Just Another Day at the Office... 1983
Mixing Tracks for The Animals' "ARK" Album.
Just Another Day at the Office... 1983
Mixing Tracks for The Animals' "ARK" Album.
In 1983 I was twenty. I was working as a freelance sound engineer in London, based mainly at Maison Rouge Studios, in Fulham Broadway, under the guidance of its studio manager, Tony Taverner.
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Like many twenty-year-olds, I was from time to time slightly late for work and at least slightly hungover. On arrival I would attempt to disarm and distract my boss usually by simply just talking too much, like nothing had happened, trying to be charming, and making a joke.
Tony (my boss), was totally wise to this, however very cool with me. He didn’t give me a hard time, usually just a mildly disapproving glance, and then let me dig myself deeper into my own nonsense.
I remember one day coming through the studio’s main entrance mid-morning, maybe ten or fifteen minutes late, and immediately seeing my boss, Tony off to my right sitting in the bar area, at a small table talking with someone. I went straight over, positioning myself so he could see me, and when he looked up (and at his watch) and acknowledged I was there I started babbling… a brief apology (for being late), followed very rapidly (to prevent focus on the being late-bit) by an enthusiastic “What am I working on today, Tony?” type-question.
Tony casually said, “You’re working with Tony Visconti.”
I was almost speechless — however, unfortunately, I wasn’t…
“What, you mean THE Tony Visconti? T.Rex and “Young Americans” Tony Visconti?
“Yep!”
“Wow! You know that he produced my friend Hazel’s album, “Breaking Glass”?
“No, I didn’t know that, Nic.”
Perhaps my boss hadn’t heard of Tony Visconti or Hazel O’Connor? It was a bit of a push for me to describe Hazel as a friend because I’d only recently met her. But anyway, I continued to fill Tony, my boss, in a bit about Haze and THE Tony Visconti…
“You know Hazel O’Connor? She had that big hit with that song about drinking coffee, you know, “Will You”, with that big sax solo? Visconti produced it. Man, he’s a fucking amazing producer. He’s done sooo many things with David Bowie. He even played bass for him! I can’t believe I’m going to be working with THE Tony Visconti! I can’t wait! When is he coming in?”
“He’s here already.” And Tony, grinning, gestured with his head and gaze towards the man sitting opposite him at the table…
“Beam me up, Scotty…” (Me, under my breath.)
I don’t remember exactly what we worked on that day, I think it was some Modern Romance tracks, doing some multitrack editing and general sorting out, maybe an overdub or two. Tony Visconti had his own studio in Soho, Good Earth, however that day or week his studio was either busy on another project or had some maintenance going on. Hence he booked a day or two at Maison Rouge.
On another occasion, I was more like thirty or forty minutes late for work, and the recording session had already started.
I was supposed to have been at the studio early to assist the more than competent producer/engineer Steve Levine set up for recording a Japanese Whisky (I think, could have been just straightforward Sake) commercial. Because I was late my boss, Tony Taverner, had stepped in to help Steve.
Now I had to somehow join the session as seamlessly as possible, without causing any disruption for the client. At this point, still hungover, I wasn’t sure who the client was, I just knew the producer was Steve Levine.
My solution was very English. I decided to go to the client lounge, make a huge pot of tea, and take it in to the studio control room on a tray full of mugs, milk, sugar and biscuits as nonchalantly as I could.
Tray in hand, I sneaked through the studio control room door. I instantly recognised the client and the song that was being modified for this Japanese commercial. It was Culture Club, and their hit song “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”.
As casually as I could, trying my hardest just to blend in, I stooped to put the tray down on a low table next to the sofa at the back of the control room.
Suddenly the music stopped. Total silence.
I looked up.
My boss, Tony, was looking at me very disapprovingly. Steve Levine was also looking at me, he was not pleased.
Everybody else in the room was looking at me, in particular Boy George, staring, mouth all pouty, totally dressed up to the nines, with the hat, the hairband, the long hair, the plaits, the colourful top, baggy trousers etc etc.
I gave it my best shot, tried to gloss over my very late entrance, and confidently addressed everybody in the room with my question “Anybody want a cup of tea?”
To which Boy George like lightning very loudly responded, “Only if you stir it with your dick!” And burst into fits of giggly laughter, along with everyone else (just not so giggly)…
I wasn’t happy. Cheeky big-pouty-mouthed fucker! Anyway, already, less than a minute into the session, through the haze of my hangover, I saw red, and seriously contemplated decking the client, which probably would not be the most professional of responses. So I bit my lip instead, and laughed it off. But, lesson learned! Don’t be late! However, just imagine that situation happening today, in 2024… Basically, I don’t think it could! Not without litigation over sexual harassment in the workplace. Back then in 1983… it was just another day at the office.
Mixing Tracks for The Animals' "ARK" Album.
That’s quite often how my work day would begin (not sexual harassment). I’d come to work, not quite sure who I’d be working with, and my boss, Tony Taverner would tell me.
And that is how my week mixing tracks for The Animals’ album “ARK” began.
