God's Goalkeeper:
An interview with David Icke |
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Photograph by Dave Hendley
Interview
The following interview was conducted early in 1994 at various locations, starting on the site of the Big Breakfast Show, which was Channel 4s flagship breakfast programme at the time. The programme was shot in a set of lock-keepers cottages in the East End, which is where the photographer, Dave Hendley, and I met our interviewee David Icke. It was being conducted on a freelance basis, but with a degree of encouragement from the Guardian, who I was writing a column for. Unfortunately they didn’t like the result, and the interview was never published.
There were several reasons why I wanted to do the interview. Firstly that my friend Steve (the Bard of Ely) was a great Icke fan, and I’m always interested in what Steve has to say. Then that a young woman who I had a crush on at the time was also a fan. (I remember telling David this, and his eyes lit up.) Thirdly, that I had recently become aware of the road protest movement, which had suddenly catapulted itself into the national consciousness that year, with a major road protest on Solsbury Hill near Bath, which I had written about in my column. Icke’s world-view and that of the road-protest movement seemed very similar: the same conspiracy theories, the same belief in dark, magical forces at work, the same identification of a Masonic elite working in the dark for their own nefarious ends. On the back of this, in fact, I managed to get him an invitation to speak at the first Criminal Justice Bill rally in May that year, a speech which many people acknowledged was by far the best.
However, that was the last time that Icke spoke at such a high-profile public event, and it wasn’t long before his own public speaking venues were being picketed by left wing groups, including the Anti-Nazi League.
The clues as to why this should have happened are here in this interview. I even warned him about it. It was his adoption of a piece of Nazi propaganda as “evidence” of his developing theory. This is the famous book, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which has several times been shown to be a forgery.
This is the problem with David Icke. Is he a Nazi? No, he is not. Is he a racist? Emphatically not. But he is naïve, and he has – accidentally or otherwise – adopted a peculiarly right-wing view of history, the so-called Illuminati Conspiracy. Look at the history of this particular conspiracy theory and you will see from the very earliest times that it has had a reactionary mark upon it. It is essentially a variation on the Jewish-Communist Conspiracy espoused by the Nazis and their followers.
The measure of his naïveté can be deduced from the fact that the Protocols only came into his possession a few weeks before the publication of the book, and that he clearly had not heard of them before. And yet he incorporated them into the book as if he was dealing with a verifiable historical source. And it makes you wonder, too, exactly who the people were who were busy funnelling this kind of material in his direction? David is certainly not a Nazi, but some of his informants might easily be.
There were a couple of incidents during the interview which for some reason are stored in my head. One was that as we were walking by the canal by the lock, he gestured towards all the detritus which had accumulated on the surface. “That’s a metaphor for what has happened to our mind,” he said. “All that rubbish clogging it up.”
Read on...
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NOW AVAILABLE FROM GONZO MULTIMEDIA
"Stone writes with intelligence, wit and sensitivity."
Times Literary Supplement
"Wry, acute, and sometimes hellishly entertaining essays in squalor and rebellion."
Herald
"The best guide to the Underground since Charon ferried dead souls across the Styx."
Independent on Sunday
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| SOME OTHER BOOKS BY C.J.STONE |
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| The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie by Chris Miller |
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- Print Length: 337 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0316057010
- Publisher: Back Bay Books (8 Oct 2007)
- Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.Ã r.l.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00FOR2LXI
Back in my student days I first saw the movie 'Animals House', and spent the rest of my student days trying to emulate these people. Then, after my divorce in 1996 I did much the same, and I was in the second half of my forties before I stopped behaving like one of the characters in the film, and with my health in tatters, finally settled down. I had vaguely realised that the movie was based upon the experiences that one of the writers had in college. |
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| Last week Harold Ramis died, and I was convinced that he had been the writer in question. So in one of my maudlin moods I looked him up on Wikipedia, found that he wasn't, but that someone called Chris Miller (who - as far as I am aware is still alive - was). And furthermore he had written a book about it. I ordered it, and yesterday read it in one sitting. It is massively entertaining, but one of the most interesting things in it was that the social group that was lampooned (oooh) as Delta House, had become depraved party animals in the first half of the 1950s when it was mostly inhabited by ex-American soldiers who had come back from the Korean War suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and as a result ran amok, starting a tradition which carried on for nearly a decade. From a purely sociological point of view that is very interesting, or at least it interests me. And it makes me wonder what psychological guidelines (if any) are in place now to stop such things happening. |
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HAWKWIND NEWS
(The Masters of the Universe do seem to have a steady stream of interesting stories featuring them, their various friends and relations, and alumni). Each week Graham Inglis keeps us up to date with the latest news from the Hawkverse.. |
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Now that the dust has settled on the Hawkwind one-off performance of "Space Ritual" in London recently (Shepherd's Bush 22 Feb, billed as Rock4Rescue), many fans' attention is turning to the resulting CD release, amid wondering-out-loud about how long it might take to hit the shops.
