**!!LONDON date!!** , 'THE TOURING SOCIETY OF ELEUTHERA' Every Wednes ...
The Playlist Sessions // July 2010 , Dear All, William has been compiling some playl ...
**!! LONDON date !!** , Dear All, After the success of William's last g ...
Water Taxi up on CD Baby for the US fans , Dear All, We're up and running with Water Taxi ...
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I was chatting to Daryll Hall the other day, in the makeshift studio at the The Landing Hotel on Harbour Island, about my ham fisted drum programming actually, that set me to musing on the other famous people who had dropped in on our sessions over the years.
Let us think back to Air Studios perched like the Schloss Adler over the valley of Oxford Circus in the West end of London. We used to look out over the retailer’s battlements and observe the great un-washed.
Anyway one afternoon the owner of the place Sir George Martin popped in to show some Japanese businessmen around which occasioned much hasty stubbing and air freshener spraying. A huge thrill was our two days with Nicky Hopkins; it was worth the whole thing just to hear him play on our songs.
Hot foot to New York City, and a clean living young lad strolls down the Avenue of the Americas on a bright spring morning, on his way to Skyline studios on 30 something street.
It was here that I recall Luke teaching Nile Rogers how to play The Rain Song on acoustic. Ritchie Sambora also came by, to talk to Neil, in a hat that said "Butane".
I must not neglect the sheer glamour of the bloke from the Replacements getting pissed next door and leaving his empties (vodka) in my kitchenette.
Off to Capitol records studios in Los Angeles where Brad Bird, the director of The Incredibles came by hear the Perri record their back up vocals, and perhaps even more importantly Stephen Stills stuck his head round the door looking for the bog.
The Locust sessions with Jimmy Miller, began at the Who's studio in Battersea where Elvis Costello came in the inspect the live room during a take, and continued in Berkshire at the Mill where we awoke to find Chris Rea measuring the width of the back of our bus with a view to getting one like it himself! At Masterphonics in Nashville Vince Gill came round to show some students a music row tracking session, “That ain't country”, and on the 'Feasting' sessions at Compass Point in Nassau, Brian Tench and I had as our next door neighbour Shakira. A certain amount of lingering went on by the pool. Most recently until the Daryll Hall thing, was when Tony Banks, of Genesis, very reasonably came in to his own studio as Nick Davis was mixing 'All in the Downs' (Some copies still available!).
So I think we can all agree that they are a jolly lucky lot, to get an earful of some decent stuff for a change! You know, I used to be a terrible namedropper, until Sting told me it wasn't cool.
With best wishes,
1. A la recherche du temps perdus...
2. US tour dates
3. March 2010
4. New material - a note from William...
5. 10.30 pm Zurich old Town...
6. Christmas greetings...
7. London gig in December...
8. A tour diary by William...
9. William Topley and the Sea Gypsies present WATER TAXI. Out now!!
10. 20.04.2009
11. 11.03.09
12. 26.01.09
13. Happy New Year!
14. The leaves are turning red upon the cherry trees and the beech woods are going golden in the clear autumn sun...
15. UK and US tour dates...
16. 09.06.08
17. 14.04.08
18. 21.01.08
19. 01.12.2007
20. September in Perugia
21. 15.08.07
22. 06.07.2007
23. 07.06.2007
24. 23.04.07
25. 22/03/2007
26. 05-02-07
27. A Message From William:
US Tour 2005, photo courtesy of Barry Scovel