“Today you’re working with The Animals, Nic. You’ll be finishing off and mixing some album tracks for them.”
“Ok, who’s the producer?”
“The band produced all the tracks, but you’ll be doing everything, you’ll be working with them, overseeing the overdubs, and you’ll be overseeing all the mixes.”
Holy Shit! Talk about in at the deep end! I was at the same time totally petrified and absolutely elated. Somehow I managed to keep my cool and visually come across like it was all just a walk in the park… however, under the surface my webbed feet were going ten to a dozen…
I’m not 100% sure how exactly it happened. I don’t know if it was totally my boss, Tony Taverner, who put me forward for this work. Or if someone at I.R.S. Records (The Animals’ label) suggested me.
One of my close school friends, Neil Brett, was working with a music artist booking agency called Wasted Talent (which I think was somehow linked to Harvey Goldsmith, though I could be wrong). Neil was booking gigs for The Alarm. I think Wasted Talent’s office was next to I.R.S. Records office. Anyway, I’d been there with Neil, and met one of Miles Copeland’s label managers — Steve Tannett (who was also working with The Alarm), and I’d told him I was working as an engineer at Maison Rouge studios. Neil bigged me up in front of Steve, and actually, I think Steve had also seen Neil and I’s kind of Indie/New Wave/Punk band playing live in The Rock Garden, in Covent Garden. So it’s possible Steve greased the wheels a bit because apparently, The Animals wanted to add some New Wave flavour to their sound for this album.
I asked Tony, that first morning, why I’d been given this opportunity to work with The Animals. For me, for any young engineer, this was an incredibly big deal. Tony just laughed as he was walking away with his back to me, and simply said “Nobody else wanted to do it.” Forty years later and I’m wondering — maybe he wasn’t joking?
Anyway, there I was twenty years old, about to meet the legendary Chas Chandler, the bass player on the classic recording of the hit record The Hosue Of The Rising Sun (which was probably the first complete song I learned on the guitar), the man who discovered Jimmy James (of the Blue flames), to talk through a plan and schedule for that week, for recording overdubs and mixing five tracks from The Animals forthcoming album “ARK”.
Before Chas arrived that day, Tony, my boss, gave me a heads-up…
The band members weren’t all talking to each other. Tony didn’t know the exact details, about what had happened, or exactly who wasn’t talking to whom, but The Animals would never all be at the studio together at the same time in the same room.
Ok, so no pressure then. No communication issues with the band, just NO communication.
At that time The Animals were still the original five members.
As it would turn out, the only person who came in every day was Chas Chandler. He didn’t ever stay the whole day, maybe an hour or two, however, he always put in an appearance at some point. He was very tall, ever so slightly taller than me, I’d guess. I liked him. He wasn’t hard work at all. Straightforward. Down-to-earth. Clear. Reasonable. Mild-mannered.
Chas explained to me the situation regarding the work I’d be doing for him.
The album had been recorded a month or two before in a studio in Germany, near Munich.
All the tracks for the album were co-produced by all five original members of the band.
Most tracks (seven out of the original twelve) were recorded and co-produced by the band and the great all-round producer, engineer, musician, and songwriter, Steve Lipson.
The remaining five tracks were NOT co-produced with Steve Lipson and it was these five tracks I was to finish off with The Animals during that week at Maison Rouge.
To be clear, some of these five tracks were unfinished, or lacked a usable lead vocal, or needed some keyboards, guitar or bass part replaced or added. The vast majority of the recording was already done, however in one working week (so six or seven days), I had to record all of these overdubs and mix five tracks. That’s a hell of a lot of work! To give you some idea, normally (if there is such a thing as ‘normally’ in recording studios) I would allow at least, at the bare minimum, one full day to mix each song.
It’s difficult for me to remember exactly what happened that week, it’s forty years ago. More or less, this is what I do remember.
The tracks I worked on are as follows.
Track 1: "Loose Change" (Steve Grant)
Track 6: "Hard Times" (Eric Burdon, John Sterling)
Track 8: "Trying to Get to You" (Rose Marie McCoy, Charlie Singleton)
Track 11: "Gotta Get Back to You" (Danny Everitt, Terry Wilson)
Track 12: "Crystal Nights" (M. Anthony, Eric Burdon, M. Lewis, John Sterling)
I can’t be certain, however, I seem to remember that there may have been one or two other tracks that I worked on that never made it onto the final album.
Eric Burden came in once and replaced two vocals, I think, on “Loose Change” and “Trying to Get to You”. I know we used a Neumann U87 microphone and BeyerDyamnic DT100 headphones — I can still see him in my mind’s eye, he had a very bright Paisley shirt on. He was very monosyllabic with me, he just came in, listened to the tracks whilst I set up the headphone mix, and then he sang the songs. It took just a few hours. Then he left. Hardly any practice runs or drop-ins (repairs on something just recorded), just a couple of straight takes, and choose the best one after. For me, this was a relief, for two reasons. Firstly there were hardly any completely empty tracks available on the twenty-four-track two-inch master tapes. Secondly, some lead vocal sessions, just on one song, could last days.
