Feb 7, 2020
I've long been fascinated with the
classical music world, every since I was poleaxed by the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle. So it was always
been an ambition of mine to sit down with a classical musician and
get some perspective for the Lives in Music series. I owe a debt of
gratitude to a great Birmingham muso, R. John Webb (aka Ryan Webb,
late of Rhino and the Ranters), who suggested I talk to...
Foxy. Foxy is a pal of his from Moseley, the
proudly boho part of Brum.
'Foxy who?' I ask.
'Oh, I don't know his real name. But he's Classical' says
Ryan.
'That can cover a lot of things. Which orchestra?' say I.
'Oh, the Rattle one' came the reply.
That started my pursuit. In due course we met up in one of
Moseley's nicer coffee joints and talked for hours. Clearly, I was
being sized up. But in due course, Foxy, who will absolutely
not tell me why he has that nickname, agreed to be interviewed. And
the result is what you have here. Very precise detail is what Mark
goes for. We covered an enormous range of topics. But as
always in this series, if you put forty or fifty years into your
craft, then you have the stories and experience.
The conversation gave me a chance to look at the life of a musician
in a BIG outfit. Orchestras can run to 90 or more, so touring a
band like that is a bit more than assembling a road crew. The
logistics must be a nightmare.
The Prince of Wales in Moseley, Birmingham has played a
considerable part in this podcast episode. The Prince is a Moseley
musicians' watering hole, with a long history of live music, and in
whose snug we captured most of the conversation. Mark made mention
of a benefit which took place in 2005. This was for the legendary
Steve Ajao, who is still playing now, and whose
podcast episode is here.
I am indebted to Reed Alan, who filmed part of the benefit
performance, and who has kindly allowed me to embed a video clip in
the companion blog post for this podcast episode. Head
here to watch the clip of Foxy, some 15 years ago, live in the
beer garden, playing for Steve.
The Lives in Music podcasts celebrates people who have spent a lifetime in music. They may be famous; they may be people who have spent their lives working in the background for the love of it. But they all have stories.
The intro and outro music in this series comes from the great bass player Mike Hatton, who you can hear interviewed in series 1, here. 'Everything Changes' is included in his excellent 2019 album 'Bassic Salvation'.
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