”Glory be to all “OwlHeads” - we gather here today to continue our investigations of “Pagey’s” songwriting career. We start the show with a demo I wrote with Billy Burnette who had just joined Fleetwood Mac in the 90s… this very rare demo was aimed squarely at the Fleetwood Mac aesthetic; California here we come! I’ll spin an early demo I wrote with Bernie Taupin around the time I wrote “We Built This City” and “These Dreams” with him. Although it’s a technically-challenged vintage home recording, I love this obscure Taupin/Page track. It definitely has a Tears For Fears thing about it…
I was writing songs around the Michael Jackson “Thriller” period, when ghouls and ghosts and zombies were all the rage (when were Zombies NOT the rage ???). I’ll spin a demo Melissa Manchester recorded that I penned with Jon Lind called “Night Creatures”, on which I display my “Ghostbusters “ 👻 creepy keyboard playing. Turn the lights off while playing.
You’ll hear “Bela Lugosi” 🦇croon a desperate love song that reaks of the 80s and I’ll play one of the very first songs I ever wrote with my early songwriter partner Brian Fairweather back in London in the late 70s - a 2 track cassette demo so raw and naive, I had to steel my nerves to play it to you.
And I can’t resist playing you a brand new song inspired by the treacherous journey many Mexicans are forced to take to cross the border into America seeking freedom, safety and dignity. This new song is written through the eyes of a child making the crossing with her father.
And to top it all…. throughout the whole proceedings -
I am constantly plagued by my broken rampant clothes dryer that has gone rogue in the “Owlsnest” studio… destroying and eating everything in its vicinity.
What more could you ask for?
A real life threatening “emergency” serenaded by rare “Pagey” demos - this is pure Hollywood blockbuster stuff!
Martin
And PS: Thank you to Katherine Riggs for this months Radio Owlsnest image - her beautiful, unique “Fan Art” design.
