The Jeremy Spencer Imposter

[Neb-Maat-Re]

In his book, Bob Brunning talks about meeting a Jeremy Spencer imposter.

To be able to pass himself off as JS even for a short time this guy would presumably had to have had a number of attributes: a Midlands accent (which could be faked), a severe lack of height (which couldn't) and if he was playing gigs at least some modicum of ability.

Was anything else ever heard or known about this guy?

[SteveMacD]

I've never heard of this. I knew there was a Peter Green imposter who had lots of guys fooled (including Queen's bassist).

[Wouter Vuijk]

I've never heard of this. I knew there was a Peter Green imposter who had lots of guys fooled (including Queen's bassist).
Never heard of this. Can you give som more information??????

[Neb-Maat-Re]

I've never heard of this. I knew there was a Peter Green imposter who had lots of guys fooled (including Queen's bassist).

BB's book is currently out on loan from the library where I borrowed it, and this library's on-line catalogue doesn't show when it is due back like others do.

From memory, this guy was playing gigs (in Europe?) as JS, BB met with him and actually took JS's parents along to a show.

BB mentions a PG impersonator, but this was just some guy in a pub using his likeness to get free drinks. When confonted he confessed and shot off. I hadn't heard of anyone playing gigs as PG.

[DavidMn]

I've never heard of this. I knew there was a Peter Green imposter who had lots of guys fooled (including Queen's bassist).Really? when was that guy making the rounds?

[SteveMacD]

Really? when was that guy making the rounds?
I want to say it was around 1994/1995. What's weird is after this guy was proven to be a fraud, there were rumors about Peter Green's passing. Within a few months, not only was Pete still living, but had started performing again. It was a weird period, but then what's new?

[DavidMn]

I want to say it was around 1994/1995. What's weird is after this guy was proven to be a fraud, there were rumors about Peter Green's passing. Within a few months, not only was Pete still living, but had started performing again. It was a weird period, but then what's new?Yeah, as I remember that's about the time he came out of his fog.

[bretonbanquet]

The Spencer fake is an interesting story - Brunning talks about it briefly. He says that in the early 1980s he begn to receive phone calls from his musician friends saying that Spencer had reappeared. The were were also reports to this effect in the London Evening Standard newspaper. Brunning contacted the guy and met him in a pub. He says, "I wasn't wholly convinced, but he went a long way towards persuading me that he was Spencer with his astonishingly authentic recollection of the most intimate details of early Fleetwood Mac experiences. He certainly had far more than a passing resemblance to Spencer."

Still "extremely suspicious", Brunning contacted the Evening Standard, whose reporter grilled "Jeremy" for two hours before finally assuring Brunning that this was the right guy. Brunning then organised a gig with his De Luxe Blues band and "Jeremy" in London. They played three songs, and "Jeremy" insisted on playing with his back to the stage. In the audience were Jeremy Spencer's parents, plus their solicitor, who insisted after the show that Brunning go back on to tell the audience that the guitarist was not the real Spencer. Brunning elected to get drunk instead.

The Evening Standard hauled the fake Jeremy into their offices and confronted him with an ex-girlfriend of the real Jeremy's, and she confirmed the hoax. The guy's name was Andrew Clarke, and he'd been impersonating Jeremy for over a decade :eek: jamming with Rory Gallagher at Montreux, and earning a fortune for the Children of God. He claimed that the organisation forced him to do it to capitalise on Jeremy's fame. Brunning found the whole thing very strange... unsurprisingly

Maybe if this guy was forced to do it by the Children of God, it might explain how he knew so many intimate details. Maybe Jeremy was in on it! :laugh:

[SteveMacD]

Besides the size, let's be honest, Jeremy had fairly unique teeth. I wish I could have seen this guy's act.

[bretonbanquet]

I want to say it was around 1994/1995. What's weird is after this guy was proven to be a fraud, there were rumors about Peter Green's passing. Within a few months, not only was Pete still living, but had started performing again. It was a weird period, but then what's new?

Brunning doesn't put a date to this story, but the book was written in 1990 so it had to be before that. Green's accountant David Simmons (previously assistant to Clifford Davis I think) told the tale of a guy pretending to be Peter. It was "at a time when Peter was quite reclusive".

One of Simmons' secretaries found him in a pub and she told Simmons, who phoned him. When challenged, the man "became quite offensive and bluffed his way out of the whole thing". He doesn't exactly say that he met the guy, but he does say that he looked a lot like him, with the same kind of beard, and that he even had his picture printed in a magazine of some sort. "He didn't run up any financial credit on the name. I guess he just enjoyed being Peter Green!"

