MARTIN TURNER
''WALKING THE REEPERBAHN''
1997
56:31
1 /Fire Sign
Martin Turner/4:29
2 /Walking the Reeperbahn
Martin Turner/4:08
3 /Hot Surrender
Martin Turner/4:27
4 /My Brother
Martin Turner/3:15
5 /Strangers
Dave Davies / Martin Turner/4:49
6 /Psychic Flash to Ginza
Martin Turner/3:17
7 /You
Randy Edelman / Martin Turner/3:44
8 /Passion
KJ / Martin Turner/3:56
9 /Lean on Me
William Becton / Bill Withers/3:39
10 /Kellys Away With the Fairies
Martin Turner/3:36
11 /Where Will I Go?
Martin Turner/3:56
12 /The Naked Truth
Martin Turner/5:15
13 /Heaven Is
Steve Clark / Phil Collen / Joe Elliot / Robert John "Mutt" Lange / Rick Savage / Martin Turner/4:16
14 /Broken Down House
Martin Turner/3:44
ABOUT Walking the Reeperbahn
Having spent over a decade as the bassist and vocalist of leading melodic rock band Wishbone Ash, 1980 saw founder member and key creative force Martin Turner parting company with the band, amid differences over musical direction and group politics, following the release of the Just Testing album.
Says Martin: Just Testing was an extremely difficult album to record. However, looking at it from today's perspective, I think Just Testing is one of the best albums Wishbone Ash ever recorded. I think it's a great shame the band didn't carry on in the way it was going musically and in every other respect, but instead, the band felt they needed to change things, which I felt was wrong. I disagreed with their analysis and was very happy in what I was doing. I felt the band was doing really well at the time and I think, if we'd stuck together, we could have done some really good things."
Feeling unable to go along with his fellow band members recipe for future success - which included the planned recruitment of a lead vocalist/frontman in a bid for greater singles success - Martin Turner reluctantly announced his resignation from Wishbone Ash and his intentions to pursue a career in record production. Following his split with Wishbone Ash, Martin Turner pursued his love of studio and production work.. During this period Martin produced a diverse range of artists, but continued writing and demoing his own material, with a view to a solo project.
By 1982, with a wealth of new material composed, Martin Turner had formed a new band - The Wolfgang - for both recording and touring purposes. The band consisted initially of Scottish musicians Stewart MacKenzie and Ray Weston (guitar and drums respectively) and Welsh keyboardsman Eryl Price-Davies alongside Martin on bass/vocals. Ray Weston was later replaced by Tim Broughton.
Further recording and live work continued and the new material flowed. Indeed the music recorded during this period was as strong as any of Martin's past work and revealed a musician who, unlike many of his contemporaries, was totally in touch with the changing face of the UK's music scene, adding the synthesizer sounds of the eighties to his rock armoury. Martin was, however, experiencing enormous difficulty in getting agents to take his new direction seriously and while Martin Turner was eager to progress musically, it seemed that both his audience and representatives were dwelling on past glories.
"I was really just dipping my toe in the water to see if anything was going to happen," admits Martin. "I thought it was a really good band. However, it soon became obvious that it was never going to take off. Everyone was telling me it was too modern. John Sherry came to see us one night and said "Forget it Martin, you've got to give the punters what they want. You need two screaming guitars and a load of Wishbone Ash numbers". I wanted to do something new, but it was "Blowin' Free" that everyone wanted to hear."
Somewhat disillusioned by the lack of support, Martin Turner disbanded the Wolfgang during 1984, consigning the band's legacy of unfinished and unmixed recordings to the vaults. By 1987, however, the original Wishbone Ash line-up had reformed and several songs from the Wolfgang days were reworked for a trio of albums for the IRS label - Nouveau Calls, Here to Hear and Strange Affair. By 1991, however, differences had once again set in, with the band electing to continue minus its founder member. Martin Turner returned to production and songwriting, although did reunite briefly with Wishbone Ash, guesting onstage during 1995/96.
Walking the Reeperbahn is an essential addition to the collection of any self respecting Wishbone Ash fan. It's a diverse set of recordings which offers a unique insight into the thoughts and musical visions of one of the band's key figures, gathering together all the loose ends in the Martin Turner story - from early eighties demos, through the cream of the Wolfgang tapes, and bringing things up to date with a selection of more recent recordings. Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash pedigree is certainly in evidence throughout the album, which Martin describes as containing "the same melodic qualities as Wishbone Ash", albeit with an influx of different sounds and contemporary ideas. Wishbone-Ish, if you like!
"FIRE SIGN" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Ray Weston - drums; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards.
Originally written circa 1967/68, "Fire Sign" was recorded by Wishbone Ash during the No Smoke Without Fire album sessions of 1978. Although not featured on the original album, that particular recording later surfaced on the album's 1998 CD reissue. "It's a song about reincarnation," says Martin, "and I know that Steve Upton (Wishbone Ash drummer) just used to fall off his stool everytime I sang certain lyrics such as "I hope I'm not a dog or maybe a monkey". Steve was a guy who used to see everyone as an animal. He'd tag you a badger or a fox or whatever and make up stories about you. I always liked that song, and it's an important part of how I became what I became." The version included on Walking the Reeperbahn was laid down by the Wolfgang in November 1982.
"WALKING THE REEPERBAHN" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass, keyboards; Robin Berlin - lead guitar; Glenn Turner - guitar; Steve Williams - drums.
