When/why haven’t you got your own website??

I will definitely have my own website by the end of this year - mainly for work reasons so that film producers and directors can look me up, but I’ll include some bits from the Hank tours and CDs, The Vibratos and hopefully some good stories from The Shadows 2005 tour.

Good to hear you plan to have your own website (it’s about time!) – I trust ShadowsFanSite perhaps could have a smallish mention??

Of course! - I’ll make sure of it!

That depends on the project and budget! I play mainly keyboards, but I have played on various projects - guitars, bass guitar, drums, percussion and even harmonica! My favourite ‘session’ musicians that I use regularly are Dave Bishop (sax & flute), John Parricelli (guitars), David Hartley (piano & Hammond) and Gavyn Wright (violin), For orchestral work I use the London Studio Orchestra and get help from Kevin Townend with the orchestrations (ie. writing out the parts if I’m too busy!)  Obviously I’ll use dad on drums if he’s about, and I’ve also used Mark Griffiths on stuff playing bass and guitars.

You do a great deal of library music work – this material is highly regarded and quite collectable amongst fans, any plans for a release of a best of compilation?

I’ve recorded and written well over fifty library albums. A compilation, possibly!

Tell me about the album with Licorice Locking… talking with Licorice he tells me he’d done his parts is it due out soon?

The album is now finished, and it will be released by Magic Records. We started the project some time ago, but then Licorice did some tracks with another guy and we felt it unfair to release two Licorice albums at the same time! So we put it on hold for a bit. The album consists of 14 brand new recordings with Licorice playing lead harmonica on all the tracks. There’s a few John Barry film themes on there (Born Free, Midnight Cowboy, You Only Live Twice, We Have All The Time In The World), some pop covers (Here, There & Everywhere & The Crying Game) and some originals too. I wrote a track on it called ‘Across The Border’. We’ve re-worked three Shadows tunes – Theme For Young Lovers, Dakota and a great version of Blue Shadows. I got my dad to play some drums on the album, including Blue Shadows.  I played and recorded all the parts at my own studio, and then Licorice recorded his parts at Dave Robinsons studio. I then got sent the harmonica parts and finished off the project with Dick at Honeyhill. I’m very pleased with the results and I know Licorice is too. The title of the album is ‘Returning Home’ which is a beautiful tune written by John Barry, and which featured on his non-soundtrack CD called ‘The Beyondness of Things’. It should be released around April or May of this year.

What’s happening about Chaos and Cadavers when’s the film out??... or have I missed it.....?

It was released to cinemas in America and Germany. The film was part financed with German money. We were geared up for a London Premiere last September, but the distributors pulled out. I reckon now that in the UK this film will probably go straight to DVD and be shown on Sky TV.

I bought the Sugar Valone CD fairly recently and there is track on there called “Falling” which was written by John Farrar – it’s a fabulous song.. was it ever released and on which album ??

Funny story this…….one night after working with Eileen we decided to go for an Indian (as you do!) she said her boyfriend would come along too, so there we all are chatting about music; turns out he sings and writes as well, playing mostly in pubs and casinos, he said he had just auditioned for a talent show called "X-Factor" and was hoping he might get picked - well he did, and he bloody went and won the thing! His name is Steve Brookstein, and I hope he gets to release some of his own stuff because what I’ve heard is very good - small world………..

I have read the 1994 Hank and Brian tour was recorded… is it likely to see the light of day on a DVD release sometime??

Two shows were filmed and recorded. Nottingham and Birmingham. I think there may have been a problem with some of the filming. I’ve seen the footage and it looks good, I’ve got rough mixes of the shows on CD, and I think it more likely that a CD would be released. It sounds very good, and there’s some stuff on there we only did on that tour - like ‘Sylvia’,’ Mrs Robinson’,’ Money Honey’ and ’20 Flight Rock’'.   Who knows, for what it's worth - I think it’s worth putting out. 

Interesting you’re working with Matilda – how did this come about and what can we expect from her new album (not sure if she does Hank/Shads stuff or just instrumental?)

Is it true you appeared in an episode of Birds of a Feather ?(I’m aware you’ve written music for this programme)

Yes,  that’s right! -   I composed the music for the Christmas Specials of 1990 called ‘Falling in Love Again’ and 1991 called ‘We’ll Always Have Majorca'.  In the second one (‘Majorca’), there was a prison break-out scene., this happened whilst the inmates were doing an ‘elvis’ type concert. Ray Winstone played the prison guard dressed as Elvis, so I had to get him over to record his vocals. They needed a band, so I said I’d play drums! So I was an inmate on drums! As you know, I wrote 64 episodes of music for London’s Burning, and as well as my ‘cameo’ on Birds of a Feather, I played drums in a nightclub scene in an episode of ‘London’s Burning’, and also I was a country & western singer in another episode of London’s Burning! I also appeared with Dad and Mark Griffiths in an episode of ‘The Ruth Rendell Mysteries’. (Some lie and some die) We were a rock band, and that was filmed the day after the Knebworth gig that Cliff & The Shads did - pretty weird on that big stage with a massive empty field apart from cameramen and stuff - we waited till 2am to film that!!

I know the set list has been already sorted for The Shads tour this year - but it would be great if "Move it" could be 'slid' in somewhere... perhaps?... use some influence....................!!

I am doing as I am told on this Tour! (Cazz chuckles at the thought of Warren 'doing as he is told.'!!).  It is slightly different I think from the Hank tours where Ben, Mark and myself would make suggestions.  I think it will stay as the same gig they did in 2004; remember this is an extension of that Tour - going to countries that did not get the chance to see it; I know there's two in the UK, but that's also for people who didn't see it the first time round - hence the 'Encore' tag....

For the Hank tours, we would start exchanging e-mails about 6-8 weeks before rehearsals, ending up with a long list of stuff to rehearse at the rehearsal rooms. I’d compile some CDs of the tracks, and make notes on what to play. So I’d then do a few weeks at home brushing up on keyboard and guitar parts. Then in rehearsals, the set-list would be formed and we’d end up losing a few numbers from the original list - for example we rehearsed ‘Cosy’,’ All My Sorrows’, ’Road Train’ and ‘All Alone With Friends’ but never actually performed them - I’ve got them all on tape though! There were many others but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.  This Shadows 2005 tour is slightly different for me, as the rest of the band have already done the show and the set-list is done. I started rehearsing last week (9^th Feb) in my studio at home. I’m all set-up, and I’m going through the CD and DVD track by track. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve never played before, and we only have 4-5 days together as a band before the first show. I’m also referring back to some of the original records.