AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW ZWECK

Andrew:

Oh, no problem.

REG:

How did you get into the music industry, and how long have you been working in the music industry? Your name comes up as having worked with the promotion company Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments. What did you do for that company and how long did you work for them?

Andrew:

I started as a stage hand at Hammer-Smith Odeon in 1975. I came from Australia when I was 20 years old and I did what they all do, they go back packing around Europe. And then at the end of that Summer I went to a show at Hammer-Smith Odeon... of Ike and Tina Turner. I paid 1 pound 25 for a ticket, and I sat at the very back row. And I saw that there were guys sitting on boxes on the stage who I thought were probably being paid 1 pound 25 to sit right on the stage. So I went to the stage door that night, and I knocked on the door and said, 'how can I get to be the guys sitting on the box on the stage.' And it started there. I became a stage hand. And then I very quickly became the leader of the stage hands. And then I very quickly... I met Harvey Goldsmith, who was the top promoter in London. And soon after that, I got a job as Promoter Rep, and I stayed there for 20 years till 1995. The end of '95, yeah, till the beginning of '96, I left.

So the work I've done is... I was Promoter Rep very quickly, and I was doing production and promoting. In the early days, I was the production guy going out with the bands. And then later, I was the promoter in the office booking the ads, and coordinating, and I was also the agent in Harvey Goldsmith's for the few bands that we booked in Europe, which were Queen and Eric Clapton and Roger Waters and Elton John for a few years, and Paul Simon for a couple of tours. So I was... I took the job of booking agent as well.

REG:

What is the difference between the job of a booking agent and doing the job of promotion?

Andrew:

It's very clear. If you're promoting... (in my case in Britain), you are going on risk in the UK... and you are doing national tours of Britain, and hiring the venues, and making the offers to the band. First of all you do your budgets, you work out what the band can... how many tickets the band can sell. You determine the ticket price. You make the band an offer. And they say, 'yeah we're going to work with you.' And then you secure the venue deals, the contracts, and then you put the ads in the paper. And that's promoting. Where as... then you fulfill the show on the night, and add up the money at the end. And hopefully your judgment was right, and you all made money.

However, being a booking agent is different, in that you're acting for the artist. And your selling the concert appearances to promoters and buyers, (in my case), in Europe. And in the early days, I did a lot of tours like Queen, when they were a big act. And Clapton, you know he would tour Europe every second year. And you would work out the price, whatever it was, which is a factor based upon the gross... how many tickets were available, at what ticket price. So you determine how much money you can make at any venue. And then you do a deal, sell it, and route the tour across Europe, and then add up the money. And you're working for the band. So a lot of the bands that we promoted in Britain, we also booked in Europe.

REG:

I didn't realize that promoting and booking was that entailed.

Andrew:

Yeah, yeah... it's like any job Michael. As soon as you... it's experience. You do it a few times and then you know it. You know, you don't have to be a genius... you don't have to be a rocket scientist.

REG:

Well it sounds complex...

Andrew:

No... it's experience.

REG:

Then it was the experience you got all those years at Harvey Goldsmiths which gave you all of that knowledge?

Andrew:

Yeah... Look, it was... they were the great years. Harvey was the absolute number one promoter in all of Europe. And all the major artists we worked with... he dominated. You know 90% of the big name artists... and those were the great years for the big name artists as well... they were... the old names are still the big names today. But that was when those bands were doing new things. You know, the first time in Wembly Arena, the first show ever in Wembly Stadium. This kind of thing. We were at the cutting edge. We were working with acts like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springstein, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Eagles, The Who, Clapton... you name it. You know the real cream. Harvey had those relationships with all those acts.

Those were the golden years. If you were ever going to spend 20 years as a promoter, those were the great 20 years. And I think if you ask any of that generation of promoters anywhere in the world, they will agree with me.

REG:

When and how did you first meet, or work with Roger Waters, and how long have you worked with him?

Andrew:

In 1983 or '84... well actually earlier than that. I tell a lie. It was the 1977 (Pink Floyd) Animals tour. I was the Promoter Rep for the UK shows. And I went up and down the country with them. We played in Stafford Bingley Hall, and in Glasgow in Scotland and other places. No... we didn't play in Glasgow, actually I've made that up... that was The Eagles, the same year. But anyway, so that's were I first worked with Pink Floyd. And then in 1980, The Wall, and in '81, The Wall again, when it was done in Earls Court in London, and it was repeated a year later cause they needed to shoot more bits for the movie.

REG:

So you worked with Roger then?

Andrew:

Yeah, Harvey was the promoter, and I was the nuts and bolts guy. You know, Harvey was doing the big deals, and I was running around doing all of the infrastructure at the concerts, you know, the production side of it. For instance, at Earls Court I would organize the stage, and the rigging, and the power supply and the porta-cams, and all the things that a promoter does on that side of the show.

But I got much more closely involved in '84 Pros and Cons when Roger first did his solo project away from the other Floyd guys. And he came to Harvey for a lot of help on the live side. I can't remember who Roger's manager was at the time. At one point it was Peter Asher. I remember going to Los Angeles and spending a month in Peter Asher's office. And at another point, it was Bob Mercer who was an EMI guy. But Harvey had a lot to do with the live side. Harvey... I don't think he was actually ever Roger's manager, but he was certainly in charge of everything that had to do with the live performances. And so, the hiring of the band which in '84 had Eric Clapton in it, and the putting together of the live show, and the rehearsals, and the budgeting, and the planning, and the logistics, and the travel, and the booking of the dates with the promoters. That was all done between Harvey and me in both '84 and '85. And in '84 my role was smaller because Clapton was in it, and Peter Jackson, who was Clapton's tour manager, and still is today, was the tour manager of that tour, and I was the... production coordinator... or whatever...

REG:

For Roger Waters' 1984 Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour, Peter Jackson is listed as Tour Manager, you are listed as Tour Coordinator, and Harvey Goldsmith gets special mention in the Special Thanks section of the tour program.

Andrew:

Yeah, well I did much more in '85. In '84 there was a bigger team. In '85, Clapton didn't come.

REG:

Being that Peter Jackson was the '84 Tour Manager, was he also employed by Harvey Goldsmith at the time? Why were you not given the job as Tour manager for the '84 tour?

Andrew:

No. I was with Harvey Goldsmith. Peter Jackson came with Eric Clapton. Eric Clapton came to the project, and he brought two or three people with him. He brought Peter Jackson, his tour manager, who became Tour Manager of the whole project. He brought his guitar roadie... whoever it was... Lee Dickson I imagine in those days, and possibly his personal assistant. And because Clapton was such a big name, and Roger was not... as a solo artist... they had power in the organization, so they got to put some key people into it.

REG:

How was the job of Tour Coordinator different? What were your responsibilities?

Andrew:

Everything in the office previous to the tour. You'll find that Peter Jackson turned up a week before the tour with Eric, and went into rehearsals. And he didn't appear before that. But I was there 3 months before that, sitting in the office in London plotting and planning everything. Harvey did the deals with the promoters, but I did everything else in terms of putting together the logistics and the production side of the tour. Hiring the crew, hiring the sound and lights, putting together the travel, and things like that. And then you know, I brought people in, and they all came on board as we got closer to the time of the tour. And so again, I did a lot, but then, just before the tour began, Peter Jackson appeared, and he was like... had a higher position than me, because Eric brought him in. He was the overall tour manager. Well... I did the settlements. I remember doing the... I was the accountant on the road as well. I would sit with the promoter, and add up the expenses and income after the show each night. I remember that, when we did 3 nights in the Meadowlands in New York, in '84 with Ron Delsma, where they took us to the cleaners, cause I was young and green, and didn't know too much about the American way of scamming. But, you know, Roger did good business, it was a big success.

REG:

For Roger Waters 1985 Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour, Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments is listed as the Tour Management, and you are listed as the Tour Manager. What happened between the 84 and 85 legs of the Pros and Cons tour to cause this change? What were your responsibilities as Tour Manager?