The most recent recording on this collection, "Walking the Reeperbahn" was written and recorded during 1995/96, originally as an instrumental piece. As Martin recalls: "Everyone said they particularly liked the title and it was suggested that the album be titled Walking the Reeperbahn. I thought, if it was going to be the title track, it should be a song, not an instrumental, so I sat down late one night and wrote the lyric - it captures the atmosphere of a great day in Hamburg. The Reeperbahn is the 'red light district' of Hamburg, although the song's not particularly about prostitution. The Beatles, of course, played some of their earliest gigs in this area and there's a reference to that in the lyric."
"HOT SURRENDER" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards; Steve Williams - drums; Anna-Lise Britton - backing vocals.
Originally recorded by Martin, Stewart and Eryl with a drum machine in 1984, Steve Williams' live drums and Anna-Lise Britton's backing vocals were added prior to mixing during 1996. "Lyrically, it's kind of romantic, but complaining of always ending up surrendering to a female," says Martin.
"MY BROTHER" (Turner)
MT - vocals, all instruments
A solo eight track demo recording circa 1981. "The lyrics in this one are from the infantile school of songwriting", admits Martin, "but sometimes simplicity is beauty. The song was written when my youngest brother Kim announced he was going to be married."
"STRANGERS" (Turner/Price-Davies)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards; Tim Broughton - drums
Probably the last recording of the Wolf Gang recorded during 1984, with lyrics written mainly by Eryl Price-Davies. "Of all the songs from this period, "Strangers" is probably one of the best recordings", says Martin. "I think the tune has a good "band" feel - it's got a very moody sound to it."
"PSYCHIC FLASH TO GINZA" (Turner)
MT - bass, keyboards, drum programming; Glenn Turner - guitar.
Recorded during 1993, with Glenn adding guitar parts during 1995. "Everyone has probably had psychic experiences, where they experience something that's happening elsewhere, or something that will happen in the future," says Martin. "I dreamt about being threatened and hounded by the police. I was trapped in a room and couldn't get out. This actually did take place about ten days later on the other side of the world, in Japan. The tune attempts to capture the mood of this. It's a relaxed thing, but I managed to deal with this experience in a relaxed way."
"YOU" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Ray Weston - drums; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards, backing vocal.
"You" was recorded by Wishbone Ash for the Strange Affair album. This earlier version, however, was recorded by the Wolf Gang in 1983. "I wrote this about the woman I'm married to", reveals Martin. "It's a bitchy song in some respects, but even if you love someone you can feel bitchy on occasions - most people have experienced that." During recording, Martin took a phone call. "Ray Weston jumped in and half sung, half Glasgow spoke the vocal which sounded fairly hysterical. Ray is no singer and his version unfortunately went to magnetic heaven."
"PASSION" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Tim Broughton - drums; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards.
Recorded during 1984, Martin describes "Passion" as "Another song that attempts to deal with love and sex. This song is maybe a little removed from the others stylistically, but it has a certain sound."
"LEAN ON ME" (Bill Withers)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Tim Broughton - drums; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards.
Recorded by the Wolf Gang during 1984, "much input from the guys who played helped make an original version of this classic song."
"KELLY'S AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass, guitar; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards; Ray Weston - drums.
The basic melody of this song later resurfaced on the Wishbone Ash instrumental "Something's Happening in Room 602". The original song, however, was recorded by the Wolf Gang in 1983 (Martin's "Shadows" guitar parts were added in 1996). "This one lyrically is a bit like a brain haemorrhage," says Martin. "I don't know what was in my head when I wrote this song. It's kind of a mish-mash of things that were happening at the time."
WHERE WILL I GO? (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass, keyboards, drums, guitar. Robin Berlin - additional guitar.
Recorded by Martin as a demo in 1981, Dutchman Robin Berlin added additional lead guitar during 1995. "It's hard to be humorous in song," admits Martin, "but this song is clearly funny for five minutes. It's me trying to have a conversation with God, but in a very flippant sense."
"THE NAKED TRUTH" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass; Stewart MacKenzie - guitar; Eryl Price-Davies - keyboards; Ray Weston - drums; Robin Berlin - additional lead guitar.
Recorded by the Wolf Gang in 1983 (Robin Berlin's guitar parts added during 1995), "The Naked Truth" was actually composed in 1980 and was the first song written by Martin following his split with Wishbone Ash. The song would also evolve into the Wishbone Ash instrumental “In the Skin”. "Lyrically, it deals with belonging to something - whether it's a marriage, a band, or whatever - and then all of a sudden it doesn't exist anymore. You feel very naked, very on your own."
"HEAVEN IS" (Turner)
MT - bass; keyboards; Andy Powell - guitar; Steve Upton - drums.
Basically a jam session recorded during Wishbone Ash's Here To Hear sessions circa 1988. "It's got a really nice feel and I always felt it belonged on a record somewhere", admits Martin. "Wishbone never seemed to want to use it anywhere - it was too late for Nouveau Calls and we didn't get around to making another instrumental album, so here it is!"
"BROKEN DOWN HOUSE" (Turner)
MT - vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion. Glenn Turner - lead guitar.
Recorded as an eight track demo during 1982 (Glenn Turner added lead guitar parts during 1995). Features antique drum machine and leather sofa being hit for percussion! Lyrically, "Broken Down House" was inspired by the house in which the Turner family lived during the early eighties and where incidentally, most of the recordings on this collection were made. "I loved the house, but it was incredibly broken down," recalls Martin. "It was a bit ramshackle, but it was a great place and so many things happened there."
BIOGRAPHY
By Gary Hill
Born in 1947, Martin Turner was a founding member of Wishbone Ash in 1969. He was their regular bass player until 1980. He came back to the fold in 1988, but he only stayed with them for two years. Since that time he has been working on his own studio and playing in a local group. He released a solo album called Walking the Reeperbahn in 1999.