It's about time we had another impostor - who fancies being Danny or Bob Weston or something? :laugh:

[DavidMn]

Brunning doesn't put a date to this story, but the book was written in 1990 so it had to be before that. Green's accountant David Simmons (previously assistant to Clifford Davis I think) told the tale of a guy pretending to be Peter. It was "at a time when Peter was quite reclusive".

One of Simmons' secretaries found him in a pub and she told Simmons, who phoned him. When challenged, the man "became quite offensive and bluffed his way out of the whole thing". He doesn't exactly say that he met the guy, but he does say that he looked a lot like him, with the same kind of beard, and that he even had his picture printed in a magazine of some sort. "He didn't run up any financial credit on the name. I guess he just enjoyed being Peter Green!"

It's about time we had another impostor - who fancies being Danny or Bob Weston or something? :laugh:Chili can be Dave Walker.

[Neb-Maat-Re]

it might explain how he knew so many intimate details.

Then again BB has proven that his own recollection of "intimate details" is pretty dodgy. He may not be that hard to fool!

[SteveMacD]

It's about time we had another impostor - who fancies being Danny or Bob Weston or something? :laugh:
There was a pic posted a while back of a modern guitarist who looked a lot like Danny in the day, and even had the same sense of fashion. He wasn't claiming to be Danny (obviously, as he was way too young), but the resemblance was eerie.

EDIT: I found the thread! http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=16307

[sharksfan2000]

Don't know whether Bob Brunning's fake Peter Green is the same one as Martin Celmins describes in his book - the "Egg & Potato Man". (Anyone from the UK care to comment on this nickname? I've always been curious whether there's a particularly British dish that the name refers to.) That imposter - real name Patrick Harper - is said to have been active around 1992-4. According to Celmins, Harper conned a number of music industry people and was on "the brink of securing a respectable record deal as 'Peter Green'". The edition of Brunning's book that I have has a publication date of 1990 & 1998 - maybe that's a later edition than yours, bretonbanquet? So it's possible that the edition I have could have been updated to discuss the "Egg & Potato Man".

[dino]

Don't know whether Bob Brunning's fake Peter Green is the same one as Martin Celmins describes in his book - the "Egg & Potato Man". (Anyone from the UK care to comment on this nickname? I've always been curious whether there's a particularly British dish that the name refers to.) That imposter - real name Patrick Harper - is said to have been active around 1992-4. According to Celmins, Harper conned a number of music industry people and was on "the brink of securing a respectable record deal as 'Peter Green'". The edition of Brunning's book that I have has a publication date of 1990 & 1998 - maybe that's a later edition than yours, bretonbanquet? So it's possible that the edition I have could have been updated to discuss the "Egg & Potato Man".

This is from a music paper article here on the Ledge:

"Event took on an even more bizarre twist when in 1992, an Essex farmer, Patrick Harper, nicknamed The Egg & Potato Man, began claiming to be Green on the comeback trail, dumping Queen drummer Roger Taylor amongst others into leading support.

"I saw him one day," Green claims, a touch hazily. "He looked like a Hell's Angel - a bit taller than me, looking kind of strange. I heard a rumour that he went into EMI and to call his bluff they offered him a quarter of a million pound record deal, and he said, No, I better not."

[dansven]

Hi

The Guitar Magazine Vol 5 No 6 (June 1995) has an informative article about the Egg and Potato Man. The word about this "Peter Green" started in 1992.

Patrick Hinfen (Essex farmer, purveyor of eggs and potatoes) started hanging around guitar shops, introducing himself as "Jimi Hendrix" and "Beetroot". After a while people started thinking that it might be Peter Green....

David Edwards, then guitarist with the band National Gold and also manager of KME Guitars (guitar shop in Ilford) was contacted by "Peter Green", who was interested in guitars and guitar sounds. Edwards had met the real Peter in the early 80s, and says that Hinfens hands were very similar to Peter's: "....his hands were unusually large and porcelain-like."

Hinfen and Edwards started to visit the Gibson A&R Centre in London's Denmark Street, and the manager there, Jamie Crompton, says that Hinfen had "the same toothy smile as Peter - the shape of his mouth and teeth were very similar - and he had the big hands as well. It all seemed plausible." Gibson A&R Centre offered "Peter Green" to loan a red dot-neck 335.

Hinfen then wrote the foreword to the Gibson book "'Burst 1958-'60 Les Paul Standard."

