Derek Shulman – when Simon Dupree and Gentle Giant were “the darlings of the English Mafia”

Derek Shulman was at the heart of two great transformations – Simon Dupree & the Big Sound switching to psychedelia, and then sensing the prog-rock trade winds and becoming Gentle Giant. One minute he was singing Kites, the next Pantagruel’s Nativity (Gentle Giant’s rebooted ‘Playing The Fool: The Complete Live Experience’ is just out). After which he was a record label president signing Bon Jovi, Slipknot and Nickelback and rebooting AC/DC and Bad Company. It’s a phenomenal story and involves …  

… three pieces of advice for any band today.

… playing the ‘64 circuit in his R&B band the Roadrunners.

… the fictitious character he invented as Simon Dupree.

… when Dudley Moore was their session pianist.

… memories of Marc Bolan (“flat on his back playing guitar”), Tony Iommi, Tony Visconti, Don Arden, Gerry Bron and “the English mob”.

… what they borrowed from Traffic in the Great Psychedelic Scare of 1967. 

… auditioning for George Martin and the lab-coated sound engineers at Abbey Road.

… being phoned on a ship returning from Sweden to be told ‘Kites’ was Top Twenty and doing Top Of The Pops with Status Quo and the Kinks.

… “cars and bags of jewels”: the advantage of being “the darlings of the Isle of Wight Mafia” (which included the Krays).

… watching Bowie recording The Man Who Sold The World at Trident.

… Elton John’s advice that helped form Gentle Giant.

… the catastrophic US tour with Black Sabbath (on their “chemical romance”) where the audience threw cherry-bombs onstage: “you learnt how to work a crowd!”

… George Underwood’s cover for the first Gentle Giant album.

… what he saw in Slipknot and why he signed them.

You can order GENTLE GIANT – PLAYING THE FOOL: THE COMPLETE LIVE EXPERIENCE here: https://gentlegiantuk.lnk.to/PTF

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