Paul Speare is a highly talented saxophonist and flute player. In 1981, he joined Dexys Midnight Runners. He featured on the singles "Plan B", "Show Me", "Liars A to E", "Celtic Soul Brothers" and their worldwide hit "Come On Eileen". Paul can be heard on classic 80s albums such as In The Studio with The Special AKA and Punch The Clock by Elvis Costello. In more recent times he's worked with Stone Foundation and Paul Weller. To listen to Paul's latest work you can visit his You Tube channel: Here
Le Document: What was the first music you heard that you remember having an impact on you? Did you connect with records your parents played or music from films you saw?
Paul Speare: "Hoots Mon (1958) by Lord Rockingham's XI was one of the first records I remember, being played on my (much older) brother's radiogram when I was a toddler. I still have the original single which was lost for a few decades and then returned to me three years ago by a friend who was at the party where I left it. I still think it projects so much energy and joy. My parents were keen Old Time dancers and their 78rpm dance records were lovely, especially now, in retrospect. Aretha Franklin's Respect - and its B side, Save Me - were the first soul tunes which captivated me. But, in 1971, my first exposure to Curved Air on Radio 1, when they recorded a session and then a live In Concert performance, changed my life. I think it was the combination of rock and classical influences - without being too pretentious - together with an ethereal sound, enhanced by the haunting voice of Sonja Kristina which drew me in. Then it was the Canterbury sound - particularly Soft Machine, Hatfield and the North, and Robert Wyatt - which still influences my writing to this day. Music always had the ability to move me to tears of sadness or joy - or for no obvious reason - for as long as I can remember."
2) When you started to make music who encouraged and inspired you the most?
"I started late, with piano lessons at fifteen, and then flute at sixteen. My family had no experience of having a musician in its midst so, although they supported me in every way they could, they had limited finances and really didn't know how any of this worked. We had no instruments at home so I started on a school flute - the least tatty one from the store cupboard - until my parents scraped together the money for a modest student instrument (I continued with this one flute right into my professional career, so it's on all my recorded work in the late 1970s and early 1980s). My school music teacher, Dorothy Hodgson - a superb Royal Academy pianist - seemed to spot an innate talent within me, and was largely responsible for guiding my progress to music college. And my first flute/saxophone teacher, Frank White - a London professional who unfortunately died a week ago as I write this - did a miraculous job in getting me through the necessary grades in double-quick time, with a great sense of dry humour. So I'm a product of free school music lessons, sadly now a thing of the past. Regarding inspiration, Jimmy Hastings - who played flute, tenor sax and bass clarinet with the Canterbury bands - was probably the first, and John Surman's earlier albums set me on a path to playing baritone sax, eventually. And I couldn't talk about musical influences without mentioning the master of soul sax, Junior Walker!"
3) What can you tell us about your new album - how many tracks have been recorded and who do you have playing with you?
"Most of my professional and semi-pro work has been in soul/funk brass sections or big bands. I'd been composing and arranging for these for many years but felt the time had come to write some material - without any stylistic restrictions - for myself to play a lead part. The style would best be described as jazz/fusion and it has a strong groove. There are four tracks, all instrumental, all new, and recorded totally live to sound and video at Space Sequoia, a studio near my home in Canterbury. I then mixed the tracks at my home studio. The title of the collection is Time and Place because I naturally write in a variety of time signatures (which I hope are not too obvious), and three of the titles refer to places which have been significant in my life in some way. I wanted to record with musicians who had never worked together - or with me - before, as much of the material is based around improvisation and I felt that it would be more spontaneous - "sparky" if you like - if they weren't used to working with each other, or me. The lineup is: Hilary Cameron (keys), Simon Golding (electric guitar), Flo Moore (double bass/bass guitar), Jonathan Ward (drums). They were all so cooperative and completely exceeded my expectations on these recordings after only one day of rehearsal; the grooves were fantastic and musical communication was remarkable. I'm playing baritone sax, flute/alto flute, and bass clarinet."
4) Will your album be a downloadable thing only or will there be a CD or Record version?
