No more Alan Price on Radio 68

Alan Price: no more Alan Price on Radio 68

I will never again play songs sung, recorded, produced, played and arranged by or in any other way artistically related to Mr Alan Price in any of my programmes on Radio 68 and Radio Sutch – although I did so on a regular basis. Here’s why.

Alan Price was one of two reasons I went to London last April. I was early for the gig at the Bull’s Head, Barnes, London, so I found myself a seat on the front row. I took out the all-round journalist’s tools: a notebook, a pen, a camera and a recorder. A gentleman introducing himself as the drummer of Alan Price’s band told me Mr Price doesn’t  like pictures being taken during a gig. I replied I’d really appreciate being allowed to take pictures since I was going to write a review. I give the drummer my card and he says he’ll talk to Mr Price. Next thing I know Alan Price himself is standing  next to me! Before I can even get up and introduce myself, he very (and I mean: very) impolitely orders me to put away the camera and the recorder. I can’t even explain myself. This is the short, neutral version.
Alan Price goes on stage and from behind his organ suggests I’d better take some other seat because I’m like sitting in his way, disturbing his concentration (he can’t avoid seeing me, he sits in front me as I’d figured out when I chose my seat), etcetera, etcetera. He keeps ranting in the same rude manner.  I can’t believe my ears. This is the short, neutral version.
Next thing, he addresses the audience (!!)  saying one Mr Bonte is sitting in front of him which annoys him particularly since this Mr Bonte had intended to do this and that. And would  Mr Bonte go and sit somewhere else? Whereupon some cow in the audience shrieks ‘Maybe we should throw him out!’.
I put away my notebook, deciding not to write a review at all. And I stay where I am.

Never ever, has an artist , famous or less famous, treated me this way. I can’t even remember ever having been spoken to in this manner by any musician, artist, philosopher, politician, writer,  manager, venue boss,  etc.,  since I started to write, review and interview. And that’s more than 45 years ago.

That night, Mr Price played in front of not two, but maybe three dozen people. So who the fuck does Mr Price think he is?

Eddy Bonte