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THE STORY OF....."Tinsel and Marzipan"...
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Christmas time is coming soon…
Hello all…..
In the late summer of 2006 plans were hatched to put together a live show in Dublin’s Vicar Street venue to raise awareness of Epilepsy. Amongst many great Irish acts invited to play was our boys The Pugs.
Rick O’Shea had been the instigator of all this good stuff. Apart from being one of Ireland’s top D.J’s and a diamond geezer, Rick is the patron of epilepsy. The sheer goodwill and exuberance of all involved got the project (now entitled Brainstock) to the 11th hour but a decision had to be made on whether the gig could go ahead at a loss or pulled and a re-think needed. The gig was pulled which saddened everyone involved, artists and organisers alike.
But…........Pug-Person #1, Thomas, had other ideas!! Over the last few years a few un-successful attempts at writing a “Christmas” Pugwash song had not lessened the desire of finally, one day, completing one. So, following on from the initial request of our Label-Leader Daragh and then the collapse of Brainstock, Thomas finally dotted the “I’s” and crossed the “T’s” on a Christmas song, in association with Brainwave entitled “Tinsel and Marzipan”.
And the rest is….......Coming Up
The song was quickly demo’d by Thomas and Keith in an hour at The Pugs spiritual home The Glebe. Everyone who heard the song felt it was a winner so 1969 Records gave the go-ahead to get the project up and running with immediate effect as it was late September (And I really should be back at school..Sorry!!) and the buy-in’s for Christmas stock in the music world had already begun. The first task was actually to record some kids singing the chorus and our dear friend Mr. Peter Fitzpatrick set up a wonderful fun day for all at his home in Dublin, where he coralled his own kids And the neighbours!! A great start indeed.
Studio time was now booked in Keith’s own Bunker Studios in Dublin and over 3 days the guts of the track was solidified and all that was needed now was….......Our Guests!! Thomas had written the track with various parts for people in mind. It wasn’t a case of where can we fit this person in so it was a very organic process and natural to have our special guests involved If they could do it. Lots and lots of our close musical buddies did all kinds of playing and singing on the track (All for free. Love still exists in the Pug-world) and you can all have fun reading who they are on the C.D sleeve but our extra special guests began with the incredible Eric Matthews doing his Brass yard thing from his palatial home in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
He not only played and sang his parts to an MP3, but he also arranged some string parts, played some Tubular bells and glockenspiel and did it all in a matter of hours!!!!! A true genius, thank you Eric. One of the few ways that Thomas had thought of paying back Eric for all his help was to hopefully get Neil Hannon to perform on the track and sing along with some of Eric’s backing vocals. Eric is Neil Hannon’s Biggest Fan. So, could Neil get on board? Well, Neil had become a fan of The Pugs through meeting up with Thomas, swapping C.D’s and sharing stories of their Love of the Electric Light Orchestra !! So after some frantic e-mails and close-calls Neil, Thomas and Keith arranged a day in The Bunker to record Neil’s vocal overdubs.
It was an Amazing day and an honour for the lads to work with such an icon of the worldwide music scene. In addition to all that, Mr. Hannon has now become a Spokesman for the track, mentioning in numerous recent interviews that it will be the Irish Christmas Number One.
During all the behind the scenes madness that goes into completing a project like this the band would sneak little sessions here and there and got people in, sometimes for half an hour only. A great example of this was our old mate MUNDY. Edmund performed a Krusty The Klown and got his few lines down in a matter of minutes!! Great Fun and again a real honour for Thomas. Thanks Mundy
The Big One for The Pugs was next though. The legend Dave Gregory formally of XTC was coming to Ireland to see Thomas, Daragh and the band for a little Non-Rest & Recreation and everyone was hoping that Dave could get on the track. Dave made it by hours literally as the track had to be mixed and mastered asap. The few hours that was spent in the studio with this amazing man was dream come true stuff for Thomas and Keith.
Apart from some piano over-dubs and some more bits and pieces, Dave was the last to record on the track and it was a fitting end to an amazing musical adventure. It was bloody hard work but we believe you’ll all agree that it was well worth it!!
We need you ALL to go out/download this new Chrimbo-Classic when it hits the shops and your computers on December 8th. All relevant details of how to obtain the single will be posted shortly. It’s for an incredibly worthy cause and hey…..It’s bloody good too.
xxxxx
Discuss...
- 1Nov 15, 03:47 AM | Thomas.....
- 2Nov 16, 09:06 PM | Peter Fitz
- 3Nov 17, 04:51 PM | wesLONG
- 4Nov 17, 05:56 PM | Joey
- 5Nov 17, 10:48 PM | Thomas.....
- 6Nov 25, 12:25 PM | Dilner
- 7Nov 26, 08:33 AM | Eric Matthews
- 8Nov 26, 10:57 PM | Barry O'Brien
- 9Nov 27, 03:22 AM | Thomas.....
- 10Nov 29, 01:13 PM | Ken Fallon
- 11Nov 30, 04:21 AM | Thomas.....
- 12Nov 30, 12:56 PM | PB
- 13Dec 3, 12:32 PM | Ken Fallon
- 14Dec 3, 06:30 PM | Eric Matthews
- 15Dec 4, 04:49 AM | Thomas.....
- 16Dec 6, 05:31 AM | saturnboy
- 17Dec 6, 10:42 AM | Glenda Wright
- 18Dec 8, 12:46 PM | Trevor Williams
- 19Dec 12, 12:23 AM | Peter
- 20Dec 12, 01:23 AM | SATURNBOY
- 21Dec 12, 03:38 PM | Dilner
- 22Dec 12, 11:24 PM | Trevor Williams
- 23Dec 13, 10:11 AM | Martin Bridgeman
- 24Dec 13, 04:54 PM | Peter
- 25Dec 14, 07:01 PM | Eric Anderson
- 26Dec 15, 12:27 PM | Dilner
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