"This initial collection is only available to view on YouTube, on my channel Paul Speare Music. This is Phase 1 of the project and I have plans to record Phase 2 - still based on Times and Places - which will expand the instrumentation on further tracks to big band, string players and vocalists. I like to keep an eye on upcoming musicians and the plan is to feature some of them as soloists and to take more of a back seat myself, primarily as composer/producer. I plan to make these Phase 2 recordings available on the usual streaming services."
5) You were previously a member of Dexys, The TKO Horns and worked with Costello & The Attractions, The Special AKA, and Paul Weller - do you keep in contact with any of your former collaborators and colleagues?
"Most of us are still connected - to a greater or lesser extent - via social media. In recent years I've met up personally with Kevin Adams (aka Billy Adams), Steve Shaw (aka Steve Brennan), and Micky Billingham, all from Dexys. There's a special bond we have - from working in such a unique band and intense circumstances - which is difficult to describe. I also enjoyed participating in the Tim Burgess Listening Party on Twitter when Too-Rye-Ay was featured; Kevin Rowland, Helen O'Hara and Jim Paterson also took part. My session work with Paul Weller is more recent."
6) As a musician do you feel you're improving with age like a fine wine? Do you think you've been playing better and that your compositional skills are at an all time high?
"I think my compositional skills have improved in the last few years through just doing more of it. Prior to that, for a long time, I seemed to have something like writer's block; a few interesting ideas but a lack of ability to develop them, or being too much of a perfectionist and dropping them. Now I have so many tunes and ideas that there aren't enough hours in the day. I think my playing has stepped up recently by having to practise the parts for my own pieces as I don't usually worry about whether they're playable when I come up with them! With the Time and Place recording session approaching I felt as if I was practising for a recital (which I suppose it was, in a way)."
7) When you're composing are you sometimes like a designer or architect? Do you imagine the music you're putting together being played live in front of an audience or are there some pieces you think 'this would work as soundtrack music in a film' or 'this would sound best to someone playing this at night on their own at home'? Or do you just make what you want to hear?
"I mainly just write what I want to hear but my reference is how it will sound when recorded. I also aim to provide scope for jazz musicians to work their magic. These days I find the recording studio more of a natural habitat than the stage; in fact that may always have been true. Of course, I did compose a soundtrack for Team Beswick & Pye's John Lennon Is Not Dead project, which was a new challenge for me. For that I took cues from some of the more psychedelic Beatles tracks, and also the piano on Lennon's "Imagine". Watch the video for 'Reality Leaves A Lot To The Imagination'
8) Do you have a favourite decade for music? Do you tend to listen to records made in the 1960s or 70s? What have you recently most enjoyed discovering or re-listening to?
"I don't really have a favourite decade for music; I'm mainly interested in new music and emerging artists from the world of jazz, particularly UK jazz, which is very exciting of late. On Time and Place, the bass player is Flo Moore who is in increasing demand on that scene and has recently toured the UK and Europe with Jordan Rakei. Some of the music I currently enjoy is by artists such as; Emma-Jean Thackray, Alpha Mist, Nubya Garcia, Panam Panic, Hemai, and Esperanza Spalding. But I can't deny that there are strong influences from early 1970s jazz and prog in my writing: Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra, even Curved Air. I recently bought the remastered Soft Machine albums on vinyl so I've certainly been revisiting their work and enjoying it immensely."
9) Were the lockdown periods good for you in any way - did anything positive come from not being able to play live?
"Lockdowns were mostly an unproductive time for me. I was aware that I had a golden opportunity to work on something substantial but it just didn't happen. I need deadlines - externally or self-imposed - to get things done. I did have a couple of recording sessions for Paul Weller, so that was more positive, but had to pull out of some other sessions due to the risks prior to vaccinations. But perhaps that period of inactivity has spurred me on now with more urgency, and I think I see that in the live music scene too."
10) Do you feel re born as an artist? Is there a lot more to come or do you like the idea of retirement?
"I do seem to be enjoying a creative chapter at the moment so intend to make the most of it. I've already started writing for the second phase of Time and Place and have had discussions with the studio about the requirements for that as it will involve larger ensembles for some pieces. I hope to be able to start recording again in the summer for autumn release. So retirement isn't something I'm considering right now!"
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