Tom Hibbert's "Who The Hell...?" (Published in 1994)

If, like me, you grew up reading Smash Hits in the early 1980s the name Tom Hibbert is likely to ring a few bells as he was one of their wittiest writers. In the mid 80s Mark Ellen and pals started up Q Magazine and they poached him away. For the best part of a decade Hibbert interviewed celebrities that some would describe as being "larger than life" or as "full on characters" such as Freddie Starr, Jeffrey Archer, David Icke, Chris Eubank, Gazza, Glitter, Rolf, Yoko, and Sir Jimmie Savile. His regular feature was at the front of the magazine. It was called "Who The Hell Does ____ Think He Is?" and it was often the best bit of the mag. Sadly Hibbert died last year. In 1994 Virgin Books brought out a "Best Of". I hope that a more complete compilation of Hibbert's interviews gets published one day. Here are some interesting quotes from some of the people Tom interviewed...

Gary Glitter: "Cor! It was raunchy on the road, aw haw. It was very good. I used to take my pick of the girls, you know. I remember Helsinki, looking out the hotel window and there was 4,000 girls waiting - at least 4,000 because I was counting, I was standing there on the balcony and I'd get the binoculars and I was saying. Send me up that one. I'll have that one. And that one. It was that easy." Hibbert asks him if he'd rather be trying to make the world a better place. Does he ever wish he went into politics? Glitter: "But I am political. I do it subliminally! Cor! There's a long word I never used before... I do it subliminally and I think I'm pretty powerfulI mean, some of my dinner parties, some of the gang go out and do all the talking and I'm the funny little Buddha sitting in the corner." Tom Hibbert: What are you talking about? Glitter: " I have power. I'm the leader of the gang. I am power.Power with love, love rock 'n'roll and power, power to... you know? Do you know what I'm saying? That's what I'm talking about." (Glitter was talking in January 1990)

Dennis Potter: "If you talk about my family, I will kill you. You little shit. The secret in life is not to trust anyone. I am not blessed with great patience. So fuck off. If there's one thing I hate, it's people who drink cider! Oh, for God's sake, why don't you just die?" Hibbert: Excuse me, Mr Potter, I don't think that's a very nice thing to say." Potter: "Oh you're so fucking polite, you're like those polite people with bad teeth in a railway carriage..." (Potter was interviewed by Hibbert in May 1993)

Freddie Starr: (November 1993) "But, listen. Jesus Christ tried to please everybody. And look what happened to him. Am I right? Am I right? Am I right?" Most of the nutters he interviews come across ok. Cliff: "If you think that I'm going to get married just to prove that I'm hetrosexual, well that's absolutely up the spout." Yoko: "Small things make me happy. Like this morning I woke up and the sky was blue and I thought, thank you, thank you." The so vile Jimmy Savile is one of the few people Hibbert clearly doesn't trust at all. As he writes in his introduction: "There's something unsettling about the tireless benevolence, something irksome about the infantile banter and spragly self satisfaction, something eerie about this strange old uncle patting the heads of the young and unfortunate." Here's a page from the book in which Sir Jim boasts about girls chasing him and his famous friends...

He goes on to say that there are no skeletons in his closet!

You can probably buy a second hand copy of Tom's book on e-bay but I hope it get's updated one day.

The last week of Polemically Small‏

Zavier Ellis and Edward Lucie-Smith are the brains behind The Polemically Small exhibition at the Orleans House Museum in Richmond, which runs until 23rd September The museum is located in a historic building situated in Richmond, on the banks of the Thames. It has a large regular attendance, averaging 55,000 visitors a year, and an active out-reach programme. Artists in the show include Joe Machine, Gavin Nolan, Tim Parr, James Jessop, Peter Lamb, Charles Thomson, Rose Gibbs, Dale Adcock, Dan Coombes, and Gordon Cheung.

(Above: "Chris" painted by Harry Pye) to see the real thing you'll have to get yourself down to Orleans House Gallery, Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3DJ and fast. (Below: "Kevin" painted by Harry Pye - which is also in the show.)

Team Beswick & Pye get involved with Art Below's Peace Project

(Above image: "No Justice Means No Peace" by Team Beswick & Pye 2012.) Gordon Beswick and Harry Pye have accepted the invitation of Ben Moore to take part in a special Art Below project that features work about peace. Other artists involved include Billy Childish, Cathy Lomax, Alison Jackson, Philip Levine,and Sarah Maple. London's Gallery Different (14 Percy Street, just off Tottenham Court Road) is having a private view of the works on the 11th of October. Proceeds of selected works will go to the Halabaja Community Playground Project in Northern Iraq. Selected works from the show will also appear in Regent's St Tube the same time as The Frieze Art Fair (11th-14th Oct). Art Below was founded by Ben and Simon Moore in 2006. They are an independent public arts organisation who give artists the chance to exhibit their work in tube stations. For more info about the event phone Ben on: 0207 731 0333

The day Sir Horace Gentleman of The Specials met Ron Nasty of The Rutles

Some know him as "The Urban Spaceman", some know him as "The 7th Python" and to others he will always "Ron Nasty of The Rutles". In my opinion The Bonzo Dog Band are up there with the greats so I was absolutely delighted to hang out with ex Bonzo Neil Innes yesterday. Neil came to Julian Wakeling Studios in South London to record the vocals for "Flying Down To Rio" a song written by Mike Nesmith of The Monkees. Julian had recorded a demo featuring himself on guitar and piano and me doing percussion. Paul Speare recorded two amazing solos on the baritone saxaphone. Playing the bass guitar was our extra Special guest: 2-Tone legend Horace Panter!

