The Revenge of Charlie Watkins
Well now, there's a thing! I'm sat watching the Freeview broadcast of Dave (sorry "David") Gilmour's recent Radio 2 gig (nice to find something worth watching on Freeview) and there, stuck at the back of Mr. G's impressive array of backline gear, are two whopping great WEM speaker cabs! It must be a nod back to his early Floyd days, when the band was one of the great champions of Charlie Watkins' amazing PA systems.
And that thought touches on John Moore's recent post about interview overload. I've had an interview on tape with the wonderful Charlie Watkins for over a year now and only managed to publish one small section of it (in a, sadly defunct, Pro Audio magazine). Mr. Editor Moore has been threatening me with the thumbscrews to extract the best bits from the hours of tape I recorded of Charlie's memoires that I didn't use in the Pro Audio piece, for Music Mart. I keep promising I will... after just one more visit to the great man, to coax a few more stories from him - not to mention a few more of the endless supply of chocolate digestives provided by his delightful wife, June!
Charlie Watkins is a remarkable man. Somehow surviving the Second World War on the notorious Atlantic convoys (average life expectancy about three tenths of a second), in the 1960s he virtually invented modern PA - and a fair bit more besides. Now in his 80s, he is overdue for major recognition and acclaim as one of the music equipment industry's great pioneers.
I really must take Mr. Gilmour's lead and do something positive. Watch for a Charlie Watkins special in the mag at some stage!
There. I'm committed now.
Oh - and damnit - isn't Gilmour one of the finest adverts for what a Fender Strat can do in gifted hands? Tonally, it's hugely more versatile than most manage to make it sound. Whatever one thinks of him, his music or anything else - David Gilmour has to be one of the Strat's finest living exponents.
And that thought touches on John Moore's recent post about interview overload. I've had an interview on tape with the wonderful Charlie Watkins for over a year now and only managed to publish one small section of it (in a, sadly defunct, Pro Audio magazine). Mr. Editor Moore has been threatening me with the thumbscrews to extract the best bits from the hours of tape I recorded of Charlie's memoires that I didn't use in the Pro Audio piece, for Music Mart. I keep promising I will... after just one more visit to the great man, to coax a few more stories from him - not to mention a few more of the endless supply of chocolate digestives provided by his delightful wife, June!
Charlie Watkins is a remarkable man. Somehow surviving the Second World War on the notorious Atlantic convoys (average life expectancy about three tenths of a second), in the 1960s he virtually invented modern PA - and a fair bit more besides. Now in his 80s, he is overdue for major recognition and acclaim as one of the music equipment industry's great pioneers.
I really must take Mr. Gilmour's lead and do something positive. Watch for a Charlie Watkins special in the mag at some stage!
There. I'm committed now.
Oh - and damnit - isn't Gilmour one of the finest adverts for what a Fender Strat can do in gifted hands? Tonally, it's hugely more versatile than most manage to make it sound. Whatever one thinks of him, his music or anything else - David Gilmour has to be one of the Strat's finest living exponents.
posted by Gary Cooper at 11:34 PM
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