The Ollie Halsall Archive

Like with most things of its nature, the Fatsticks album was in the works long before it was recorded or released in 1975. Of course, if it was released anytime before or after that date it would probably not have been called Fatsticks.

When the Wimbledon Palais closed in 1967, my 'steady little number' playing bass with the resident Mike Rabin Band there (1962 thru 1967) had gone out the window. Now, for some strange reason I took to writing songs at that date - just basically writing what I liked. No direction, no reason. A basic trait that I still have today. At that time I lived in Twickenham and found a local 'studio' -a guy with two stolen Ferrograph tape recorders in his front room and a closet which served as the 'control room', which also held an acetate cutting machine. The first 'demo' I recorded there was a piece called 'Tobacco Ash Sunday'.

Now, this guy also worked for EMI as a recording tape salesman and knew an American publishing company in Berkeley Square, London, called Schroeder Music, to whom he played the acetate of 'Tobacco Ash Sunday'. On hearing the demo, the manager there, John Fenton, signed me to a five-year publishing contract to Schroeder Music - a move he was to later regret as he was the central figure in conceiving a band called Third World War that I was heavily involved in. But that is another story!

The contract with Schroeder kinda kept me amused. Fenton had instigated a songwriters workshop there, the idea being for all the songwriters to bring in their songwriting efforts once a week for review of their peers. The funny thing was, I was the only one bringing in songs. What Schroeder Music was really after were 'hits' for the major recording artists of the time. Aaron Schroeder, who owned the company, had written hits for Elvis Presley and I guess he was a ' tin pan alley' kind of guy. But things were changing. The singer songwriter thing was getting into full swing. The smart and hip publishers, and there were not too many of them, were on the lookout for the Bolans and Bowies of this world. The song 'Tobacco Ash Sunday' was recorded by a band called 'Harsh Reality', a kinda heavy organ based band with a good singer. Incidentally, the song 'Salvation Band' (on the Fatsticks album) was also written around this time, '68-ish, if I recall correctly.

Around 1968, John Fenton quit working for Schroeder Music and was replaced by a younger guy. I cannot remember his name but I recall him telling me he knew Roger Cook (future Fatsticks producer and singer in the band Blue Mink). I think they both went to the same school together in Bristol, or something along those lines. Anyway, this guy plays a song wrote called 'All the Best Songs and Marches' which lit Roger Cook's fuse. Roger became interested in my Schroeder songs and sometime around 1970 started recording them with a girl singer called Helen Shapell, having secured an album deal with Pye Records. I was invited up to one of the recording sessions and was amazed at how the songs sounded, full orchestra, etc, the whole works. My primitive Twickenham demo's were now arranged and transformed into symphonic beauty.

At that time I was still driving trucks to make ends meet and was not, of course, the cleanest of individuals. When the musicians in the studio were asked if they wanted to meet the songwriter a few of them came out to see me and were openly shocked at my appearance. One of them asking "how could someone like you, write something like that?" (food for thought on that one). But that recurring theme came up again and Idealized that playing an instrument brilliantly was one thing and writing brilliant songs was another. I do not think that Pye Records ever released the Helen Shapell album (a shame because it was just excellent and sung very well) but at that point I think Roger Cook got the idea of he and I doing an album together sometime in the future. For the next few years I was immersed in a band called Third World War, a 'pro' situation, where Jim Avery and myself were on the payroll to write songs and pull together a live band but, as I said before, that is another story.

The Third World War came and went (1970 thru 1972), I went back to driving a truck and Jim and I were split up songwriting- wise. I had kept in touch with Roger Cook and he and I kicked around the possibility of doing an album. The only problem was that I had signed a management contract with John Fenton at the start of the Third World War days. But looking at the contract we realised that unless Fenton renewed it for another five years, an option he had, I would be free of it and as luck would have it, Fenton forgot to renew the contract which expired in 1974, releasing myself and Jim Avery from any contractual obligations to him. Roger Cook needed demos to pitch to record companies and brought me into Morgan Studios, North London at the end of a Blue Mink session, the idea being to knock some demos out, but the band split, although we did record 'Greenwood Blues' and a few other pieces. A little later on I recorded the song 'Fatsticks' on a Phillips cassette recorder I had at home and that demo landed a two album recording deal with A&M Records in London.