Even Neville Martin (ex-Guitarist editor) was also fooled. Hinfen said that he would play with the National Gold on their new album. Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Queen's Roger Taylor were also contacted and asked if they wanted to play on the album with "Peter Green", but only Roger Taylor were available. So Taylor donated studio time....

Hinfen's wierd appearance was accepted, as it was well known that the real Peter Green had psychological problems.

The recording sessions went on with Edwards doing most of the solos .. Hinfen did a poor version of "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues"!!! Hinfen also expressed interest in playing at Gibson's "Night Of 100 Guitars" centenary gig which Crompton was co-ordinating), but stressed that he had to be home and in bed by 9!!!

In the end Peter's brother Michael was contacted, and could confirm that Peter hadn't been playing with anybody. (In fact the real Peter was at Michael's home at the moment.)

So later Michael phoned Hinfen asking to speak to Peter. "Speaking", Hinfen replied. "You aren't Peter", said Michael. "I'm his brother". Hinfen told him then that he was just a fan of Peter.............. THE END.

Daniel

[dansven]

Here are two photos from the article......

[bretonbanquet]

The edition of Brunning's book that I have has a publication date of 1990 & 1998 - maybe that's a later edition than yours, bretonbanquet? So it's possible that the edition I have could have been updated to discuss the "Egg & Potato Man".

Yes, it's later than mine - mine's an early edition. This whole thing is just the weirdest affair ever - why do these things always happen to Fleetwood Mac? I'd like to think I'd recognise any member of the band if I saw them, or met someone claiming to be them, but now I'm not so sure :laugh:

[sharksfan2000]

So it seems like there must have been another Peter Green imposter, before the Egg & Potato Man, that Bob Brunning talks about in his book.

Makes me think I should grow a beard, move to England.........nahhhh :laugh:

[chiliD]

I remember reading the "warning" about the "Egg & Potato Man" on the Splinter Group site back in the early days of the PGSG.

[aleuzzi]

The Spencer fake is an interesting story - Brunning talks about it briefly. He says that in the early 1980s he begn to receive phone calls from his musician friends saying that Spencer had reappeared. The were were also reports to this effect in the London Evening Standard newspaper. Brunning contacted the guy and met him in a pub. He says, "I wasn't wholly convinced, but he went a long way towards persuading me that he was Spencer with his astonishingly authentic recollection of the most intimate details of early Fleetwood Mac experiences. He certainly had far more than a passing resemblance to Spencer."

Still "extremely suspicious", Brunning contacted the Evening Standard, whose reporter grilled "Jeremy" for two hours before finally assuring Brunning that this was the right guy. Brunning then organised a gig with his De Luxe Blues band and "Jeremy" in London. They played three songs, and "Jeremy" insisted on playing with his back to the stage. In the audience were Jeremy Spencer's parents, plus their solicitor, who insisted after the show that Brunning go back on to tell the audience that the guitarist was not the real Spencer. Brunning elected to get drunk instead.

The Evening Standard hauled the fake Jeremy into their offices and confronted him with an ex-girlfriend of the real Jeremy's, and she confirmed the hoax. The guy's name was Andrew Clarke, and he'd been impersonating Jeremy for over a decade :eek: jamming with Rory Gallagher at Montreux, and earning a fortune for the Children of God. He claimed that the organisation forced him to do it to capitalise on Jeremy's fame. Brunning found the whole thing very strange... unsurprisingly

Maybe if this guy was forced to do it by the Children of God, it might explain how he knew so many intimate details. Maybe Jeremy was in on it! :laugh:


This is certainly an interesting story. But how could Brunning, who supposedly had been so close to the original Mac line-up not know if this was Jeremy or not? If an ex-girlfriend could know, why coouldn't he? This confirms my suspicions that Bob Brunning will do anything to capitalize on his association with the British blues line-up of the Mac. And, like the details in his book, he is frequently wrong.

[Neb-Maat-Re]

The guy's name was Andrew Clarke, and he'd been impersonating Jeremy for over a decade :eek: jamming with Rory Gallagher at Montreux, and earning a fortune for the Children of God. He claimed that the organisation forced him to do it to capitalise on Jeremy's fame. Brunning found the whole thing very strange... unsurprisingly

Maybe if this guy was forced to do it by the Children of God, it might explain how he knew so many intimate details. Maybe Jeremy was in on it! :laugh:

I'd forgotten the CoG connection. In that case, the poor guy is probably travelling around Sth America still being passed off by the Family as Jeremy.