Andrew:

In '85, Eric didn't come, so Peter Jackson didn't come, so I was in charge of everything. So that's why I had the title of tour manager in... I was tour manager and tour coordinator in '85. Harvey and I performed exactly the same role, Harvey himself was overall in charge, like the executive producer, and he made the deals and did the original budget...

REG:

But you did the footwork?

Andrew:

Yeah yeah, I did all the nuts and bolts.

REG:

During the Pros and Cons tour, I understand that there were sometimes problems getting all the special effects and video etc., to coordinate and synch correctly. Can you remember any interesting things that happened during the Pros and Cons tour, either from the behind the scenes, or production point of view?

Andrew:

Yeah, I remember... it wasn't video, it was film, and it was 35 millimeter film, and it was very expensive to deal with. And we had a full time guy, who's name I can't remember, I'm sure it's in the program... who was on the road all the time. He cost a fortune, and it was never finished, and never how Roger ultimately wanted it. I can't remember his name, but he had black hair. He was from the cinema world, and he cost about four times what anybody else on the tour was getting paid. If the wages in those days were 100 pounds... 100 dollars a day for a normal roadie, this guy was 500 dollars a day. And it just ran forever. And I remember he had a portable editing suite on the road, and every day he was changing things, and still it was never synched the way Roger wanted it. You know, he was cutting and changing bits of visuals to go with the music. I remember that distinctly... but the rest of it... I can't remember much, apart from the fact that it was... with Clapton, it was very successful I can remember, but in '85 I can't remember. I could look it all up... But I probably don't have that material anymore anyway.

REG:

I had heard that at one point during one of the shows the video projection that was supposed to be synched on 3 different screens, went out, or some such problem as that...

Andrew:

It may have... it wasn't video, it was cinema, 35 millimeter cinema projectors. Where you actually have physical film in your hand... and cutting and editing and sticking together physical bits of film. And it was very complicated. And the projectors were very temperamental. And I'm sure that happened. I can't remember the detail, It wouldn't surprise me that that happened, because they were like big cinema projectors, and they were not made to travel around to different locations every night, and they didn't travel well at all. And we had some serious technicians from the cinema world, again that were all very much more expensive than from the rock & roll world, and that was the way it was done in those days. You know, Roger was a pioneer. Now, today, everybody does it. Everybody has the huge LED across the back like U2 did on their PopMart tour, and now everybody has projectors putting huge screens across the rear of the artists, or big LED screens projecting images. And Roger was doing that 20 years ago before... again, he was a pioneer. He had that concept before anyone else thought of it. But in those days the only way to achieve it... large scale visuals, was with large scale cinema projectors lined up side by side, synched together, that ran exactly to a time code. And that was before computers as well, remember, it was all antique technology, and it was very difficult to get it right. But most times it worked.

REG:

I didn't see that tour but I heard that the show was pretty spectacular, and I've seen pictures and bits of video.

Andrew:

Look... it may have been recorded... I don't really know. I know Radio KAOS wasn't recorded. Cause I know... Roger asked me at one point if I could ever remember anybody having a video camera and I couldn't. You know, we all asked around if anybody even shot it with their personal video. So that one was lost forever. I've got a feeling that during Pros and Cons, somewhere they had some video camera's on somewhere... and filmed it... but no one really knows.

REG:

I've seen bits and pieces in bootleg video's. Only small... five minutes here and there but... Do you know why Eric Clapton was not part of the 85 tour?

Andrew:

Nah... can't remember... can't remember. It was to do with Roger Forester, his (Eric's) manager, and he didn't want him to do it. I think the personal relationship remained fine between Roger and Eric. I'm sure it was, I mean I've seen them... I mean I've been there when they were together, and I know their personal relationship is very positive and strong. I think Eric probably had other plans. I guess he had a record out... or was making a record... Was it... Phil Collins' "Behind the Sun," was that around the time? I can't remember. Maybe... it was one of the first times that Eric used those black musicians from LA, Nathan East and Gregg Fillengains... and he had a lot of success when he changed direction there. Eric kind of bumped the blues band, the Nashville players, and hired slick LA session players, and his career turned around in the middle eighties. And I reckon that might have been it. It might have been that was what he did in '85.

REG:

Other than the absence of Mr. Clapton, how were the two tours different? And how was the Pros and Cons tour different from other Roger Waters tours?

Andrew:

The only way I would remember is to go get the tour programs out and look them up. Sadly, I'm remiss. I didn't do that... I meant to do that... I meant to when I read the questions you sent to me a month ago... I thought.... hmmm that's a good question, I should investigate that. But sorry Michael, I didn't do it and I honestly can't remember. It's too long ago.

REG:

Yeah I know, a lot of times when I interview personalities related to Roger... for instance when I interviewed Gerald Scarfe, I talked about things that he had done so long ago... you know it's hard for me to remember what I did 5 years ago.

Andrew:

At least I'm honest and say I don't remember... you know... most people make it up.

REG:

Other than the type of technology that was kind of antiquated as we look back now, what other differences were there between the Pros and Cons shows and the other Roger Waters tours can you think of?

Andrew:

The physical setup was identical... that has been his trademark always, which goes back to the Floyd days, which is the big visual screen behind the artists, which he still does today, and playing in synch on a time code. You know the visual images are synchronized with the music very very carefully... and it's the total performance of Roger... and it's all very carefully directed, edited, choreographed... it's his stamp all over it... plus the lighting... so that remains very consistent... that theme. You know it's easier to see the similarities rather than talk about differences.

REG:

Right, right. Because he had the same similarities for The Wall shows, where it's all...

Andrew:

...yeah, projection of images, synchronized and um... and then he did the same thing in... I guess Pros and Cons, where he played the entire album in one half, and did the Pink Floyd greatest hits in the other half. I believe that's what the set list was.

REG:

Right... the first half was Pink Floyd and the second half was all Pros and Cons...

Andrew:

...all Pros and Cons. Which is again a consistent theme. So it's easier to talk about the consistency of the show... his production. He's always done it the same way basically. I can remember that much more than any differences.

REG:

You say you left Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments in '96. Why was that?

Andrew:

Yeah... He went bank... that company went bust in... was it '98 or '99. And there was financial problems, and that's why I left as early as I did. I was the first to go, and ultimately all the senior people left. And then ultimately Harvey went bankrupt in ah... I guess it was '99. So... it was because there was no money in the company is why I left... in a short answer. And they'd lost an enormous amount of money in a movie in the early '90s, and ah... I was owed money which I wasn't getting, so I decided to go.

REG:

Anybody else would have too.

Andrew:

Yeah and others did... others followed me, and they've all gone on to be successful today.

REG:

According to the Radio KAOS tour program, you did not participate in the 1987 Radio KAOS tour, why is that?

Andrew:

Now... Radio KAOS is interesting... because I happen to have the program for Radio KAOS... I've just found it in the last minute... I did do that tour because Matthew Murphy got fired... the tour manager. Yeah... he got fired a week into the tour because he couldn't get on with Roger's then wife Carolyn... as well as he should have. Peter Rudge was the manager... Roger had an album out... Radio KAOS. He toured in America. And Pink Floyd were going on tour at the same time. And it was a time when Pink Floyd was rising from the ashes. And they were basically squashing... out selling Roger. And so it wasn't a pleasant time.

And (at first) I wasn't involved on the project at all. And Harvey wasn't. I was working with Harvey as a promoter, doing all kinds of things. And I got a call one day from Carolyn Waters saying, "We're on tour in America, and it's not going as well as we'd like... and if you could come out on tour and replace Matthew Murphy, that would be really good." And I said, 'You'd better talk to Harvey,' cause you know, I believe it was in the Summer when we weren't so busy. So, Harvey said fine, and off I went. And I did all of that tour in America, and we went through to England... and we came into 2 shows in England, in November, at Wembly in the end.

We did some recording at Compass Point (Bahamas) in October in the meantime. There was a little gap in the tour. And Roger went off and did some recording... which I recall were songs that later emerged on Amused To Death. It wasn't actually those recording sessions which survived... cause he went over and redid it several times I think.

