1979 - 1985

1979 Spedding had to finish the third album for RAK in England.
And he made the second promotional video clip for the single which was to be put out in April.

March Guitar Graffiti released.
After Mickie Most and Chris Thomas had produced my first two albums, I tried it myself on 'Guitar Graffiti'. There are certain difficulties having other people producing for you. You have to play them a track so that they can understand what it should sound like. Doing it myself, I was able to just work from ideas in my head. In a funny, jazz sort of way, things fit when I do them quickly and improvise. But a producer is very important as a sounding board.

April Video Life / Frontal Labotomy released.

The R.Gordon's tour started in the late of March.
The band, consisting of Spedding on guitar, Tony Garnie on bass and Bobby Chouinard on drums, had a lot of dates in the States and Canada till May.
The shows at the Paradise, Boston on March 22 and in Philadelphia on March 30 1979 came out on records and a show in Cleveland was aired on KBFH in May.

When they had a show at the Edge in Toronto on March 18, the B-Girls opened. Spedding and R.Gottehrer saw their playing at CBGB's in October 1978 and offered to produced them, but not came true.

There's a flyer handbill from Palms, Milwaukee on April 10.

June R.Gordon - European tour.
  June 7 at Palais d'hiver, Lyon, France
October Recorded a R.Gordon's album Bad Boy.

Recorded a Nick Mason's album Ficititious Sports.

1980 The first session with Dick Rivers in Bogalusa, Louisiane (or in 1979?).
First appearance from this session was a single 'Vingt-deux les v'la' and he issued an album called Tendre Teddy Boy in 1980.

Spedding joined the Necessaries in January (?), which was a New York local band, consisting of Ed Tomney on vocals / guitars, Ernie Brooks on bass / vocals and Jess Chamberlain on drums. They had some gigs in the East Coast.
And half of the songs they did were offered on the Spedding's album 'I'm Not like Everybody Else', like 'Counterfeit', 'Musical Press', 'Mama Coca', 'Depavities' 'I'm Not like Everybody Else', and 'Gotta Feeling'.

(Spedding worked for Joan Armatrading in March).

    They came to join the Pretenders' American tour from March to April. And some times Spedding joined their shows and played 'Stop Your Sobbing'.
    Warner Brothers, the Pretenders' record company, taped one their shows with Spedding and made a promotional album. It was aired on radio. It is said that this show was at the Paradise in Boston. (But I wonder if it was at Warfield in San Francisco on April 16)


After the Pretenders tour, they toured the US and Canada by the summer (June or July) of 1980, then Spedding went his way.
(The Necessaries signed to Sire and put out two albums, but there is no songs by Spedding.)

June Session with Robert Gordon again.
All the songs they recorded were offered on Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die and The Lost Album, Plus...

September Recording 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' in England.

October Produced the Snip's album La Rocca.
December 1981 Music Breakout tour.
Spedding formed a band with Snips (guitars/vocals), Jackie Badger (bass) and David Van Tieghem (drums) and had a dozen of dates.
26 Left Bank, Mount Vernon, NY
This show was aired on radio. The set list is,
1. Nervous
2. Lone Rider
3. Mama Coca
4. Hey Miss Betty
5. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
6. Wild Wild Woman
7. Skies Of England
8. Mister Machine
9. La Rocca
10. Noise
11. Dark Outside
12. Work
13. Motorbikin'
14. Hurt
15. Guitar Jamboree
29
    The Concert Hall, Toronto
    Also aired on radio.

    1. Work / 2. Police Car
    3. Mister Macine - Skies Of England
    4. Nine O'clock
    5. Snakes And Swallowtails
    6. Hungry Man / 7. Silver Bullet
    8. Hey Miss Betty / 9. Lone Rider
    10. Mama Coca / 11. Depravitie
    12. Nervous / 13. Motorbikin'
    14. Guitar Jamboree
1981
January 3
Walker 917, Windsor
9 Fast Lane, Asbury Park, NJ

After this tour, he formed a new band called The Trio consisting of Busta Jones on bass and Tony Machine on drums.