On the other hand, how do we know that the JS currently recording in Norway is the REAL Jeremy at all?

[dansven]

On the other hand, how do we know that the JS currently recording in Norway is the REAL Jeremy at all?

Well Neb-Maat-Re, the truth is: WE DON'T KNOW!!!:shocked: :shocked: :shocked:

........but we could buy the album... 'cause this dude recording in Norway is a damn good slide guitar player!!!!


Daniel

[jeremy spencer]

This is hilarious. Andrew Clarke was never in the CoG. I don't know him, and I never met him in Latin America posing as me. My parents met him in England at a concert after he had taken off running! The guy was nuts.
Hope this clears it up a little.
Yes, that's me recording in Norway.

[jeremy spencer]

and how do you know it's really me posting this message?:

[sharksfan2000]

This is hilarious. Andrew Clarke was never in the CoG. I don't know him, and I never met him in Latin America posing as me. My parents met him in England at a concert after he had taken off running! The guy was nuts.
Hope this clears it up a little.
Yes, that's me recording in Norway.
WOW - if that really is you, Jeremy, welcome and hope to see more posts from you! Just ordered the new CD yesterday.

[Neb-Maat-Re]

This is hilarious. Andrew Clarke was never in the CoG. I don't know him, and I never met him in Latin America posing as me. My parents met him in England at a concert after he had taken off running! The guy was nuts.
Hope this clears it up a little.
Yes, that's me recording in Norway.

Hi Jeremy.

The "is that the real Jeremy" comment was intended to be light-hearted with no offence meant, so I hope none was taken.

Thanks for clearing up Mr Clarke's claim about the CoG.

Congratulations on the new album.

[jeremy spencer]

Thank you! Hope you enjoy the cd at least a tenth as much as I enjoyed making it. Those Norwegians had the right feel. No muss, no fuss, one take and it was done! No redo's! (We had a tight budget!) That's what I like. Ah! The goood old days!!!

[dansven]

Hi Mr Jeremy Spencer, and welcome to the Ledge!

Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to go and see you at Notodden last year, even though I live in Norway. Hope you do more live gigs in Norway. Your new album is absolutely fantastic! And the title track "Precious Little" is in my favourite. Your coice and guitar has been missed... :)

Best wishes,
Daniel

[bretonbanquet]

This is hilarious. Andrew Clarke was never in the CoG. I don't know him, and I never met him in Latin America posing as me. My parents met him in England at a concert after he had taken off running! The guy was nuts.
Hope this clears it up a little.
Yes, that's me recording in Norway.

Wow, there's nothing like hearing it from "the horse's mouth" !!! :wavey:

Just goes to show that you can't trust everything you read, and this guy clearly fooled Bob Brunning pretty completely.

Welcome to The Ledge, Jeremy! I hope you come back from time to time to clear up any further mysteries! I'm another one who's ordered the new album and I'm looking forward to it big time :blob2:

[ThePenguin]

This is hilarious. Andrew Clarke was never in the CoG. I don't know him, and I never met him in Latin America posing as me. My parents met him in England at a concert after he had taken off running! The guy was nuts.
Hope this clears it up a little.
Yes, that's me recording in Norway.


How wonderful it would be if more Mac members popped in from time to time to clear up little mysteries like these. :nod: Thank you, Jeremy, hope you are doing well, and congratulations on the release of the new album!

-Lis and Marty

[jeremy spencer]

you are welcome. Thank you for the congrats, and to you too, for an excellent and informative site.

[chiliD]

Cool! Hi, again, Jeremy! (I say "again", since you responded to one of my questions way back when you did the Q&A here a few years ago).

Ok, mini-Q&A time..now that you're new album is out, do you have any interest in releasing the CoG & Flee albums on CD? (there are pirated versions out there, but the quality is poor due to the transfer from well-worn LPs.) Pristine sounding CDs would be fantastic!

Also, to Marty & Lis, is there something we can do about Jeremy's "Ledgie" status? It just doesn't seem right that a Fleetwood Mac member have only a "Junior Ledgie" status. :thumbsup:

[ThePenguin]

Cool! Hi, again, Jeremy! (I say "again", since you responded to one of my questions way back when you did the Q&A here a few years ago).

Ok, mini-Q&A time..now that you're new album is out, do you have any interest in releasing the CoG & Flee albums on CD? (there are pirated versions out there, but the quality is poor due to the transfer from well-worn LPs.) Pristine sounding CDs would be fantastic!