But I did do that tour. And it was fun!

REG:

At what city did you begin the tour, and take over as Tour Manager?

Andrew:

I think it was Detroit. Detroit is ringing a bell with me. I don't remember for sure really. It was like a week or ten days into the tour I'd say.

REG:

So you were at the West Coast shows? There was one at the Oakland Coliseum I saw.

Andrew:

Yeah I remember that. It was in San Francisco, and we all went sailing the next day. It was lovely. It was nice. I'm looking at the photo now. There was Paul Carrack, he was in the band. He sang a lot of vocals and he did the keyboards. And Mell Collins was in it, Kattie Kissoon, (Andy) Fairweather-Low, (Graham) Broad, and Jay Stapley, the guitar player who replaced Clapton, and has never been heard of since. Well, I see him... I see him in North London. I play tennis with him now and again. He's still a good guitar player. But his career never really took off. He must have thought he was going to be famous.

REG:

I had heard that he and Roger didn't get on very well during that tour?

Andrew:

Yeah... there was ah... he didn't fit as well in the band as people would have liked. And he wasn't invited back. He wasn't invited back later ever again basically, in any of Roger's later work. So I guess that tells the story.

REG:

Because the Floyd were touring at the same time as the KAOS tour, Roger was rather let down in that a lot of arena's didn't sell out.

Andrew:

Yeah. The ticket sales were not great. And even though... I remember... it was fun, and it was a good group of people... but I remember (playing to) half empty arena's each night was soul destroying. And I think that had a lot to do with the fact that Roger then didn't perform for 12 years after that. He went home and didn't come back for awhile.

REG:

Yeah... for a long long while! That's one of the reasons our club came into being in 1992 was to promote Roger basically...

Andrew:

....apart from The Wall of course.

REG:

...right. Apart from The Wall in 1990 of course, and the Walden Woods gig.

Andrew:

I had a lot to do with The Wall Live in Berlin show... I don't know what I'm listed as there?

REG:

You are listed as The "Executive Production Coordinator." What did that position entail?

Andrew:

Yeah... OK that's a good a title. It started... a guy called Mick Worwood started the whole project in some London office. And I remember starting in February and March, and again I hired everybody... Kieth Bradley, the Production Manager... all the people that worked for up to 6 months on that project, started in an office in London. I was there on day one, and pulled them all in... earmarked all the people who were to work on it, for the different roles.

I wasn't able to work on it full time, cause Harvey and I had a very busy Summer. Harvey was like an executive Producer, trying to find the money, and trying to construct the TV deals and so on. But he wasn't there on the actual day of the show. He had Madonna at Wembly stadium on the very same day, and he never even went to The Wall in Berlin. But he went to alot of the meetings. It was a never ending battle to find the money and to keep expenditure in check. It cost a lot of money. And even though the ticket sales were great, the International TV sales weren't as high as people had predicted. And over all, it was a very... it was a continual struggle to make ends meet.

Although on the day... to me it was the biggest show that has ever been seen. It was the biggest physical stage structure... it was the most number of people... you know, seriously, the most number.... at least a quarter million... I mean we sold 175,000 tickets, and then the gates broke.

You know, we took the fence down, I physically did it myself with the promoter, and we just removed the fences, and just let anybody in. Cause the fences were dangerous... cause the crowd was everywhere.

And you know... it was the biggest everything... biggest number of participants on stage... biggest amount of sound and lighting equipment, biggest number of guests back stage. The biggest... and I've seen all the BIG shows, believe me... this was the biggest event... in all those terms. The biggest rock concert event that's ever taken place anywhere in the world. And, probably the biggest cost for a one off performance. It cost north of 10 million dollars to put on. And it was a serious statement. And you look at the photographs today and you can see it... it was magnificent.

REG:

I know.... I was there! I remember it well. One question I wanted to ask you about doing various jobs on a rock tour is what is the difference between being a tour manager and a stage manager?

Andrew:

A tour manager is dealing with the artists, and is dealing with flights and hotels and transportation and keeping the artists happy.

REG:

So you had nothing to do with coordinating the special effects on anything?

Andrew:

No. A production manager does that. A production manager is much more hands-on on the technical side, where you are making the deals for all of the physical infrastructure. You know, the stage, and all of the labor, power supply... all the equipment you need... forklifts... and skafolders and the schedule of arrival, and the schedule of construction. And they've all got to go and eat somewhere. That's what a production manager is doing.... The stage manager... strictly speaking, the stage manager is dealing with the band and puts them and their equipment on and off the stage. A stage manager is.... he's not sitting in an office for months before making arrangements and bookings and deals. A stage manager just shows up on the day, and he gets the backline out of the truck, and he lays it all out and takes care... he's the leader of the immediate crew servicing the band. He's controlling the stage on and off... equipment, schedulers, activities on and off the stage. Where as a production manager is making all the deals to get the production to turn up on the day and be built.

REG:

So for you some of the hardships or problems of putting on such a mammoth event were basically monetary?

Andrew:

Well, look... no, there were greater problems to solve than that... I mean that was an ongoing problem. Cash flow was also a problem. I mean there we were in March, with like 10 people sitting in an office in London, having to be on salary and take deposits and all of that. And where was that money coming from? You know, there had to be so many thousand pounds a month in March available. And so, the sourcing of funding up front, and all of that, was cash flow, payments as we went was always an issue.

But the other greater issues were physically building the show. You know, making the deal with the scaffolder in the middle of the Summer who could provide that amount of equipment. The making of the bricks... where should they be made, at what price, of what material... could they be delivered on time?

And then the rehearsal schedule... the training of everybody. We had to have it all finished one week in advance, and then the rehearsal of stage hands to learn how to build the wall and how to topple the bricks... the making of the inflatables... again... this is all serious planning and detail, and getting quotes and pricing and making sure you're working with suppliers that would stick to the time schedule. Jonathan Park had an enormous amount to do with that, I remember. Fisher/Park were in it together in those days, but they later split. And Jonathan Park remained with Roger, while Mark Fisher ultimately went off, and did the other guys in Pink Floyd, although not in the 87 tour, but by the 94 tour Fisher was back in their fold.

And so... there was lots and lots of logistical things... lots and lots to solve on a piece of dirt in Berlin. Because it was a site with nothing there. We had to create a city for a day. And it took an enormous amount of planning and logistics, and ordering and budgeting, and to get it all there on time. And that's what we do, you know, we hired all the right people to do it. But it was a room full of people for 6 months putting that all together... that's for sure.

REG:

I had heard that the scaffolding had to withstand hurricane winds because of how high the wall was going to be?

Andrew:

Yeah. There was a lot of issues with that. A lot of issues with health and safety... in Germany it's very tough. And the structural calculations of wind loadings went on for weeks, weeks and weeks and weeks of negotiations with the authorities.

REG:

You did that yourself?

Andrew:

No, I was... the truth is I was going to meetings once a week in London... I was on the board as it were, monitoring things... and the other four and a half days a week I was working on whatever else we were doing in 1990... Madonna and other major artists that we were promoting in Britain... I can't remember.... Rolling Stones... I was doing The Rolling Stones.... a major tour of the UK in 1990, you know, so I wasn't hands on on The Wall. But I was going to the board meetings half a day a week, seeing what input I could throw in there to help. But I employed the team who were doing it, I put them all in as early as about March I remember.

REG:

And you were at the show of course?

Andrew:

Yeah. I went for the week of the show, again to lend a hand or whatever, in different area's.

REG:

Do you know why there were difficulties with the sound part way into the show? What happened?

