{"id":4927,"date":"2021-07-20T08:56:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T07:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/?p=4927"},"modified":"2021-07-21T14:41:22","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T13:41:22","slug":"nigel-planer-from-hippy-kid-to-neil-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=4927","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Planer&#8230; from hippy kid to Neil and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>An excerpt from JEFF PENCZAK\u2019s interview with NIGEL PLANER appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silverbackpublishing.rocks\/product\/shindig-issue-113-pre-order-on-sale-4th-march-2021\/\"><em>Shindig<\/em> #113<\/a>. We thought you\u2019d enjoy reading the entire conversation<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Shindig!:<\/em><\/strong> Your musical career seems to have begun in 1980 with the Pam &amp; The Paper Clips one-off &#8216;Typing Pool&#8217; single with your brother Roger and an uncredited Pamela Stephenson from <em>Not The Nine O\u2019Clock News<\/em>. Did you release anything before this?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nigel Planer:<\/strong> It\u2019s not Pamela Stevenson in Pam &amp; The Paper Clips.\u00a0It was the girlfriend of actor Anthony Head, an old friend of mine, who happened to be called Pam. Anthony and I had a harmony band we used to gig around with a bit, and we sung back up on one of his brother Murray\u2019s albums. I can\u2019t remember the surname of our Pam. There is a Pamela Stevenson connection though \u2013 Pamela Stevenson opened the first night of the Comic Strip comedy club with us. After <em>Not The Nine O\u2019Clock News<\/em> she briefly set herself out as a standup comedian.<\/p>\n<p>The Paperclips was myself, brother Roger and Julian Marshall of The Marshall Hain band who had just had a hit with \u2018Dancing In The City\u2019. Julian had played the music in the original show by myself, Peter Richardson and Pete Richens. That show was called <em>RANK<\/em>, and it went on at the Roundhouse Downstairs.\u00a0It\u2019s the show Neil comes from, among other characters.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pam &amp; the Paper Clips - Typing Pool\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iFC_TrC5_G0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t remember one 100%, but I think on that record we had Gary Twigg on bass and Richard Marchangelo on drums, who had both also been in <em>RANK<\/em>, either on the later tour or in the original Roundhouse show. The B-side of \u2018Typing Pool\u2019 is quite interesting I think, lovely melody by my brother Roger. It\u2019s called \u00a0&#8216;Dear Katie&#8217; and it\u2019s about a girl writing to an agony aunt.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dear Katie - Pam &amp; The Paper Clips\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-s9xN9Yt7B0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>How did the Paper Clips project \u00a0come about?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>I can\u2019t remember exactly, but I think my brother Roger had a friend who was an engineer at Abbey Road, and he was able to give us \u201cdead time\u201d in the studio. That is, last minute hours that haven\u2019t been booked by anybody.\u00a0So you might get a call late one night and be able to use a couple of hours for free at three a.m. I don\u2019t know if his bosses knew. To get the deal with EMI, hmm, hard to remember, but I was probably blabbing my mouth off somewhere along the line.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Neil - Hole In My Shoe\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YB0UZN83N-w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You won a BRIT award for your <em>Young Ones<\/em> doppelganger Neil Pye\u2019s unforgettable rendition of Traffic\u2019s &#8216;Hole In My Shoe&#8217;. You subsequently recorded the <em>Heavy Concept Album<\/em> with an incredible lineup of Canterbury Scene musicians, including Pip Pyle, Jimmy Hastings, and (the other) Dave Stewart! How did you manage to convince them to contribute to your album?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Well, it was Dave who had the big Canterbury connection, <em>The Heavy Concept<\/em> album also had contributions from Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron who were Raw Sex (the band in <i>The<\/i> <em>French &amp; Saunders<\/em> show), and guitar from Guitar Master Jakko Jakzyk, who is currently in King Crimson, and has just brought out a stunning solo album, which includes a track called &#8216;The Rotter\u2019s Club Is Closing Down\u2019 about the death of Pip Pyle, who played drums on the <em>Heavy Concept Album<\/em>. But we had another drummer on the song \u2018Lentil Nightmare\u2019 \u2013 he was heavy as hell: Bryson Graham, who also died early, aged 41 in 1993. He was drummer in Spooky Tooth.<\/p>\n<p>The idea to do \u2018Hole in My Shoe\u2019 came from Allan MacGowan, friend, promoter and Brighton comedy impresario. Originally, we went to Marillion with the idea of doing the single \u2018Hole in My Shoe\u2019 \u2013 I did a couple of support gigs with them and got to know Fish a bit. But I think the idea started to flounder when the managements got involved. Not sure. But for whatever reason, I went to see Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin at their flat in Chiswick \u2013 and it was quickly obvious that his ideas and skills were really going to work with me\/Neil.