Also, to Marty & Lis, is there something we can do about Jeremy's "Ledgie" status? It just doesn't seem right that a Fleetwood Mac member have only a "Junior Ledgie" status. :thumbsup:

I'll have to tell Marty about that, as I am clueless as to how to change anything.... wouldn't wanna kick him off by accident LOL.

And also a big thanks to Jeremy for being our first brave Q&A guest all those years ago, wow. See what a neat trend he started? :thumbsup:

-Lis

[P90pup]

I love this place:)

[madformac]

Here are two photos from the article......

You know, I have that Gibson "burst" book somewhere and I never believed Peter wrote that intro. That words and phrasing just seem all wrong.

Nice to see Jeremy pop up here, nice to hear you are fit and well. What with John McVie still in "Q&A mode" and the odd visit from Bob Welch it's getting more common for the guys to stop by..

Health and happiness Jeremy. :wavey:

[jeremy spencer]

Cool! Hi, again, Jeremy! (I say "again", since you responded to one of my questions way back when you did the Q&A here a few years ago).

Ok, mini-Q&A time..now that you're new album is out, do you have any interest in releasing the CoG & Flee albums on CD? (there are pirated versions out there, but the quality is poor due to the transfer from well-worn LPs.) Pristine sounding CDs would be fantastic!

Also, to Marty & Lis, is there something we can do about Jeremy's "Ledgie" status? It just doesn't seem right that a Fleetwood Mac member have only a "Junior Ledgie" status. :thumbsup:

What questions did u ask me? I don't remember this. Another impostor? Was it on the Ledge? I only just logged onto this site! But I'll answer ur questions.

I would be interested in redoing some choice songs from those albums, I already have ideas. Unfortunately the original 16 track tapes of the COG album got destroyed in a fire, otherwise I would have enjoyed getting in there and being in on a hefty remix.
The Atlantic one I would personally like to let die a natural death so I can have another go at a couple of them that could be more how I would like them.
Hope that answers, Chili!

[HomerMcvie]

I just wanted to say that it's great to have you here, Jeremy!

[wetcamelfood]

I agree, I don't mean to turn this thread into a JS Q&A but I wasn't here for the actual Q&A so thought I'd try my luck here :)

Hi Jeremy, we've had some discussions here about different stories on who played the piano on "Oh well part 2" (some understood it was you, others Christine, some feel it may have been Peter himself), from the B-side of the single. Do you recall playing on it? I'm working on the new Penguin discography & it'd be a great help to get clarification on this so we know which artists to link specifically to that performance of the song.

Also, when were "Who's knocking" & "Look down at my woman" recorded? They've only shown up on Immediate records compilations & there was speculation that these (along with "Mean old fireman" & "Allow me one more show") were among the tracks from the Levi Set demo you had sent to Mike Vernon. Can you recall if this is accurate or were they in fact recordings you made with FM (i.e. who is on the brushes on LD@MW)?

Thanks in advance. :)

John

P.S. I got my copy of the new album too & think it's great! I recommend it to all here too. :)

[jeremy spencer]

I agree, I don't mean to turn this thread into a JS Q&A but I wasn't here for the actual Q&A so thought I'd try my luck here :)

Hi Jeremy, we've had some discussions here about different stories on who played the piano on "Oh well part 2" (some understood it was you, others Christine, some feel it may have been Peter himself), from the B-side of the single. Do you recall playing on it? I'm working on the new Penguin discography & it'd be a great help to get clarification on this so we know which artists to link specifically to that performance of the song.

Also, when were "Who's knocking" & "Look down at my woman" recorded? They've only shown up on Immediate records compilations & there was speculation that these (along with "Mean old fireman" & "Allow me one more show") were among the tracks from the Levi Set demo you had sent to Mike Vernon. Can you recall if this is accurate or were they in fact recordings you made with FM (i.e. who is on the brushes on LD@MW)?

Thanks in advance. :)

John

P.S. I got my copy of the new album too & think it's great! I recommend it to all here too. :)

So glad u likethe album. I enjoy it too, even after many listens.
Okay, your questions! I was wondering when this one would come up, as I was looking at this site's debate over this!
Yes, that's the old 'horse' himself playing piano on Oh Well Pt 2. Peter had to insist I do it because I wasn't sure. He knew I loved the soundtracks to the Ben Hur and King of Kings movies, and that I would (secretly) tinker around with similar melodies on the piano.