Andrew:

Yeah, a fuse popped. It was an electric supply fuse that popped. It was unfortunate that it was the power supply for the monitors, which was supplied by Brit Row. And there was some nasty rumors at the time that it was sabotaged, cause of course 'Brit Row' by then was well and truly owned, and in the camp of the other 3 members of Pink Floyd. But Roger continued to hire the sound company owned by the other lot, and a lot of people thought... oh well, maybe they had sabotaged his show. Cause it's very unusual to loose that in a live concert. This was live TV. It was going to 46 countries I believe, live, and they couldn't hear themselves. And worse, all the click tracks... all the priming track was in the monitors, and so they lost their timing. They couldn't hear themselves, and they couldn't hear the click track, upon which the whole of the musicians were relying to keep time... which was the synch track with the visuals and so on... And so they had to improvise while that was repaired. So that was pretty nerve racking.

But I remember there had been a plan to record it the day before, and to have that in reserve. The TV producer, Tony Hollingsworth, who... but it never got done. For reasons I can't remember, they never actually recorded the night before. But the plan had been that (during the show) they were supposed to be running in synch a recording of this previous evening recording, and then in case of the eventuality of a power failure...

REG:

...because there was a dress rehearsal the night before...

Andrew:

...yeah, but I don't think it ever got recorded. So that never happened. The plan was that it (the recording) was supposed to switch over for five minutes, and fill in from the exact same song (from) the night before, and then switch back when the power and the live song came back, and it would have been seamless, and no one would have known... But there was a problem with that. I don't remember the details.

REG:

Well, it got worked out in the end. And you know.... it didn't detract from the show that much... at least from the audiences perspective. Though I would have liked to have seen "The Thin Ice" done live, but oh well. It was a great show. Do you also produce live recordings? The Emerson Lake and Palmer Album "Live at the Royal Albert Hall, produced in 1993, lists you as the producer? What other albums have you produced?

Andrew:

No, that's a typist error. I was only ever a promoter. And if they made a live album at one of my shows, often they gave me a credit because I was always very helpful. And I did that with lots of people over the years. Not all of them put my name on a record but there was many times when an artist would come to London and they would say, "hey we want to record this for audio or video," and I would make all the arrangements... like a venue facility deal... with a venue... and just helping the team that came into record... and then often they would give me a credit on the record.

REG:

So in the end you were listed as producer?

Andrew:

Nah... promoter, that's not right. I was a promoter. I'm on a lot of other records... even Pat Benatar in the early '80s and some recordings that were made in Europe. And I can't remember the others. You saw a few of them. One of them was a Queen record, a Brian May record. But again, I had nothing to do with the audio side. I was only ever the promoter- production side... helping them at that show.

REG:

You've been listed as the European Agent for the Depeche Mode "Singles Tour" that states it was from 1986 to 1998, which was why I thought you had not been available for the Radio KAOS tour?

Andrew:

No, the Singles Tour... the title means that the records were out in those years. The tour took place in '98, and that's just the years those singles were listed... '86 to '98 was when those singles came out. So I'm a booking agent now, that's my main business. It's been that now for 7 years. Today I represent Roger Waters, Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits, and Depeche Mode, and some smaller acts that you might not have heard of. And I book all my artists world wide outside of North America.

REG:

You were also listed, along with "Sensible Music," as booking agent for a Depeche Mode tour in Autumn 2001 and 2002. Your name comes up often in conjunction with the name Sensible Events or Sensible Music. Is this your own tour booking and promotion company? What role do you play with this company?

Andrew:

My company is called Sensible Events. And Sensible Music is... my landlord effectively. There's Jeff Allen who owns some other companies here called Sensible Music. He has a recording studio, he has an equipment rental business, he has some rehearsal rooms, and those are all called Sensible Music. The Sensible Music Group. But I'm Sensible Events. I just share the name and rent office space. We're not connected in a business sense. Although we're connected... not formally... we're connected in name. I've been 7 years in the same building, and we all work to help each other.

REG:

That's why it was confusing to me. I had thought that the Sensible Music Group, in London, contained a lot of sub companies like "Sensible Events," your company... which took care of the Tour Management end of things. And then there is "Sensible Music LTD," which seems to include the equipment rental and recording studio side of things. And then there is to be a Sensible Records, and Sensible Graphics portion of the company as well.

Andrew:

Yeah... everything apart from Sensible Events is companies owned by Jeff Allen. From which we are unconnected. We used to be connected, but now we are unconnected formally in a business sense.

REG:

And then there's also a Sensible Music company located in Ireland which looks as though it does similar things.

Andrew:

Yeah, that's Jeff Allen's business as well... which is a rental business.

REG:

For the In The Flesh Tour, your title or job description is listed as Tour Director. How is that different from what you've done before for Roger's tours? You were also listed as "Booking Agent" for the In The Flesh Tour. Was that a part of the Tour Director's responsibilities, or another job description altogether? What exactly were your responsibilities? What does a tour director do?

Andrew:

It's very much the same. It's everything to do with live. Now-a-days Mark Fenwick is the Manager. He comes and trades on the business side and on the recording side, and he hands over the putting together of the live events to me. I mean Mark does the deals... Mark does the deals with the agent, but then there after, the putting together of the touring entourage, he hands over to me. And it's very much the same role as I've described to you previously, which I've done on all the previous tours. Hire the personnel, hire the equipment, and make all the bookings to facilitate the smooth running of the tour. You know, get the staff and then find all the suppliers and vendors that are going to help us do it. Ranging from the sound, light, the trucking, the busing, through to the charter airplane, through to the hotels. I coordinate all of that. And do the budgeting, make the deals, add it all up and bring in the tour accountant. Every week we do a budget to make sure we're on target, make sure that we're not spending too much. And just managing and administering.

REG:

As can happen when scheduling tours 6 months to a year in advance, there can often be scheduling and booking problems. This seemed to have been the case with both the 1999 and 2000 legs of the US tour. Why do you think that was?

Andrew:

Well, '99 I remember more. Ah, we had the greatest problem anybody can ever have. Which is.... the tickets... we were under booked. I don't think it's anything I've ever seen before. We were booked into 3 and 4 thousand seat venues, and we ended up doing 13 or 14 thousand seats. And it was amazing! Nobody saw it... Roger hadn't worked for 12 years. And I remember getting the offers from the promoters... and they were cautious, they were small offers, based on small venues. And we thought this was reasonable, cause nobody knew. And then they went on sale, and they went bang out of the box... sold out fast. And then again, people were asleep, and only a few promoters thought, well we can upgrade here. You know promoters are never thinking about upgrading. And we had to push them, and prod them, and remind them, hey you know we sold out within a week, and you know, the show is still three months away, could we go to a bigger venue.

And I've got to say... a lot of promoters were asleep. But a few of them weren't. The best example is in Cincinnati, when we were supposed to play on the little outdoor place on the river, which was like a little 4 thousand capacity place, and we ended up playing in the Gund Arena, and sold 14 thousand on the very same day! And we were taking up ten times as much money as we'd been guaranteed at the beginning. So that was a very pleasant experience.

The catalyst for that, I've got to say, was Chris Lamb, more than anyone, who kept saying, "this show won't fit." We'd been booked into these little small amphitheaters in city centers and so on... little open air circuit. And Chris Lamb kept saying as we got to rehearsal. "This show's too big... it's not going to fit. We can't put the screens in, you won't see the visuals, we should be going to bigger venues." And it took quite a while for that to seep through to the promoters. And I spoke to several of the promoters, and I said, "You saw we sold out quick, why didn't you think about upgrading?" and they said; "It's an alien thought, we never think about upgrading. Once we've sold out, we've sold out... we put the file to the side of our desk, and move on to other business. The only time we ever change venues is to downgrade, when an artist is stiffing. It just never happens that we upgrade venues. We're not awake to it. We're not alert to it. It's not in our thinking."

So that was a very pleasant experience. We just went through the roof! I'll never experience that again... personally, I'll never be involved with an artist where we did 10 times the level of business at the end, compared to what was predicted at the start.

REG:

Because the demand for tickets was way more than was anticipated.

Andrew:

Yeah, it was a first. You know, it also helped that the Floyd had not been out there for 5 years at that point, or 6 years or whatever it was. But there was also a great interest in what Roger was up to.

REG:

The booking of the smaller venues initially may have somewhat had to do also with Roger having cold feet because he did not want a repeat of the 1987 KAOS tour embarrassment he felt, where on occasions, only half of the seating at some of the venues sold.

