Dave Bartram Q&A - 9th June 2002
From Duncan Keir:
What are your thoughts about Napster/Audiogalaxy etc, and the availability of your music via the Internet in the form of MP3’s?
DB: Duncan - I cannot be very complimentary about Napster & all the other pirate internet companies who illegally make artists tracks available in MP3 format. What right have they to make money out of artists without permission? They are a threat to the future of all recorded music. The artists such as ourselves do not receive a penny in royalties. I'm amazed that no one appears to be able to stop them, despite various expensive court hearings [See footnote 1]
From Michelle Buchan, Aberdeen:
When will you be playing in or around Aberdeen in the near future as I would love to see you again!?
DB: Michelle - No plans to do Aberdeen at present, though it's high time we did some Scottish dates!
Graham Goodall from Herts asks:
I once tried to find out who had the rights to the old "New Faces" tapes. Maybe you could buy the rights, and sell on one tape via the web site? It would be great if you could arrange to have it released for your 30th anniversary next year...!
DB: New Faces TV recordings are owned by ATV, very little chance of them being made available for commercial use. [See footnote 2]
Is there any chance of "HR'n'R" being brought to Hertfordshire? We have Broxbourne Civic Hall (www.broxbourne.gov.uk) in Hoddesdon, which has held a number of concerts, but this'd blow the place away! We've never had anything this good!
"Hey Rock & Roll" is a little up in the air at the moment, no plans to bring it to Herts.
Angela Le Bailly from Jersey:
If you had to pick a favourite venue to play at where would it be and why? Also, I hope to see you back in Jersey again soon.
Angela - Favourite venue used to be the Glasgow Apollo, the atmosphere in there was electric. It has been knocked down now, really no other venue was ever quite as special as that, even our home town gig The De Montfort Hall wasn't quite as atmospheric. No plans to visit Jersey in the near future!
Fiona Bissett from Tyne & Wear:
Are you all married and have you all got children?
Fiona - 3 of the band are married, 3 live with partners. All of the band have children. That's as much as I can say as the guys like to keep their private lives very much to themselves.
Clare from Tyne & Wear:
Do you get nervous before gigs?
There are always a few nerves before gigs, as no 2 gigs are the same. Really it's just a bit of nervous energy which is a good feeling!
From Neal Henry, Erith, Kent:
Did you ever attempt to "break" America? I know you had little chart success over there, but did you tour etc?
Neal - We were never allowed a look in in America, as the chief of Arista was not a fan of the band. However he refused to release us from our contract to allow us to go with any rival companies. This would never be allowed to happen legally in this day & age!
From Karen Townrow:
Do you ever remember anyone called Mike Stretton being connected to the group around 1974?
Nobody knows anyone called Mike Stretton, he was never connected with SWW in any way!
Beverly from Southport says:
First of all I would like to say a belated congratulations to Dave for getting to the big Five-O. Secondly when are coming back to Southport?
Thank you for my congratulations, I never thought I'd get there! Possibly a HR&R in Southport later this year.
Angela from Edinburgh:
Will "Christmas Tears Tears Will Fall" be released at all in the future?
"Christmas Tears Will Fall" was recorded for Germany, and is owned by a German company. Unlikely it will be made available in the UK.
From Joe Blackie:
I am struggling to work out a line in your recorded 1977 version of Dancin' Party - the first question in the line is, "Is [?] here", ie. "Is [?] here? Is Buddy here? The Duke are you here?" Can you help?
The line in Dancin' Party is "Is Neckarm here". This was a nickname for Trevor around that time. [See footnote 3]
And a few from myself:
A recent clip on Dennis Norden's 'Alright On The Night' showed a dancer pulling his hamstring whilst dancing around the stage, which prompted me to think, have any of the band done themselves any injuries over the years on stage during the dance routines?
Injuries, strange you should bring this up as I pulled a muscle in my thigh yesterday playing football with a few local lads. I remember Jeff once swung his bass around into my eye and smashed my shades and gave me a black eye. I've also had a few back twinges on occasions which I suppose is not surprising!
There doesn't seem to be too many Hey Rock 'n' Roll shows at the minute - what's the latest?
As mentioned earlier, the future of Hey Rock & Roll is a little uncertain. It hasn't exactly set the world alight, and audience figures have, I have to admit been a little disappointing. I will be meeting with the promoters in the next couple of weeks, and will let you know the outcome! [See footnote 4]
Whenever you are on TV these days, you always seem to mime to Under The Moon Of Love. Two questions here - why do you mime when you are great live, and why is Under The Moon Of Love usually chosen when there are dozens of hits to choose from?
With most TV shows they always ask for Under The Moon Of Love as it is regarded as the bands' most classic song. The reason for miming is that it is easier for the TV company (and cheaper) and no where near as time consuming as setting up equipment, sound checking etc. I agree it would be better live but the TV stations are a bit of a law unto themselves.
A few from Lisa Dawson:
What type of music do each of them like to listen to?
The band listen to all types of music ranging from Beach Boys, Bob Marley, Train, XTC, modern bands like Electric Soft Parade & Lorien. The best band I have seen live in recent times is Supergrass!
Do they enjoy any of todays popular artists?
We are all united in our dislike of manufactured bands like A1, S Club 7, Steps etc. So many of these artists are unable to do it live, which really is the proof of how good a 'real' band are!
Have any of the band's offspring got plans to follow in their father's footsteps?
Danny's son Sam is learning to play the Drums, but most of the band's youngsters are more sporty, i.e. Ben Challenger is the country's top high jumper, Stefan Oakes plays football for Leicester City. None are really interested in pursuing a career in the music industry. Perhaps they're not impressed by the hours!
What are each of their favourite holiday destinations?
Various favourite holiday destinations: Dave - Portugal/Seychelles, Rod - Maldives, Danny - Turkey, Trevor - Tenerife, Jeff - Turkey/Tenerife, Romeo - Antigua (where he was born).
David O'Rourke from Ireland:
Why did you never use a saxophone player when you do live shows since most of their big recordings featured a heavy sax input? I think the sax is one of the most important instruments in '50s American R'n'R and doowop....!
We did use a sax player on the road during the late 70's. It worked pretty well, but we really don't like using additional musicians on a live basis. It can affect the camaraderie, plus we're happier with the line up as it is, the band is the tightest it has ever been in it's history! I do agree though, that the Saxophone is a great instrument for rock & roll. [See footnote 5]
From Linn Taylor, Perth:
Dave, I was also wondering what you thought of the show Pop Idol?
I didn't personally like the show, although I could see its appeal. I think Will Young has a decent enough sounding voice, although it is very weak as was proven during the concert at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately shows like these seem to promote people like Simon Cowell rather more than showcasing genuine new young talent. There I've said my piece!