The Editor's blog 
 

2010 
February 
 
Monday 15th 
Had a great weekend at Dec Hickey's New Order book launch at the Pad in Bedford.  I've known Dec virtually all my life, and I've always been fascinated by his musical tastes.  Back in the seventies, he was a huge fan of the Ian Gillan Band, but rather like John Peel had a huge sea change around the time of the advent of punk and new wave.  But like so many of us the passion for the music is what counts.  By 1981 Dec had become enamoured with New Order and for the next four years went to virtually every gig.  Not only that but he recorded them, plus the sound checks and even backstage conversations.  It is this that has formed the platform for his book 'From Heaven To Heaven'.  Rather than go for a full on commercial release Dec has gone down the road of bespoke high end, small numbers.  In fact just 100 books have been produced, all individually numbered and beautifully laid out as a large "coffee table" style book.   
It is a truly superb piece of work, and has already inspired me to go down a similar route for the Knebworth book that is in the pipeline.  If the end result is half as good as Dec's I will be over the moon.  This might sound like a plug for his work, but not really, because unless he decides to do a general release version, the book is already a sell-out!  Well done Dec. 
   
Monday 8th 
This morning as I looked out of the window, despite the damp look it was once again snowing.  This is undoubtedly the coldest winter I can recall.  I'll try not to rant about climate change again and I do appreciate there is a difference in weather and climate, but the debate is always in the spotlight these days.  With all the furore surrounding the University of East Anglia's leaked emails and the misinformation supplied by the IPCC, I definitely sense a sea change from the public as to whether it is man-made or not.  Whatever the true facts are, it's going to be much harder for scientists to argue their case to the general public now that there is greater cynicism from people. 
Yesterday I read an article by Nigel Lawson a well-known sceptic on whether the change in climate is man-made.  Lawson advocates what I have also felt for a long time.  Whether the globe is warming or not, it makes far more sense for mankind to use technology to help us adapt to changes rather than politicians trying to pass laws to make countries try and control the earth's temperature.  As I think I've said before, King Canute failed abysmally when he tried to fight nature, and I don't think Gordon Brown, Ban Ki-moon and the rest of them will fair any better. 
Anyway back to work and today I need to get the renewal forms ready to mail out with MBTP 38, which will be back from the printers any day now.  Believe it or not, but despite the ink still not dry on this issue I am already at work with the next one and have decided to do a big feature on Deep Purple on the road in 1974.  The spur for this was having unearthed in my archive a letter sent to us in 1996 with a review of a 74 German gig.  While I am still unconvinced by the claimed set list, it still reads as a great review.  The rest will be revealed as and when it's published, but if anyone has any photos or press cutting from '74 please send them to me. 
 
Friday 5th 
Following my interview with Heather, this has now been transcribed for the next issue.  That's the bit I like least, and although my typing skills are adequate, transcribing ninety minutes of chat takes me several hours, but it was a good interview and hopefully Mostly Autumn fans will be eager to read it upon its publication.  Other than that, preparations for the upcoming Barbara Dickson tour have been pretty much completed, which is another reason why I have pushed on with getting More Black than Purple issue 38 and Autumn Leaves 19 published, although the latter will be completed during the five weeks I am on the road, and ready in time for that monumental last gig with Heather. 
It's another advantage of the technical age we live in as I can continue to do much of my everyday work while travelling round the country with the aid of my laptop.  Whatever ones views are on technology, and I still encounter many who shy away from it, I think the one thing that many people fail to see is that what has gone on in the past couple of decades is nothing short of another "Industrial Revolution".  In the same way that many people fought against the engineering developments of the 1800s, those that are doing the same now, will be left behind if they continue to adopt a 'stick in the mud' attitude.   
As I have been tracing my family tree over the past couple of years I see parallels with my work and  the business my great, great grandfather operated from the mid 1800s, which he expanded very successfully.  I've no doubt the advent of the railways and many of the other engineering phenomenon of the time were instrumental in helping Frank's business grow. 
        
