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| Andrew Loog Oldham |
FZ: One of
your first jobs in the music business was publicizing Bob Dylan’s first trip to
the U.K. in 1963. How did you arrange that, and what was Bob like at that time?
AO:
I knocked on the door of the hotel room of his manager Albert Grossman. I asked
for a gig and I got it. Dylan was in the room; same Bob as the one of now.
FZ: You
worked closely with Beatles manager Brian Epstein for a time, what was he like,
and what did you learn from him?
AO: Brian
Epstein made it all possible. You would not be wanting my opinion on these
things had Brian not persevered against long odds and got “his lads” a
recording contract
FZ: When
you first encountered The Rolling Stones they were informally signed with
Giorgio Gomelsky. How did Giorgio react when you signed The Rolling Stones?
AO:
He was obviously very put out.
FZ: The
Rolling Stones are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year,
have you contacted any of them, or have any of them spoken to you on the
subject lately?
AO: Never
liked anniversaries…same with awards and honours.
FZ: How did you meet Jimmy Page?
AO: A
"fixer", the gent who books the musicians for your sessions, Charlie
Katz , said to me one day, "There's this young lad, Jimmy, we are trying
him out. Why don't you give him a go? He doesn't read but Big Jim Sullivan will
take him under his wing." and so Jimmy started playing on my sessions. One
of the first was Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By"
FZ: What did you think of
him as a session musician?
AO: He
was a bright spark. It was nice having him on the floor.
FZ: What was Jimmy like
as a person in those early days?
AO: All
smiles and not much talk. He became very friendly with my partner Tony Calder.
FZ: How did you go about
hiring him for your company as a producer and A&R man?
AO:
In those days if you got on with people you tried to work with them. It seemed
logical and Jimmy liked the idea.
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| Andrew Loog Oldham (1964) |
FZ: How was Jimmy Page as a producer?
AO: I
thought he was very good. What he went on to do kind of proves it, doesn’t it?
FZ: Did he bring anybody
to your attention in his role as an A&R man that worked out for you?
AO: I
think it was the other way around. Brian Jones brought Nico to my attention and
Jimmy and I wrote a song, which we recorded with here as a B-Side [“The Last Mile”].
It might have been better than the A-Side [“I’m Not Sayin”].
FZ: Can you recall what
sort of stuff Jimmy played on for you?
AO: Marianne
Faithfull; The Andrew Oldham Orchestra, Nico; Vashti.
FZ: Was Jimmy Page ever
affiliated creatively with The Rolling Stones? I know he worked on a soundtrack
with Brian Jones, and might have done some demos with Mick and Keith.
AO: He
played on some of the demos Mick, Keith and I did that ended up on the album
released in ’75 called “Metamorphosis”. The Stones did not play on that. I
think he was on a Bobby Jameson single that Keith and I wrote and produced.
FZ: You have said before
that Jimmy wrote a B-Side for Marianne Faithful, was he a strong writer and did
you ever consider using him as a solo artist rather than all the other hats he
was wearing for you at the time?
AO: I
only considered people the way they considered themselves. Jimmy was a player,
an occasional writer at that time with me and later with Jackie DeShannon. I
never considered him as a solo artist and I don’t think he did either.
FZ: Have
you run into Jimmy since those days when he worked for you?
AO: I have. About eight years ago I was sitting having tea
outside this cafe in Soho with Alex Gilbert, a very successful A&R man from
Warners. This fellow who looked like Jimmy Page's anonymous twin sauntered by.
Both Alex and I observed him from our different points of view. I studied the
anonymous lope, the raincoat, and the Tesco type carrier bag. Alex studied
Jimmy Page. Alex said "You know him, Andrew, aren't you going to say hallo
to him?" I said he looks as if he's enjoying being off on his own. Alex
shrieked at me, "You must, he's my idol. I have to meet him”. I got up, I
followed Jimmy who by now had turned the corner and was heading for Cambridge
circus. I called out "Jimmy". Normally I'd go, "Jimmy, it's
Andrew Oldham.” Coz you cannot count on being card up on other people's vast
Rolodex’s of life, but he turned around and said " Andrew ". He came
back to the cafe, sat down with Alex and I and had a nice long chat. I had not
seen him since ' 66. I have never seen led zeppelin.
FZ: Eric Clapton did some
work on your label, what was your impression of him at the time?
AO: Never
met him. Jimmy handled him for us
FZ: What sort of things
are you doing these days? I hear you’re about to hit the road?
AO:
I've just finished book three of my triography. It's called "Stone
Free" and it's a sort of summing up and a look at hustlers and impresarios
I have known, loved or loathed. It’s also a look at what has happened to acts I’ve
known, like the Stones and Marianne because so much has happened in the dozen
years since I wrote "Stoned", and "2Stoned”. I also devote a
chapter to Immediate Records, Phil Spector, Don Arden, Albert Grossman, Kit Lambert
& Chris Stamp, Malcolm McLaren, Brian Epstein, Allen Klein and more. It
will be out via Escargot Books before November. I’ve also finished "The Andrew
Oldham Orchestra & Friends Play The Rolling Stones Songbook, Volume 2".
That’ll be out next February. Volume one, you may recall, was out in ' 66. I do
my radio shows for Steven van Zandt's underground garage on the American satellite
station, Sirius-XM. I’ve been doing it for five plus years and I’m on every
day. And now I have to walk the dogs....
FZ:
Thanks you so much for your time Mr. Oldham
AO:
Thanks for this. Best.
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| Listen to Andrew Oldham on Sirius XM Radio |
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