In Auckland in 1995 I met and started talking to an English guy about music. We got on well and chatted about all sorts of albums, genres and artists.
He asked me, "What about Elton John?"
I said I liked his early stuff, and that I had 'Honky Chateau', 'Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player', ' Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' .. then I laughed and said ..
"I think I'm one of the 6 people who bought 'Caribou'!"
He paused, looked at me with a slight grin on his face and said .. "I was the sound engineer on that album."
I was talking to Clive Franks - at that point about 25 years on the road as Elton's tour sound engineer and producer of three of Elton's albums.
Despite that faux pas, we maintained a friendship - I went over to his house on Auckland's North Shore, we met up for lunch occasionally, until in May 1997 I left New Zealand to be with Tracy in the USA.
In October 1997, Clive got in touch to tell me that they were touring and would be in Amherst, Massachusetts on 5th November. He invited us to join him at the soundboard to watch him do his magic and see the show from a once-in-a-lifetime vantage point.
We drove up to Massachusetts and saw Clive on the street as we were pulling up to the hotel. He joined us, told us where to go and what to do when we got to the venue and we headed to the arena in time to have dinner with the band before the show. (Elton didn't join us.)
The soundboard was extremely complex and complicated and confusing, but Clive danced around it with the calm and confidence that only years and years of experience can bring. It was an eye-opening night.
Tracy and I had got married just 6 days earlier, so since that time if people ask about our wedding, we tell them that at the reception we had about 5000 people and a live band.
Clive stopped touring a few years later and we lost touch, but for a music fan like me it was an unforgettable experience.
Oh, the album? Caribou wasn't liked much by the critics but commercially it went double-platinum in the USA. Two singles were taken from it .. 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' and 'The Bitch Is Back'.
Clive was responsible for what is probably the most infamous fly-on-the-wall recording ever made - The Troggs Tape.
He told me all about it first hand, but here's an interview he did giving the full story. It really is worth watching.
Troggs Tape Interview
Troggs Tape Interview
You gave him my CD insert, and he got it signed by Elton to me. Also, I had an Elton book that had Frank mentioned in it. Elton signed that for you. Do you still have it?
ReplyDeleteOf course I meant Clive.
ReplyDeleteSorry, it's nearly 1am here.
Yup, still have the book :)
ReplyDelete