Paul Gambaccini chats with Nutmeg's Clive Masters and Benji Wendle about their compilation album of rarities and out-takes,
Odds & Socks
I can so clearly remember the call coming through. I’d just got home from a late lamb lunch at Chris Tarrant’s house (although I seem to recall Chris not actually being there for some reason), and I’d just taken off my best hat when my cell phone rang. I answered.
‘Gambo?’ said an immediately recognisable voice.
‘It’s me, Clive Masters’. It was Clive Masters. I staggered a little and fell to the floor - I had been drinking. He continued.
‘I’ve just been up the loft’ said Clive. ‘And I’ve found a load of tapes behind a dead wasps’ nest. Do you wanna come round and have a listen? To the tapes, I mean?’
I didn’t need asking twice. Although Clive did actually have to call me back as I fell asleep shortly after the call and he’d meant to come over straight away. Anyhoo, I digress. We listened to the tapes, which turned out to contain long lost demos, outtakes and rarities from the golden years of Nutmeg. What a treasure!
I hooked Clive up with Bosun Hardflank, one of my contacts at Sunnyside Studios and they, along with Clive’s estranged musical partner, Benji Wendle, painstakingly restored and mixed the songs into this wonderful document of a wonderful time, ‘Nutmeg - Odds and Socks’.
Leading up to this compilation’s release I caught up with Clive and Benji to talk about some of the tracks.
Paul G - Hi guys, and thanks for agreeing to this.
Benji W - No probs Gambo.
Clive M - Wevs.
Paul G - Benji, if we could start with you. I really love C H R I S T M A S which is, I think you and your wife Wendy. Could you tell me a bit about that?
Benji W - Yeah. I think it was about early December 1984 maybe and Benji and Wendy, as an act, were going through a bit of a bad patch. I got talking to my ‘uncle’ Roger at a funeral, we had this long chat about Christmas songs and he just said - ‘let’s write one!’ So we did, right there in the middle of a funeral! Crazy days. Me and Wendy recorded the song in one day and Onion Records released it the next (day).’
Paul G - I remember everyone watched the Xmas charts with a fervour of initial anticipation that year and that this was swiftly followed by crashing disappointment as sexless hair-bounce experiments Wham's "Last Christmas" single shot up the charts to become number one, at the top of said chart of songs, leaving C H R IS T M A S at a sorry number 75. How did that feel?
Benji W - Awful.
Paul G - If I could turn to you Clive…
Clive M - You may.
Paul G - Thanks. Tell me a little about My Sonny Went to War, from 1985.
Clive M - Geldof screwed the pooch big-time when he didn’t ask Nutmeg to Live Aid. Would’ve been a perfect chance for Nutmeg to re-launch. What a dummy. Anyway, I called Benji and asked if he’d be up for a charity single and he jumped at the chance - I think you were still a bit upset about not getting the Christmas number one, weren’t you?
Benji W - yes…
Clive M - What number did you get to again?
Benji W - 75.
Clive M - Anyway, we met up, had some jam and there was the song, sans lyrics though.
Benji W - Yeah, I’d just been to the cinema the night before though and I’d seen Rambo.
Clive M - And it really upset you, didn’t it?
Benji W - And it had really upset me so I said let’s write an anti-war song.
Clive M - Lennon’s dead, somebody’s got to do it.
Benji W - Exactly.
Paul G - Fascinating.
Paul Gambaccini’s full interview with Clive Masters and Benji Wendle can be found in the August issue of ‘The Folk’s on You!’ magazine.
Other notes
"Yes or No or Black & White", 1979, Benji and Wendy, out take from the "What a Pickle" LP.
"The Moonmilk Song" - Clive Masters, 1977, early version of what became "Don’t Turn The Lights Out, Lucy, I’ve Got Something in my Ear" from "Time to Record a Solo Album, Sir?"
"Risk it for a Biscuit song idea", 1978, Benji and Wendy - would have been on "Ploughman's Lunch" if Benji had ever finished it.