'Who's Knocking' and 'Look down at my Woman' on Blues Anytime anthology was recorded with my first band, the Levi Set at Decca Studios in the spring of 67. Ian Charles did the brushes on Woman. We did a couple of other tracks, The Sky is Crying, and I think Travelling Riverside. Long gone probably.

Mean Old Fireman, Allow me one more show, Love that Woman etc. were all recorded after I was with FM, either in CBS or Decca studios.

Ahhh, feels good to clear that up!

[sharksfan2000]

Great to hear your answers on these questions, Jeremy! Thanks for the info :)

[macfan 57]

Okay, your questions! I was wondering when this one would come up, as I was looking at this site's debate over this!
Yes, that's the old 'horse' himself playing piano on Oh Well Pt 2. Peter had to insist I do it because I wasn't sure. He knew I loved the soundtracks to the Ben Hur and King of Kings movies, and that I would (secretly) tinker around with similar melodies on the piano.


Well, that clears it up once and for all. And, welcome to the Ledge, Jeremy.:)

[bretonbanquet]

So glad u likethe album. I enjoy it too, even after many listens.
Okay, your questions! I was wondering when this one would come up, as I was looking at this site's debate over this!
Yes, that's the old 'horse' himself playing piano on Oh Well Pt 2. Peter had to insist I do it because I wasn't sure. He knew I loved the soundtracks to the Ben Hur and King of Kings movies, and that I would (secretly) tinker around with similar melodies on the piano.

'Who's Knocking' and 'Look down at my Woman' on Blues Anytime anthology was recorded with my first band, the Levi Set at Decca Studios in the spring of 67. Ian Charles did the brushes on Woman. We did a couple of other tracks, The Sky is Crying, and I think Travelling Riverside. Long gone probably.

Mean Old Fireman, Allow me one more show, Love that Woman etc. were all recorded after I was with FM, either in CBS or Decca studios.

Ahhh, feels good to clear that up!

Feels good to have it cleared up! :blob1:

It's so cool that you remember details from so long ago - one or two other Mac members (who shall remain nameless) tend to have forgotten everything!

One thing I was wondering was if there are any recordings from your time travelling around the world - I remember reading that you did some recordings in Brazil - were any of those released at the time?

I'll add to the thumbs-up for the new album as well - it's getting better with each time I listen to it :thumbsup:

[wetcamelfood]

It's so cool that you remember details from so long ago - one or two other Mac members (who shall remain nameless) tend to have forgotten everything!

I agree, I mean, I know they don't want to come across as "oh, look what I've done" but...

Anyways, thanks Jeremy, I'll go fix the discog now. I particularly love the title track to the new album, I think you could give Mark Knopfler a run for his money! :)

John

[wetcamelfood]

OK, probably a long shot but just thought I'd try in case Jeremy is still here. :)

Hi Jeremy,

I've been trying to update the new Penguin discography & I was hoping you could give more info on the live India CD & video.

First, the video:

http://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=753

Was this ever actually released? I was lucky to come across one of the CD's but I've checked with friends I have in Thailand (who were able to get me the CD) & they didn't think it was ever released but I know of one person who has the video & they seemed to think it WAS released. Can you clarify? It sure made it easiER for me to find the CD version once you said where it was released in your Q&A way back when.

Whatever the case, would you consider (re)releasing it on DVD? I really love the show & it'd be great to put pictures to the audio (not to mention that it'd be great to hear/see the Heart To Heart tracks not available on the CD). Like the CD, any profits could go to the great organizations that the funds went to before (or new charities you may prefer now)? Just an idea. :)

Regarding the CD:

http://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=114

The copy I have has a different cover/title & has 1999 as the year (I’ll post it later). Since it was bought at the original release source it must be legit (& not counterfeit/bootleg) & another copy I’ve seen which appeared identical to mine has the same details/artwork etc.

Is the cover title on the discography listing the way it came out in India? Just wondering if maybe the Thai copies differed.

Anyways, again, any clarification you can give on this would be great so we can make sure we have the most accurate information about such rare recordings on the site.

Thanks in advance for any answers you provide on this (fingers & toes crossed you’re still here to answer). :)
John

[Wouter Vuijk]

I'll add to the thumbs-up for the new album as well - it's getting better with each time I listen to it :thumbsup:
Same here, Jeremy :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[wetcamelfood]

I'll only post a reply if someone asks!!!)

OK, since you say this, I'll give this a bump :) :

OK, probably a long shot but just thought I'd try in case Jeremy is still here. :)

Hi Jeremy,

I've been trying to update the new Penguin discography & I was hoping you could give more info on the live India CD & video.

