Graham Graham Beck and I had a chat over a cuppa and a pack of plain digestive sweetmeal biscuits from M&S.
Congratulations on making the Fresh Faves with “You’re Out Of This World (& Into The Next!)”. How does it feel?
Thanks. It was a really nice warm sensation, & the fact that it was liked by people voting on the Listening Post. You can’t beat getting onto a list to lift your spirits, & what a great list of tunes it was, too!
What’s the story behind it?
It’s not until I’ve written a song that I realise what it’s about myself! However, there appears to be a mixture which is part sci-fi, part personality change — how people change over the years. I had two phrases that started me off on this song. The first was, “You’re not the person you used to be”, & the second was, “Your head’s not where it ought to be”. The lyrics are ‘implied lyrics’ that can be taken in so many different ways. I like misunderstandings, double meanings & songs that aren’t too serious, but can still put a point across. A surreal element usually crops up in (or maybe that should be, ‘creeps into’) my work, too. I can’t help it! Sometimes onstage, I make up things about what the songs are about as an introduction to them. Other times, people tell me afterwards what they think they’re about. Quite often, I prefer their explanations.
You are on your 11th solo album, “The Birth Of Graham Graham Beck”, what’s your favourite track from it?
Favourite track is: Do The Cybernetic Walk. It was basically a song about a dance step that was similar to walking (something we take for granted – walking, that is). However, I’m now working on my 12th solo album(!) – the 11th album was launched in October 2023. It contained songs I’d written & recorded (both home demos & studio work when I lived in London). The songs date from about 1982-87…Yes, a LONG time ago, unfortunately. I rescued the recordings off cassette tapes that I’d carefully stored away in two plastic briefcases, & re-mastered them, as they’d never been released – I thought it was about time they saw the light of day. The song that you mentioned, You’re Out Of This World (& Into The Next!), is a shorter version of one of the tracks that will appear on 2024’s album – tentatively titled The Further Adventures Of Graham Graham Beck. Seven tracks have already been recorded, so I’m already ahead of myself!
How did Graham Graham Beck come to be?
GGB is my alter-ego/onstage persona. I like the idea of creating a character that is much more hyper & sillier than me. I’m really quite a quiet individual, until I get onstage. The second ‘Graham’ came about in 1981. There were bands like The The, Talk Talk & Duran Duran around, & a friend of a friend suggested I call myself ‘Graham Graham’. I thought it was a good idea, but why not extend it to ‘Graham Graham Beck’ (?), as it certainly stood out on gig posters – it still does. There is also a story going around that, when I used to have to take my songs around on cassettes to record companies, I once introduced myself as, “Hello, I’m Graham…”, & then added “Graham Beck”. It became Graham Graham Beck, which sort of stuck. But it’s probably a combination of both those stories (or is it?).
What did you listen to starting out?
As a youngster, it was The Yardbirds, The Beatles (of course), The Monkees, The Beach Boys – in fact, any band that began with ‘The’! The very first (vinyl) album I ever bought, was Feliciano by Jose Feliciano (which had his version of The Doors’ Light My Fire on it). I loved the lush string arrangements, & the overall production. Mind, I didn’t have a record player then, so I had to borrow my cousin’s! Dave Brubeck was a revelation to me (when I heard Take Five, I just thought, ‘Wow!’. Music on the Tamla Motown & Stax labels were also part of my early upbringing… & then I discovered The Pretty Things – yes, another ‘The’. The album, Parachute, was an education in itself. I recommend that everyone has a listen to it. It never did me any harm. Well… !
You have a fondness for synths, what’s your all-time favourite hardware synth?
I suppose my second synth, the Wasp (a UK synth, made by the Electronic Dream Plant – EDP), will always be my favourite, as it was so different – very portable, made of black plastic with yellow lettering & a totally flat keyboard. I remember playing it at London’s Dingwalls in the 1980s, & the keyboard started to bubble-up under the heat of the stage lights! Alas, I don’t have it anymore, nor a Moog Prodigy I used to own, & was my very first synth purchase. I’ve still got my Roland Juno-106, though, & it appears here & there on my songs. Other keyboards, synths & gadgets have appeared since then, but in the end, you can’t beat the good old piano, without whom I wouldn’t have had any piano lessons. One thing then led to another, & another.
Your live performances are characterised by an auto accompaniment keyboard and on-stage props and costumes, what’s been a fun moment live for you?
Where do I start?! Each gig has its own memories – mostly good ones, particularly a very recent gig where I had the absolute pleasure of supporting Tom (as his ‘special guest’). Perhaps being fed a fig roll hanging from some string, whilst I was wearing a large cardboard fig roll head would be one ‘fun moment’ (you’d have had to have been there to appreciate the scenario). Also, running around the audience as Batman, or hopping about as a rabbit, usually provides some interesting expressions from onlookers – I encourage audience participation & singalongs at my gigs. So many moments have been really enjoyable, & I hope there are plenty more to come.