Andrew:

...it was a great show... KAOS was actually a great show. If you were there... anybody who ever saw it agreed with me, and said it was really a great show. And it deserved better. It deserved better response.

REG:

Has anybody ever thought that maybe the KAOS shows didn't sell very well because the tour was not promoted very well, or advertised enough?

Andrew:

Ummm. No. I've got to say, I'm a great fan of Peter Rudge, the manager then. And when I came on the road, and saw how he worked, he was a dynamic... and hustling... he was pushing all the local radio stations. I thought he really was working hard, and doing a good job to promote Roger and his interests. That's where... I saw him first hand doing that. Peter Rudge was on the case. He was hard working and on the case. And particularly, if it wasn't doing well straight away... he was hustling... I know he was... everywhere.

REG:

The June 8th 2000 show in New Orleans, LA., at the New Orleans Arena was canceled, and no replacement show added. Why was that?

Andrew:

The thing about changing venues at the start of the next tour was ... we skipped two venues at the start of 2000 because promoters got cold feet. Tickets went on sale and the promoters thought, 'this is not going to do well,' so we changed things around, is how I remember it in 2000. We were supposed to go on sale in New Orleans. I remember we pulled the plug there. It didn't sell well. It started selling slow, and promoters boffled out. Promoters thought, hang on... let's get out of this, change the date to somewhere else where it's going to do stronger.

REG:

Likewise, the July 16, 2000 show in Raleigh, NC at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater was canceled, and instead Roger played in Providence Road Island on that date. Though a show in Charlotte NC was added for earlier in the tour, do you remember why the Raleigh show was canceled?

Andrew:

I can't remember what the reason for that was. We added some... we substituted. It was all to do with ticket sales, strength in the market, and promoter reaction. Promoters saying... this is not going to work... substitute this date somewhere else in a stronger market. Yeah, same in New Orleans. New Orleans actually went on sale, I remember it went on sale for a few days, and they said, hang on... this is not going to work. It was due to promoter reaction to the box office... to the ticket sales, and that's why some of those decisions were made.

REG:

What were some of the differences between the 1999 and 2000 legs of the In The Flesh US tours from your standpoint?

Andrew:

'99 was unique because of the excitement of doing great business and being back after 12 years. And the fans were very pleased to see Roger and Roger was very pleased to see the fans, and it was exciting and very full-filling and he signed autographs every night and we had a real sense of rediscovering the joy of performing... rediscovering the audience... and it was a great feeling. By 2000, then we were... we'd settled into that a bit... we expected it... we wanted to go to different markets... go to the West Coast and all of that... and it was very pleasant and very enjoyable experience. We must have played 50 shows in America. We went to all the great cities, and the band's spirits were high. Everyone was really getting on well and enjoying being together. And all the shows were positive. But '99 was the exciting time.

REG:

The 2000 shows seemed to be a little bit more together... well rehearsed or confident.

Andrew:

We were more confident. We knew we had more budget to spend. We knew we'd sell more tickets, so we spent a little more on the show... on the production thing, improving the projection and all of that. And I'm sure their approach was a little more confident. Where as the first year it was all new.

REG:

From a tour management perspective, what were some of the difficulties and challenges you experienced during the US tours?

Andrew:

In America, pretty well none that I remember, because the touring experience is pretty professional and very smooth. We live at a five star level. You know we have a private jet, and we stay in the very best hotels, and we're spoiled basically. It's a great business and a great life.

REG:

I assume all the equipment was trucked from one city to the next, how many trucks did it take to convoy for each show? How many tons of equipment did a US show encompass?

Andrew:

I think we had 5 trucks. Which was not your biggest tour. It was pretty efficient really. Given that we drag around with quad sound and the projection. We're different from a lot of other bands in that we have to plant the projectors out in the seats, and we have the big screen, and we have the quad sound out in the seats.

Seat sales was an on on-going issue, where there was demand for those seats, and Chris Lamb every day would have to go out and check the side lines, because promoters would always want to sell all the seats we were holding. And he would have to go out and strike that balance between enough room to put the equipment in, and maximizing the potential income. So that was another daily issue... the seats.

What set us apart was the quad sound and projection. Other wise we were a pretty trim show. And 10 musicians on stage is also a big statement. Lot's going on there. And there was a lot of depth in the music, lots of arrangements and all of that... it's a pretty full on intensive experience. And so 5 trucks full of that, was pretty efficient. There wasn't much fat on that tour, given that the scale was quite big.

REG:

How long did it take to erect all of the equipment on stage to be ready for each show?

Andrew:

It was a normal ATM loading, we had a big crew, and we'd get a lot of local stage hands in each city. So it was pretty achievable.... like every day 12 hours basically... well... 10 hours loading each day. But it can easily be done in one day, and easily changed over night. We could play one city, pack it up and go to the next city over night no problem. That's what you've got to be able to do touring wise, you've got to be able to pack up and go and...

REG:

So there weren't two different stage sets on the road at the same time, so that while one was being set up, the other was traveling to the next venue?

Andrew:

Oh no no... we weren't that big. You know, Pink Floyd is that big because they're in stadiums. But we were in sheds, and that was OK.

REG:

And the stage crew, did they travel by plane or with the band or...?

Andrew:

Sleeper bus. Sleeper bus... several of them. Two if not three, I'd have to look it up. For the crew.... it was about 2 big buses I think. Two with about 15 on each.

REG:

Can you relate any interesting stories or events, not widely known, that occurred during either leg of the US tour? Was the wind, rain, and lightening storm at the Pennsylvania gig a huge challenge for you? How did you overcome those problems?

Andrew:

Well, that was the only time we came close to losing a show, but Roger was determined to play. Everything else was pretty straight forward I'd have to say. I can't remember anything. On the world tour there was a few more incidents. Not in America... look it's very slick and very easy and very established, and in America, very professional. Easy to tour in America, you can do it with your eyes closed basically.

REG:

Who's idea was it to incorporate the tour jet fly-by over the Gorge Amphitheater during the show there near Seattle? How was the fly-over coordinated in order to appear at just the right moment over the crowd?

Andrew:

I was on the plane when that idea came up. And there's that saying... that a good idea has many fathers. I honestly can't remember who thought it up, but we cooked it up as we flew along that day, saying wouldn't it be great to do it with the Gorge and all of that. And the pilot was right into it. Captain Dan Miller, he said, "yeah, I want to do it, this is great! How are we going to do it." We had the two way radios. I had the radio on the stage. We had these handy walkie-talkie's which we got from the airport... aviation ones. And I could talk direct to the cockpit. And I was giving him the countdown... 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes... make your approach. And then he was saying... how many meters... how far was he from the stage. And then I gave Roger the count down, you know; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, start now... the opening... the opening chords. And it was quite fun, big excitement. That was one of the great moments because of so much symbolism. All those Pink Floyd crashing planes over the years, and it was just an idea cooked up that afternoon as we were all flying on that jet over to The Gorge, from Seattle over to The Gorge, which was a long way.

REG:

I had heard that it was pretty spectacular.

Andrew:

Well it was fun... the timing was perfect, it was absolutely perfect. And because of the layout of that site, they (the crowd) couldn't see it (the plane) until it was right on top of them. There is a long river valley behind the stage, off to an angle, and the plane was coming at low level following the river, so you couldn't see it... and then suddenly, it emerges and climbs over the stage with perfect split second ear shattering timing.

REG:

Was there any potential danger in doing this? I had heard the plane flew rather low over the crowd.

Andrew:

Yeah, well look, this pilot we trusted. He was a guy... from one of those wars... Vietnam... maybe not... maybe the Iraq war... he was X-military... he was good. He shared in the ownership of the plane in some way... he was part of the people who owned it, so we trusted him. He said I can do it. It will be safe. But it was low... and it was a very old jet. It was a BAC 111 from England. It was at least 30 years old. And you can always get to a point where... it doesn't pull up... it doesn't climb as fast as you want. However, he checked it out with all the local civil aviation authorities there, and he was allowed to do it. And I don't think it was too dangerous.

