YELLOW PAPER SUNS

from Melody Maker, 23rd November, 1968

“Who are the Moles?” is the current cry of desperate deejays and jocular journalists. To recap for those not up on such topics of vital importance, the story went that pop manager Stephen Komlosy received a letter containing a key to a left-luggage locker at Waterloo Station. Wherein, surprise surprise, he found a tape of a song called “We Are The Moles” which has been getting a full share of Radio One plugs.

Mr Komlosy, ran the tale, had no idea as to identity of the artists on the disc so decided to put out the record as by the Moles.

Well, we can put everyone out of their misery. The Moles are Simon Dupree and three members of the Big Sound. The disc was made in London’s Trident studios and among those present was Mr Komlosy.
Nice try, Steve.

from Record Mirror, 5th October, 1968

“The best thing we’ve done” says Simon

Simon Dupree was in a “passive, could be funny if pushed” mood – and he was excited about his latest record “Thinkin’ About My Life”.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever written,” Simon enthused. “A friend of ours bet my brother Ray and I that we couldn’t write a song in twenty minutes and so we proved him wrong. At first, we were depressed about the failure of “Part Of My Past” but now we’ve owned up about ballads. We’re a beat group and that’s what we’re sticking to.”

workshop

The Big Sound recently completed their first two weeks of highly successful cabaret appearances. Why then change after their success in ballrooms over the past two years?

“We just wanted experience of other facets of show business,” explained Simon. “We enjoyed cabaret very much. But we’re not giving up ballrooms. That is why we hit on the idea of the Pop Workshop – an entirely non-profit-making experiment. It’s not a studio where artistes come to record singles and then LP’s, but a place where they can come and work on new sounds with a view to future recordings.

“Anyone is welcome whether they are star acts or not. We also intend to encourage would-be song writers. There is a lot of unnoticed talent in this country and the Workshop will give the unknowns a chance.”

It’s been a long time since there was an LP from the group. Any plans for another?

Our second album is almost finished,” said Simon. “It’s all original stuff, mostly written by Ray, myself, our sister Eve and Paul Smith. No comedy, though. We seemed to have picked up a comedy image and we’re trying to change it. It all started with “Kites”, when we thought we were never going to get a hit and were reduced to screaming hysterics. We even wore masks on stage to hide our desperation! The audience rolled up at it, so we kept it in the act, but now it’s routine to us and has lost its spontaneity.

Is there anything which could dampen Simon’s present bout of enthusiasm?

“Only the Musicians’ Union ruling about not using backing tracks,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous and in theory I agree with the ruling. But it does seem rather pointless to go into the BBC studios and record another backing track using the same facilities as the recording studios all over again. Mind you, this only applies to groups who don’t use session men, like us – to the groups who do use them the ruling probably makes more sense. It would be unfair to session men who are union members.

1,000 birds

“Most pop musicians are in the union and it would be better if they had more interest in the rulings of the union. Personally, I haven’t been to any meetings, but in the future I’ll make a point of attending.

“Also, I don’t think much of all these blues groups which are appearing – I don’t think they are genuine. There are very few original-sounding groups. All this ‘freak-out 12-bar blues, head-in-the-sand’ bit. Most of them are the same, with two “E” and a “B” string on their guitars, a fuzz-box and 400-watt equipment. Most of it doesn’t mean a thing. I’m sure it’s only a phase like the so-called rock-and-roll revival.

“Our own personal scene is looking much better. We did an open-air festival and were mobbed by over a thousand birds – it was lovely.”

from Fabulous 208, 6th July, 1967

Working as hard as they have to, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound make any spare minute they can holiday time. As you can see from the pictures we caught them having a super time at Butlin’s at Clacton.

They haven’t had a holiday for at least two years, but hope this summer they will be able to snatch a few weeks off. But already this seems unlikely, ‘cos if their latest record “Part Of My Past” is successful, which it is bound to be, they won’t be able to go away.

Apart from work connected with the record, they are planning to start a pop workshop. They will either rent a large studio or buy a big house which they can convert into a studio, and begin experimenting with music. Says Simon: “Pop is a bit stagnant at the moment, it needs someone to think of something new.”
And that’s just what the boys are going to try to do!