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hurdy Gurdy Mushroom Man\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QJJvgDf5fFU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I listened recently to Dave\u2019s version of Donovan\u2019s \u2018Hurdy Gurdy Man\u2019 on the <em>Heavy Concept Album<\/em>, and I was surprised at how fucking good it is. Dave has done this gut-wrenchingly beautiful spacey instrumental [\u2018Floating\u2019] which gradually morphs and changes and twists until you find you are in a tune you vaguely recognize, then just at that moment, Neil\u2019s voice \u2013 quite sweet and high now \u2013 comes in; \u201cThrown like a star in my high sleep, I opened my eyes to take a peep\u2026\u201d. It\u2019s actually a really nice version of the song. We tried to make a balance between the comedy and the music so that they didn\u2019t cancel each other out as often happens and I think we mostly achieved that. Some of Dave\u2019s arrangements are truly classic. I was very happy when the album was re-released on Esoteric Records in 2014 and got a whole new load of listeners.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"My White Bicycle\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vzHjvMKgIpg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>The album features an amazing collection of irreverent cover versions, from Donovan and Incredible String Band to Sex Pistols, Tomorrow, and Pink Floyd. Did you select the songs to interpret or were they a group decision?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Well, it was the record company who insisted we make \u2018My White Bicycle\u2019 a second single, and put it on the album. But on the whole I had pretty much all my own choices \u2013 even to the slightly weird extent of doing \u2018The Amoeba Song\u2019from Incredible String Band \u2013 one of my favorites when younger, which seemed so perfect for Neil. Another of my favorites happened to be Caravan, so doing \u2018Golf Girl\u2019 from their <em>In The Land Of Grey And Pink<\/em> was a no-brainer with Dave involved. There were a few people who just wanted us to do a string of pop hit covers, which might well have sold more for all I know, but luckily with Dave I had the opportunity to make something a bit more original, and a bit more ambitious musically.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Amoeba Song (From a Very Cellular Song)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JAJNgOpofws?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You\u2019ve released material in several different genres, from comedy to theatre, heavy metal to psychedelia, jazz and folk. Are you comfortable with all types of music or do you have a particular favourite that you\u2019d like to explore further?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Not really. My personal listening tastes are usually minimalist, but my abilities are much less than my imagination. But I\u2019m pretty happy listening to any style or genre of music. I particularly like songs which have standout lyrics \u2013 I always listen to the lyrics; \u2018What Makes A Man\u2019 by Charles Aznavour, \u2018Class\u2019 by Kander and Ebb (from the musical <em>Chicago<\/em>), \u2018Time After Time\u2019 by Rob Hyman and Cyndi Lauper, \u2018Frank Mills\u2019, by Ragni, Rado, MacDermot (from the musical <em>Hair<\/em>). I currently write lyrics for a few different artists (Matts Lindblom, Phil Proetti, and Neil Avery of <em>Commit No Nuisance<\/em> &#8211; [see below]) as well as occasionally composing melody, too. \u00a0(\u2018City In The Summer\u2019 on Bandcamp and Don\u2019s Tunes, Relaxing Jazz Lounge Playlist)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"City in the Summer\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8ZSrwb6D_Ok?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>What type of music did you enjoy when you were younger and have those influences carried over into the music you perform?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>I remember listening to each new [Captain] Beefheart album when it came out. And knowing Soft Machine\u2019s <em>Third\u00a0<\/em>so well I could hum my way through all four sides of it in my head. Dr. John\u2019s <em>Gris Gris<\/em> was a big deal too, as were Country Joe &amp; The Fish. Jazz-rock-wise there was Nucleus (Ian Carr) and Coliseum, folk-wise Incredible String Band, Tir Na Nog, The Strawbs, Nick Drake obviously. Also, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Joe Jackson.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Country Joe and The Fish - Section 43 (Live 1967)\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player.html?video=xz2nxx&#038;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You co-wrote and performed the theme from your <em>King And Castle<\/em> show with Hugh Cornwell in 1986. Were you a huge Stranglers fan? How did Hugh get involved?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>I met Hugh when we were both appearing on something like <em>The Tube<\/em> in the \u201980s. We got on well and became friends. So when the idea of doing <em>King And Castle<\/em> theme tune came up, I rang him and he quickly came back with the song \u2018Rough With The Smooth\u2019, which was just right. I didn\u2019t have a hand in writing it. When I listened to it again recently it was obvious that I\u2019m doing an impersonation of Hugh singing. I did really like The Stranglers and the bold lyrics they came up with. And the time signature change in \u2019Golden Brown\u2019 is very memorable \u2013 check out the Dave Brubeck <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2Qs1J612nZs\">spoof video on YouTube<\/a> \u2013 playing \u2018Golden Brown\u2019 in 5\/8. Really good.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hugh Cornwell and Nigel Planer- Rough With The Smooth\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sqZ_Lq6kS_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Was this the first appearance of Nicholas Craig?