He might seem an unlikely influence on 60s Art-rock, but all music owes something to what went before and some of Audiences roots lie with Acker Bilk, who has died, aged 85. The Trad Jazz boom of the early 60s threw up a host of bands, few of whom achieved mainstream status. Notable exceptions were Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk, who didnt just stick with updated numbers from the 30s and 40s. They found new tunes and moulded them to their style, between them, scoring chart hit after chart hit. Bilk went further and, following the chart success of Stranger on the Shore on both sides of the Atlantic (he was the first UK artist to top the US charts), he turned himself into a clarinet balladeer. And Stranger was the inspiration for the young Keith Gemmell, Audiences horn and woodwind multi-tasker, to pick up the clarinet, an instrument very few rock bands would ever have considered. Wed already tried this prior to Audience, when Lloyd Alexander Real Estate re-vamped The Stones Paint it Black, using a section involving both Keith and Bill Cox on clarinets, Howard Werth on Gibson electric and Mel Chambers on baritone sax - an exotic mix you didnt often get in a soul band! Another link Audience had with Acker was playing the club he and his brother Dave owned in Bristol. The Granary was a great place to play, Dave liked what we were doing and booked us back a number of times. And there was the time somewhere in Germany around 1971 when, for a few moments, we thought Acker had died. In the middle of a hefty European tour, Charisma stablemates Audience, Van der Graaf Generator and Jackson Heights, plus DJ Andy Dunkley, found ourselves gathered around a ouija board in someones hotel room. Its fair to say various musicians had consumed various things - in my case, Van der Graafs tequila supply wasnt helping! - and a relaxed gullibility was the order of the night. Is anybody there? Yes! Oh, buggar.......who are you? The glass swerved across the board carrying a dozen forefingers and spelled out the letters A - C - K - E -R. There was a pause. Jesus! Acker Bilks dead! The glass moved again, spelling out the letters J - U - L - B. Julb? Maybe its a different Acker? Fair comment. Julb sounded possibly German and for all we knew Acker was a common German Christian name. Only one way to find out. Were you a musician? The glass went to No. What were you then? GOSLING WRESTLER said the spirit of the board. Puzzled looks, then the connection with the other side collapsed as everyone fell about, laughing hysterically. We never did find out who was pushing the glass. It aint Acker - though I doubt many of my Facebook friends feel an overwhelming urge to listen to Stranger on the Shore again - but the linked track from our first album shows where Keith was taking the clarinet - complete with multi-tracking and effects - from those first Acker-inspired blasts and squeaks. Acker! You done that, mate! RIP.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:11:40 +0000
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