Adrian Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "sequence"
Bringing Thunder to my novel....
When I was around 18 years old, and still heavily into Rock music, a new band came along by the name of ‘Thunder‘. I started off, as you do, as a ‘bit of a fan’ and would attend concerts if they were playing nearby. What I liked about Thunder, and more specifically the writing of lead guitarist Luke Morley, was the fact that none of the songs were ‘thin’. Sure, they had some all-out throwaway rockers on the first album (Backstreet Symphony), but also a healthy spattering of meaningful stuff. From the travelling football hooligan bashing of ‘An Englishman on Holiday‘ to the intelligently heartfelt ‘Don’t Wait for Me‘, Luke had a habit of putting a little bit of depth into his lyrics and then rounding it out with a range of catchy tunes from Rock, to Blues to all-out Power Ballad.
As time went on, Thunder got bigger, as bands do, and then got smaller, as bands also do, but they retained a core following that would put many of today’s ‘Headline Acts’ to shame. If you want to know why you’ve perhaps not heard of them yourself, then a quick listen to ‘On The Radio‘ from the ‘Bang‘ album (on which they ‘went out with a…’) might explain a few things for you.
Throughout Thunder’s career, Luke penned and played some truly great songs. Danny Bowes belted or breathed them out in a voice that Coverdale, Gramm and Rodgers wished they possessed and, backed by the hugely multi-talented ensemble of Ben Matthews (Guitar, Keyboards and Engineering), Gary ‘Harry’ James (Drums, Occasional Guitar and Occasional Crooning) and Chris Childs (Bass and, once they launched their own record label, some great album covers and T-Shirts) Thunder… well, Rocked. They covered so many diverse areas of music that I can’t even begin to list them all, with every album a winner. Usually, their strike rate was so high that 11 out of 12 songs would instantly be added to my iTunes playlist.
What I always came back to, however, was Luke’s lyrics. Sure, he might look like an all-out Rock God, and he could tell you some stories, but Luke has a depth of intellect and understanding about the human condition that puts me nigh-on in awe of the man. Just look at some of the topics covered: Leaving Home (Shake the Tree), Senseless Child Murder (It Happened in this Town), Hurricane Katrina (Stormwater), sex change (Amy’s On The Run), an imbalance of love and social stature (Loser) and the music industry as a whole (Monkey See, Monkey Do). You know what? I’ve barely scratched the surface. With Luke you’ll find love and hate, pathos and pranks, paranoia and promise all on the same album. Genius.
When my grandmother (Molly) died, I drove the long road from the hospital fighting the tears and, as I pulled into a lay-by to pull myself together, “Like a Satellite” was booming from the car stereo. I fight the distance, with a picture in my head. But I don’t know when I’ll see you, I guess I’ll have to dream instead. My kind of loss was not the kind that Luke had in mind when he wrote it, I’m sure, but it’s what it means to me. Thunder, when they play that song, bring Molly back to me and I smile. And yes, boys, you should’ve played the piano version more on stage – even if it did stop Benny from having a crafty smoke!
And I tell you all this… why?
Because, believe it or not, I always wanted to use some of Luke’s lyrics in a novel!
Sure, I could write some of my own (I am a writer, after all) but when you’re trying to ground a reader in reality, the more reality you can include, the more grounded the reader feels. So, as I came to completing ‘Sequence‘ (Due in September 2011) I found my protagonist in a situation or two that Luke had summed up perfectly for me already; not least in the heartfelt lyrics of ‘History in the Making‘. I could try to copy Luke’s style and his sentiments but then… that’s what I’d be creating. A copy. Anyone who has read my work will know that I endeavour to be unique – I copy nothing and no-one.
So what did I do? Well, put simply I nicked Luke’s lyrics. Always with the plan of thanking him on the opening pages, of course, but also figuring that if I ever dared to ask his permission, then this doyen of craft and perfection would endeavour to protect his own work and simply tell me to sod off.
So… slip ‘em in, I thought – deal with the fallout later.
Publishers don’t work like that. Certainly not perfectionist publishers like Last Passage.
So, LP wrote to Luke and asked for his permission. I, meanwhile, sat back and waited with baited breath for the imminent rejection and the need to re-write a few paragraphs of my novel that I felt were perfect.
Very quickly Luke wrote back. He said ‘Yes’.
He abso-bloody-lutely said yes. (Via the Thin Controller and thanks also to he, whosoever he may be).
If, I hasten to add, Luke could have a few copies of the novel when it was released. Er… yes! I’d foot them myself but LP have said that they’ll take care of that for me.
I’ve met Luke, Danny and the boys many times backstage, as a fan. My lock screen on my iPhone is my 13 year old (when he was about 10) sharing a smile backstage with Danny…you can view the image on my personal website at : http://www.adriandawson.co.uk/blog/
These are nice guys. DAMN nice guys. They write and play great music with something for almost every taste (seriously, get an album and whatever you’re into you’ll find AT LEAST one track you like).
These are nice guys who look after their fans.
Nice guys who appreciate what the record buying public bring to them.
So… buy their records. Seriously, don’t waste your hard-earned on another “You’ll be there for Christmas, by spring you’ll be gone” X-Factor reject. Give the Thunder boys a whirl. Barring the odd gig, they no longer exist as a band, and Luke is doing great things with ‘The Union‘ (You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down!) but they still earn the royalties.
