Steve's Place
Dictionary/Trivia
As I have mentioned in areas of this site, the information that I post comes from a variety of sources, alot, comes from other fans of Trower's music that send me or post somewhere. Some come from guestbook entries or emails direct to me. Again, my sincere thanks to all those who help out.
BBC Radio shows
These are "live' in the BBC studios .
The background to these recordings :
Musicians Union rules ,intended to keep musicians working, limited radio airplay
of 'recorded music' . This led to "Live " BBC recordings that were broadcast to get around
the limited per day air time play. These 'Live ' sessions could be played
twice per day without affecting the stations limiting air time play. The BBC had a
longstanding practise of recording musicians " In session" , a procedure which
falls half way between making a studio recording and recording a live show.
The sessions averaged 2-3 hours including set up etc and usually resulted in recording
of four or five songs. A backing track was usually rcorded in mono without vocals
or guitar solos. The backing track was then played back to the band thru headphones.
Bridge Of Sighs : The origional Bridge Of Sighs is in Venice Click here
but Robin actually got the name from a horse race.......
quote from U.K. Magazine "Classic Rock" June 2001 section " Classic Riffs"
"...The forbodding guitar riff which backs the verse had been kicking
around for six months before Trower got the chorus 'turnaround'
He then looked for a "title of doom" to fit the music, finding it in the
sports pages of a newspaper. ' Bridge Of Sighs To Win' read the headline,
and he was off and running! "
Old Grey Whistle Test : A BBC TV program that showcased musicians in the 70's.
"I never knew what was the meaning of the title of " The Old Grey Whistle
Test " BBC show that Robin appeared on back in the seventies.
I just read the book called " The Chess Records Story " about the blues
label in Chicago and saw a statement by Phil Chess that when they played
a new record in the offices of Chess and the elderly janitor picked up
his pace or whistled along with the record they knew it had passed
" the old grey whistle test "
1976 : Who had the worlds largest P.A. System ?
From a 1976 Chrysalis
press release
Robin Trower Using Worlds
Largest P.A. System On Current Tour
Chryalis recording artist Robin Trower will be carrying the largest pulic address system ever made for the durtion of U.S. tour which begins next week. The record shattering unit was custom built for the British guitarist by Electrsound Productions in London. Such is the size and capacity of the of the system that it will be "hung" in each concert hall by two specilly built cradles, each capable of holding seven tons and lown by electrc star pulleys.
Trowr's power system is five way system covering the full audio spectrum of high fidelity. It is comprised of 114 seperate JBL and GUASS speakers and is powered by 36 Crown amplifiers. Part and parcel of the equipement is a desk console replete with a 24- channel mixer unit, studio compressor limiters and switchable frequency electronic crossovers. The monitor system was likewise custom-built and constructed for Trower. Total weight for the complete sound unit is 16 tons; the system requires no less than four miles of wiring to become operational, and the road crew will spend nine hours assembling the system.
Trower's powerful P.A. is being specailly flown from England in a chartered TWA 707 jet and will be trucked to each of Trower's twenty-odd concert dates by Clark Transfer in two 45-foot Air Ride Artics.
