OFF: Roy Harper query

[iain ferguson]

Born in Captivity is simply one of the most wonderful albums ever. I trudged 6
miles through the snow to a small folk club attached to a pub near weston super
mare to see Roy play.
Found out the gig was sold out so went into the pub for a pint and warm up next
to the fire before trudging home again. I was chatting to my fellow walker
about being so close yet so far from seeing the man. When squadron leader  Roy
Harper ( dressed in flying jacket and white scarf) steps in in and says
"we'll if you;ve walked 6 miles to come and see me, you can walk in with me,
you are my roadcrew for the night, you'll not pay, you can sit down  the front,
the only thing I ask is that you build the joints good and strong when I giv e
you the nod".
We walked in and sat at the front ( crosslegged ) and a lump the size of
jupiter landed on my lap to the words " i think its going to be a good night,
pass it round !", and nodded in my direction.....

Later after the gig i bought a copy of Born in Captivity and got the man to put
his name to it... its still played in Ferguson Towers to this day.... simply
stunning.

iain



Z E Itgeist wrote:

> Agreed, not one of his best, but Work of Heart, the suite, is still a
> marvellous piece.  And "Elizabeth" is an understated classic  Roy sez;
>
> "'Born in Captivity' and 'Work of Heart' used to be two separate albums. I
> can remember having cause one time to ask my good minder, Darren Crisp,
> which record of mine he would recommend to someone who had never heard me
> at all. I was expecting to hear something like 'Stormcock' or 'Valentine',
> or half a dozen others, but he came straight back with 'Born in Captivity'.
> I was very surprised.
>
> I had the chance of listening to the record again some time later. I
> brought some new ears with me into the experience. What I heard was what
> I'd last heard. An almost quaint little album made entirely by Roy and
> entirely at home. No other musicians involved.
>
> It brought back all the fonder memories of the period. A period when my son
> Ben was a little boy playing in the farmyard. Getting snowed in for the
> best part of a week one year. Green Woodpeckers in the garden. If you are a
> musician you will know the story well: it was the demo for 'Work of Heart'
> that eventually everyone liked just as well if not more. It's gentler,
> less 'produced' and quite obviously made at home.
>
> So; I was still finding my feet after the EMI years when 'Work of Heart'
> was made. Perhaps I don't have the right attitude to the album because of
> the trauma of losing the above house to Barclays Bank at the time. But
> never mind, I can proudly say that I was one of the first casualties of the
> eighties recession! It was a chaotic period and one that I don't care to
> remember that often.
>
> I have not until recently paid much attention to video, and I guess had I
> done so then my career would have been more visible. In that context it is
> worth remarking here that my performance at Glastonbury was video taped in
> 1982.
>
> Tony Franklin, who played bass with me at the time made a comment to me
> recently to the effect that the only visual recording of the most complex
> piece of music that I ever wrote was recorded by a sound crew who obviously
> couldn't hear a thing! Mike Mansfield has shown it on 'Q the Music'
> recently, (again). I think that I managed to find myself a suitable place
> to hide and cringe that night. C'est la vie. One day I'll re-dub it. There
> is no doubt in my own mind that the early eighties were the nadir of my
> life in music."
>
> >>>>
> OFF: Roy Harper query
>
> In message <200111112137.QAA23973 at listserv.spc.edu>, Z E Itgeist
> <stuart.hamilton at SCOTTISH.PARLIAMENT.UK> writes
>
> >NP Roy Harper - Born In Captivity 2CD
>
> 2CD eh? I have the original vinyl LP, but what else is on the CD? Is the
> second CD the "Work of Heart" album? (BiC largely being the demos for
> that- and personally I much prefer the demos, WoH is easily Harper's worst
> album I've always thought) Or is it something else?
>
> thanks in advance
> --
> Nick Medford