Nazareth – Boogaloo
Back in the day, in fact from 1992 – 2001 (ish) I ran the Nazareth fanclub, something I’d offered to do when I interviewed the band for a feature in Record Collector, early 90s, and they’d just released No Jive, which came out with all the fanfare of a goose farting in the fog. From start, up to 1999, my contact had been drummer and manager Darrell Sweet, who invited me along to the recording sessions for this album.
Boogaloo was recorded in 1997, at the Park Gate studio in Catsfield, East Sussex (close to the town of Battle), with producer Mike Ging. My parents live in East Sussex so it was convenient.
Then the Nazareth lineup consisted, alongside Dan McCafferty, Darrell Sweet and Pete Agnew, were keyboard player Ronnie Leahy and guitarist Jimmy Murrison, the latter having replaced Billy Rankin, who’d departed after an argument over money. And it’s probably safe to say that the two albums with the returned Rankin (No Jive and Move Me) were effectively solo albums upon which Dan and Pete played.
Upon arrival at the studio, in the first half of 1997, with the Hale Bopp comet clearly visible in the sky, I first met Ronnie, who had previously played with Stone The Crows, Jack Bruce and others, and he took me into the studio. Dan, Pete and Darrell I already knew well. Jimmy was sipping milk had had a wet cloth on his head – being very hungover from the night before.
The building that housed the recording studio also had a large communal area, kitchen, snooker table, and outside individual chalets in which the band stayed, and someone coming daily to cook and clean etc.
During the several visits, I got to socialise with the band, watch them record, and one time a trip to the local pub. Cue several stories about touring, nightmare train journeys and flights across Eastern Europe and Russia etc. One story they told me was a request from a barmaid to sign an LP owned by her daughter’s teacher at school. And upon opening up the LP, an intimate photo of the said teacher fell out. How much embellishment there we’ll never know.
One fave track from the album is Cheerleader, and I was in the studio sat behind Darrell’s drum stool when he laid down this track. I remember the producer trying to wind up Darrell because he played better when pissed off. It was also good seeing and knowing Darrell play in the studio, as how much he allegedly played on Snakes’n’Ladders, No Jive and Move Me is questionable at best. I’ve heard from more than one source that, for the latter two, Billy Rankin programmed the drums for the demo and the response being “Yeah go with that, it’s what I would have played anyway”.
I returned to the studio to join the band again several times a year later, 1998, as the band returned to remix 11 of the 12 tracks (the 12th later appearing, from a cassette the band gave me, on the Loud & Proud box set), adding horns and extra percussion (some of which apparently laid down by Pete’s son Lee). Staying one night for dinner, a moderately boozy affair, conversion steered to the album title.
One thing I suggested was ‘N’ or ‘The New Naz Album’, which morphed into Newz, a title that would be used an album or so later.
The album got some good reviews upon release (label SPV), and the band went out on tour.
Sadly the following year, Darrell Sweet died on tour, upon arriving at the first venue of a US tour. I had only spoken to him just before they flew out.
This was the beginning of the end for the fanclub, as although I always got on with Pete, the info was just not as forthcoming.
The LP reissue added two bonus tracks orig released on a 2001 compilation, and that CD was the final straw, for the following reasons:
The two new tracks, new recordings of old demos, weren’t that great and I couldn’t promote them
The compilation was an awful cash in, tracks edited to be squeezed in, it ran like a medley (compiled by the same person who invented some edited versions for reissue bonus tracks)
The recording was done at Parkgate again, and the band never told me they were there.
There is more about closing the fanclub on a youtube video appraisal, if you know where to look. Likewise, the fanclub newsletters are available on my website, if you know where to look.
In the early to mid 00s I had a Skype call from Manny Charlton, orig and founder guitarist, lovely guy, and we had a frank chat, and he told me he considered Boogaloo the last proper Nazareth album, as they’d lost the blues, and their soul, since, and to be honest, I agree with him.
Boogaloo, a fantastic album and a lot of happy memories.
Joe Geesin | Now Spinning Magazine