Andy Lewis

Sorry to hear this. Sending sincerest condolences x

My own Prisoner title sequence would involve a street cleaning buggy, a very surprised Cotswolds Town Clerk and me falling backwards into a river while pretending to fight an inflatable hippo.

I deplore the absence of a creepy interval signal just prior to the broadcast, unless there was one and they just didn't record it.

It’s absolutely essential for drum overheads, acoustic guitar in stereo and any stereo recording where phase issues might arise. I’ve had a pair since they hit the market and never looked back. And they sound amazing. Best small diaphragm condenser mics I’ve ever used even without the laser.

Two silver small diaphragm microphones on stands, a larger charcoal grey one below. There’s an elaborate iron staircase behind with dark stone steps going up. The floor is creamy coloured stone.

An all-British microphone array on location in Spain today. Two Aston Starlights and an Aston Spirit for those who are interested in such things.

youtu.be/ATQRWgQj6HU?...

I first saw it when I was a child when it was on tv around 1977, and it stayed with me.

Constantly on the look out for a treasured family possession I can trash so I can go on the Repair Shop

An old TV set displays the caption DEVIL'S END, Temporary fault, BBC3 tv

A Facebook advert for Homeopathy UK's Celebration of Homeopathy. 'Join us for an inspiring evening of celebration, featuring High Tea, live music and an immersive experience not to be missed!' No thanks

Presumably this takes place in a swimming pool and they only let one person in at a time

Home made, is it?

Wow! I’d love to have met him. I did play his Ondioline once but that’s the closest i ever got to him!

Me in a Spanish recording studio holding a copy of Pierre Henry and Michel Colombier’s Messe Pour Les Temps Present

Happiness is discovering the studio owner’s a fellow Pierre Henry fan!

I know people who commute from Retford (one stop down the line) to London every day so yeah it’s definitely possible. And all the new flatlets and apartments being built or converted around Retford station seems to suggest this is something that we’re going to see more of.

Yeah! Sorry Chinnichap Productions, it wasn't the band that were past it, it was you guys!! They went away and licked their wounds and Mike Chapman in particular came back fighting during the New Wave/Punk era producing Parallel Lines AND Get The Knack. I'm guessing he's not short of a quid or two.

It's also got one of the best ever drum fills, a huge influence on the Sex Pistols who borrowed it for Anarchy In The UK.

This record is, quite simply, one of the greatest British pop records of all time. It's also a big "fuck you" from a band who many people thought were past it- including their producers Chinn & Chapman who had penned all their singles up until now but had nothing to do with this one. A global hit.

-a Elka transistorised clone that was his “portable” one. My parents persuaded him to lend it to me for a few months when the band I was in got a keyboard player who didn’t have a keyboard. For several weeks we sounded like The Doors, then he got a Korg synth and we mutated into Tubeway Army.

-to set up their UK operations in Milton Keynes, such was the size of the market. Hammonds of Watford (no relation) had a massive home organ department well into the 1980s. So yeah it’s possible your friends had a Hammond in the home. My parents knew a bloke who had two. A C3 (the classic) AND -

-when i first saw them back in 1986/87. An amazing sounding thing. Single manual but instant Booker T vibes. If it had the drawbars you could make those sounds. The later transistorised ones had preset tabs that were less versatile but cheaper to buy. Hammond Organs were one of the first big firms-

They did. There was a whole range they made for the domestic market. Some had built in Leslie speakers, others needed a separate speaker. Later still, they made transistorised ones that said Hammond but sounded shite. The James Taylor Quartet used a domestic M100 with external Leslie-

We’re not talking about Enterprise Allowance or dole money either. A Studer 16 track reel to reel is gonna set you back around 20 grand minimum. By comparison, my entire ProTools rig- unlimited track count and majestic musical fidelity Messrs. Studer could only dream of, came in under 1.5k.

Bontempi yes. But they were mainly kids plastic reed organs powered by a blower. A bewildering array of home organs proliferated during the 70s. Hammond unsurprisingly led the market, but Viscount, Lowery and oriental interlopers Yamaha were also big players.

Anyway good luck to him.

Absolutely. The bloke doing it seems to be all right though he spends an awful lot of time online banging on about how brilliant old equipment is. “Look at me I just bought a 16 track reel to reel recorder! What was I thinking?! Yoinks!” etc. What *I’m* thinking is where did the money come from mate

- Do I *want* it to do well at the Eurovision? Oh yes. Oh yessss.

- Do I *like* this tune? Not exactly, it’s a load of rubbish. But it’s brilliantly executed, well crafted, boutique rubbish. If a time warp sent it back to 1985 it would absolutely rule the world. But, like the Typhoon, it’s kind of exactly what we need now. It’s a wholly British hot mess. -

In his book about British defence procurement Lions Donkeys And Dinosaurs, Lewis Page reckoned that the Eurofighter Typhoon would only be useful if a time warp sent it back to 1985. God knows what goes on in my brain, but it’s the first think i thought of when i heard this unbelievable tune-

-to its ultimate and evolved into being a music producer. Heck, I've even arranged for a bowed double bass to be on the thing I'm recording later today. I suspect I have a baggy roll-neck jumper in my suitcase too. I have become Walkin' Sam!

Hopefully I won't erase all the best takes today.

- I mention it only because I've got a set of samples of one that I'm incorporating into a thing I'm producing at the moment. I have taken my love for Paul Samwell-Smith, his on-stage awkwardness, his fondness for bass guitar, his desire to push the boundaries of what's acceptable on pop records-