By Chris Rockson

 

Walter Lure - Continued
 

LAMF, as you mention in the previous issue, didn't quite translate over onto vinyl. Had it done so, there could have been a massive opening for the band to breakthrough into the mainstream. People in the rock press likened the Heartbreakers to 'The Who' and praised them for the ability to write good catchy numbers.
Were you involved in the production at all? Were you involved in the 'LAMF Re-visited' version that surfaced some years ago?

I was sort of passively involved in the production of LAMF insofar as I would show up and listen to the various mixes and watch the engineers go thru their motions. Everything always sounded good in the studio no matter what size speakers it was being played on - it was just when it got transferred to Vinyl the sound ended up all
muffled. We all went to Abby Road studios and watched the guy cut the vinyl master that sounded great but when it finally came out that sound was lost - it must have been a sign from god!
( joking, of course - more like the devil).
No I wasn't involved in the Remix - Johnny did that on his own in the mid 80's sometime in London for Jungle. He even wiped out some of my solos and vocals and put his own on it. However, I did think it the sound was a lot better than the original - if we could have gotten that sound on the original record it would have been much better - whether it would have sold better is another thing entirely. John actually did a good job for once in spite of himself only it was too little too late. C'est La Vie.

Ok, so you're right back up to date now, you have a steady day job and have the 'Waldo's' too. What next for you?

What's next? Good question! I have a gig tonight in NYC so that's the first step. The the release of the Live in Berlin CD which I'm working on again this Sunday. Then whatever happens, happens. I might get back to Stockholm this summer for a few shows and people keep asking me to write more songs and do a new album which
I might do if I can write enough new songs to fill it - Who knows?

Finally, I always wanted to ask you about your guitar's headstock...sad, I know, but...
why is the truss rod cover on the wrong way around?

You know, I had to go and look at my guitar when you mentioned that the truss rod cover was upside down. You're bloody right! I had no idea and I never bothered to look at it before with any sort of analytical view. I guess it was done by the guy who fixed the neck the last time it was broken back in the early 90's sometime -
I think I dropped it when I was taking it out of my car trunk ( or boot as you limeys say). Johnny broke it once too back in the early HB days at a rehearsal. I had left it standing against the bass amp as we were taking a break when John decides to pick up the bass and play a few notes and the damn vibrations of the amp were strong enough to knock the guitar over and break the neck when it fell.
Johnny just stood there scratching his head looking stupid.

Ok, cheers Walter, there are gonna be lots of readers wanting to find out more about you and more importantly, your new recording, where can they do so?

When the CD is ready I'll get a message out on my MySpace site. It will be released on Nicotine Records from Italy.
 
Many thanks for the interview, take care, and see you around, Chris

Check out The Waldo's at :
http://www.myspace.com/lurewalter