the zappa question

[steve]

Seems like neither meeting with Zappa went well.

In Margrave, Sheila says (re 1967):
"The Mothers Of Invention failed to let him in on their peace-pipe pow-wow. (They were all smoking and didn't want to offer young Peel any," he writes on 21 September 1967. "Enraged. Just walked in and one of them said, "What's he doing here?".)

Re the 1970 meeting, the following page has quotes from JP but don't know the source:
http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/peel.html

JP: "Did I really sit on a four-poster bed with Frank Zappa trying to interview him before the Mothers Of Invention played at Shepton Mallet? And did he really only want to talk about money?"

Seems like they didn't really hit it off then...


--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "steve" <saipanda@...> wrote:
>
> I can't find any other details right now but think the reference must be to the 1970 "Late Night Line-Up" interview listed on this page:
> 
> http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/1970-75.html
> 
>     LATE NIGHT LINE-UP
> 
>     Broadcast: July 03, 1970
>     BBC
>     Time: 14':28''
> 
>     John Peel (dj) at Bailiffscourt Hotel Climping, Sussex, interviews Alan Wilson & Bob Hite (Canned Heat) & FZ in context of recent Shepton Mallet Rock Festival.
> 
>     Zappa:
>     New line up of 'Mothers' group;
>     Financial problems over unreleased LPs- recording techniques of Captain Beefheart.
>     'Mothers' future plans.
>     Ext hotel : Mothers photocall includes ZAPPA sipping wine
>     Ext lib footage Aerial s tents at Rock Festival, Shepton Mallet.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> SW
> 
> 
> 
> --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, apoplexia <apoplexia@> wrote:
> >
> > I don't have a pony in this race at all, but I have a distinct memory of
> > him describing meeting Frank Zappa and him treating Peel as a twerpy
> > journalist ("which I was") and that on the whole he was "a most
> > disagreeable person" [all quotes are not actual quotes]. Either I heard
> > this on BFBS or on a bunch of R!  shows from 2002-2004 (from memory), which
> > I listened to over and over again. I'm afraid I can't help more than that.
> > 
> > cheers,
> > 
> > Rich
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Humphrey <thebarguest@> wrote:
> > 
> > > **
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I'd say more "porno" than "lavatorial", maybe a mix of the two ! Weird
> > > really, as UK tv humour is often regarded as 'lavatorial', certainly far
> > > more so than US comedy ... I'm sure that's why the ultra-leftist/feminist
> > > NME dissed his 70's/80's stuff. I quite like Benny Hill, Manning and
> > > late-period Zappa. Actually, most Zappa up to around 77 was non-porno/lavvy
> > > and had pretty funny/surreal lyrics.
> > > 'Apostrophe' (74) and 'Zoot Allures (76) are very good, lyrically and
> > > musically.
> > >
> > > Regrads,
> > > Father O'Blivion
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "steve" <saipanda@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > The Zappa thing is kind of interesting and might give it a go on the
> > > wiki at some stage. Two theories, both from JP:
> > > >
> > > > 1. He got boring in the "lavatorial" stage, but his sponsorship of
> > > Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer was good.
> > > >
> > > > http://peel.wikia.com/wiki/Peeling_Back_The_Years_6_%28Transcript%29
> > > >
> > > > Walters: Frank Zappa you are now likely to see with an orchestra at the
> > > Barbican. Well, how do you feel about Zappa? There's a good man to look at.
> > > > Peel: Well, his early stuff I used to enjoy quite a lot. I mean, until
> > > he got into his kind of lavatorial phase, which I found rather tedious, and
> > > that seemed to take up like a decade of his life. I mean, everything he did
> > > was fairly lavatorial, which is fine if you are like 12 years old or
> > > something – our William would probably find it all vastly entertaining –
> > > but I just found it rather tedious. But his early things I liked a lot. And
> > > of course I admired him as much as anything for his sponsorship not only of
> > > people like Wild Man Fischer but also Captain Beefheart, which is kind of
> > > crucial. Well, in the early part of his own life.
> > > > JW: And yet his own work rather lost that rootsy almost instinctive feel
> > > about Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer, were Zappa came to be more as if were
