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Slated at the time for his dictatorial man management techniques and his reliance on antiquated "reel-to-reel" technology Sparkles has since come to be regarded as the most revolutionary producers in rock. His insistence on "bouncing" tracks until they were nothing more than "fudgey landscapes" has since been adopted by all top modern day producers. "You can here it everywhere. In clubs, on the radio even on TV Commercials. It is just a sort of dirge that you can't get away from" claims top fishworker Freddy Wright. Although no-one doubts Sparkles influence on the Tree Sound (except all 4 members of the Trees) many blame him for the tensions and eventual split of the band. "He used to make us do 20 sit-ups before every take" Tom claims "No wonder we were out of time..we were knackered!". "He used to tell me that Specs had called me a poof and then do likewise with him" revealed Campbell "I'm still not sure whether it's true or not".
The main problem though, arose in the sibling rivalry between Sparkles and his older brother Rat. Sparkles had received a mail order "Chipper" Bike from his parents at the age of 12 something that Rat never got over. "It wasn't a Chopper" Tom recalls "...but it might just have well have been. Sparkles used to taunt Rat by sitting on the handlebars during recordings. If he'd sat on the seat OK, but it was like he was showing that the bike meant nothing to him and Rat couldn't handle that". It was during the recording of "The Banker" in the Spring of '83 that everything came to a head. Campbell remembers "Rat was playing this torturous solo...really getting into it, ye know ..screwing up his face like he knew what he was doing, when Sparkles rides the Chipper right past him with a contorted look on his face. That was it. Rat yanked out his guitar lead, jumped on his Raleigh 2 speed and was off. Didn't see him for 6 months. Weird thing is, cause Sparkles had no more tracks to bounce down it doesn't sound like the Trees at all...it's OK".
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"After all, if it wasn't for me and my fucking Tape Recorder, those cunts would be in mono. Come to think of it, the reel-to-reel, was in mono anyway but who cares. Can anyone forget that fabulous B7 multi-layered fuzz bass. It took hours to get that right sound, that feeling. Many thought that the gear was naff. But I disagree. George Martin used to phone me up and ask if I had any spare speakers and a kettle lead for an amp. Yeah those Trees were a headache all right. If it wasn't McPherson and his beer and pies making a mess of my threads he was always nickin, it was Rat using my jumper as a handkerchief. They had no sound... no direction. I made them what they became..... NOTHING. It was me who developed Styx's legendary 'blanket-on-the-tom-toms' sound and was the designer of Rats much mimicked 'FIRE' guitar sound. I don't see them much anymore. Although I admit I DID bump into McPherson. Well he actually bumped into me... the fat cunt is huge, I'm sure he broke a rib."
These claims that Macpherson is still alive have been dismissed by the other Trees. "Crap" says Campbell "Sparkles is a parasite sucking off the blood of others talent. He just wishes he could drum like me". "Yeah" Tom reveals " Sparkles just wants a piece of the action if the Trees reform. And anyway, I created the fart bass sound with my Leo amp. I had a special switch which made it fart for real...the stink was amazing"!
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Published by The Tree Corporation
Last modified: Friday, 31-Jan-97 10:09:34 GMT
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