Written partly by Simon’s sister, Eve, and highly successful on all their stage appearances, this is the sort of number I used to associate with the Walker Brothers.
It has that same feel, that at any moment the control is going to go and someone is going to raise their right hand against the light.
A beautiful opening sound and some great trumpets full of heraldic pomp. A nice melody line too. The only trouble is, I feel, it could have done with a swift cut towards the end – goes on too long. (Disc & Music Echo, 25th May, 1968)

A bluesy rhythmic ballad – intensely and passionately handled by Simon Dupree, supported by one of those colourful and imaginative scorings that we have come to associate with the Big Sound.
Organ, a delicious string sound, flute and subtle brass blend effectively in this absorbing arrangement which achieves a hauntingly wistful quality, in keeping with the plaintive nature of the lyric.
The material is fairly strong – I suspect it’s a tune that grows on you after several spins. And while the disc doesn’t measure up to the delightful “Kites” it does have a fascination of its own, which could well put it in the running for Chart honours. A possible!
Flip: “This Story Never Ends”, a more forceful beat on this track – throbbing rhythm, rattling tambourine and clanking piano. Plus Simon’s uninhibited vocal. Above average for a “B” side. (NME, 25th May, 1968)

I assured Simon that this would be a very successful single, so kindly go out and buy it and prove I’m no liar. In fact, it really is a tremendous song and Simon sings with a bluesy edge, getting maximum feeling from it – and the strings behind are marvellous. And I’m staggered that “For Whom The Bell Tolls” slipped. Flip: A fair enough song, well produced. (Record Mirror, 25th May, 1968)

And thank you Ernest Hemingway. Well, I have to own up and say this record is a bit of a mystery to me. I find it very hard to judge its commercial value. “Kites” was immediate and clear and I knew it was a hit. But this is an odd conglomeration of “In A Monastery Garden” and “Yellow Rose Of Texas” with Spanish guitar.
Mr Dupree’s voice sounds strangely far away and not all that happy on some bell-like notes. It is pretty but lacks any great immediacy. We shall see. (Disc & Music Echo, 2nd March, 1968)

Military drums open this and the melody is based on a sort of descending scale. Simon says, self-effacingly, that he doesn’t rate it all that much, which means it’ll be a smash. Actually it’s much more directly commercial than “Kites” in my opinion. And it certainly enhances the group’s fine sense of style. A hit, I tell you. Flip: “Sleep” – To be honest I thought this went on a bit. And on. And on. (Record Mirror, 9th March, 1968)

from Record Mirror, 9th March, 1968

So I said to Simon Dupree “What’s your favourite colour?” and I thought I’d follow this up with “What’s your favourite food?” and “What are your likes and dislikes?”, thus getting some really good material with which to write a meaty story.

But strangely enough our little conversation developed into something of a far more serious and philosophical nature. You see, when I said “What’s your favourite colour?”, Simon replied: “I don’t like pop music” – so I had no alternative but to parry the answer with: “Why?”

And this started us off on a long discourse on pop music, the entertainment industry, and life in general.

“Pop music is such a surface thing,” said Simon. “On the whole it just goes in one ear and out the other. I know that “Kites” will be completely forgotten in a month or two – whereas Beethoven’s music, for example, will go on forever. I’m not decrying pop music – I just don’t like it.

“Basically I’m an entertainer – I love the business, and I’ll stay in it forever. Therefore, because I’m a pop musician I’ll play pop as best I can, and try to give the audience value for money. But I just can’t take pop all that seriously – I’m not trying to set myself up above pop music, it’s just a personal thing.

“But so many people, for example, come up to us and say “You’re a great group”. “They may not have heard us on stage or anything, but because they liked our record, they just say we play great music. What does it mean? Groups are judged on one record, or one song – and if they can’t live up to that on stage, they’re booed off and forgotten. This has happened two or three times to groups who’ve had hits this year – and I really feel sorry for them. It’s not their fault – they’re brought together to make a hit record, and they work to a formula. But so often they haven’t had the experience of working together as a group, and consequently when they go on stage they’re not at all professional, and they don’t give the audience value for their money.

“We’re fortunate in that we’d been together for about a year before our big hit, “Kites”, and we’ve got a good stage act now. The thing is that, even though I don’t like pop, I believe in giving the audience value for their money. If you’re an entertainer you have to be professional – and we’ve tried to be right from the start, and we’ve been well received right from the start as well.

“I think the most important thing, though, is to have star quality – and very few people in pop have this. The Beatles have it, but there are very few others. I’d like to think that we have it … perhaps we will in a few years. Personally I’ll be in this business for the rest of my life, and I think my brothers will as well, though eventually we’ll probably all go our own separate ways. Who knows?

“Some of these old-timers who’ve been singing for years are really fabulous. They have a fantastic presence on stage. For example, I always used to dismiss Vera Lynn – I didn’t think much of her at all. Then one day I appeared in a concert with her, and a lot of others – Bud Flanagan was another. And I was standing in the wings of the theatre watching them. I was completely knocked out – you know, they have such a fantastic presence on stage. They’re real stars, and no one in pop can hope to compete with them. It was then that I realised how superficial the pop business is compared to the real business of entertaining.