Spedding made a debut as a fashion model. (photos from Voice, April 1981)

March 13
    The Trio - Trax
    As advertised, this show was issued on an album called 'Friday the 13th'.
    Then, T.Machine was replaced by David Van Tieghem.

    They went around the States and Canada till the winter and recorded at least two songs called 'Spellbound' and 'Doors', but never issued yet.

    One of the gigs, at the Whiskey A Go Go in LA was recorded onto a video tape. They played,

    1.Hungry Man / 2. Midnight Boy / 3. Spellbound
    4. Mary Lou / 5. Dead / 6. Counterfeit
    7. Rush On You / 8. Silver Bullet
    9. Pogo Dancing / 10. Hey Miss Betty
    11. Motorbikin' / 12. Shot Down
    13. Guitar Jamboree / 14. Hurt
Hurt on Just Plug Him In was taken from this video.

Spedding recorded a B.Jones' album this year, but never out. And the Trio disbanded by the end of 1981.

Session with Nina Hagen seems to be done around these days (or in the early 1982).

1982 Spedding tried to get people for his own band. David Van Tieghem was decided...
I've never really gone out as a Chris Spedding thing over here. This is an idea to do that now. People think I can't settle down. I'd love to be able to settle down if the right thing presented itself. It just hasn't.
This is not a band like the Trio. The Trio was an effort to have a cooperative group without my name being in front. This will not be a cooperative thing. I have to pay people to be around, so it's a group inasmuch as I'm going out live and playing with musicians. Hopefully the first conbination of musicians I get I'll be satisfied enough with to keep using them. As long as I can (keep them on salary), it's a group.

The musicians were decided, Chris Bishop on bass, David LeBoult on keyboards and David Van Tieghem on drums. And they went around the States with the Pretenders in February.
Spedding starts recording with these people for his solo album. But just one song got on a record - 'Go West' on 'Enemy Within'.

Also, he played with John Cale for his 'Music For A New Society'.

And restarted playing live with Robert Gordon.


December Session with Paul McCartney for his movie 'Give My Regards To Broad Street'
Recording 'Not Such A Bad Boy', 'So Bad' and 'No Value'.
I was glad Paul asked me to work with him. The best bites were the jamming on old rock'n'roll songs between takes.
McCartney says,
George Martin and I thought, why not get the best, the people I love to listen to and have always wanted to work with?

1983
May Recording 'Ballroom Dancing' for a McCartney's movie

In this year,
Session with the Ventures.
This was aired as their documentary TV program 'Walk Don't Run' in USA and in UK. And put out on video in Japan later.

Recording with Roger Daltrey seems to be done.
It was in London and recording scene of 'Don't Wait On The Stairs' was aired on BBC TV. Different mix from one on his album.

1984
February
Spedding did recording with Carter Cathcart on bass / keyboards and Anton Fig on drums.
Most of the tracks on Enemy Within were recorded by them, but there are many outtakes. And only 'Lied To Me' was put out on Enemy Within Canadian version.

Spedding recording with Diane Murray
Also he hired her as a backing vocal on his gigs and recordings.

Recording for Hal Willner's projects.
Spedding says that he loves 'Ballad Of The Soldier's Wife' with Marianne Faithful which he arranged.

Producing Dolce Vita

1985
Johnny Hallyday session in Motreal

August 20
    R.Gordon - Lone Star Cafe
    They tried new songs like 'Middle Of The Night', 'End Of The Line' and two unknown songs.
    Stevie Ray Vaughan joined them and played 'Linda Lou' and Red Hot' for encore.

September Solo tour in Canada
Spedding and Roy Harper did a mini tour of Canada together. They were both performing solo. (no rhythm section)
On one gig, at Larrys in Toronto on 21, they played a song - 'Highway Blues' together.


1977-1978 / biography / 1986-1995