REG:

I heard he had gunned the engines right over the crowd, as he was going up...

Andrew:

...it was flat out... it was screaming. The old bird was screaming... there is no doubt about it. But that was great fun. It was one of the high points of my career.

REG:

The 2002 world tour was a massive undertaking, and must have engendered many more challenges and problems from a tour management perspective. What were some of the obstacles you encountered, and how were they overcome?

Andrew:

Yeah, well look I had a much extended roll in that, where I was the world wide booking agent. So I started on that at least a year previous which was April. And it was booked basically where Roger and the band wanted to visit, and where promoters wanted to make the offer. You know, there's not many artists that would take that tour, because it was... there was no real rhyme or reason to the touring there. We went to Southeast Asia, and Dubai and Beirut. Well, these are not record selling markets to be frank, and 99% of artists would not go there. But we went there cause promoters made decent offers and there was this sense of adventure amongst the band, which Roger was happy to indulge. Where they all said, we'd love to go here and we'd love to go there. Wouldn't it be great to visit Australia, and wouldn't it be great to go to the Middle East, and South Africa... let's go... let's all go. And so off we went, and it was fantastically successful, and very enjoyable.

South America was the high point. We had unbelievable shows there. And audience demand was through the roof. And we were Pink Floyd basically. We had people camping outside the hotel like it was Michael Jackson. In Chile, the first show... we started in South Africa, and then went to Chile, and there was like 150 fans camped out in their hammer shirts, camped outside the hotel, chanting 'Roger... Roger...' day and night. it was like a teen-age sensation revisited! And that set the tone for all of South America. And there's many many great memories of a great tour around the world there. Great shows and fabulous fun... and the band did a lot of sight seeing... and it was just very enjoyable.

Japan was a low point I think for most people. Cause we played indoors, and the audiences were very subdued. But the open air shows... Mexico was fantastic... all through South America was really a high point.

REG:

We have some club members in South America who sent us in reviews that were just awesome.

Andrew:

Yeah, we got very good reviews. We had fantastic crowd reaction. Very good reviews.... I don't think I saw a bad review anywhere. And it was very well received.

REG:

Well people said that even though there were stadium shows, that there was like... the opposite of The Wall. People were like... it was like a Woodstock atmosphere within the audience.

Andrew:

Yeah, there was, there was such an atmosphere, a sense of excitement and anticipation which was fulfilled. We had to play those (stadium) venues, because basically there were no other venues, and the audience demand was just through the roof! In South America, they have some little two... three thousand sports halls or theaters, and that's it. There are no other venues. There are no other arena's in South America, you've got to go open air, into stadiums. So we said to Roger at the start, we'll do some small stadiums, and we'll make it controlled, and everyone will see, and everyone will hear. And it worked, It worked fantastically. It was certainly the high point of the tour.

REG:

...cause there were people in Europe and in America, who chastised Roger saying that he was a hypocrite... because he had said that he would never do stadium shows again... and here he was doing stadium shows. But if there were no other venues, then it's either stadium shows, or no show at all.

Andrew:

...we did six or eight in South America and there was only one reason for it... that's the only venues that were there. There was absolutely no way we could go there and play in a 3 thousand seat old run down boxing ring, which is all there was there in Buenos Aires. Or a three thousand seater, which was all there is in Brazil, because we would have never gone... you can't make the money... it wouldn't even have paid the air fares, let alone take the whole show over there.

REG:

...and plus it was a larger show than the US shows as far as equipment. You had a bigger show, you needed a bigger arena.

Andrew:

Yeah, we changed the projection and so on. We got even more stream-lined with video projection... we're always upgrading. With each tour... as we got more budget, we would improve how we did the production. Yeah, we needed a big venue or we wouldn't have gone. So it was either that (a stadium) or nothing. So the experience was good. We didn't over sell, and we didn't go too big... and we put in plenty of sound, and we put in side video screens, and everyone could see and everyone could hear. And I'm sure they'd all buy tickets again... I know they would.

REG:

Since the 2002 shows used more equipment, were a bit larger and had more effects than the US shows, how many tons of equipment were needed for each show on this 2002 leg of the tour. How was this huge amount of equipment transported between continents?

Andrew:

Air freight across the Andes, and then by road on ah... mostly by air freight, but when we were on the same continent we would go by road. But in South America... air freight between the continents for sure, and it was a lot... I can't remember how much but it was ah... I don't know... it was 20 tons or 25 tons or whatever. There was a lot. There was an entire plane. Cause there's so many things that you can't rent locally that we have. You can't rent... there's so many things you have to take that are unique to our show, such as the monitors and projectors. You can rent... get a lot of local black boxes and amplifiers and all that, but the back line and the wardrobe and the chicken run and all that stuff, has to come with us, otherwise there isn't a show.

REG:

On any one continent where there were many shows to be performed, how was the equipment transported between countries to each venue? For instance, in South America, was the equipment flown in to each city or was it trucked in. If it was trucked, were there logistical problems with highway or road conditions and border crossings etc.?

Andrew:

Yeah, within any continent, apart from across the Andes, in South America it went by road. Although it went from Brazil up to Venezuela by air. From Venezuela to Mexico, it was by air charter... we had to charter a plane. But then in Australia, by road... of course by air to Bangkok, by air to India, Dubai, and Beirut, where we had our own charter plane there. You know, the band and the crew had to have a charter plane. The commercial connections didn't exist.

As far as logistical problems... yeah, we were always running to the wire. You know, it was pretty intense. If you look at the itinerary, there's no room for error. There's no room for losing half a day with a problem at a border or something. And we got lucky, we didn't have any real... we ran by the skin of our teeth to be quite honest.

We had this Russian Antinoff charter plane that we flew from Bangkok to India, and it had a very poor landing in India... there was a repairman's truck on the runway and that was very scary. And we thought that was going to crash and be lost there. And Chris Lamb was on that plane, he was very unhappy with that incident But then we got into Europe and it was very smooth and we ran around in our own trucks and all of that... and we went all the way to Russia, which was a good experience.

REG:

There were also still a few scheduling problems which occurred during the 2002 tour. Do you remember why the show scheduled for April 13, in Mumbai India was canceled?

Andrew:

Because the promoter flaked out! Yeah, we changed promoters and then we ended up with one in Bangalor. We were talking to one promoter who said, "I'm going to give you two shows." And then he just didn't make the payments or whatever, he didn't fulfill them. And then we swapped to another promoter who said one show in Bangalor was it.

REG:

Yeah, there were a lot of people in India upset about that.

Andrew:

Well, we'll go another day. Personally... you know with the web, things that get out before they're announced. Mumbai was never on... it was never announced... it was never confirmed... but somehow that idea... or planning for it got out...

REG:

Well... I think it was listed on the itinerary that was on Roger's official site. And then it had to be changed. But, I wanted to ask you another question about stadium shows, whether it be in South Korea or South America, and that is, at shows where there are so many more people, when Roger performed to stadium crowds of 40 and 50 thousand, were the challenges for show production different? I had heard in several instances the entire stage and backing scaffolding had to be erected from scratch. How much more equipment and man power did this take and how was it handled?

Andrew:

No, it wasn't a problem because local people did it and there were experienced local promoters that we were dealing with, and the building of the stage was their responsibility, and we sourced local as far as we could. And sometimes the locals were not as modern or as fast as you might get in Britain or America. Their a few years behind in their technology or the capability of the staging systems they have, but it all worked... it all worked fine.

And just another point on South Korea. We played to 10 thousand people there, even though we were in the Olympic Stadium. We knew it was the 10,000 version because there is NO arena in Seoul. I know you're not going to believe that, given that they had the Olympic games there in 1988. But there is no arena available for pop concerts in Seoul. The only one that's big enough, that has a 10 thousand capacity, the roof fell in and it's not being used. And all the other arena's they built for the Olympic Games, are like 4 thousand and 5 thousand, for cycling and swimming and so on... and there is no place to play in Seoul Korea whatsoever, except you've got to go open air, and so we did a 10 thousand version in the Olympic Stadium, and it worked very very well. And it was a good experience. There was basically 5 thousand seats on the floor and 5 thousand in the grandstands, and that was it. That's where you play, if you go to that country.