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Nicholas Craig was a project I developed with Christopher Douglas (Ed Reardon from the comedy radio series <em>Ed Reardon\u2019s Week<\/em>). It started with the book <em>\u2018I An Actor\u2019<\/em> (now in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/I-Actor-Nicholas-Craig\/dp\/041377726X\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=i+an+actor&amp;qid=1621631810&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1\">zillionth edition<\/a>) and went on to all sorts of incarnations, appearances, radio and TV series. The B-side of the single with Hugh (\u2018Nicholas Craig And Max\u2019) would have been one of the earliest outings for the character. The last time I appeared as Nicholas, as far as I can remember was in Stewart Lee\u2019s <em>At Last The 1981 Show<\/em> at the Festival Hall in 2011.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cliff Richard &amp; The Young Ones - Livin&#039; Doll\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/krn-o11Y8YM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em style=\"font-weight: bold;\">SD!: <\/em>Nineteen-Eighty-Six<em style=\"font-weight: bold;\">\u00a0<\/em>also saw you conquer the charts with Cliff Richard when <i>The Young Ones<\/i> collaborated on his popular \u2018Living Doll\u2019 remake for the <em>Comic Relief Charity<\/em>. Cliff seemed a good sport about everything and I\u2019m sure another #1 in his bonnet was welcome. Although the \u201cbook, LP, and Chocolates\u201d didn\u2019t appear, was this also a proud moment for you\u2026 to be able to put your character to good use to help the children in Sudan and Ethiopia?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>As far as I know the single was the first thing Comic Relief ever did. Two years earlier Bob Geldof invited me to take part in the \u2018Feed The World\u2019 record. I turned up at the studio in full Neil gear, but it didn\u2019t feel right being a comedy character while singing about feeding the world \u2013 \u00a0like it might be inappropriate to make light of the suffering or be condescending \u2013 so I didn\u2019t join the big choir line up, but I did hang about making funny videos, mostly, as I remember with Status Quo, mucking about backstage.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/kDXBz3d-bD8<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Your Bad News project actually pre-dated <em>Spinal Tap<\/em>, which essentially mined the same territory to a much wider audience. Were you ever able to watch the <em>Spinal Tap<\/em> film or listen to the records or was it too frustrating seeing them capitalize on what you started?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> It\u2019s weird that the two projects must have been in pre-production about the same time. It is a bit of a shame that we are not internationally as well known as <em>Spinal Tap<\/em>, but <em>Spinal Tap<\/em> is so brilliant, there\u2019s no point in going all negative and heavy is there? Adrian Edmondson and I went to a comedy festival in Bristol a couple of years ago, (Slapstick festival) and they played the <i>Bad News <\/i>films in front of a full live audience. It was so brilliant to hear people laughing so much together \u2013 of course when it\u2019s on telly you don\u2019t get to hear that.\u00a0 I think the films stand the test of time really well. [Several films are currently streaming on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0C2Gjqi2agk\">YouTube<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLKPSZZwljyUKCQ6yCOJr_kw9_5o4AzyxB<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>At least you got to record with Brian May?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Yes we were in the studio Sarm West for six weeks with Brian, and he left the mics on and we stayed in character. That\u2019s how we got the second Bad News album, just edited versions of us nattering on at each other in improvisations.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ew9KR1zZXzk<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!:<\/em><\/strong> Was it surreal to be involved in the <em>We Will Rock You<\/em> play later on? Was your earlier work with Brian influential in getting the part, or was it more down to having worked with Ben previously<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0NP: <\/em><\/strong>Well I think it was Brian and Ben both.\u00a0 But it\u2019s musical theatre so I had to go and audition, just like anyone else. That\u2019s the way it goes in \u2018Thu Theaaatre\u2019.\u00a0 So I sang an old Robert Palmer number \u2018Man Smart, Women Smarter\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Did Brian ever get in touch with his reaction to the project and\/or your work on it (as the original \u201cPop\u201d)?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Brian\u2019s very hands on, he didn\u2019t need to get in touch, he was there every day of rehearsals and came around backstage at least once a week once the show opened. Occasionally he\u2019d make announcements over the Tannoy system, like; \u201cYou. Guys. ROCK!\u201d\u00a0 which did the trick in getting everyone excited and feeling like rock stars.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Comic Strip Presents 2x04 A Fistful of Travellers&#039; Cheques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Es-oOK_Wyt4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>The Comedy Store and Comic Strip projects led to some fun musical projects, particularly The Outer Limits with Peter Richardson. Was \u2018Page 3 Girls\u2019 the only thing formally recorded and released or are there other tracks buried in a landfill somewhere?