January 18, 2011

A new letter from Steve Pank, original TEB's promoter and driver.


Waiting for the interview with his wife Ursula, here's a recent letter Steve Pank, the original TEB's promoter and driver, has sent me. Among the others, you can read some interesting unknown things about Paul Buckmaster...

(L-R) Dave Tomlin and Steve Pank in London, July 2010 (photo: L. Ferrari)
"Hy Luca.
Thank you for the photos, I like the ones with Dave and you and Dave and me but the one you and me that Dave took doesn't work so well.
Ursula a been working on the answers to the questions, you sent her, but we had all the family here (three children and three grandchildren) over Christmas and it has been a busy time.

I have not been able to get in touch with Richard Coff yet, I have had a look at his Suzuki Academy website and it looks as thought he is quite busy. I have a spare copy of "Abelard an Eloise" which you gave me, because Jan Diakov gave me a copy of it shortly after Glen's funeral. I think the best thing for me to do is to is to write to Richard in Miami and send it to him.

You may be interested in Mel Davis and the People Band, Mel was playing with the People Band before he joined the Third Ear Band and again afterwards. It seems they still get together. If you put ''Mel Davis People Band" into Google you will find the link.

Paul Buckmaster was at the Royal Academy of Music at the same time a Ursula and they shared a stand in the orchestra. After he left, one of the first things he did was and instrumental cover of "Je t'aime" the hit by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. At the time the original was considered too riskee for the BBC to play.

While he was with the Third Ear Band, he wrote the string part for David Bowie's 'Ground control to Major Thom' ["Space Oddity", from the same album of 1972] the violin crescendo at the end was rumoured to be based on Richard Coff's parts in "Book of the Dead".

Later went to America, he met Miles Davis. He also wrote some string arrangements for an album the Grateful Dead again ther is a rumour that the Miles Davis album title "Live Evil" was inspired by Glens reversible title "Evil dog".

I was pleased recently to get a double CD of "Alchemy" and "Elements" from Amazon at a very reasonable price.
Happy new year.
Steve Pank".
(L-R) Steve Pank and Dave Tomlin during a conversation with the archive's editor in London (photo: L. Ferrari)

no©2011 Luca Ferrari

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