Hell, they DESERVE the royalties.
Thank you Luke. Thank you so very much.
And, for 26.7 hours of music in my iTunes library (approximately, you understand), thank you Thunder. Thank you for enlightening my life, my understanding, my moods and now… my novel.
Thank you for letting all the ones below you… claim the glory too!!
As time went on, Thunder got bigger, as bands do, and then got smaller, as bands also do, but they retained a core following that would put many of today’s ‘Headline Acts’ to shame. If you want to know why you’ve perhaps not heard of them yourself, then a quick listen to ‘On The Radio‘ from the ‘Bang‘ album (on which they ‘went out with a…’) might explain a few things for you.
Throughout Thunder’s career, Luke penned and played some truly great songs. Danny Bowes belted or breathed them out in a voice that Coverdale, Gramm and Rodgers wished they possessed and, backed by the hugely multi-talented ensemble of Ben Matthews (Guitar, Keyboards and Engineering), Gary ‘Harry’ James (Drums, Occasional Guitar and Occasional Crooning) and Chris Childs (Bass and, once they launched their own record label, some great album covers and T-Shirts) Thunder… well, Rocked. They covered so many diverse areas of music that I can’t even begin to list them all, with every album a winner. Usually, their strike rate was so high that 11 out of 12 songs would instantly be added to my iTunes playlist.
What I always came back to, however, was Luke’s lyrics. Sure, he might look like an all-out Rock God, and he could tell you some stories, but Luke has a depth of intellect and understanding about the human condition that puts me nigh-on in awe of the man. Just look at some of the topics covered: Leaving Home (Shake the Tree), Senseless Child Murder (It Happened in this Town), Hurricane Katrina (Stormwater), sex change (Amy’s On The Run), an imbalance of love and social stature (Loser) and the music industry as a whole (Monkey See, Monkey Do). You know what? I’ve barely scratched the surface. With Luke you’ll find love and hate, pathos and pranks, paranoia and promise all on the same album. Genius.
When my grandmother (Molly) died, I drove the long road from the hospital fighting the tears and, as I pulled into a lay-by to pull myself together, “Like a Satellite” was booming from the car stereo. I fight the distance, with a picture in my head. But I don’t know when I’ll see you, I guess I’ll have to dream instead. My kind of loss was not the kind that Luke had in mind when he wrote it, I’m sure, but it’s what it means to me. Thunder, when they play that song, bring Molly back to me and I smile. And yes, boys, you should’ve played the piano version more on stage – even if it did stop Benny from having a crafty smoke!
And I tell you all this… why?
Because, believe it or not, I always wanted to use some of Luke’s lyrics in a novel!
Sure, I could write some of my own (I am a writer, after all) but when you’re trying to ground a reader in reality, the more reality you can include, the more grounded the reader feels. So, as I came to completing ‘Sequence‘ (Due in September 2011) I found my protagonist in a situation or two that Luke had summed up perfectly for me already; not least in the heartfelt lyrics of ‘History in the Making‘. I could try to copy Luke’s style and his sentiments but then… that’s what I’d be creating. A copy. Anyone who has read my work will know that I endeavour to be unique – I copy nothing and no-one.
So what did I do? Well, put simply I nicked Luke’s lyrics. Always with the plan of thanking him on the opening pages, of course, but also figuring that if I ever dared to ask his permission, then this doyen of craft and perfection would endeavour to protect his own work and simply tell me to sod off.
So… slip ‘em in, I thought – deal with the fallout later.
Publishers don’t work like that. Certainly not perfectionist publishers like Last Passage.
So, LP wrote to Luke and asked for his permission. I, meanwhile, sat back and waited with baited breath for the imminent rejection and the need to re-write a few paragraphs of my novel that I felt were perfect.
Very quickly Luke wrote back. He said ‘Yes’.
He abso-bloody-lutely said yes. (Via the Thin Controller and thanks also to he, whosoever he may be).
If, I hasten to add, Luke could have a few copies of the novel when it was released. Er… yes! I’d foot them myself but LP have said that they’ll take care of that for me.
I’ve met Luke, Danny and the boys many times backstage, as a fan. My lock screen on my iPhone is my 13 year old (when he was about 10) sharing a smile backstage with Danny…you can view the image on my personal website at : http://www.adriandawson.co.uk/blog/
These are nice guys. DAMN nice guys. They write and play great music with something for almost every taste (seriously, get an album and whatever you’re into you’ll find AT LEAST one track you like).
These are nice guys who look after their fans.
Nice guys who appreciate what the record buying public bring to them.
So… buy their records. Seriously, don’t waste your hard-earned on another “You’ll be there for Christmas, by spring you’ll be gone” X-Factor reject. Give the Thunder boys a whirl. Barring the odd gig, they no longer exist as a band, and Luke is doing great things with ‘The Union‘ (You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down!) but they still earn the royalties.
Hell, they DESERVE the royalties.
Thank you Luke. Thank you so very much.
And, for 26.7 hours of music in my iTunes library (approximately, you understand), thank you Thunder. Thank you for enlightening my life, my understanding, my moods and now… my novel.
Thank you for letting all the ones below you… claim the glory too!!
