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Recorded in 1993 at various
studios, with the help of various musicians - released 1994. This was
where it all started! This was not a Hamptons album but effectively set
the Hamptons style. It was basically Neil Murray coming out of the 80's
where he got stuck in a "jazz"/big band, featuring lots of
saxophone, trombone and trumpet players. He played bass - badly.
What really killed it was having to sing "YMCA". Eventually,
he, together with the
then drummer/percussionist, quit both that band and also, later, a musical falange movement which split away and did a load of
covers (endless Billy Joel/Phil Collins - cringe, not fringe).
So out came some new songs and
a lot of old tracks which had disappeared into the mist years earlier -
those were the days of four track cassette recorders - endless hours of
demoing - then the finished product at Raezor Recording, Wandsworth with
Neil's old college maties Ian and Anni. Mark Frith (later produced Gay
Dad) engineered. Recording included endless squeezing a couple of hours
of vocal sessions (often at 9 a.m. in the morning - croak) - followed by Nick
Rollins undertaking a mixing nightmare - trying to synch 2 inch tape, ADAT
tape and what was then pretty embryonic digital recording devices!
Subsequently the product was
picked up by one Alan Bellman of Freestyle Records, an independent label
which released the album in 1994
- unfortunately Mr Bellman was ripping his own mates off at the label
and Mr Murray finally decided to sue them! (Rock and roll!). Bellman, if
you are out there, next time I see you I am going to kick your ass!
Had a fleeting "big in
Japan" (they're all 4'6'') experience via Tommy Nakamichi of "Explosion
Works" in Tokyo - frankly, relative to the rest of the stuff on
that Jap compilation, Return to Malibu shone like a beacon! I mean,
would you go and see a band called "Slowly Cock Dog"? (Well
actually…).
Return to Malibu turned out to
be album number one, of many - and represented re-visiting
"that thing" you always wanted to do. Indirectly, it also got
Neil acquainted with "that girl" (see track 1 - tho' track 1
was of a distant Sally in far Hong Kong), whose contribution to
ensuing albums was, shall we say, incalculable! Now read on…
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