December 2020
PUPPET MASTER, the new album from The Bolton Iron Maiden & Paul T J O'Neill, has been released, and is available on all formats in all the good places, including iTunes, Spotify, CD Baby and most of all BIM's own web site - here.
Guest musicians appearing on the album include Don Airey of Deep Purple, Rob Harris of Jamiroquai, locals Martin Low and yours truly (that'll be me) having done a chunk of the bass. The first single from the album is 'Gone Are The Days', a rough pre-release mix of which is available to view below. All proceeds to charity, so go buy a copy! - reviews, good ones!, starting to come in, an example of which is here Recorded over a 27 year period (yep, you read that right!) GR got involved a couple of years ago to help mix and put bass parts in. Finally mixed at Abbey Road, and now available! |
April 2020
Immediately prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic I was asked to record a cover version of Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush'. I checked out the original on Youtube because I didn't know the song, and at that point the original only had..... 157million views, so that as good a reason as any to cover it! At the point where the backing tracks were complete, not only could I not get the requested female vocalist into the studio but couldn't get any vocalist in because of the travel restrictions. So I did it myself, here are the results, and I'm sure I'll get 'proper' vocals on it sometime soon. If you like it, please share on social media Please note, this piece of music can be performed LIVE by booking Ghost Repeaters - Solo and Live!, Guitar will take the main melody |
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December 2019
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Completed exclusively in the Home Studio, a cover version of King Crimson's 'Red' for/with Duncan Lawson. This is a six and a half minute piece of music originally written by Robert Fripp in 1974 consisting of guitar themes over a raft of changing time signatures. All guitars & considerable interference: Duncan Lawson; bass, drum programming, recording, everything else, GR.
Speaking about it in the book accompanying the Larks' Tongues in Aspic: The Complete Recordings box set, Fripp says, "After we had just recorded the track "Red" in [Olympic Studios] ... we played it back and Bill said, 'I don't get it, but if you tell me it's good, I trust you.' ... I said, 'We don't have to use it.' John was in no doubt: 'We'll use it.'" In retrospect, "Red" has been considered an influence on avant-garde metal. PopMatters ranked "Red" as the twentieth best progressive rock song of all time. (Wiki). That was the original version, not necessarily this one...... |
July 2019
Paul T J O'Neill has recorded and mixed (Abbey Road) his new and as yet unreleased, planned late 2019/early 2020, Bolton Iron Maiden album (Yes folks, they had the name first - check it out, there's history there, and they are acknowledged by the famous version of IM). This is a Home Made video of the first single, 'Gone Are The Days', the album is 'Puppet Master - The Rise and Rise of Slick Dandy'. I played bass on most if not all of it, not sure..... Recently received BBC airtime. |
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March 2019: The live work has slowed a bit so I went back into the Hard Drive (spooky.....) and looked this out. it's a cover recorded by the original Ghost Repeaters but with Clare Firecracker taking the main vocal. It wasn't anywhere near done, so I got on with it and used elements of the original track, drums, some guitar, bass, and then changed/added/removed guitars, synth,voices fx, and hey presto this is what came out: |
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Feb 2019:
Completed a series of recordings for Big Cheese, 8 tracks in all. I lifted all my recording gear and plonked it on TC's landing where he's got his drum kit set up and got everybody over to his house for a weekend in Nov '18, so effectively 'live' with a couple of later overdubs from Jane and TB on Lead Guitar, subsequently mixed and mastered. They are all up on youtube ( for marketing etc. here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTqFCDHuP1Gl2fQOh2WVM8Q )
and there's a selection here to listen to if you feel so inclined:
Sweet Dreams Chain Gang Kids In America
Completed a series of recordings for Big Cheese, 8 tracks in all. I lifted all my recording gear and plonked it on TC's landing where he's got his drum kit set up and got everybody over to his house for a weekend in Nov '18, so effectively 'live' with a couple of later overdubs from Jane and TB on Lead Guitar, subsequently mixed and mastered. They are all up on youtube ( for marketing etc. here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTqFCDHuP1Gl2fQOh2WVM8Q )
and there's a selection here to listen to if you feel so inclined:
Sweet Dreams Chain Gang Kids In America
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Jan 2019:
More covers, this time featuring Cambridge singer Jane Edwards - Enjoy! (Up on youtube, if you like them, share!)
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Dec 2018:
For the last 10 years or so I've been doing 20+ gigs a year. If I do a bit of singing, on the way to a gig I'll warm up by singing along to half a dozen songs that are on a CD I put together specially for the purpose, and I'll either take the melody with the artist or I'll take a harmony to the main melody. Just as well I go to these gigs mostly on my own, when I have had a passenger or two they complain, and I don't blame them.... Anyway, I decided I'd been singing them for so long that I'd record them so that when I'm incapable I'd at least have a record (sic) of some of them.
Delta Bluesman - Micky Moody with added GR Sobriety - Tanita Tikaram with added GR The Maker - Daniel Lanois with added GR
For the last 10 years or so I've been doing 20+ gigs a year. If I do a bit of singing, on the way to a gig I'll warm up by singing along to half a dozen songs that are on a CD I put together specially for the purpose, and I'll either take the melody with the artist or I'll take a harmony to the main melody. Just as well I go to these gigs mostly on my own, when I have had a passenger or two they complain, and I don't blame them.... Anyway, I decided I'd been singing them for so long that I'd record them so that when I'm incapable I'd at least have a record (sic) of some of them.
Delta Bluesman - Micky Moody with added GR Sobriety - Tanita Tikaram with added GR The Maker - Daniel Lanois with added GR
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2018, at least the first three quarters of it just as busy as 2017 with live work so not a lot of time recording. Oh Well.
Interference:
Interference:
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Jan 2018:
Some time ago I bought a guitar. Like you do. Having never been a fan of Les Pauls because they're just too damn heavy, I knew that PRS made a decent alternative at a competitive price and weight. When I heard that they were releasing a Bernie Marsden Signature model, I tried one, liked it and bought it. (See The Axes...) Bernie did a PRS showcase local to me last year and I got him to sign it. He has produced a CD of backing tracks that he uses at his guitar clinics, I bought one and took a track - 'Morris Minor', used that guitar and put my own melody over it. This is the result - I'm 'interfering' with his track. Hope you like it. Note - all rights belong to BM Please note, this music can be performed LIVE by booking Ghost Repeaters - Solo and Live! |
Just found out that an album I helped mix late last year has been released - here
The Big Deal, by the late Paul Neon.
Review and details from CD baby as below:
Fronting many bands, as well as being an outstanding solo performer, Paul Neon’s musical career has spanned nearly fifty decades and has seen him become a local Rock n Roll legend. Paul’s iconic voice and song writing talent can now be fully appreciated with the release of this long awaited album of original material.
Whilst touring the country, performing hits from the fifties and sixties, Paul’s ambition to release his own album was always on his mind. When diagnosed with cancer in 2015, Paul was advised to rest while he began treatment, but instead he saw the opportunity to focus on his lifelong dream, this inspirational album.
By combining true rockers like ‘Gotta Keep’ and ‘Rockin’ Like The King’ with beautiful, heart felt ballads such as ‘Who Will I Fall For’ and ‘I Close My Eyes And See’, a song written in memory of his baby daughter, The Big Deal demonstrates Paul Neon’s vast musical talent. The final composition on this album, ‘Save Me A Good Seat’ is a truly inspirational track, written and recorded in the final days of Paul’s life. This song demonstrates Paul’s sheer determination to this album and his lifelong love of Rock n Roll music.
Produced by Perfect Pitch Records, this album is not to be missed!