First, the video:

http://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=753

Was this ever actually released? I was lucky to come across one of the CD's but I've checked with friends I have in Thailand (who were able to get me the CD) & they didn't think it was ever released but I know of one person who has the video & they seemed to think it WAS released. Can you clarify? It sure made it easiER for me to find the CD version once you said where it was released in your Q&A way back when.

Whatever the case, would you consider (re)releasing it on DVD? I really love the show & it'd be great to put pictures to the audio (not to mention that it'd be great to hear/see the Heart To Heart tracks not available on the CD). Like the CD, any profits could go to the great organizations that the funds went to before (or new charities you may prefer now)? Just an idea. :)

Regarding the CD:

http://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=114

The copy I have has a different cover/title & has 1999 as the year (I’ll post it later). Since it was bought at the original release source it must be legit (& not counterfeit/bootleg) & another copy I’ve seen which appeared identical to mine has the same details/artwork etc.

Is the cover title on the discography listing the way it came out in India? Just wondering if maybe the Thai copies differed.

Anyways, again, any clarification you can give on this would be great so we can make sure we have the most accurate information about such rare recordings on the site.

Thanks in advance for any answers you provide on this (fingers & toes crossed you’re still here to answer). :)
John

John

[jeremy spencer]

OK, since you say this, I'll give this a bump :) :



John
Hello John! Sorry to get back to you so late on this. I did get your private message asking about this, but I procrastinated because I can't be of much help.
This CD was a quick one off thing from an evening concert, and was only a limited release in India. I would prefer it stays that way to be honest! It was featured on my old website which was kept up for a short while in Thailand, which I hardly monitored, and I think it even went for about four years without an update.
It seems you have more info on it than I do as I don't have a copy of it nor the video! Sorry if this is rather vague, but I hope the info you do have is sufficient for your discography.
Red Sky Blues by the way is not on the CD, it's something I did on my ownsome in my desktop studio.

[wetcamelfood]

OK, thanks anyways Jeremy, just covering the bases. :)

John

[Popey292]

It was around October of 1991. I was the owner of a village Garage in Essex, England. One day I got a phone call from a man who called himself ‘The Egg and Potato Man’ I knew of his business but had never met him. He wanted me to carry out a vehicle test on his Austin Seven car and we arranged for him to bring it straight in. He was wild in appearance; big shaggy sideburns, long hair and bushy moustache with a strangely imposing manner. As we were chatting, during the test, he told me that he used to be a musician and played guitar; being the guitarist in my own band ‘Lethal Dose’; I asked if he played professionally. He replied that he had: a long time ago in the sixties. Had he played with any one I might know? He mentioned John Mayall; possibly a name not known to many in the village, but I had been a fan for 25 years so he was really pressing buttons in my head. Treading carefully, I asked if that would have been before or after Eric. He said after! He could only be one person then: Peter Green! Was it possible that the man and legend I had admired and tried to emulate was standing before me and had been living just a few miles away? I couldn’t let it rest and started probing with questions. He was evasive, kept pressing me to just finish the test and was reluctant to talk. I mentioned that I thought what happened to Peter robbed the music world of a great legacy and that I did not subscribe to stories about him being crazy and lighting cigarettes with royalty cheques and burning his guitars. He made no comment.

Back in my shop where I wrote out his certificate and took his money, he was silent until just about to leave when, with one foot outside the door he said…”Bye-the-way that cheque was for £20.000.” This convinced me that he was Peter and all I wanted was to know him better but he was gone. I was starry-eyed and excited for the next couple of days and told friends and the lads in the band that I had had Peter green in my shop. Frustratingly, the younger members didn’t know who he was!!!

Of course, it was not Peter green but Patrick Himfen (sometimes wrongly spelled Hinfen)

I am fairly certain that conning me was the beginning of the whole crazy saga as at this stage he never used the name Peter. He started turning up at my shop just for a cup of tea and a chat. I showed him some of my instruments and sometimes he would strum a few chords if a guitar happened to be lying around. He played as you might expect a very rusty ex pro to; almost getting quite tricky phrases and chords; it all added up. My feeling was that with gentle handling, I might coax him to come and jam with the band. He and I did one night at a pub where nobody knew us. I played and he sang, we did about ten minutes of ‘Hey Joe’. Himfen looked and sounded exactly as one would think an older Peter Green would. I even met his son who really does resemble the young Peter. In fact, when I recently saw the real Peter on TV I was shocked that he didn’t look and sound more like Patrick.

