever go and see them
live after you'd left
Rick: I saw ELO part II
Martin: Did you keep in touch with
any of them
Rick: Yes, Kelly and Mik.
Martin: Were you surprised that Jeff
went on to work with The Beatles / Roy Orbison and many more of the world's biggest
artists
Rick: Not surprised as they were inspirational
artists.
Martin: A few years after ELO split
up in 1986, Bev Bevan got a band together called ELO Part 2, You said you
went to see them, what do you think about a band carrying on without the main
singer/songwriter
Rick: I saw them once at Wolverhampton
but a band without new popular material has a limited life.
Martin: 2009 saw the death of ELO bassist
Kelly Groucutt, what are your memories of being with him
Rick: Kelly was very warm hearted.
I saw him a number of times in the Midlands and he visited my home.
Martin: Are you still in the music
business at all
Rick: No
Martin: Have you worked with any other
well known artists
Rick: I worked with Lynsey De
Paul and Widowmaker who both came under the Arden's management.
Martin: Do you regard the work you
did with ELO as just another job, or will it always be something special to you
On July 1st 2010, Rick met up with a couple
of his old 'Craig' bandmates - Carl Palmer and Len Cox. They met at The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham
for the launch of Andrew Cross’s film 'The Solo' which features the music
of Carl Palmer. The film is showing at the Ikon until July 25th. For more information click
here
Rick Pannell, Carl Palmer, and Len Cox - July 2010