Monday 1st 
First blog entry for a week as I focussed on finishing off issue 38, which went to the printers on Friday.  At least in this day and age, one of the beauties of such things is the way computer technology makes this process so much easier.  Laying it all out, converting pages to PDF and then just sending to the printers via the Internet, is a world apart from the way we did it when the magazine started nearly fourteen years ago.  In those days we literally printed off the pages with spaces for the photos and left the printer to do the rest!  I can't imagine how long magazines would have taken to put together in days before computers, and I don't think I would have the enthusiasm to do it if I had to the old fashioned way. 
Next on the agenda is to interview Heather Findlay this week following her recent departure from Mostly Autumn.  It's the first time I have decided to throw questions open to the fans, via the forum, and it has proved a worthwhile venture, with loads of good questions for Heather.  It could be a long interview! 

January 
Monday 25th 
Not a great deal to write at the moment.  Close to finishing off More Black than Purple issue 38, and should get it to the printers in the next couple of days.  Will then focus on doing an interview with Heather for issue 19 of Autumn Leaves.  All this while I have a cold coming on!
  
Saturday 16th  
Following the previous day's blog, it's strange how coincidences can occur.  Last night I went to a gig at Plinston Hall in Letchworth.  The only previous time I had been to that venue was in 2007 with Mostly Autumn, which was shortly after my dad died, and on the day I returned to the venue both dad and Mostly Autumn once again were uppermost in my thoughts. 
As for the gig: a three band bill with Raw Glory, Groundhogs and Stray.  Raw Glory is the band that my friend Mick Underwood started with former Heavy Metal Kids guitarist Cosmo, and they get better every time I see them.  Groundhogs is a band I know little about and I was only familiar with a couple of songs.  They were supposed to include Dave Anderson on bass.  A name that might not be instantly recognisable to most but is to John, a lifelong Hawkwind fan.  Anderson was in that band before Lemmy joined back in 1970 whatever!  However, despite the billing I think John was a little disappointed that Anderson wasn't present for whatever reasons.  Stray headlined and since I saw them supporting Mountain a few years ago I have caught them a few times when they have played Bedford.  Del Bromham gives a great show and he is also still writing great songs.  The most recent album 'Valhalla' has been one of my most played over the past year.  A band well worth seeing.  
This morning I watched the concluding part of 'Silent Witness'.  One of the best programmes currently produced and a damn sight more riveting than the endless soap operas and reality shows that seem to grip the majority of the nation!
     
Friday 15th 
Today would have been my dad's 83rd birthday, so I will raise a glass to him.  I always take such things as a positive and it was his passing that spurred me to re-brand the business under the banner of Wymer as the (now defunct) West Wymer was the sub-district of Norwich where he was born.  It seemed appropriate to use it to symbolise the re-birth of the business, and ironically this has been the case as it has grown and diversified since he died.  Dad was always asking me how the business was going although in latter days he really didn't understand what I actually did but that was due to his health but he always encouraged my chosen path.  
The other big news is Heather's sudden departure from Mostly Autumn.  Heather had notified me in advance of the official statement, and I wrote down my feelings immediately after she told me: 
 
Wednesday 13th January, 12.30. I have just put the phone down following a half hour chat with Heather. Needless to say I was shocked when I heard that she had left Mostly Autumn. It is something that some of us have discussed over the years and there have been times in the past when I wondered, would Heather leave. I must admit, the last occasion that occurred was when Harlan was born. Like Angela, and many new mothers, the impact of being a parent can certainly change one’s focus. But Heather was back and running with Mostly Autumn as soon as it was possible. That’s why over a year later, it has surprised me even more that Heather has decided to depart now. 
As Heather explained, it’s a new decade and she has really started to question her own direction, and has decided that the time is right to move on as she clearly has many musical goals to achieve.  Goals that she clearly felt she could not achieve under the wing of Mostly Autumn. It is certainly not a decision that has been made through any bad blood and I understand it was also something of a shock to Bryan.
On a personal level I think Heather possibly underestimates what she has brought to Mostly Autumn and she is so much more than just a pretty face fronting a band.  Although Mostly Autumn is and always will be Bryan’s project, Heather’s contributions within the song writing and ideas have been a big part of the band’s achievements to date.
Knowing how positive a person Bryan is I am sure he will soon address the situation and see the next phase of the band as an exciting chapter.  Whatever the outcome might be, one thing is certain; Mostly Autumn will never be the same again.  Like Bryan I am also a positive thinker.  Who knows, it could prove to work out best for both.  The band could become more successful with Livvy fronting it, and Heather could have the solo success she so richly deserves.  I know Mostly Autumn isn’t on a par with Genesis as far as success is concerned but the same principles can apply and both they and Gabriel benefited from the departure, so here’s to raising a glass and hoping that history repeats itself. 
    