I thought we had become very good friends although he had a knack of rubbing everyone else up the wrong way; forcing me to defend his odd ways. There were many incidents when I protected his identity and stopped people calling him Peter. I went with him all over the place to check out old Les Paul guitars; he wanted to replace the one he sold to Gary Moore. His knowledge of Fleetwood Mac and the life and times of working bands in the sixties was encyclopaedic; he convinced every one we met that he was genuine whilst always appealing to them for discretion. These old guitars were pretty passed-it, either bent, rusty or both. I could hardly get a decent sound out of any of them. At that time I was playing a Gibson Les Paul 25-50 Anniversary and couldn’t see the attraction of those old bangers apart from sentimental value. Himfen hated my guitar, constantly criticising the gold plating, calling it a piece of rubbish, thinking that ‘Peter’ must know best, I eventually got Dave Edwards (mentioned in lots of articles) to sell it for me. Himfen later bought a Tokai Love Roc from Ray Marquis (a friend and great recording engineer and an OK drummer) He was convinced that the Japanese had bought all the best wood and their guitars were superior to Gibson. His intention was to replicate the PG ’59 Les Paul. The pickups were replaced with real vintage Gibson PAFs, the neck pickup is turned around, the scratch plate removed and Grover machine heads fitted. It has a great action, fabulous neck and amazing sound. The sustain is way beyond that of my 25-50 and it has a great burst on the body, just like the real thing.
I borrowed and played the guitar for ages and absolutely loved it. I later persuaded Himfen to sell it to me and I still own it.

About this time, several articles had appeared suggesting that Himfen was a fake; a fact I disputed vigorously until the day I also knew the truth. As is often the case, his elaborate masquerade was exposed to me by a shear fluke. We were sitting and just shooting the breeze one day when I asked him a simple question to which he gave a very wrong answer. I said “In all your playing career, was there a project or occasion that gave you the most personal pleasure?”… He replied “That’s simple: it was when I recorded the album ‘Two Greens Make A Blues’ with my brother Mick”. He then went on to reminisce about how great it was to be in a position to help his brother earn a bit of money… Peter Green does have a brother Michael, but he was not the player on that album, that was Mick Green of Jonnie Kid & the Pirates fame and no relation. What a bombshell, not only was Himfen’s history knowledge lacking but lets face it; you don’t get your own brother mixed up with somebody else. I was really pole-axed and I wanted to really make him face what he had done. My feelings and respect for Himfen went down hill from then though I have to say there were times when circumstances gave me reason to be grateful for knowing him, and at one time might even have supported his impersonation if he had been honest with me.

Himfen’s acts of mischief are quite easy to research and all seem to be for no personal or material gain. They have affected a lot of people notably Roger Taylor (not “Queen bassist…” as reported sometimes), Tony Meehan (ex Shadows) Terry Snell (Great Django player) Dave Edwards (just gifted) who really took the brunt of some serious agro and was hurt by Himfen at a bad time in his life. He destroyed my band by disrupting rehearsals and trying to take over. I was at a recording session under his direction where he sang ‘Amazing Grace’ with about six different guitar styles as an accompaniment. He persuaded Dave’s band ‘National Gold’ to rehearse his arrangement of the theme music to ‘Coronation Street’ a long suffering Brit soap. It was all way over the top like the time he placed a mike on the seat of an old Land-Rover inside a metal tea-pot or kettle and recording the sound of the engine ticking over for the rhythm section. We just thought the weird antics were part of his genius. His reign lasted about four years; I reckon Freud would have loved him; there can never be another. I think it’s a pity in some ways that the real Peter did not emerge until after this episode. For them to meet would have been amusing. I wonder if the excitement Himfen caused gave Peter any encouragement to come back, my impression, however, is that he was un-moved by the whole affair.


Thanks for listening

[bretonbanquet]

^^^^

Thanks for posting! A very interesting and bizarre episode, I always thought - in fact, very hard to get to the bottom of in a lot of ways. Your inside story is much appreciated :nod:

[dino]

^^^^

Thanks for posting! A very interesting and bizarre episode, I always thought - in fact, very hard to get to the bottom of in a lot of ways. Your inside story is much appreciated :nod:

Indeed! Interesting.
A weird thing is that the real Green also said the Mick Green on the "Two Greens..." is his brother (on the Q&A on this site). But he was really ill at the time of recording, so the memory must be very foggy. Also, he never met Mick Green of the Pirates during the recording - it was all overdubbed.