SCARECROW

Rupert Hine/David MacIver (from the album Pick Up A Bone, 1971)

I met Rupert Hine and David MacIver in the mid 60s. They were sort of modelled on Simon and Garfunkel, I was in Episode Six. Years later, we hooked up again, this time I was in DP. They were still writing interesting acoustic songs, so when Purple records happened, I resolved to record them. Pick Up A Bone was my first production. Recorded at Air Studios, Oxford Circus with a mixed bunch of musicians, it was, in the context of that time, rather brave. The arranger and cellist, Paul Buckmaster, graced the songs with his inimitable string arrangements along with the inimitable keyboardist Peter Robinson. This is one of the quieter songs.

KEROSENE

Rupert Hine/David MacIver (from the album Pick Up A Bone, 1971)

Did I say, “rather brave”? Self-indulgent might be another word. I don’t know how it came about, but there was a suggestion that Peter Robinson’s amusingly obtuse riff during the fade out should slowly disintegrate. The orchestra were also directed to spontaneously fall apart. I recorded everything, including the members of the orchestra, about thirty of them, starting to pack up and chat. One of them can be heard saying memorably, “Nice to have played against you, old chap”. What I didn’t do was edit it to a bearable length…it’s debatable whether weed was involved.

I HANG ON TO MY VERTIGO

Rupert Hine (from the album Immunity, 1981)

After Pick Up A Bone, my time was taken up with DP, who were flying high, so Rupert took over production of all his future albums and discovered his real calling. The album called Immunity came out in 1981 and broke fresh ground with his use of technology in the studio; a very influential album.

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