REG:

We have a few members in South Korea who attended the show and they were simply ecstatic about how great it was!

Andrew:

It was very very good. Even though we were in a stadium for 70 thousand, and we played to 10, it worked absolutely fine. As for the empty seats... as Roger once said to me, "I don't care about empty seats, I only care about the ones who bothered to come to see me." And so, he doesn't care if he's staring out at 10,000 people and a whole bunch of empty seats behind them, he doesn't care, he's performing for the ones who came.

REG:

There was a venue change in Rome from the Curva Olympico to the Flamino stadium because it was stated that the Olympico was closed for repairs. Why was this not anticipated before the venue was booked and tickets were sold? And it seemed the time change caused more problems for fans than the venue change. Was there a reason why the start time of the show was changed as well, from a 9 PM start scheduled at the Olympico to an 8 PM start at the Flamino?

Andrew:

The answer is the City Council of Rome. Because of the City Council of Rome, the city is very difficult to work in. The City Council is ah... inept. They're the ones who said the closing of the Olympico for repairs was... on... off... on... off... and then, when we were forced to move to Flamino, the local residents have a... again with the local council... a rule about an early finish. You can't finish late because it's surrounded by residents. Where as, if you play Olympico, you can. So, I accept that the communication to all the fans may have been poor, but the reasons for the changes were entirely out of our control... out of the promoter's control. Because I remember this saga very very well. The City Council, the "CONI," it's called c, o, n, i, it's the sports bar of the City Council which controls all the venues, couldn't make up their mind, and wouldn't give an answer. And it's a problem I have every single year in Rome. I had it again this year in Rome with the planned Mark Knopfler show I was doing there. You can not get a commitment from the city that you can have a venue, and what the city tells you continually is changing.

So, blame the city, and tell the fans to elect a new city council! (laughter) Elect somebody who cares about entertainment. Promoters... I find that that is the toughest city to work. Very difficult city, badly managed. The worst of Italian management there.

REG:

During the 2002 tour, what were some of the differences between the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere legs of the tour?

Andrew:

The Southern Hemisphere were new territories, and South America really set us off on an exciting atmosphere with all the huge crowds and the hot nights, and the wild audience reaction. As I say... camping outside the hotels, and all that stuff, pop star stuff. Back to the old days of Pink Floyd craziness. Mexico... fantastic again. We did a big show and everyone had a wonderful time there, and the hospitality of all the people we met was fantastic. And I think because it was so varied and changing, every week we were in a new continent with a new experience. Australia was a great experience. We didn't expect much in Australia because Pink Floyd were never that big. I think they had only ever visited once. And we thought, "will we go?," and all the band wanted to go to Australia, so OK, we'll go even though we're not very strong. And in the end, the ticket sales were great, and it was very very successful, and it was well worth going. It was more interesting in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the Northern Hemisphere we were in Europe, which is very... known. Everyone's done it... ten times... everyone's toured it for most of their career. Russia was a high point. Lisbon was good. But we were mostly indoors. There were very few open air shows. Rome was fantastic, Flamino was a great night... open air. The open air in the Summer in Europe was memorable. All the indoors in Europe was of course a nice experience you know it's air-conditioned and you get a reserved seat, and you see the show in its best possible light... you know the best audio, and the best visuals is indoors. We know that, but the open air is a more memorable from our point of view. Wwhen you've been out there doing 60 shows, you remember the ones that were a bit different and a bit special. Glastonbury was good.

REG:

It seemed because Europe has so much entertainment, and so many stars you know... touring Europe... that the audience wasn't as enthusiastic as in the Southern Hemisphere.

Andrew:

Yeah, that's true, but that's normal. Yeah, that's very true of London. In London, they've seen every major artist as many times as you want. And it's... 'I've paid my money... impress me!' It's a much more subdued crowd in the major cities in Europe than you get in America, or you get in the Southern Hemisphere. American audiences are much more lively and vocal and you get a much bigger reaction out of them. Europeans are more reserved.

REG:

I went to the Vienna show and the Budapest show and the...

Andrew:

...yeah...Vienna, now that was strange wasn't it. Again, a lack of a venue. They'd closed the Stathalle and we had to go... there was no where to play so we had to go to Weisen.

REG:

I don't know how Viennese find that place... I got so lost!

Andrew:

No... it's odd, it's odd, but it's the Summer thing in Vienna. And you know there was no other venue, so it was either play there or skip Vienna, and I didn't want to skip Vienna. So we went there... but it was odd.

REG:

But the stadium in Budapest was quite nice... even though it was warm.

Andrew:

Yeah... Budapest was a nice night. We enjoyed Glastonbury at the end. Even though... it was rather cold and cloudy on the night. It would have been better if the sun was shining. But we did well, we enjoyed that experience. It was the last one, and they sold about 130 thousand tickets and it's all about 18 year old kids camping there. But we got a very good reaction.

REG:

I liked the Paris show a lot. But I wonder why there was only one show in France, as much as France loves Pink Floyd.

Andrew:

Yeah, that was strong... it's because... well, next time we can go to the provinces, but that's the offers we got. I talked to promoters... and Roger hadn't worked for 14 years in France... and even though I told them the story of America... we did really well and all of that... no promoter would go for more than one (show at) Bercy. And the provinces in France are very tough... the French acts dominate. The handful of English or American acts that can go in the provinces and do well, you can count them on one hand. Very very parochial and provincial the out of town cities. You know the foreign acts don't get... not many of them make a mark. None of my acts work the French provinces. Well... Mark Knopfler does alright. But you know the French provinces have been lost as meaningful touring markets for pretty well all foreign artists that I work with... very few can go to Leon, and Marseille and do good business.

REG:

Why were the pyrotechnics no longer used in the Northern Hemisphere portion of the tour? Had there been some sort of accident? Because that was very different from the US shows. The US shows didn't have the pyrotechnics and then in the Southern Hemisphere there was all these pyrotechnics.

Andrew:

No... no (accident). We all decided it wasn't worth it. It was not enough bang for the buck basically. I was there when that decision was made to cancel... I think Roger lost interest in it... didn't think it was doing that much... we grew tired of it. And there was a lot of restrictions in the different venues as well. A lot of venues didn't want it and it became like, every second venue you couldn't do it... so it was like... forget it, it's not worth it anymore.

REG:

Because of the volatile and violent times we live in, what was the security situation like for the crew, the band, and the fans at the shows in the Middle East? Did you have security concerns doing these shows?

Andrew:

No more than normal. No not in Lebanon. Look, I've worked a lot in the Middle East personally... and I know it very well. I've been with seven or eight different artists to Dubai and so on... And so I knew the promoters, I know the culture, I know those markets and I felt confident that there wouldn't be a problem for us. And it was fine, it was absolutely fine. You know in Dubai, you're playing to ex-patriot white people. The Arabs weren't turning up to those concerts. In Beirut is was the locals. Beirut was a very special show for me. Fantastic audience. Very very strong memory of a great audience in that town. Although the town was a bit dull, we didn't have much fun there. But it was worth it to play to those people cause they've been starved of entertainment for a long time. And the promoter did a very good job there. A very nice venue.

REG:

We have a member in Syria that went to that show and he was just... it was fantastic for him.

Andrew:

It really was a good one. They took an old.... The promoter did a great job. They had an exhibition hall which was a very very plain exhibition hall, but he spent a lot of money doing it up. He put in raked seating... everyone had a seat... and a grandstand T, and like the whole 8 thousand... He put in carpets everywhere. He put black curtains on all the walls of this exhibition hall. And you walked in and suddenly it was like an intimate theater setting. It was very... he did a grand job on dressing it up and making it a special night.