What’s been an essential part of your live set up?
Since 2014, definitely an auto-accompaniment keyboard, as it immediately ‘freed-up’ my left hand from playing too much (it was getting RSI – repetitive strain injury). It meant I could move away from the keyboard, do a silly dance movement or whatever, & the arrangement would still be playing. However, I’ve recently added a sampler to provide basic backing tracks I can play over, as the newer songs are a bit more complex. I don’t look upon it as cheating, as I still have to do a lot of keyboard work whilst onstage. It just helps, so I can be a bit more ‘theatrical’ & fling my arms around a bit.
Tom calls you “Captain Beefheart, Half Man, Half Biscuit and Frank Sidebottom rolled into one”, what do you think of that assessment?
I think Tom hit the nail firmly on the head, there. The rhythmic strangeness & feel of Captain Beefheart is certainly present, as is the surrealness & humour of Half Man, Half Biscuit. Frank Sidebottom has been with me subconsciously for some years now, but it was only when someone mentioned that I reminded them of him, that I realised it myself. I do like a bit of silliness in music!
You are an ex-art student, how much of that informs what you do?
Being an ex-art student means that I look at the whole stage set-up, & how it will appear to the audience. That, & the need to look ‘visually interesting’ (hence a few stage props – which are made, & painted, by either me or my partner – who’s also an ex-art student). I want people to be entertained, as much as I would if I went to a show. A lot of acts I’ve seen in the past have stood out because of their presentation (& great music) – The Tubes, early Roxy Music, Streetwalkers, Devo, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Faithless… I suppose it’s all about ‘putting on a show’, with the music being just as important as the visual element. Introducing some stage props added that extra something that I needed to help interpret the songs. Mind, I have recently cut back on the stage props, as they were getting a bit out-of-hand & filling up the back of my (small) car. There was hardly any room to fit my music gear in! Having been an art student also means that I like to experiment & take risks. Sometimes things work, other times they fall completely flat — but that’s what makes (my) life a bit more exciting.
Your lyrics are completely out there, how does a writing session begin for you?
Well for me, there isn’t any particular way that I start writing lyrics. It could be a phrase that pops into my head, an overheard conversation or just a word that starts me off. I always write down words (usually random words) on bits of paper, or a complete sentence that can be worked on at a later stage. They sit in a cardboard box waiting to see the light of day – maybe months later. Or it can be like the other day, when I recorded some rhythm tracks. I hadn’t anything in mind at the time, so it was just beats. I added some random notes on a sequencer, & then a synth bassline. The only phrase I had in mind was, ‘teetering on the edge’. So, I just sang it four times, leaving gaps for other words (knowing that this was going to be the chorus) & gradually built up the song around it, with three verses, during the afternoon. By teatime, I had a new song. For me, it’s always trying to write a song using a different approach/method, otherwise they’ll only end up sounding the same, or similar – & I never stick to one style, either. It’s always good to keep the listening audience guessing.
What are you listening to at the moment?
The 3 Club Men’s ep (which includes XTC’s Andy Partridge), Wreckless Eric’s Leisureland album, Blossom Dearie’s Give Him The Ohh-La-La, Frank Zappa’s Funky Nothingness & Gazelle Twins’ Fleshed Out. I do have an eclectic taste, so tomorrow it might be a choral piece from Thomas Tallis. You just never know.
What are you looking forward to doing next?
Performing the new songs, & seeing the audience response to them (in a positive way, I hope). Also to continue with recording the rest of the album, plus writing/playing songs that have yet to form in my strange little head. Since the pandemic, gigs are far fewer, but it’s meant I can enjoy performing live much more, as I don’t feel under pressure each week to be my alter-ego (it also keeps my songs fresher & energetic). I always think that I’m lucky to be able to ‘go out there’ & entertain. As long as there’s an audience for my material, that’s what I’ll do.
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Photo Credits:
- With Tom Robinson by Paul Burgess
- Action Man with a Giraffe’s Head by Sophie Lavender
- Fishing for UFOs unknown
- Hooray by Mike Smith
- Fig Roll by Helen Baldwin
- Face mask (above) and perfoming at Trinity Live (below) by Syd Young
Nice one, Del – I loved reading this.
The one thing I’d add, which I didn’t properly appreciate until seeing Graham live, is that on top of everything else he’s a genuinely accomplished pianist.
From a distance I’d been so mesmerised by all the showmanship, fig rolls, surreal lyrics, cardboard heads, action figures and catchy choruses that I’d completely missed the musicianship underpinning it all.
As he says here, for all his fun with synths and plinky plastic arpeggiation, in the end you can’t beat the good old piano.
Watching Graham perform it became clear that if you sat him at a Steinway with an attentive audience and no props at all, he’d still win a standing ovation – on songwriting, stage presence and musicianship alone.
The man’s a genius.
Hey Tom! It seems Graham is very much a chameleon and I think that’s what I like about his style!
A very entertaining read.