Andrew (Camel) Latimer Interview
SNOOKEROO
Interview with Andrew Latimer by Paris Ford a "Downstairs at Harry's"
Q: What did you do after _Pressure Points_?
A: Well a lot of legal problems had to be cleared up. Andy Doug Pete
and I were
being sued by our first manager Geoff Jukes. Geoff felt we all owed him
commissions
from the early days but he'd waited until 1982 to sue us. Doug had left
in 1977; Geoff
quit right after Pete left fro Van Morison and Arista in 1978; and Andy
was with Marillion
in 1982, I think but Geoff sued us as Camel, naming us each indvidually
but as I was the
only one left from the original lineup it was up to me to defend it. The
other's didnt want
to know. They felt that because they had left Camel and had signed away
their rights to
the band they weren't responsible. That was not true of course because
tehy were very
much a part of Camel when Geoff was the manager but I really cannot blame
them. They
had gone onto beter thins and this was very stressful and expensive. So
from 1982 to
1987 I fought with Geoff. we had all sighed so many stupid contracts. We
literally signed
our lives away.
Q: Did you release any other material from 1985 to 1991.
A: No. I did some stuff with Ant Phillips which unfortunately did
not come to much,
though I really enjoyed working with Ant. I played a few sessions and did
a track on a
Denis Quinn Album but the lawsuit really effected me spiritually. I
became very
disillusioned with the whole industry. It seemed to be full of nothing
but lawyers,
accountants and greedy people that whole one-hit wonder business.
Q: Why did you leave Decca and what happened after?
A: Decca were being swallowed whole by PolyGram and changed their
catalogue to
classical music only. It was an amicable separation and looking bac now a
good one for
me. But there was still such a lot going on legally. the lawsuit was
dragging on and then
Susan Hoover discovered that royalties from our back-catalogue were being
paid to Gama
Records but not to Camel. I had no alternative but to sue Gama. I did
finally win both
lawsuits but that meant nothing in terms of money. It was a moral victory
really. The
bulk of the income was gone but we all et our royalties now, regularly,
thanks to Susan.
Litigation is an exhausting and time-consuming process.
Q: Did you record a solo album?
A: No. I though perhaps I should go 'solo' but my friends and
family encouraged me
to keep Camel going. I had written _Dust and Dreams_ by December 1985 but
wasn't
really satisfied with the second half. I was still trying for that
hit-single. Nobody was
interested, except E>G> Records who seemed to have a good group of people.
They had
Eno, Fripp, Brian Ferry I think, and we negotiated for 6 months when thay
asked me why
Peter Frampton was not in the band any longer...(sighs) Then they hired
some hot-shot
A&R man who told me E>G> weren't releasing "New Age Crap" and gave me back
the
demo tape. And I thought I was disillusioned before this (laughs).
Q: Why did you move to America?
A: I desperately needed a change. I realixed I couldn't get arrested
with Camel
material so a re-think was in the cards. After all he legal expenses were
paid, i had just
enough money to buy dinner for one (in a Bistro) so in 1988 I sold my
house and moved
to America because it is cheaper. It is as simple as that. Of course,
nothing is ever that
simple. Finding the right place proved really difficult and than
California had this
earthquake which shook everything up including my gear. Inspiration was
at an alltime
low. Still the weather was good and time really is a healer. I learned
to swim!
Q: Why did you go independent?
A: Well, E>G> Records was in a slap in the face, or so I thought at
the time. In
actual fact, they did me a tremendous favour by forcing me down a path of
independence.
I realixed that if I wanted to continue as a musician- and for a while I
had serious doubts -
that I would have to take responsibility for my career. Susan Hoover and
I set up our own
producton company, Camel Productions. I guess the name is not very
oriinal but it works.
We were gong to call it Stress Records as a kind of joke bu decided to
just keep it simple.
We finally found a place to build my studio. I re-wrote the second half
of _Dust and
Dreams_ and we took money from the sale of the house to finance it all.
It was a huge
risk. We had been told so many times that Camel had been off the scene
for too long, that
no one would remember us or buy the album. We did not believe that but it
has a subtle
sort of corrosive effect on your confidence.
Q: _Dust and Dreams_ seems such a personal album. Why do you think
this is?
A: I think I had to go through a lot of soulsearching and overcome a
lot of obstacles -
personal, financial, professional - to complete the album. It seemed that
every path we
took there was a door slammed in our faces. Music s very personal anyway
and the
concept of _Dust and Dreams_ was coincidentally so similar to ours, it
really absorbed
that in the music.
Q: Will we have to wait another 7 years before the next album?
A: God I hope not (laughs). No, seriously, no. Those hears were
important
transitional ones. Had I been signed to a record company back in 1985/6
when _Dust and
Dreams_ appeared to be finished, I think Camel would not have survived.
One of the best
things about forming Camel Productions is the artistic freedom. We plan
to have new
albums out every 2 or 3 years with tours and live albums in between. Also
setting up our
own company brought us back to the people who like Camel. We rarely
received letters
when signed to Decca, it is such a vast corporation. So we never had
feedback except
what the press had to say and that was more often depressing than not.
The comments we
receive are so supportive, often just a word or two saying keep up the
great work and this
is powerful. It sustains us and makes all the hard work worthwhile. I
read somewhere
that our lessons in life keep coming until we learn them. I have learned
so much from my
experiences expecially the ones that seemed the worst. I have come full
circle. I love
what I do again.
Taken from Camel Productions free newsletter the nature of the beast. Do
not ask me for
details on this interview or on Andrew Latimer or Camel as I am just a fan
passing on a
good interview.
Never let go..................