Monday 11th 
Well there has been no blog for a couple of weeks while Mike shifted all the web pages over to a new server, but now we are back to normal.  In the meantime I've been busy working on the next issue of More Black than Purple, which is coming along nicely.  Last night was the first pub quiz of the year at the Devonshire Arms, hosted by Jason Foster, brother of the more famous Tim, the Olympic rower!  Things didn't go well for us.  We normally win or come second but last night we got the wooden spoon.  I blame Jason entirely as normally the quiz is steered to our age group but last night it was all about 2009.  Not a problem when it came to the news round but the two music intro rounds were a disaster for us!  None of us really listen to pop radio so when we had to guess all the intros of hit songs from last year, we were pretty hopeless!  I actually only knew 2 out of 20, one of which was Bob Dylan's Christmas song, the other one being Vera Lynn who of course re-entered the charts with her greatest hits album.  In fact even once he played the songs through I was still none the wiser and hadn't even heard of most of the artists let alone the songs.  Should I listen to Radio 1 more often?  Nah, I don't think so! 
The quiz also includes a B-side round where a song is played and you have to work out the artist and the A-side.  This is something we normally get very close with and have won in the past.  Last night £50 was up for grabs and I immediately knew the artist after just a few seconds, namely the Bee Gees.  As for the A-side I opted for '1910 New York Mining Disaster'.  Mike suggested we change it to 'Massachusetts' but Lynn had already submitted our entry and it was too late!  Not for the first time we have guessed the right artist but got the wrong A-side, so close but so far!

   
2009 
December 
Wednesday 30th 
Not much to report although after a few days of laziness I am back to work, but this site will shortly be temporarily out of action as we do some maintenance to all the websites.  This largely involves transferring the hundreds of web pages over to a new server.  Fortunately this is done by my erstwhile colleague and webmaster Mike, who handles all the technical stuff here.  Unfortunately our current web hosting provider's security isn't too affective and some of the websites have been hacked in to.  In fact the Publishing website has just been attacked again, but has now been fixed.  Fortunately, despite coming up with virus alerts, it was merely something that takes you to another commercial site.  That said it doesn't reflect well on the business if people go to the website and are instantly diverted.  By early Jan we should have all the websites working better than ever, ready for what should be a busy and exciting year.  The first four months are already mapped out for me with a busy schedule.
       
Friday 25th 
On Wednesday I was in York for the Beetroots annual concert.  If you haven't heard of the Beetroots, it doesn't surprise me!  Basically it was a pre-Mostly Autumn band featuring Bryan, Liam and Iain, along with Marc Atkinson.  3 years ago they decided to reactivate it for an annual end of year show. This has taken the place of what was Mostly Autumn's annual end of year bash.  The Beetroots was, and still is a, shall we say, less than serious band, that plays any random selection of songs that take their fancy on the night; normally with a smattering of Beatles, but also a whole variety of stuff, some played less seriously than others!  That particularly applies to their version of Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' that Marc sings Donald Duck style, while Bryan throws in a few out of tune notes, a kind of Les Dawson for the guitar approach!   
A very hilarious evening, made all the more enjoyable with a heavy snowfall that made York even more picturesque.  Got back home yesterday evening and was surprised to see most of the snow here had gone.  It's milder and sunny this morning and it looks as if all the snow will have melted before the end of the day. 
   
Tuesday 22nd 
I took a few days off from the daily blog but in truth I've done so little over an extended weekend, there wasn't anything to write about!  Despite dropping Steve off at a very un-snowy East Midlands Airport his flight was still delayed over 4 hours, but he eventually got home.  I can understand to some extent some of the travel chaos that has been caused over recent days but it never fails to amuse me every year when we get a drop of snow, the road network seems to grind to a halt.  I've no doubt that one of the causes is drivers with little or no experience of such conditions.  You see many on the roads at 10 miles an hour in low gear, wheels spinning, and causing huge congestion.  Sadly they have obviously never been taught that using a higher gear gives better traction and in most circumstances one should be able to go along at relatively normal speeds. 

Also, I didn't make it to the Esquires gig in the end but enjoyed a few glasses of wine with a few friends in my local instead.  On Sunday evening i did likewise and amongst other things we discussed which of the Lord's tests to get tickets for next year, there being three, one of which is Pakistan v Australia, which seems a bit bizarre.  We didn't make a decision though.   
  
Saturday 19th 
Taking a friend to East Midlands Airport today.  He should have flown yesterday from Luton but due to the minuscule amount of snow the flight was cancelled.  Ironically he is flying to Prague, where the weather is far colder and more severe, but strangely the airport there is fully functional.  It always astonishes me how a little bit of snow in this country causes such pandemonium and so many people make a drama out of it.   
This evening I plan to go to Esquires to see the excellent Amy Lee & The Integrals, a hugely talented young local girl who writes her own songs. 
 
Friday 18th 
As is normally the case on a weekday I tune in to Radio 5 as I do my work.  This morning they are discussing the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen. As a total sceptic and cynic, I wonder that if what they tell us is true, why have thousands travelled from around the world, as surely they are merely exacerbating the situation?  In this day and age this could have been conducted with the use of modern technology?  Video conferencing etc.  Unless of course they all got there on bicycles!  What astonishes me the most though is the attitude by some that human beings can control the world's temperatures.  The arrogance is staggering.  Dinosaurs died out because they could not adapt to climate change (it isn't a new phenomenon, it has been going on since time immemorial).  What gives human's the right to think they should be able to exist here forever?  Or that mother nature isn't more powerful than we are.  Maybe I am wrong, maybe it is easy to stop the sun shining or to control the amount of rain fall?  Anyway despite telling us the world is hotting up, I recall last winter was the coldest for years, and as I write this and I look out of the window the snow reminds me of just how much hotter the world is getting! 
 
On to other matters and yesterday I received a CD from former MA violinist Bob Faulds.  I'll listen to it today and review it for issue 19. 
       
Thursday 17th 
As usual the day starts with a cup of tea, now being drunk from my new Deep Purple mug that I bought at the recent Hammersmith gig.  I have to say it was the only bit of merch that appealed.  I thought the t-shirt designs were poor, and no programme.  However it was a good gig, and I definitely enjoy the band more now than I did a few years back.  A full review will follow in the next issue.  As for today, I should get the first edit of Colin's book completed, then email it back for him to look over. 
  
Wednesday 16th
Yesterday I spoke with Bryan Josh about the night before, and told him how enthusiastic Bob Harris was towards Mostly Autumn.  Bob said he was keen to do something with the band in the future, which is potentially great news.  
 
Also had a couple of phone calls asking for Mr Fogg.  They didn't say if it was Phileas, but nevertheless, they clearly had been given the wrong number.  This morning I have already received another email from original Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber, that I need to reply to.  Also had a few of the usual junk mails offering Viagra or the chance to update my bank details.  Funnily enough I haven't ever had an account with HSBC or Barclays so I think I will ignore the requests!  
 
Tuesday 15th   
This is the first of what will hopefully be regular blogs on the editor's day to day (or perhaps week to week, or month to month) goings on, depending on how much time I have to write something! 

Last night, as an ambassador for Childline Rocks I attend a pre-auction event at Bonham's in Kensington.  Hosted by Bob Harris. Childline's founder Esther Rantzen was also there and gave a speech.  Amongst the other guests were BBC sports presenter John Inverdale and none other than Jon Lord and his wife.  I had a brief chat with Jon to remind him that Colin Hart had asked him to write a foreword for his forthcoming book, and Jon said he would get it done soon.  I also took the liberty of giving him some Mostly Autumn CDs which, as a fan, he was delighted to receive. 
 
Jon was invited on to the stage by Bob and gave a brief speech about his involvement with the charity and the particular poignancy of performing Child In Time at this year's event.  This was followed by a short video presentation showing some of the performances from the two events to date.  It finished with a reminder of what the charity is about and used Child In Time while it got across the terrible situations that some children encounter.  The evening finished with a short acoustic performance by Newton Faulkner    
 
Back in the office this morning, there are plenty of orders to dispatch, then hopefully I will carry on editing Colin's book, which is on course for publication in early 2010, while adding bits and bobs to the next issues of both More Black than Purple and Autumn Leaves, both of which I also plan to get published early next year.