Paul and Horace both appear on In The Studio with The Special AKA. When The Specials split up Horace worked with General Public whose keyboard player Mickey Billingham used to be in Dexys the same time as Paul.

Horace and Paul are also huge Bonzo fans who (if ever needed) can quote vast chunks from songs such as Hello Mable, Mr Apollo, and The Intro Outro.

(Above: Neil holds a copy of The Rutles All You Need Is Cash e.p) A Team Beswick & Pye video for "Flying Down To Rio" by Neil Innes & The Values featuring Horace Panter will appear on You Tube in a month or so. Horace Panter will be taking part in the BIG ONE concert in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust at Parkdean Sandford in Dorset. Over 20 acts including Roddy "Radiation" Byers, Rhoda Dakar, Rico Rodriguez, Dennis Bovell, Winston Reedy and more will be in attendance. Tickets & accommodation are still available for more info visit: http://www.specializedcharityalbum.co.uk

The Values pay tribute to Ray Davies & The Kinks

Many great bands including The Fall, The Stranglers and Big Star have released great version of songs written by Ray Davies of The Kinks. The Kinks have organised a competition in which they invite fans to record a cover of one of their songs and the winner gets to meet Mr Davies and Kinks drummer Mick Avory at the famous Konk recording studios. Go on You Tube and serach for: "The Values Harry Rag" and you can witness the splendid new video that Team Beswick & Pye have made to go with the Values version of a little known track from the "Something Else" LP that The Kinks released on Pye records in 1967. Paulo Hewitt said of the original: "A jaunty celebration of the ordinary cigarette rather than the herbal variety traditionally favoured by musicians, Harry Rag put us right back in the music hall of Ray's youth, it's funny lyrics about tabacco addiction roaring out. Harry Rag is Cockney rhyming slang for fag (ciagarette)." The Values version of Harry Rag was produced and arranged by Julian Wakeling. The lead vocal is by Mikey Georgeson. The tin whistle is played by Paul Speare.

"I Remember" at the A-side B-side Gallery

Wednesday the 14th of November is the date of the p.v of "I Remember" at The A-side B-side Gallery. The address is 5-9 Amhurst Terrace, Hackney E8 2BT The night will also be a launch party for a special issue of The Rebel magazine which features 50 people sharing a memory, plus texts by Susan Finlay, John Douglas Millar, Russell Walker, and Kitty Davies, and a free 5 track CD featuring tracks by Trogons, Orpheus Knoxx, The Values, The Pheromoans, Mikey Georgeson. The "I Remember" exhbition will feature one artwork each from... Justin Bailey, Gordon Beswick, Mel Cole, Chris Coombes, Rosalind Davis, Caroline Gervay, Dom Kennedy, Tom Lovelace, Chloe Mortimer, Simon Munnery, Kate Murdoch, Liam Newnham, Christopher Owen, Liz Purchase, Kes Richardson, Alli Sharma, Annabel Tilley, Barry Thompson, Julian Wakeling, Aleksandra Wojcik, Paul Wye. Contributors to The Rebel magazine of memories include Francis Upritchard, Andrew Mottershead, Jasper Joffe, Tinsel Edwards, Abigail Zara Parry, Cuong Sam, William Smart, John Duffin, Gemma Fleet, Tine Frellesen and Uliana Apatina. Curator Harry Pye says: "After watching Federico Fellini's 1973 film Amarcord I thought it would be interesting to see how willing some artistic friends of mine would be in sharing some of their memories. Visitors to the show, readers of the magazine and listeners to the CD will be faced with many different memories from many different people. Some say: "Half the fun of remembering is the rearranging" I don't know how much rearranging has been going on. I picked the artists rather than the work. I am unable to say which memories are true or not. I Remember is both an art exhibition and a publication with an accompanying CD. Don't forget to remember the opening party on the 14th of November."

(Above image by Aleksandra Wojcik from the series "Postcards from my life") The gallery is open Thursday to Sunday 12 - 6pm or by appointment. For more info e-mail: asidebsidegallery@hotmail.com 44787634029 or 447792126195

MOTHERS show has successful run in Wirral

The Festival of Firsts art program got off to a glittering start on June 25th at the Holiday Inn, Hoylake with more than 70 attendees taking in the work of some star-studded names. Feted artists, the Singh twins (pictured above) were among the audience as the Preview of the Mothers Exhibition launched – one of the many attractions at this year’s Wirral Festival of Firsts. The Exhibition is now on show at Holiday Inn, Hoylake until the 8th July. Admission is free. Amrit and Rabindra Singh are British born twins of Indian origin, who have become world famous for depicting their home city of Liverpool and other scenes in the traditional Mughal miniature painting style but on a grand scale. Their work has featured in shows all over the world.