Of course, history offers some information: last time around, the waiting time between the actual gigs (Brixton and Liverpool, December 1972) and the resulting release was around 5 months. As has been pointed out, though, that release (in 1973) was a double vinyl album, and also had a fairly unusual cardboard sleeve arrangement, as is well demonstrated by this photo from the dustandgrooves.com website, a site devoted to vinyl music culture: |
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| And a warning for traditionalists: this time around, "Space Ritual" probably won't be released on 8-track cartridge. |
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The winner of the Dave Brock Krazy Kaption Kompetition
Last week I posted these two photographs and posed the question "What on earth is the Obercheesenmeister up to now?"
The best entry and the first entry was from some chap that I have never heard of called Tim Blake who apparently lives in France. His reply went:
"Grand Fromage ? Isn't that something smelly, Tim eats?"
Yes Monsieur Moonweed, you have won. And an appropriate prize will be winging your way shortly... |
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| Selling England by the Note |
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Tribute band The Musical Box brought their wares to the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco February 21, and 22 2014. The first night they recreated the 1973 Genesis tour that supported Selling England by the Pound (SEBTP).
On the second night they performed the 1972 tour for the prior Genesis release, Foxtrot.
The performances were striking in their accuracy, and transported this viewer and those in the audience to a time long ago when to many of us, Genesis owned the English progressive rock mantle. The experience of seeing this band is something better than tribute. They actually recreate these shows down to the set design, including slides, costumes, and props, and very faithfully perform the live music itself, with the same interpretation the band employed during the shows from the era.
Having thus far only seen The Musical Box perform the 1974 masterwork The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, it was a rare treat to see these two prior tours. For me personally, the SEBTP album and tour represent the best, most realized work in their early days. Between the touching opening of “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” to the majestic “Firth of Fifth” and melodic refrains of “The Cinema Show” this is where the band really hit it’s stride. The Musical Box capture the live experience deftly, and hearing the work in it’s live format, complete with visuals, and Peter’s stories, explain what all the fuss was way back in those days. It was even grand to see them wind their way through “The Battle of Epping Forest” usually dismissed by the actual members of Genesis as a bit of a mess.
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SPACE IS DEEP
I have only just signed up to this weekly, after meeting John at the 'Space Ritual' run through at Seaton, and must say what a great piece he wrote on the experience, I totally agree that it was something very special. The other point is that I noticed there was no 'forum page' would this not generate more interest in Gonzo Magazine?
Also I don't know if anyone else has spotted it but Channel 4 is using 'Silver Machine' to promote its 'Live from Space' week starting 12th of March.
Pete
We are starting work on a dedicated Gonzo Weekly website, which may well have a forum, but in the meantime, will this letters page do?
THE BROOKER PRIZE
Howdy from North Florida Jon! I am so grateful your label was able to put Brand X's "Is There Any..." from 1982 back in print!
What this world really needs is a reissue of Gary Brooker's "Echoes In The Night" from 1985: it's really the long-lost Procol Harum album, the last time Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and the late drummer BJ Wilson ever recorded together! Here's to hoping someone can pull it off
Best
Gerard
FLYER AT THE EDGE OF TIME
Hi John,
Thanks as ever for the Gonzo weekly newsletter, and why I’m e-mailing is to ask for a “copy” of the Hawkwind flyer re the special offer, as when I tried to print it just had “More like a Mag” paragraph, then blank.
Thanks,
Colin
P.S. Last Sunday saw the Carl Palmer band locally, excellent++, clever “covers” of E.L.P. material, “tight” trio, all of us over 50 at least, and considering the hall size, about 100 if that...
I sent Colin a copy of the aforementioned flyer. I would hate anyone to miss out, so if you can't print it out, e-mail me.
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He actually IS called Jon Pertwee, and he runs a shop selling pop culture memorabilia with a special emphasis on Dr Who related stuff. He is an old mate of mine, and from now on will be doing a regular column in this magazine. Hooray!
He also appears on BBC Radio Devon on Wednesdays at 10pm if you are in the area
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| A long time ago in a TV set long since defunct, a channel that was then called ITV showed a series called Space 1999. It was the brainchild of poptacular puppet wizard Gerry Anderson. Anderson had a long line of string based TV shows but this was his second foray into live action, the first being UFO. The idea behind 1999 was that a group of extremely serious scientific types were living on the moon in an moon base called Alpha. They were led by square jawed John Koenig, and together with his stern-faced team of researchers, they hung grimly to the small dome that protected them |
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as the Moon was torn asunder from the Earth. The Moon travelled amazingly fast and each week it was fortunate to meet a different alien race in some guise or another. But this was a different horse from Star Trek, it brought the average viewer science, albeit in a somewhat basic form.
The noble crew of HM.RippedoutofEarthsorbit.com were the brave Commander, his Doctor and former squeeze, Helena Russell, and Victor Bergman - the boffin who frowned a LOT and said, “You know John, this could spell trouble”, and Paul Morrow, who I was sure was related to a doctor who had an island with strange mutated animals on it.
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The episode that stood out was one called “Dragons’ Domain”, in which a huge multi- tentacled abomination drew space craft to its lair and chewed on the occupiers until they were spent withered husks. Strong stuff for a Saturday morning kids’ show. A good strong script and FX created by the marvellous Derek Meddings, Space 1999 was a strong stab at well thought out SF.
Until next week, this is Commander Jon Pertwee signing off. |
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| THE WORLD OF GONZO ACCORDING TO GHOSTMAN RAINES |
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| THE YES CIRCULAR - TIME AND A WORD |
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| The Court Circular tells interested readers about the comings and goings of members of The Royal Family. However, readers of this periodical seem interested in the comings and goings of Yes and of various alumni of this magnificent and long-standing band. Give the people what they want, I say |
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| And, as well as all the Wakemanbits in this week's issue, there are no less than three interviews with Grumpy Old Rick. Find them here, here and here. I am probably getting a bit OCD about all of this, but I find the Yes soap opera of sound to be absolutely enthralling, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next! |
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Changing the world one gift at a time
The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process.
http://uk.freecycle.org/ |
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How do i know?Every morning i pick up wings
left over from the pixie party of the night before
Each bird both solitary and witness
when morning comes-a different song emits!
Black grackles shine like stormtrooper boots
Hacking our privacy ,allegedly for worms
Mourning doves,in couples,repeat cooing vows
while watching from our fence posts
Bluejays peck their way among thrown bread
Sparrows avoid their sharp critiques
Always ,generic,species clump and rise
when fear means food must wait
Back again-one cardinal,red-
her favorite perch outside my only window
When bread is gone,so too these morning moon star visitors
Leaving little wings as witness for one sun..
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In Victorian times every well-bred Gentleman had a 'Cabinet of Curiosities'; a collection of peculiar odds and sods, usually housed in a finely made cabinet with a glass door. These could include anything from Natural History specimens to historical artefacts. There has always been something of the Victorian amateur naturalist about me, and I have a houseful of arcane objects; some completely worthless, others decidedly not, but all precious to me for the memories they hold.
But people send me lots of pictures of interesting, and, may I say, peculiar things. But once again this week it is over to my lovely wife... |
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| You never know what you are going to find, or what is going to find you |
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You never know what might fall out of some old record albums that cost 50 cents each at a yard sale. Like Marvin Gaye's passport -- which could be worth $20,000 to collectors today.
Issued in October 1964, the expired US passport depicts a smiling Gaye -- then 25, born in Washington on April 2, 1939, six feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes -- along with his authentic signature. |
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The passport reappeared this week on US public television's "Antiques Roadshow," where a male guest from Detroit told how it fell out of some old LPs he'd picked up at yard sale.
"When I got home, I was going through them and out of an album fell this passport," said the guest, identified only as a former employee of the Motown Museum in Detroit. "And so, it literally fell into my hands." Read on ..... |
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The pillars that form Stonehenge may have been chosen because they were like sacred “prehistoric glockenspiels”, according to researchers.
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The sonorous quality of some of the bluestones used for the monument built between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC may explain why they were transported 200 miles from Pembrokeshire, Wales, when there were plenty of local rocks to use nearby.
‘Archeo-acoustic’ expert Paul Devereux, the principal investigator on the Landscape and Perception Project, explained the choice to the BBC. “There had to be something special about these rocks,” he said.
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“To boldly go (to go boldly for goodness sake) where no pancake has gone before: Original Star Trek cast get a tasty homage”
Okay, so this should have really gone under "Peculiar Story of the Week" I suppose, but it was a toss up (ah, the joys of puns) between napkins and pancakes and I plumped for the former. But one cannot simply leave a story such as this so I have added it here.
But I have to say that I am glad they named them; I only recognised two. |
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"Brandon Howard, 31, who bears a resemblance to the Beat It singer, said he will tonight reveal proof he is the eldest son of the late musician"
(As I am typing this, that’s tonight folks.)
"Sources told celebrity website TMZ that Brandon's mother, soul singer Miki Howard, met with The Jackson 5 legend in 1982 and Mr Howard was born shortly afterwards…"
So are these sources intimating that this ‘long-lost’ offspring was conceived at that meeting? I think it must be the first time I have heard of giving birth after a 9 month-long pregnancy referred to as giving birth shortly afterwards, but that is just nit-picking I guess. |
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And to end with some other news this week:
Rolling Stones play track not heard live since 1973 at Tokyo show
What can I say? Wow…..that is big news. My life has been enriched by such knowledge.
Slipknot to begin 'major work' on new album in March
That’s more like it. |
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SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION TIME
Just in case you are interested, here is yer beloved Editor at iTunes
   
Check it out now... |
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| INTRODUCING THE NINE HENRYS |
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There are nine Henrys, purported to be the world’s first cloned cartoon character. They live in a strange lo-fi domestic surrealist world peopled by talking rock buns and elephants on wobbly stilts.
They mooch around in their minimalist universe suffering from an existential crisis with some genetically modified humour thrown in. I think Peter McAdam is one of the funniest people around, and I cannot recommend his book The Nine Henrys highly enough. Check it out at Amazon.
Each issue we shall be running a series of Henrybits that are not found in his book about the nine cloned cartoon characters who inhabit a surreal world nearly as insane as mine...
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The Weird Weekend is the largest yearly gathering of mystery animal investigators in the English-speaking world. Now in its fifteenth year, the convention attracts speakers and visitors from all over the world and showcases the findings of investigators into strange phenomena.
Cryptozoologists, parapsychologists, ufologists, and folklorists are descending on Woolfardisworthy Community Centre to share their findings and insights. Unlike other events, the Weird Weekend will also include workshops giving tips to budding paranormal investigators, and even a programme of special events for children. The Weird Weekend is the only fortean conference in the world that is truly a family event, although those veterans of previous events should be reassured that it is still as anarchically silly as ever!
The event is raising money for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world’s only full time, professional cryptozoological organisation. The profit from food and beverages goes to a selection of village charities, mostly working with children.
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| the running order (so far) for the 2014 event |
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| DAWN OF TEARS Act III: The Dying Eve (INVERSE) |
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This Spanish group released their debut in 2007, and followed it up with an EP in 2009 (both of which are available now as free downloads from their websitewww.dawnoftears.org so why not give them a try?), so hence the title of this album. Having read some of the reviews of their previous work, plus seeing who they have been gigging with, I am somewhat surprised that it has taken so long for this album to be released, as they seem to have a good name but it has taken a while. Whatever the reason, this is sure to get quite a lot of coverage as their take on melodic death/gothic/black metal has a lot going for it. Plenty of passion, loads of melody and thoughtfulness (with some additional female vocals which does also give them a slight
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Cradle of Filth feel at times), this is an album that just reeks class from start to finish. The guitars are clean and clear, the drums and bass are locked in and heavy, while the vocals add that additional edge. The keyboards provide the right amount of melody without ever taking away from the power of the guitars.
This is one of the best releases I have heard from this label, and one that I highly recommend. Given that their first two releases are available free of charge why not give them a try? You have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain. |
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| GLORIOR BELLI Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (AGONIA) |
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| Whenever I see the word “gator” in a musical sense, my thoughts always turn to Molly Hatchet, but before you start thinking that these guys are contemporaries from Jacksonville, Florida, let me set the record straight. Firstly these guys are French, not American, hailing from Paris, and this has little to do with good-time boogie, although there is room in the mix for some elements of that. Following on from 2011’s ‘The Great Southern Darkness’ (okay, so there is a theme at least in the recent album titles), this is their fifth album and again they are showing that there is plenty of room within black metal to expand and bring in new ideas. |
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There are elements of sludge, blues, boogie, and a whole host more in an album that is threatening and dynamic in the traditional sense, but expanding and very wide in another.
At times very down and dirty, and at others extremely clean, this is an album that is going to excite fans of Watain and Eyehategod for example, although in many ways it is quite different to both. The production is extremely good, and allows the nuances and inflections of the bass to come through and not be lost – there are times where S is gently bending the strings, adding another dynamic to the overall sound. But there are plenty of times when it is just a full on onslaught.
Although these guys are classed as Black Metal, and rightly so in many ways, they are definitely not restricting themselves to what others may view as being what they should be doing within the genre, but instead are very much following their own path and this album is all the stronger for that. Extremely heavy, with those Southern influences being just part of the melting pot, this is going to find them a whole new group of followers. www.agoniarecords.com |
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| GREENROSE FAIRE My Home Is Where My Heart Is (INVERSE) |
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| So there I was, working my way through the latest batch of downloads from Inverse when this started playing. To say that I was stunned is something of an understatement. While I thought that I was no longer surprised at what this label releases, this one caught me totally off guard. Normally Inverse concentrates on Finnish acts (although not always), and on various types of metal (again not always), so where on earth did this incredible English folk album come from? A quick check later and I discovered that this not an English group, and isn’t their first album either. Greenrose Faire have an English sounding name, and a very English sound, but when you look at the members then you realise that all is |
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not as it seems at first: the current line-up is Salla Rimmi (vocals), Anni Latva-Pukkila (violin), Jupe Hirsimäki (Octave mandolin), Petri Hannuksela (keyboards), Niilo Sirola (bass) and Tomi Hyttinen (Drums & backing vocals).
Here is a group that are a band out of time, and by that I don’t necessarily mean the medieval period, which is obviously where they feel at home, but these guys should have been around in the early Seventies when Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Renaissance, Fotheringay and others were being lauded as there is no doubt that this is where there main influences come from in the modern era. Salla has a wonderful voice, not as high as Annie Haslam or Maddy Prior, but with a presence such as Sandy Denny’s. The rest of the guys provide the perfect backdrop, with a special mention to Anni whose violin playing is a perfect foil, while never being over-invasive. If these guys were to go on stage with Mundy-Turner then that would indeed be a match made in heaven, with great violin from both, wonderful female vocals, with great support and instrumentation.
I notice that they have been playing virtually entirely within their own country, but if ever a band should be on the Cropredy stage then these are it! But until they get in touch with Peggy, then we need to be content with one of the most wonderful folk albums I have heard in many years. The songs are melodic and relevant, and the more I have played this the more I have become convinced that given the right opportunities these guys could be one of the major folk discoveries for quite some time. They just need to get onto the British circuit. If you enjoy acoustic or folk with great female vocals, musicianship and songs then visit www.greenrosefaire.com to find out more.
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| LOVIJATAR Pimeän Tuoja (SECRET ENTERTAINMENT) |
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| ‘Pimeän Tuoja’ (which can be translated to ‘The Bringer of the Dark’) is the debut album from Finnish Stoner/Pagan/Folk act Lovijatar. Formed by Jussi Rautio (Battlelore, guitar) and Tommi Vaittinen (Elephant Bell, vocals) they were inspired lyrically by Finnish epic folklore Kalevala and old Finnish poetry while their musical ideas come partially from traditional Karelian keens of requiems (itkuvirsi). The music is often very heavy, but definitely touches on all of the styles mentioned above, which means that they have quite a unique sound. While some of the folk metal bands almost treat the style as a huge joke, and something to drink plenty of beer to, this is altogether more serious. In addition, they perform totally in Finnish, which again gives the music a different feel |
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to many. Rauso states that they do this because “We have lost lots of old Finnish culture and it is best preserved in folk poetry. That’s the only place where we can really go and find something ancient from our heritage.”
The line-up is completed by Mikko Neuvonen (Elephant Bell, drums), Petrus Rapo (Boner, guitar) and Riku Hakala (Tytär, bass.) and the quintet have created something that is melodic, emotive, dark, heavy and intriguing all at the same time. There is a definite edge here that lifts this album out of the ordinary. www.lovijatar.com |
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