I only recently discovered the brilliant album Rough Mix by Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane.
An odd combination of brilliant song writers, and the result is highly entertaining, although
they only wrote one of the songs together. Maybe they were having a competition in the
writing department?

My question though is how Charlie ended up drumming on two songs on this album and Stu
playing on one?
Was the connection made by Glyn Johns, who produced the album?

Great cd, one of my favorites. They do an incredible version of Don Williams "Till The Rivers All Run Dry". Thanks for reminding me of this cd, I will have to go find it and put it on.

Mike

Don't remember in which magazine (A French one or was it in RollingStone? ) I 've read that Ronnie (Lane )in 1983, was at the Four Seasons in Dallas and he did an interview in his room after a lunch with Bill Wyman and Jeff Beck and Charlie Watts, who was drumming for the a gig if I am not mistaken was right next door..

Here are some interesting thoughts in the following interview:

[www.makingtime.co.uk]

LANE: Where was I? Yeah! Boo had the idea for the gig. We set up a meeting of people that have MS, to see if we could get any weight from people around here. We invited Glyn Johns to come along, and he couldn’t make it so he sent Ian Stewart, y’see? Ian Stewart came along and we had the talk, and the man from ARMS who sort of know all about these things-- and knows how to speak properly, as well... not like me... He obviously convinced Ian Stewart, cuz Ian Stewart went back to Glyn Johns and said, "I think they’re onto something here, and we should help Ronnie."

So Glyn Johns came out of the woodwork and said that he would get the gig together that Boo had envisioned. He contacted Eric Clapton and everybody and that’s how the... Now, then, it was originally for the Hammersmith Odeon, but Eric Clapton’s manager said, "if you’re going to get this band together, Eric’s got to do a gig for Prince Charles. Really, if Eric’s gonna do it, I think it’s in order that this band does one for Prince Charles, also." So, that was agreed, and the Albert Hall was booked. That’s how it ended up from the Hammersmith Odeon into the Albert Hall.

Of course, it was a great success. I mean, a supergroup!! (Laugh) There was never a supergroup like that one! And it did very well! And, would you believe, they all enjoyed themselves so much that they didn’t want to break it up? So they’ve all agreed to take it to America!

DAVE: Exactly who is in this supergroup?

LANE: Well, there’s Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Winwood, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Is that the lot?





I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Rough Mix was out a few years before the ARMs concerts. I think that was at the onset of Ronnie Lane's disease and Pete put this together mainly to generate some earnings for Ronnie.

Rough Mix came out in 1977. The ARMS shows were at the end of 1983.

Quote
Gazza
Rough Mix came out in 1977. The ARMS shows were at the end of 1983.

So what is Lane talking about ?



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

The original ARMS (Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis) concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1983. These shows were filmed and released on home video.

Several of the musicians got back together (with a few personnel changes) for a short ARMS tour of the US in Nov-Dec 1983.

Gosh -- another great thread I missed first time around!

I only know what I heard when it came out, and a bit more in Ronnie Lane's documentary (The Passing Show: Life & Music of Ronnie Lane), which jives with livewithme's explanation above -- i.e., Ronnie Lane needed money as his MS set in, Pete Townshend didn't want to lend him money but started asking around who'd want to be part of making an album with him and Ronnie Lane, the proceeds to go to Ronnie's medical treatments. Glynn Johns in the producer, btw.

In the remastered Rough Mix there's a booklet and DVD about the making of the album (as well as 3 de-vaulted songs from those session - sound familiar? ) I just added this re-release to my Wish List on amazon. If I ever get it, I'll report back here if it says how Charlie and Stu came to be involved with Rough Mix.

According to Ian Mclagan's book, Stu used to let the Faces use the Stones rehearsal studio in Bermondsey (SE London), so he clearly had a relationship with Ronnie Lane going back some time. Of corse they both built mobile recording studios so maybe more of a personal link there.