REG:

We've had some members from Israel complain that there was no show there, and they would not go to Lebanon, because of the politics of the area. Was there ever a thought to do a prospective show in Israel? If not, why?

Andrew:

There was no thought to go there because the timing is wrong at the moment. Too much unrest, and too much risk, and the whole of the concert market there has effectively closed down over the last years. Also, lack of a large enough venue that could pay the money. But mostly, all my artists at the moment... I'm advising them don't go there... wait until it calms down a little bit.

REG:

What parts of the Northern Hemisphere tour leg did you enjoy the most and why?

Andrew:

Personally for me... Lisbon... The cities I remember best were the ones where we had really enthusiastic audiences which surprised us. And Lisbon was one of those. Two nights in Lisbon was very strong. You know... that's a big venue and that was a lot of people. And looking down the list... Germany doesn't stand out at all. All the indoors are pretty drab. Russia was a great experience. We got a great reception from the fans in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Moscow Olimpiski was great. Rome Flamino... a hot night in Rome was very special... loved that... that was very memorable. Paris Bercy we did well, and ah... Glastonbury. That was big for me.

REG:

What parts of the Southern Hemisphere tour leg did you enjoy the best and why?

Andrew:

Ah... all of South America. Venezuela was not very exciting. But every other one of those was a fantastic experience, you'd just had to be there. Japan was a low point.

REG:

How was the Thailand show? I'd heard mixed reviews from that show?

Andrew:

We played well. We didn't sell out. You know, we did 9,000 out of 10,000... something like that I remember. But... no reason we should have got bad reviews, cause we did our regular good show. But it was indoors, and we had a day off there, and everyone enjoyed hanging around in Bangkok, going on big water boats on the river and all of that. The whole entourage went on those boats up and down the river... as a group outing... it was fun. It was fantastic.

India was terrific. India we loved... doing Bangalor... because... the culture, the smells, the dirt... we had a great crowd... and even now... I spoke to the promoter last week... who has since gone on to greater things... he's done Elton John and The Rolling Stones... and he says everybody still says Roger Waters was the best show, better than The Rolling Stones even. We sold more tickets than The Rolling Stones!

REG:

Yeah, a lot of fans in Mexico have written me saying that Roger's show in Mexico City was 10 times better than the show last year when the Stones were there.

Andrew:

Yeah... it's funny how they compare... But yeah... India was a fantastic experience. It was fun to go to Australia as well, we really enjoyed that.

REG:

What experiences can you relate, or stories can you tell about individual shows during the 2002 tour that might interest our members?

Andrew:

Ahh... let me think... we spent... what kind of stories are you looking for?

REG:

...interesting stories... or problems that occurred that were unexpected... you know maybe stories about various band members... personal stories...

Andrew:

My personal one story here is that I organized... I'm from Australia... and I'm very... I proudly wanted to show everybody the Sydney harbor. And I organized an outing for the whole of the entourage... band and crew... on a boat on Sydney harbor with fantastic food and drink. And I promoted it widely amongst everyone... saying "you've got to go on this boat trip.... you won't regret it." Well, Roger and his girlfriend went... you had to get out at 10 AM cause I think it was a show day... get out at 10 AM and back by 1. Roger and his girlfriend showed up, and only three members... a couple members of the crew. Nobody else got out of bed. And the one's who did it came back and said... 'You missed the experience of a lifetime." It was the single greatest excursion on the whole world tour, going around Sydney harbor. And so all the others immediately said, "Oh you know.. what a mistake... I should have done that, when am I going again?" And so heard that... and I said that's it, I'm not organizing any more excursions ever on this tour... because you snubbed me on Australia. That was the best one.

But other stories... I don't know... let me think... there were things happening every day...

REG:

...were there any funny stories... was language ever a problem for you or others when traveling and setting up the show in so many foreign countries during the tour?

Andrew:

Well it's a band that's toured a lot... and they're all used to it. Andy Fairweather-Low takes a lot of photo's and is very entertaining. He and Roger play cards on the plane a lot. Ah... what else... Pat Arnold makes friends everywhere... she's very friendly, and she's a great ambassador. She gets out and meets people. And all of them still have the spirit of adventure and get out and do the sight seeing... apart from the day they snubbed me in Sydney. The band likes to get out and see things and do things, so that's always fun. Cause a lot of artists I work with... they sit in their hotel rooms every day.

REG:

Now I have a question that a lot of club members and fans want to know, and that is why Doyle Bramhall II was not on the 2002 tour? Because most people who I've talked to or know, or fans that write to me, feel that Doyle Bramhall is one of the greatest guitarist Roger's ever had with him. In fact, I'd go as far as saying he's probably one of the greatest in the world.

Andrew:

No, I think we all agree with that. He refused (to go on the world tour). And we all think he made a mistake. Because of different reasons... well he really never told me the real reasons. But this is what I surmise the reasons are... he was trying to keep his solo career going. He felt his time would be better spent on that. But unfortunately. that proved a wrong decision, because he in fact got dropped by RCA Records, so spending that year working on his solo thing hasn't born fruit yet. And also, he was scared after 911, and his wife had had a new baby. Susanna had a baby, and there was domestic pressure to stay home and support the family, and I know for a fact after 911... I don't know if it came from Doyle himself or from Susanna, but there was a reticence to go out on the road on a long tour.

REG:

...yeah... I had heard that the reason why Doyle Bramhall didn't want to go on the tour was because he was afraid to fly after 911.

Andrew:

....well, that's what... he was opening for Eric Clapton in Europe... what year was that... it must have been 2001... wasn't it... Yeah, 2001 he was opening for Eric and ah... he used to take ferries rather than fly then... someone told me. But whatever the reason, it doesn't matter, cause we'd love to have him back one day. We all love him as a person and a musician. We all remain good friends and we all hope that on the next tour he'll come back.

REG:

Our club has been told that Roger plans to tour the US and perhaps Europe again after the release of his new album next year or the year after. Will you be managing that tour as well?

Andrew:

I expect so, yes.

REG:

And the last question I have for you, is what other projects do you have planned for the future?

Andrew:

I am... more tours with the artists I represent. There's going to be ... I'm currently working with Dave Gahan, the singer from Depeche Mode, he's touring... he's just done a Summer in Europe and now he's doing again another leg in November in Europe. So I'm booking Dave Gahan. And I do lots of little odd things... I've just done three shows with Elton John.

I promote a little bit... I'm an agent and I promote a little bit. and I am a talent broker of sorts sometimes. I'm promoting Def Leopard in the UK which I've done for 20 years. I'm promoting them in October for some shows in the UK, so... varied projects like that. I have some new bands. I have a new opera group that I'm booking called 'Amici' (Ameechy), and they are... and I think everyone will hear about them in about a years time. Cause I think they are going to break big... its pop-classical crossover. And I just did some shows with Steve Winwood last week where I was a promoter, a couple shows in England, I was a co-promoter. So a bit of promoting, a bit of agency, a bit of talent brokering... and... waiting for Roger to work again.

REG:

Yeah, I had heard that he was all set to get his new album out by next Spring, and then tour again next Summer, and then all of a sudden I'm told that ah... he's tabled working on the new album, and instead he's working on the opera Ca Ira...

Andrew:

Yeah... the opera, he's had revelations on how to finish the opera and bring it to a conclusion and get it out there. And he's working on that... recording on that... in the Autumn here, and that's taking priority. And I expect that the opera will see the light of day in '04, but that there'll be no more live dates from Roger until July 05, is the plan as I know it.

REG:

...and I'm hoping that Doyle is on the new album.

Andrew:

Yeah... I haven't heard anything about that to be honest. Mark would know about that.

REG:

You mentioned Stevie Winwood. Do you know if he is ever thinking again about playing with Dave Mason?

Andrew:

Don't know. Don't know that. But he's out now... he's on tour in America now, with this kind of Latin salsa kind of band that sounds quite good.

REG:

Well, Andrew... I do run at the mouth... and I do apologize for taking so much of your time. Thank you so much for granting us an interview and for your help and patience.

Andrew: