Tune Tag #94 with Ian Paul Sharp of LP, Pt. 2: Lindisfarne, Peter Gabriel, Rick Springfield, Van Der Graaf, Status Quo, Matt Berry, Jimmy Nail, Peter Belli

'Ello, mate!👋Howdy, y'all! Union Jack! Stars'n'Stripes! Monarchy!👑Constitutional Republic! Big Ben! Big Bend! Beatles! Winger! Led Zep! Nelson! UK! U.S.! A Pond's between us! Who'll defect?🤷‍♂️

Greetings, Ian! Good of you to drop in!

Arf wiedersehen? Hardly. But, how is he lowering himself from the woof? We know that when it comes to Tune Tag, Ian certainly knows the ropes!

Tune Tag welcomes

Ian Paul Sharp

of

LP: Stories of Brilliant Music

! He’s done this before…we last saw Ian in July ‘24 for Tune Tag #49:

Tune Tag #49 with Ian Sharp of "LP": Beatles, Rupert Holmes, Steve Hillage, XTC, Knickerbockers, Todd Rundgren, James McCartney, The Rutles

Last week, you’ll recall, we enjoyed the company of

Gayle Ramage

of

Music, Movies, Stories and Mutterings

!

Tune Tag #93 with Gayle Ramage: Cher, Wings, Kylie Minogue, Linda Lewis, Bowie, Dire Straits, Nick Lowe, Squeeze

Next week, Tune (Tag) in for the debut of

Greg Nix

of the chuckle-worthy

Chortle

!

---

Ian Paul Sharp: Music Wordsmith, LP: Stories of brilliant music.

Ian: I am a music wordsmith, a retired educator of adults and a scholar of popular culture. Music, especially rock, has been an obsession for my whole life. On Substack, I write the stories of brilliant music in LP. A book for Sonicbond Publishing, “Lifehouse by Pete Townshend,” is due for publication later this year. I live in Olney, UK, with my partner, Jane, a border collie and a cat.

Ian’s song #1 sent to Brad: Peter Gabriel, “Shock the Monkey,” 1982

Peter at his UK home, 1984📸Peter Noble/Redferns/Getty

Ian’s rationale: To celebrate Gabriel’s 75th birthday in February, and receiving (in late April) an early demo version of this song via his Bandcamp Full Moon Club, here’s “Shock the Monkey,” a song about jealousy, according to the writer.

From the Bandcamp page: “Taken from a Crescent Studios cassette, this early demo of ‘Shock the Monkey’ is likely to be from 1980, according to Peter. A piano and voice-only version, where Gabrielese is in full effect. The tune and song structure we know is forming, but this version pre-dates the emergence of the final lyric.”

Brad’s response: Eight years before “Shock the Monkey,” meeting Gabriel after a Genesis show at Austin’s Armadillo World Headquarters:

Paper Plate: Peter Gabriel Offers Solid Diet Advice Following 1974 Genesis Show

Brad’s song #1 sent to Ian: Van Der Graaf Generator, “Lemmings,” 1971

Ian’s response: Inventive early prog, with elements of the Genesis sound of that time – and moving through jazz and other forms of improv. One of those long tracks that could be all over the place, but has a clear structure and intelligent lyrics. I’ve never really “got” Van der Graaf, which is clearly my loss.

Phil Collins has described Van der Graaf as “the better Genesis.” Not sure if that’s the connection, or that both songs have an animal in the title … Ah! Charisma Records’ “six bob gigs” package tour in the early 1970s!

Per Van Der Graaf’s website: “The tour was put together by Tony Stratton Smith, then owner of Charisma Records, with Van der Graaf Generator top-of-the-bill. Nine major concert halls were booked, starting at The Lyceum in London on January 24th, and although this tour initially seemed a risky venture, the 1971 ‘Charisma Package Tour’ has achieved legendary status.”

Brad’s rationale: Peter Hammill sang backing vocals on “Shock the Monkey.” Hammill was the keyboardist for Van Der Graaf Generator, and wrote “Lemmings,” for this, the band’s 4th album, released in 1971 on Charisma Records, and produced by John Anthony (those last two facts…label and producer…were duplicated on a few early-’70s Genesis albums, whose lead singer, of course, was Peter Gabriel)!

Ian’s song #2: Lindisfarne, “Clear White Light,” 1970

Brad’s response: Ian hit on those exact last two points from the Van Der Graaf track: Charisma Records and producer, John Anthony! It’s going to be hard for me to ignore picking an early Genesis/John Anthony production to follow!

Ian’s rationale: The other band on that “six bob gig” tour was rather different: Lindisfarne were a folk-rock band from Newcastle, much more working-class and traditional in approach than the public school rock of their tour-mates. They had the excellent songwriter, Alan Hull, in their ranks, and he was a fine singer too. There’s no better example of this than “Clear White Light.”

Brad’s song #2: Jimmy Nail, “Cowboy Dreams,” 1995