> > > like "a contemporary composer" - "it's a funny life, this music..."
> > > > JP: People have this yearning to be the clown playing Hamlet, you know.
> > > They all want to be taken terribly seriously and to be perceived as
> > > "artistes".
> > > > JP: OK, pick a track that you think features Zappa but is still OK.
> > > > JW: Well, because it's got Beefheart on it, I'd pick Willy The Pimp.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 2. Peel met him, didn't like him, and therefore went off his music.
> > > >
> > > > http://peel.wikia.com/wiki/16_March_2004
> > > >
> > > > Peel is emailed by a listener and asked if he could play a Frank Zappa
> > > record. Peel explains that he liked a lot of the early Mothers of Invention
> > > records, but went off Zappa after meeting him.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > With no checks, I think there's some kind of 1970 radio or TV interview
> > > by Peel with Zappa, so presumably that's the reference. But FZ was played
> > > during the 70s by Peel, although relatively little and scarcely at all
> > > after that.
> > > >
> > > > My theory: Zappa is an all or nothing thing and Beefheart was always the
> > > real JP favourite anyway.
> > > >
> > > > OK, enough of this....
> > > >
> > > > SW
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "bty997881" <unity.gain@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I've said it before, but Zappa.
> > > > > Apart from some early Mothers, back when Peel was still a hippy, I
> > > never did hear him play a Zappa track, and FZ was nothing if not prolific.
> > > > > My guess is that his fondness for Beefheart and Wild Man Fisher, whom
> > > some consider to have been exploited by Zappa, was the reason, or maybe he
> > > just found his music a bit 'highbrow'...
> > > > > If I ever get round to writing a will, I swear that no-one will get a
> > > penny unless 'Peaches En Regalia' is played at my funeral,
> > > > > Cheers
> > > > > Roger
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "so_it_goes_2512" <so_it_goes_2512@>
> > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Ben
> > > > > >
> > > > > > For a long time I thought 'Good Vibrations' and 'God Only Knows'
> > > were wild cards in the 2000 All Time FF and that was it. However, a quick
> > > Wiki search turned up a fair few hits, including '409' (played on at least
> > > three occasions, two of them late on as well), and he seemed to like the
> > > Carl & The Passions album too. And yes, he played Pet Sounds on Radio
> > > London.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > All the best
> > > > > > Steve (TK)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, Ben Harrison <abcdetc@> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Did Peel ever play Beach Boys?
> > > > > > > More specifically: Pet Sounds
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 8:37 AM, so_it_goes_2512 <
> > > > > > > so_it_goes_2512@> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > **
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Tom Waits
> > > > > > > > Motown (although he did play some)
> > > > > > > > Depeche Mode (don't know if he hated them, but no sessions and
> > > no plays
> > > > > > > > says something)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Steve (TK)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "billfromnorthwales"
> > > <billfromnorthwales@>
> > > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > I thought I might change this one around, for a laugh.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > I think in the early 70's, although he played them, he didn't
> > > like
> > > > > > > > Genesis or Deep Purple (so long Jon), though I was quite partial
> > > to them. I
> > > > > > > > don't think Peel ever took a shine to Hawkwind in the same way I
> > > did,
> > > > > > > > either.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > At that time I felt he and Bob Harris played too much Little
> > > Feat, whose
> > > > > > > > merits passed me by.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > In later years I really liked William Orbit and Lemon Jelly,
> > > and while
> > > > > > > > they may have not been hated, seemed under represented on his
> > > shows.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Of course it is well known that his triumverate of evil were
> > > Genesis,
> > > > > > > > Yes and ELP, but who else did he hate that you like?
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >  
> > >
> >
>