Pet Shop Boys Community

Can anyone please confirm who played the keyboard accompanyment to Friendly Fire at the Concrete gig ? Was it Chris or Anne Dudley ?

Am always interested in finding out which bits Chris does vs Neil vs others..

I don't know whether Chris is just shy, uncomfortable or simply unable to recreate some of the whizzy keyboard bits we hear on the records. Not having a dig, simpy trying to gauge just how good he is ? BTW.. I do realise he's no Richard Coles !!!

I'm pretty sure I remember it being Anne Dudley.

you know chris has basic keyboard ability. I dont see why he doesnt just do what lots of musicians who dont neccesarily have fantastic musical chops do and practice and practice till they get it down.

theres no reason why he couldnt play the piano part to the london version on disco 3. it would have been impressive rather than just pawn off the piano parts on some outsider.

you know chris has basic keyboard ability

Basic leyboard ability? I'm sorry but you really have made a mistake.

Chris plays what he needs and thats fine with me.

glennjridge wrote:you know chris has basic keyboard ability. I dont see why he doesnt just do what lots of musicians who dont neccesarily have fantastic musical chops do and practice and practice till they get it down.

theres no reason why he couldnt play the piano part to the london version on disco 3. it would have been impressive rather than just pawn off the piano parts on some outsider.

Errr I'd like to see you play 'It's a Sin' on the Blackpool Ballroom organ ala 'A Life in Pop'

Basic ability my ar*e!

DazzerUKUK wrote:

glennjridge wrote:you know chris has basic keyboard ability. I dont see why he doesnt just do what lots of musicians who dont neccesarily have fantastic musical chops do and practice and practice till they get it down.

theres no reason why he couldnt play the piano part to the london version on disco 3. it would have been impressive rather than just pawn off the piano parts on some outsider.

Errr I'd like to see you play 'It's a Sin' on the Blackpool Ballroom organ ala 'A Life in Pop'

Basic ability my ar*e!

I'd call that quite basic though...

fasto wrote:

DazzerUKUK wrote:

glennjridge wrote:you know chris has basic keyboard ability. I dont see why he doesnt just do what lots of musicians who dont neccesarily have fantastic musical chops do and practice and practice till they get it down.

theres no reason why he couldnt play the piano part to the london version on disco 3. it would have been impressive rather than just pawn off the piano parts on some outsider.

Errr I'd like to see you play 'It's a Sin' on the Blackpool Ballroom organ ala 'A Life in Pop'

Basic ability my ar*e!

I'd call that quite basic though...

erm....he DOES have a level 7 or level 9 in piano i seem to remember, tho i don't know what that means!

Piano level are analogous to grades in school.

Theoretically you do one grade or level a year, but you can jump grades.
I passed grade 3 and was doing grade 5 when I dropped piano.

Level 7 is very competent and level 9 is scarily so.

Was'nt there that bit also that he can't sight read?

So when they were in the studio recording (forget the song, circa 95?) there was that jazz musician in the next studio and they asked him to play the part into to the computer or something, and neil paid him back by singing live at his concert and he also arranged a slow jazzy version of a song for psb?

Sorry forget the name of the songs and musician (old age and its 12:30 am)

Young Offender wrote:Was'nt there that bit also that he can't sight read?

So when they were in the studio recording (forget the song, circa 95?) there was that jazz musician in the next studio and they asked him to play the part into to the computer or something, and neil paid him back by singing live at his concert and he also arranged a slow jazzy version of a song for psb?:

Chris does indeed sight read. On the current tour he has sheet music (and not just chords schemes) on his computer screen.

The recording you mention was What Keeps Mankind Alive back in 88. They asked him to play it because they had too little time to do it themselves (and I've played Mankinf myselves in a Brecht cabaret; it's a VERY difficult song to play(.

Regarding "What keeps mankind alive" I believe it was the keyboard player from the Communards, Richard Coles.

I believe I read many a moon ago that Chris took grade 9 piano and grade 8 trombone - one of Chris's five (five!!) A-levels is in music.

-Trivia Dipso

Like earlier in the thread, Chris plays what he needs to play. There isn't a lot else you can do on a keyboard, is there?

Dave

Yes chris can read music but there was a section in one of the literaly issues that talked about the song, it was'nt 1988 it was after "Very" so it was early to mid-90s.

I thought it was Richard Niles?

It was a big band arrangement that he did for the song and it was available as an extra track on one of the cd singles, I can hear it in my mind but can't seem to place it.

Neil sang live and he had a cold so he did not like how he sounded and this live version was released also?

Anyways...

Young Offender wrote:Yes chris can read music but there was a section in one of the literaly issues that talked about the song, it was'nt 1988 it was after "Very" so it was early to mid-90s.

I thought it was Richard Niles?

It was a big band arrangement that he did for the song and it was available as an extra track on one of the cd singles, I can hear it in my mind but can't seem to place it.

Neil sang live and he had a cold so he did not like how he sounded and this live version was released also?

Anyways...

It was Richard Niles, I think. And he later did the swing version of can you forgive her. Am I right?