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It
was 20 years before their paths crossed again at a Gypp reunion
in Germany and since then the two have got along famously. Last
month Martin joined Stephen on his Saturday morning radio programme
playing live in the studio and talking about his work as a musician
and writer.
SF : Martin you go right back to the 1970s and probably before.
MN
: Yes I am very old!!. (laughs)
SF
: I didn't mean it like that but you've certainly got a pedigree.
MN
: Yes I have. It's a border collie really!! (more laughter)
SF
: Your new album is out on Cherry Red. Are these songs you've had
knocking around for a while?
MN
: No. When I had a row with my last record company Cherry Red got
me as a job lot and the boss there said we don't just put out
dead catalogue would you like to record a new album? I did this
one with Nelson my old buddy from New Model Army. We did it as a
sort of concept, a group of songs all in the same time frame and
we whacked them out really quickly like The Beatles did in the 1960s.
SF
: Can you spend too long working on an album?
MN
: Yeah. Tears For Fears are a point in question. Apparently some
time in the 80s they spent three months in the studio just working
on their snare drum sound. I've always thought get it down, get
it out then you've captured the atmosphere of the time. I really
think we should go back to that. There's no excuse. The technology's
got better. The distribution and advertising's got bigger but we
can't seem to knock out albums at the same rate The Beatles and
The Stones did.
SF
: Have you always got lots of songs inside just waiting to come
out?
MN
: Yes. It's just a case of I'm like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. If
enough people clap their hands the fairy comes to life and starts
working!! If no-one tells me I'm any good I'll stop writing songs
and bury myself in poems.
SF
: The album's called "Radio Autumn Attic". Obviously a
play on words. Has radio been important to you?
MN
: Yes it has. I prefer radio to telly and not just because I have
a better face for radio than TV. I said to Nel why don't we make
this album like you're tuning into a martian radio station? It opens
with a noise like you're tuning a radio and then you've got these
strange jingles. In fact, quite a rude one called "WD Naughty"
about some intimate body spray or something. I wanted to make it
a European thing. I've been to France and Germany a lot. I don't
know anything about Route 66 but I do know about the A12 and some
of the roads in France so it's a European album which is why we've
got Dutch and German voices on it too.
SF
: Away from music you're a very successful poet writing a weekly
poem for The Independent.
MN
: Yeah and I've got eight or nine collections. In fact, I'm getting
quite respectable now. Ronald Blythe wrote the foreword to my last
one. It was all East Anglian poems and it's proved to be very popular
with the locals 'cause there are no swear words or any of my fast
paced wacky humour!! It's just pastoral stuff. It's getting nearer
to Betjamin now.
SF
: Your book "This Little Ziggy" was one of my favourite
reads of last year. How's it been selling?
MN
: I think it's been selling respectably but more importantly someone's
put in a pitch for the film rights so in a couple of years someone
could be watching it although I'm now too old to play me...the wrecked
train crash of a 20 year old singer that I was. But I have offered
to play my Dad. My Dad was an army officer and a bit stern and people
in the family say I do a very good imitation of him. He'd say to
me stop playing that banjo. My Mum would say but he's composing
to which he'd reply I don't care if he's decomposing..stop making
that bloody racket!!
Stephen
highly recommends "This Little Ziggy" which is published
by House Of Stratus. A visit to Martin's website will give you all
you need to know about one of this country's true eccentrics. Tap
in www.@martinnewell.co.uk
for a glimpse of life on Planet Newell.
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