Both Alan Price and Zoot Money came in to replace some keyboard parts. They came in with a small group of people who were drinking in Maison Rouge’s bar whilst we worked. Both were larger than life, very gregarious and seemed to like to be at the centre of attention. They both used a Hammond Organ and a Leslie speaker (which had been hired in). With Alan Price, well, I found it a bit difficult to take him 100% seriously because I kept hearing Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear in my head when he was in front of me. Stupid of me, because Alan Price is one of the best Hammond players in the business, as is Zoot Money.
I think Alan Price replaced or played Hammond on “Hard Times”. I don’t clearly remember what Zoot Money did — I know he played Hammond on one of the tracks, and he may have also played some synth parts too.
Chas Chandler recorded the bass on "Gotta Get Back to You" and "Crystal Nights". I think he used a Fender Precision through an Ampeg amp.
The guitar session is a blur. I think Hilton Valentine came in once and recorded rhythm guitar on "Crystal Nights", however, I can’t be sure about this, it could have been another track, and don’t fully recall what guitar or amp he used. It could have been a Fender Telecaster or Gibson SG, through a Vox AC30.
I mixed all of these tracks on my own (so not with the band or members of the band in the control with me). At some point, Chas would come in and listen with me. He’d maybe suggest making some parts slightly quieter or louder, however, apart from that he’d leave me to it.
Here below is a link to the entire “ARK” album on YouTube. Note that this version of the album was possibly a re-release from some years later, with an additional bonus track added (track number 13). The original vinyl album from 1983 only had twelve tracks. To remind you, I recorded overdubs and mixed tracks 1, 6, 8, 11, and 12.
And, of course, I had to talk to Chas Chandler a little about Jimi Hendrix... not the most original topic, as I think probably most new people he met asked him about Hendrix.
I think that part of Chas Chandler’s career is now very well documented. However back in 1983, prior to the Internet and Google, even though the information was available (from interviews in magazines, by word of mouth from other musicians etc), it was much more difficult to come by, and therefore much more folklore-like. So to be able to get a first-hand account from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, was rare and precious. There was nothing that Chas told me back then that was new or revelationary. It was just a five-minute chat, in Maison Rouge’s Studio One control room. A chat with the man who basically discovered Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village, organised for him to come to Britain, introduced Hendrix to other members of the Experience, and paid for the recording of their first single, “Hey Joe”. So again, just another day at the office.
Recording demos in Maison Rouge’s Studio One
I used downtime (the time when the studio was not booked) to learn the equipment, get to grips with using it, and try out ideas. For this, I used what was termed ‘gash’ tape — basically very short sections (one or two or three minutes) of two-inch tape. Unused remnants from completed recording sessions, that had been ‘gashed’ off tape reels using a razor blade, then edited together to make longer sections. This gash tape could not be used for paying clients’ sessions (because sometimes you could hear a blip or a glitch where the tape had been joined). However, gash tape was perfect for practice recording.
Tony Taverner, Maison Rouge’s studio manager and principal engineer, was very cool about all this. He encouraged me to use downtime to practice. Many studios simply would not allow this, studio time was very valuable and was strictly guarded. Like I say Tony was very relaxed and open-minded about this — how else would an engineer get to practice and improve? So he encouraged it.
The basic equipment in studio one was:
Helios wrap-around console. I think it was 32 channels, and there was loads of high-quality outboard gear — compressors, delay lines, reverb units etc.
2 x Studer A80 24-track two-inch tape recording machines (linked to give 48-track capability).
Mastering on to Studer quarter-inch tape machines.
I don’t recall with any certainty what monitoring was installed in studio one.
In 1982 I started doing practice recording sessions during downtime at Maison Rouge with the singer-songwriter Jaime Petrie. We worked together for several years after that, becoming signed songwriters and recording artists.
Here, below, is an example of a demo (one of many I still have) I recorded during 1983 in Maison Rouge studio one (on gash tape) of a song Jaime and I co-wrote. Jaime is singing lead. Paul Ridgeley (Andrew Ridgeley’s brother) is on drums. I’m on guitar. Jamie, Paul and I sing backing vocals. And I simply don’t recall who is playing bass and keyboards — totally forgotten. 🤷♂️ I think the bassist could have been a friend of Paul’s called Dave... And the keyboardist was probably a session player, one of many that would come through the studio.
Here it is — “Take It From The Heart”, recorded in 1983… with everything but the kitchen sink… 😜
It’s all in a name
For those of you who like to delve, as a sound engineer and songwriter, I used more than one name, so for example (amongst others) Nic Briscoe, Nic Casparis, Nic Rudrum, Rudrum, U.NIK, and there were several Ting and Stuff’n’Ting remixes.
Please note: I have another infotainment channel on Substack, called Unleashed & Unlimited, where I post podcasts, articles and content unrelated to music.🖋🎥🎙
Fascinating stories as always, Nic!!