Broken Musicians

This song was written around 1987/88 by Ian Erving and myself. It was quite an unusual style that sort of grew with performance and development. Great Keyboard playing by Darren O’Brien, drumming by Mike Mackin with an excellent rim shot rhythm and bass by Simon Atkinson; the song was a great one to play in the bars and clubs of Teesside in the late 1980s. Ian’s guitar riff and Darren’s haunting sampled keyboard parts really added a unique texture to the song. It was one that I really enjoyed recording in 1989 at The Mill Studios in Stockton. After our first recording there the previous year (where I found myself having to sing through a pair of Andy Bell’s tights from Erasure who had been recording there the previous night), I was certainly more comfortable with the process on our second visit.

I was very impressed by how Darren made use of the studio’s Akai Sampler in selecting the haunting sounds that were used in the recording. For these formative years, I found Midi to be completely baffling but Darren always took any technological process in his stride. I will be including the original recording of ‘Broken Musicians’ in my next podcast later this month. The illustration shows Darren and the lads getting ready to go into The Mill Studio in 1989.

The song explores the broken dreams of musicians who maybe feel that they never quite reached their full potential or recognition. Music is such a fickle industry. Many of the musicians and writers that I have come to admire tend to be on the fringes of global recognition and, in fairness, these have always provided the most rewarding listening engagement. The young-minded man playing the very old song never managed to get the word to listen to his craft. Crazy Blue, playing his mean old horn pouring out his scorn

However, the most personal element of this song is Dixie. Dixie, the girl with a trumpet of gold was based on the best trumpet player I have ever played with. I was privileged to have been taught trumpet by the legendary Kel Dennis who did more for the young musicians of my locality of Teesside than anybody. The stunning players that were developed by Kel have gone on to have wonderful careers in the industry. The Principal Trumpet player of our band was Beverley Cooper who could, quite frankly, play fly poo if it was marked on a piece of paper ( a joke for musicians who may know other people who are that good at sight-reading). Bev could read play anything and I learned so much from sitting next to her. She went to Huddersfield to study Cornet/Trumpet in the heart of Yorkshire’s Brass Bandland and was destined for a stunning career. When I was at 6th Form College, Kel told me that Bev was really poorly. She had secretly been suffering from Anorexia and things were not looking good for her. Bev’s story really affected me and I based my character of Dixie on Bev.

For years I wondered what happened to her. Enquiries with band friends never got me any answers. I saw her Mam and sister sometimes in my local supermarket but, fearing that the ultimate terrible conclusion had befallen Bev, I was always too cautious to ask how she was doing. Then, at a band reunion a few years ago, she popped up on Facebook. A glowing picture of health and happiness and now, from her photos, clearly an athlete. A competitive runner who was ‘fit as a fiddle’. I messaged her the story of the song and my worries for her. In return, Bev invited me to read her blog that journaled the horrific but courageous journey she had taken to overcome her illness. It genuinely brought me to tears reading it. Bev has since bought a cornet and has started playing again. The happy conclusion to the girl with a trumpet of gold is that, very soon, I am sure that she will be back to that incredible standard that inspired me so much when I was younger. You can read Bev’s amazing blog by clicking here.

Musicians That Are Broken

I performed Broken Musicians for the first time in a very unusual Lockdown Gig that I was asked to perform at The Sabaat Gallery in South Bank in November 2020. Unable to have a live band with me for the strict Covid Regulations that were in place, I managed to perform the parts with myself playing all of the parts. Maybe this is a sign of things to come. Here is a video of my performance.

Broken Musicians (D.A. Mackin & I.M. Erving)

A young minded man plays a very old song
He plays it loud he plays it all night long
A song he wrote but it never was sold
He keeps on playing but he’s much too old
To sell his music to the world
He keeps on trying but his fingers get burned
He keeps on trying till he’s tired of playing the game

Crazy blue plays a mean old horn
He plays all night pouring out his scorn
He could have been the best of them all
But he keeps on playing to those four walls
He watcher time pass him by
He’s just kidding himself, he’s just living a lie
But he’ll keep on trying till he’s tired of playing the game.

Dixie’s a girl with a trumpet of gold
She growls it hot, she plays it bold
She knows her tricks, she’s learned her trade
But She’s never around when the money is made
She’s played second to them all
But they stand around, to watch her fall
But she’ll keep on trying till she’s tired of playing the game.