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Topic: Les Penning, ....where are you Les?< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Aug. 20 2008, 15:04

Anyone that's read my posts has probably heard me raving about The Worldes Goodnite (sic)by Les Penning.
 As you all know Les worked extensively with Mike in the 70's on Ommadawn and various singles and was resposible for Mike's love of horse riding etc.
I had the good fortune to buy the above cd directly from Mr Penning some years ago and i know there are other cds by him that i would love to get as i fell in love with TWG on first hearing (i really really cannot recommend this cd highly enough for anyone who loves all the 70's stuff he did with Mike).Trouble is i wrote to him a few years ago at the address i had to see if any where currently available and heard nothing.My first thought was that he must be quite elderly and that maybe he'd sadly passed away.However i have seen the odd thing since on the web that mentions him.There's such scant info available though.Does anyone know where i can get more from Les?Someone must know something.


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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Aug. 20 2008, 19:52

AFAIK he is still with us.
He frequents the area around Hay-on-Wye and David Mar (of this forum) has met him there a few times. He gave me a review copy of The Worldes Goodnite and I was suitably impressed - so you are not alone. He once told me of the fond memories he has of working with Mike at Penrhos Court & The Beacon.

He is/was very active in the recording industry so I'm sure he has more to give us. As for anything else currently available, I really do not know. However, I will echo your sentiment that none of his stuff should be ignored.
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 03:23

Cheers Airborne.Glad to know he's still around.And someone else has a copy of TWG.Dunno what it is about it but i love it.The Well At Sancreed is haunting.That voice!!!

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Holger Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 04:07

I'd love to hear that one. Any idea where one could get it from?
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 04:23

Last time i saw a copy was in Glastonbury but that was 6 years ago.I saw an ad in Dark Star and sent a letter to the address given to see if it was still available.I recieved a reply from Mr Penning himself informing me it was still abvailble but from him directly.Really don't know where you'd get a copy now though.Sorry.

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Holger Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 05:19

I see. That's a pity. Thanks for the info anyway.
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 08:01

You could try placing an ad in one of the music mags.I got Children Of The Sun,Froggy Went A Courting and a few other singles that way.

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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Aug. 21 2008, 16:28

Quote (Holger @ Aug. 21 2008, 09:07)
I'd love to hear that one. Any idea where one could get it from?

There are a few samples here

Enjoy
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Holger Offline




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Posted: Aug. 22 2008, 19:12

Great, thanks! I'm a bit too tired right now to give it proper attention, but I'll check it out soon.
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stpaul Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 02:22

There is a CD out now called
"Througham Slad's lost sessions" featuring unreleased recordings og Les Penniing and Mike Oldfield. As I understand it is only available on the Magpie Records facebook page.

Magpie Records

I'm not on facebook and ask me how to get behold of this CD. Can anbody give me more information ?
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manintherain Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 02:50

Same problem for me. A contact mail adress would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!
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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 10:41

I don't know why it is being released like this but there must be a reason. I've heard it is quite expensive too. Two of the tracks you should have heard before, here is a list:

Argiers
Tower Hill
Nobody's Jig
Portsmouth
Minuet by Bach
Sellinger's Round
His Rest

So there are five old and traditional tunes that are new to many. A great addition to any collection and you can just imagine Mike and Les playing these at Penrhos. My favourite is His Rest, I was lucky to hear them many years ago. I do hope it is more widely available soon.

Oh, just seen it is limited to 100, that is a real shame.
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 13:23

Quote (Airborne @ Feb. 21 2014, 14:41)
I don't know why it is being released like this but there must be a reason. I've heard it is quite expensive too.

I rather feel like I shouldn't comment too much here, because I've been somewhat present behind the scenes and wouldn't want to damage anyone's relationship with anyone else. I assume it won't hurt to say what Les said publicly in Reading, which was that he'd started sending the tracks to people just so they could hear it, and Perh then decided to release them and it was all a bit out of his hands.

I had been talking to Les about the material before this happened, and had started to veer towards feeling it would be best to approach an established record label about it, because there were various legal issues with the material which I felt would be difficult to resolve without the kind of support that a good label would provide. I can only hope that Magpie have resolved those issues, otherwise there's a danger someone could end up in very hot water, and I think that's the last thing Les needs (even if he doesn't stand directly in the firing line).

As I understand it from Les, these tracks are all from an old digital transfer, which isn't without its problems. He asked me if I could have a go at restoring the guitar on His Rest, as it had virtually faded to nothing. I managed to bring some clarity back to it, but it was difficult to do anything without impacting on the sound of the recorder (there's some distortion on there which can become quite obvious once the muffling effect of the hump in the upper bass is removed), and my feeling was that it would be sensible to do a new transfer, to rule out some of the problems being down to the alignment of the playback machine. I don't know what kind of restoration work has been done on the Magpie release (though I know the ~€60 cost was supposed to be to cover the costs of it), but the last I heard from Les last summer was that they were using his original transfer rather than a new one. I suppose we'll see what eventually comes out, but I think it would be nice to at least try to get the absolute best transfer possible to work from (though it has to be borne in mind that the tape may have deteriorated since, so it may end up being worse even though it'd be theoretically better...but it's hard to tell without actually doing it).

So...like you say, I think it's a shame it's a limited edition, highly expensive (like I said before, I've heard it's around €60 including postage) release when it's material which I can imagine a lot of Mike's fans would want a copy of if it was a more approachable price.
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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 14:16

Les let me hear them in the late 1980's. I was, of course, amazed that these had never been heard or released. What we have is a snapshot of time from January 1976 and the Mobile recording at Througham prior to the studio completion. Most tracks are unique and unheard due to timeframe.

What upsets me most is that the restricted release is going to upset true fans that deserve to hear what happened at that important time. However, it is just a little aspect of an amazing career.
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stpaul Offline




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Posted: Feb. 21 2014, 15:11

Thanks for the information. It's quite expensive indeed, but I understand the reasons. On the other hand there must be more than 100 fans that would buy it. If it would be on Amazon e.g. i would buy it but on facebook it's too complicated I'm afraid.
Maybe more of us will be able to listen to it finally.
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Feb. 22 2014, 01:44

Quote (stpaul @ Feb. 21 2014, 19:11)
On the other hand there must be more than 100 fans that would buy it. If it would be on Amazon e.g. i would buy it but on facebook it's too complicated I'm afraid.

I agree completely - I don't think selling a much larger number than 100 would be particularly difficult if the price is right and the product is good. This path wouldn't have been my chosen route at all, but then I would say that...
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wembley83 Offline




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Posted: Feb. 26 2014, 11:14

I received my copy just yesterday and I must say that the music is quite beautifully played. Mike's guitar is exquisite of course.  The quality is also great apart from the two "rough demos" of "Argiers" and "Pompey". I felt that whilst the CD was quite expensive, (and I fully understand the trouble Perh has had) it really is a collector's piece. It is a snap shot in time when Mike was at one of his low points with his demons. I agree it is a shame that this was not shared with a wider audience but I guess it will go into the "Sought After" category in the future so the 60 euros was probably a good investment. Definitely one for the connoisseur!
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hergestridge Offline




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Posted: May 03 2014, 07:09

The photos on the Facebook page show that only 100 copies were made of this, and it has now sold out.
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crises1980 Offline




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Posted: July 14 2014, 12:21

Some unexpected revelations about this release surfaced recently.

Are you aware of that, Korgscrew?

Not to mention the issue about "Missed Versions at Dawn", from the same "record company"...
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Milamber Offline




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Posted: July 14 2014, 20:49

Apparently tracks 8/9 are fake..looks like a lot of p*ssed off buyers out there.
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