During the summer of 1974, we (wife and son) went to the USA to visit my sister. At that time she lived in Milwaukee and we stayed there until Roger Cook called to say he had set up recording time at Morgan Studios to record the Fatsticks album (around October 1974). I picked up a late fifties Gibson Melody Maker guitar and a battery operated Pignose Amplifier from a pawn shop in Milwaukee for $100 (try doing that today) and we flew back to London to start rehearsals on the Fatsticks songs. I told Roger Cook that I wanted Jim Avery playing bass and Roger pulled in Tony Newman (drums) who did session work for him. Incidentally, I had watched Newman when he was with the band Sounds Incorporated when they played at the Wimbledon Palais during my bass playing residency days there. Tony would take a great drum solo while the rest of the band went for a drink, so I knew he could play drums.

For a guitar player, Roger Cook approached Steve Marriot, but he was busy and Marriot suggested Ollie Halsall, who I think at that time had been working with Kevin Ayers. The four of us (myself, Jim Avery, Ollie and Newman) got together at a hall behind a pub somewhere in West Drayton, London. I think Herbie Flowers lived in that area at that time and maybe he knew of it and used it. When Jim and I walked in Newman was setting up his drums. Ollie had his white Gibson SG on and was looking at us but at the same time kinda zoned out into some progression he was fingering up and down his fretboard - that's the picture of Ollie I have in my head, even to this day.

Ollie kinda reminded me of a grammar school boy and he was about to embark in a new musical direction in his life. I do not think he had really worked with the likes of myself and Jim Avery. Our musical abilities were limited to basic West London 'Pub Rock' but as I mentioned earlier our songwriting was another story. Ollie lapped up the songs. There were no verbal formalities it was "let's get going". My thinking about Ollie was that he could play good and he'd do. Now, one thing here that I would like to make clear is that during the week the four of us spent rehearsing together, Jim Avery and myself were happy about the way we rehearsed the songs, all of them the way we envisioned them. The Fatsticks songs that were recorded were not the same one's we rehearsed for the most part.

During those rehearsals the songs were all worked over as straight ahead, tough and raw guitar based rockers, which, for myself and Jim, was an extension of the work we had done together in the Third World War. Nothing about Ollie's guitar playing stood out at me during those rehearsals, in fact I was wishing we had Mick Leiber on guitar (Third World War guitarist), but I think at that time Mick was working with Tony Ashton or Rod Stewart. We finished the rehearsal week without any 'problems' as I recall. Roger Cook showed up a few times and seemed happy with the direction the Fatsticks songs were taking.

The next week the four of us (myself, Jim, Ollie and Newman) with Roger Cook producing, went into Morgan Recording Studios, North London to begin recording. The recording sessions were booked from late afternoon until late evening. I cannot remember being there all night, as recording the basic Fatsticks tracks went off without any problem. However, on the Monday during studio setup Ollie was running his usual 'scales' on his guitar when Roger Cook's voice came down the studio intercom telling Ollie about his guitar 'sound'. Now that threw a flag up to me and Jim Avery.

Ollie was then told to "come up stairs" and listen to some 'guitar sound'. I think they (Cook and the engineer) played Ollie some song from a band called 'Montrose', which must have burned Ollie up, but he showed no sign of being upset, thinking about it now. Ollie was so far above us all musically that he had probably run into situations like that before, kinda like "Oh, by the way, please come down into the musical farmyard that the rest of us dare to grovelling".

Ollie made a few adjustments to his amplifier and all seemed well. Now, at this point all I can do is hope that I have the following details reasonably correct. Jim Avery, Roger Cook and Tony Newman's accounts may differ from mine, or I simply would have not been aware of certain things, but to the best of my memory it went like this: On that Monday we recorded 'Motorhead'. We did a few takes, laid the basic track and I overdubbed the vocal. During the recording sessions there were plenty of 'goods' to make sure we were 'feeling no pain' (always a major mistake during the recording of basic tracks).

The next song we got into was 'Itchy Feet' and Ollie was 'lit'. We ran thru the song, but Jim would screw up or Newman (at the beginning to Itchy Feet you can hear Newman saying "I blew that". Then Ollie tore into the intro and we ripped thru the song good, myself playing 'chopper guitar' and singing a guide vocal. Itchy Feet went onto the Fatsticks album that way, if you listen to the vocal you can hear me saying "hook", 'bridge" or whatever.