“The thing is, as I said, that I’m in the entertainment business as a pop musician, therefore I do my best to entertain a pop audience even though I don’t particularly like pop music. I don’t know which direction I’ll go in the future – but I’ll stay in the business, and so will my brothers. We’re very lucky actually, because the group is very much a family business. And of course, our next record, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was written by my sister. She used to be a jazz singer – but then she got married and settled down as a housewife. Recently, though, she started songwriting, and she’s very good. Personally, I don’t like “The Bell Tolls”, but I suppose it’s a very good commercial number. Anyway, I’m no judge of what’s good and what isn’t – I didn’t like “Kites” very much.

“At the moment I’ve got plenty of time to sit down and think, and try to sort things out a bit, because we aren’t doing so many one night stands or anything. So I’m still trying to sort things out in my mind.

“One thing I do know is that one day I’ll be a millionaire by the time I’m thirty. I’m not mean or anything – far from it – but I’m very conscious of the importance of looking after money. And that’s very important in this line of business. So I’m investing a lot of money – and I’m going to put a lot into property. The group’s getting a Rolls Royce as well – it’s a bit flash I suppose – but it’ll be just the job for all the travelling we have to do. So much more comfortable than going by bandwagon or coach – anyway, I didn’t travel very well in coaches. I get horribly sick.

“We’ve got a great act lined up for our forthcoming tour with Gene Pitney and Don Partridge – in fact we’re really looking forward to that tour. I think it should go down very well with the audiences – and the group should as well. The individual group members are emerging as personalities now, which is good – in fact, all of us brothers are very different, and each one of us is beginning to emerge as a different personality. I’m pretty certain we’ll all become stars one day, whether we stay together or not.”

…. and the funny thing is that I never did get to find out what Simon Dupree’s fave colour is …

from Melody Maker, 9th March, 1968

You only had to look at Simon Dupree’s hat to know that his new single, “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” out tomorrow (Friday), has a Spanish influence. I had expected him to order a glass of port to go with the headgear, but he settled for a tomato juice while he told me “For Whom The Bell Tolls” hadn’t been his choice as a follow-up to “Kites”

“I thought “Part Of My Past” was better, but my brothers, Ray and Phil, thought this was the right one for an A side. Anyway, it’s written by my sister and Paul Smith.
“Actually I had no idea of what is commercial and what isn’t, and I don’t like much pop music anyway. I really enjoy classical music and modern jazz. Favourite composers? Mozart, Handel and most symphonic music, though I don’t like the moderns much, apart from Elgar.”

Simon turned to the topic of the moment. “We’ve never used a session man on a record,” he said proudly.

PROBLEMS

“We feel that if you can’t do it yourself, don’t do it. If somebody else is playing, then where do you get the satisfaction. The great pleasure is hearing what you have done.”

Musical versatility can breed it’s own problems. Says Simon: “We sometimes have trouble on broadcasts. On Radio One O’Clock recently we had eight or nine instruments on stage and we asked the engineers for three mikes to sing in.

“They said they hadn’t got any spare. Most engineers hate anything that means a change from three guitars and drums.”

I asked what Simon felt about predictions of a rock ‘n’ roll revival.

“If the Beatles have gone rock on their new single then it may come back – and last six months,” he said.
“Actually, I like rock – it has guts. I still listen to Eddie Cochran records. And the early Shadows stuff – I still play “Apache” and the rest of them.”

The success of “Kites” has had some unexpected results, according to Simon. “For one thing, the three brothers – Ray, Phil and myself – are emerging as different sorts of people, getting their own separate identities.
The girls are always after Ray now – and Phil is always moaning that I get all the press.

“On the Gene Pitney tour we will feature the three of us as separate identities, try and project the different personalities.

“We shall be using a lot of instruments, too – on one number we will feature about 12 instruments including sax, vibes and French horn. After the tour we are going to take a break – we’ve been working continuously for a year. We’ll go our separate ways for three weeks. Then when we get back we’ll do something abroad – we want to promote ourselves in the States and “Kites” is doing well in places like Japan, Israel and Norway.”

As befits someone who had a long apprenticeship of one-nighters, travelling up and down Britain, before getting a hit record, Simon is not one to chuck his money away.

“I like to invest in things,” he says. “Property and shares. We all draw wages each week and put the rest of the money away.
“Mind you, we are thinking of buying a Rolls Royce to transport the group.”