Barry bumps into… Pete Brown
Well,I first met Pete in London, towards the end of the magical Sixties! He lived in an apartment near Marble Arch where you could always find a variety of musicians. Petes band at that point was Battered Ornaments but that association was to end controversionally. However, his reputation was by then assured, due to his songwriting with Jack Bruce, for the legendary Cream.
Meeting for a late lunch at Pissarro’s, I was impressed with how fit Pete looks. He is a keen swimmer and recently swam a number of metres in one session, which I can only dream about!
Music-wise,Pete contributed the majority of the lyrics to Procol Harums “Novum” album, which achieved success earlier this Year. His biog movie,”White Rooms+Imaginary Westerns” is nearing a distribution deal and will feature Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, from Cream and people like Martin Scorsese. As is a documentary featuring the celebrated guitarist Davy Graham-Pete is the host in this film, which includes interviews with myself and the Hastings blues guru Alan King.
An exciting future project is “Cream Unplugged”, which may well offer an opportunity to re-interpret some of those wonderful, timeless Cream songs. Involved in this will be Malcolm Bruce and hopefully, Eric Clapton.
As a Charity gig promoter, I hope to feature Pete live in Hastings soon, his 2015 St Leonards performance is still fondly remembered by all who enjoyed it!
Barry Taylor – October 2017