50th Anniversary CD & DVD
John Spence
It was sometime in 2015 whilst in conversation with Keith Herd when he casually mentioned that Fairview Studio opened its doors to paying clients in 1965...the first paid session being with The Strollers, a band based in East Yorkshire.
It took me a little while to process this information but eventually I came up with the obvious fact that it was 50 years since that session....and my reaction was that there should be something to mark the occasion.
The idea I had was to make a series of recordings involving musicians who have had a long-standing relationship with Fairview and to record one session per month throughout 2016, film it and publish the result on the internet whilst adding each track to an anniversary CD.
However, a couple of phone calls between Christmas 2015 and New Year 2016 scuppered that as we were now booked up for three months. So, in April 2016 I took the first tentative steps towards making this record and invited the Loudhailer Electric Company to come and record their track. Which they did...wonderfully. That session set the scene and format for all the subsequent sessions.
I had to play catch up throughout the year and of course had to fit in with everybody's working schedules which wasn't always easy. Michael Chapman for instance was celebrating his own 50 years on the road by touring around large parts of the globe so he didn't get in until January 2017. Bogus Brothers do most of their work outside the UK so pinning them down was not the easiest thing, likewise Mostly Autumn who are always busy everywhere. Bill Nelson recorded his contribution in his private studio as it wouldn't have been practical to uproot all his equipment and bring it to Fairview.
18 months after its inception the album is now finished. 12 tracks finished for the cd with filmed documentaries expertly captured and edited by Jackie Herd of Cavewood Productions and Les Drake of Digital Creations with additional filming by Jonathan Richards.
It has been a labour of love and I would like to thank everyone involved for giving of their time and talent so freely to celebrate 50 years of Fairview Studio. The biggest thanks of course must go to Keith Herd, the man who started it all and who, for many years, quietly and in the background, set the standard for recording in Yorkshire and the north of England.
The artists involved and the running order are...
1) It's Music (but not as we know it) - IR
2) Where I Want To Be - Martin Peirson
3) Sail For the Sunset - Castanarc
4) Playbox - Bill Nelson
5) Underneath The Underground - Loudhailer Electric Company
6) Just Can't Get Enough - Bogus Brothers
7) You Don't Talk - Martyn Barker's Tea Band
8) Beatles Medley - Los Brickos
9) My Life - Snake Eye
10) Shuffleboat River Farewell - Michael Chapman
11) Saved By Rain - Steve Larkman Band
12) Passengers - Mostly Autumn
All songs recorded, mixed and mastered by John Spence at Fairview Studio 2016/17 except Track 4 recorded at The Magic Toyshop by Bill Nelson.
