Holywood Star: The Life and Times of a Rock and Roll Misadventurer by Eamon Nancarrow

Author:Eamon Nancarrow [Nancarrow, Eamon]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Biographies
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Social Idiot

Every picture tells a

story, don’t it?

I had been asked to write some

songs with a guy called Kuma

Harada who was the ex-bass player

with the Tourists (Annie Lennox’s

old band), Snowy White (ex-Thin

Lizzy) and Mick Taylor (ex-Rolling

Stones). As you can imagine I was

going to jump at the chance. Kuma’s

studio was near Old Street Station

and Alex arranged for me to go

along and meet him. We hit it off

quite well and I said I would write

some stuff and let him hear it with

the provision that if he liked it then

maybe we could record something

together.

At the time I was living at Ken and

Elaine’s flat, having left the high-

rise hell in Green Dragon Lane for

the sake of my physical and mental

health. One evening I got a call from

Alex. He sounded really worried,

and he asked me if I could call over

to see him ASAP. He said he was in

a spot of trouble but I wasn’t to

mention it to anyone. I told Ken that

I was going over to Chiswick and

would probably stay there as it was

getting quite late.

Alex answered the door, shaking.

Clearly he was distressed. I asked

him what the matter was; he invited

me into the living room and was just

about to spill the beans when a

knock came to the front door.

‘Who could that be?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Alex said, and then

with his voice trembling he asked

me to answer it.

Reluctantly I went to the door to be

confronted by God knows what, I

mean what could have Alex in such

a state? I slowly opened the door a

fraction and peered out, fully

expecting to be set upon by some

thug or other or one of Alex’s

dissatisfied clients – and I don’t just

mean the ladies here.

To my surprise Ken was standing

on the doorstep. ‘What’s going on?’

he demanded.

‘I don’t know,’ I truthfully said.

‘Is it something to do with Kuma?’

he asked.

‘What?’ I shouted.

‘Have you signed a deal with Kuma

behind mine and Xan’s backs?’ he

blurted out.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking

about,’ and I really didn’t. He

pushed in past me. When he saw

Alex I think he knew that the reason

for my clandestine visit had nothing

to do with music.

Alex had known me for many years

by this stage, not only

professionally, with our work with

the band and the stuff I did for him

as part of Paul Weller’s

organisation, but we were also

good friends socially. Although he

obviously knew Ken very well they

were not close like he and I were.

Alex looked a little reluctant to

discuss his problems in front of

Ken. Seeing as I had known Ken

most of my life I assured Alex that

anything he could tell me could be

said in front of Ken and it would be

treated in the strictest confidence

and seriousness. What he was about

to reveal would shock even us –

and we thought we had heard

everything as far as Alex was

concerned.

Alex had been going out with a girl

who was, let’s just say, very heavy

boned (ahem!). He had shown me

photographs of her that he said were

taken when she was a model and

before she had developed a gland

problem. I couldn’t help but think

she must have been eating the

glands. Anyway I was never

convinced that the girl in the picture

and the horror picture Alex was

dating were the same person.

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