torsdag 7. mai 2015

My friend Ronnie and my visit to Abbey Road - who'd have ever thought?

Abbey Road. It's more than a studio. It's more than a Beatles record. It's definitely more than a zebra crossing. Abbey Road is the Holy Grail of musicians and music fans from all over the world. Abbey Road is the last stop.

So, who'd have thought I - a former music journalist from Norway - would ever enter the doors of the Abbey Road Studios in London? I know I wouldn't, but one day in April my telephone rings and I see it's my musician friend Ronnie MAG Larsen. Ronnie used to be in a fantastic band called The Margarets several years ago, but they sadly disbanded, even after having made what I term the best song recorded during the entire 2000's. That's the way it goes though. Ronnie has now made a record with a band called Giske which is basically three out of five parts Margarets, himself and singer Alex Rinde and guitarist/producer/songwriter Rune Berg. He tells me their upcoming record Carousel Magic Spell is to be cut for vinyl in Abbey Road Studios and do I want to join him? Do I ever? The thing is that Alex is seriously ill and unable to make the trip to London and Rune suffers from a fear of flying. Ronnie wants someone to share the moment with, and because his wife can't come thinks of me. To say I'm flattered is a huge understatement, and I immediately say yes.

So, on a rainy day in late April of 2015 Ronnie and I head towards Abbey Road in a taxi after a short pilgrimage to Soho Square where I want to show him the bench with the Kirsty MacColl quote that also seems part of the Margarets heritage just like The Beatles does. And just so this is clear: Without The Beatles, there wouldn't be any The Margarets or in turn any Giske, or any record to cut at this historic site.

Without further ado I leave the word to Ronnie who tells the story of The Margarets and Giske, and of our trip to Abbey Road where we met the engineering legend Sean Magee. He can tell this story so much better than I can, so there's nothing left for me to say here. If you can't read Norwegian it's too bad though, so I hope you're able to work Google Translate to your advantage.

Read

Sean Magee and Ronnie MAG Larsen

Ingen kommentarer:

Legg inn en kommentar