Saucer Spinning

Nick Mason perked up a dreary January night in Stowmarket with an interview session at the Peel Centre.

He spoke well, many playful anecdotes delivered with a dry wit. He hinted that stardom really fell upon them – he dropped out of university (training to be an architect) and after only 15 or so gigs and perhaps a few hundred hours of playing the band found themselves with a contract from EMI. They toured with Hendrix and the Move prior to Saucers release and clearly H was admired. Mick candidly confessed “that we learned how to play on the job !”

Saucers set the tone for creating more avant-garde material and he noted that the Sgt Peppers album in 67 really unlocked the door as records companies suddenly realised the commercial opportunities with album sales.

Nick is a flag bearer for raising the case for keeping smaller live music venues open and has an interested in Foote’s, a Soho store where he bought his first set of drums for seven pounds and 50 shillings, which would have gone under without his patronage.

We then listened to a vinyl rendition of Saucers from the Peel collection rounding off with a Q&A session, where he was reminded that he once played the Stowmarket Festival in 1967 !

He gracefully signed memorabilia, including crash helmets and partook willing in photographic set pieces !

Thank you Nick !! I now need to replay Live at Pompeii.

Posted by: Fawkes