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>There\u2019s a beautiful song with lyrics by Pete Richens, the other Pete on the Comic Strip writing team; \u2018If the Martians Land, Wake me up, coz it\u2019s me they wanna see\u2019. It was for my character Paul the mandrax freak, who appears in <em>Fistful Of Travellers\u2019 Cheques<\/em>. It never got used nor recorded. Pete died year before last, and we had a thing at a pub in North London. I found I remembered the whole song and the chords and everything, and sang it at that memorial. There\u2019s one line that brought a lump to the throat; \u201cpinning my hopes\/ on reincarnation\/ one of the back seat\/ boys of creation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also the Bad News song I wrote, that never made it onto the album. Perhaps because it was too damn difficult for us to play;\u00a0 \u2018Axogram, axogram, half bike, half axe, half man\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nigel Planer   Don&#039;t Turn Your Back On The One You Love.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zyW7iQbQd0g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>I like you channeling your inner Hall &amp; Oates on the <em>Roll Over Beethoven<\/em> TV series soundtrack (1985). \u2018Don&#8217;t Turn Your Back On The One You Love\u2019 is a departure from your usual performances. Would you catalogue that in the \u201cfrustrating\u201d or \u201cfun to do\u201d file of your overall discography?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Some regretful memories over <em>Roll Over Beethoven<\/em>, because I really liked the people and the character and getting to sing etc, but it came out around the time <i>The<\/i> <em>Young Ones<\/em> was really taking off, and so I had to drop out of it, which pissed off the writers, and producers, who\u2019d put so much into getting it off the ground. It was strange being in a very anarchic show at the same time as being in a very not-anarchic, mainstream show.\u00a0 Gave a bit of stress.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong><em>Cabaret<\/em> with Toyah Willcox (1997) How did that come about? Were you familiar with Toyah\u2019s work or she with yours?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Got on well with Toyah at that session. Of course, I knew her work. I remember her starting out in those films by Derek Jarman, before she was a pop star, <em>Jubilee<\/em> and <em>The Tempest<\/em>.\u00a0 She was originally an archetypal punk.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>I surmised (in my review of the <i>Five Songs Left<\/i> EP) that you might have been a fan of her husband\u2019s first project, Giles, Giles &amp; Fripp. \u2018Realise\u2019 seems to have that easy-going vibe of their <i>Cheerful Insanity\u2026<\/i>?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>I was never aware of Giles and Fripp. Later made up for that by being very aware of the famous gaping mouth King Crimson album, which was a favorite and had many alternative uses as a gatefold\u00a0 album. \u201cSaid the straight man\/ to the late man\/ where have you been? I\u2019ve been here and\/ I\u2019ve been there and\/ I\u2019ve been in between\u2026\u201d Lyrics by Pete Sinfield the great.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Nearly 20 years later, you and Toyah would both contribute to several of Chris Wade\u2019s Dodson And Fogg projects. Was there time to reminisce or were your contributions submitted over the \u2018net digitally?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Almost all my work with Chris Wade has been online. We made the EP together this year sending WAVs back and forth to each other.\u00a0 Luckily, because the songs were written in 1971, recording on my iPhone \u2013 with a guitar that is so old and broken I have to hold it together with my elbow to play it \u2013 created a creaky authentic sound for the project which seems totally appropriate.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"For a While\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G_EDcp6MT1Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You also appear with Celia Humphris (from Trees) on Chris\u2019s <em>Roaming<\/em> album (2016), singing backing vocals on the lovely acoustic \u2018For A While\u2019. It was very sad to hear of her passing. Did you know or have any contact with Celia during the project? Or was it again (as with Toyah) a digital exchange?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Toyah was in person in a studio for a day. I never met Celia.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!:<\/em><\/strong> You released a single in 2015 (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdomtwinsbooks.bandcamp.com\/album\/mean-meanwhile\">\u2018Mean Meanwhile\u2019<\/a>) with Chris and your brother Roger under the name Rainsmoke. Was that just a lark and a one-off or will you return to that project in the future?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>We created the idea of Rainsmoke to try and record versions of the songs that we wrote in the early \u201970s. Most of which have ended up in the <i>Five Songs Left<\/i>\u00a0EP on <a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/album\/five-songs-left\">Bandcamp<\/a>. The \u2018Mean Meanwhile\u2019 song was written by all three of us, and is a little bit more ambitious, with my brother Rog who now has all these production skills, simulating LSD guitar playing and drums which appear to be stuck in an alternative time reality. Would love to get back to this project, but it\u2019s slow when three people live in different places and other things intervene.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>How did your working relationship with Chris begin and does he send you material to perform (narrations and such, e.g., <a href=\"https:\/\/wisdomtwinsbooks.bandcamp.com\/album\/raymonds-room\"><em>Raymond\u2019s Room<\/em><\/a>) or do you have an open invitation to help out whenever he has a project that fits into your busy schedule?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>In the first place Chris got in touch to get me to do narrations on a Dodson And Fogg album. We recorded it in a little studio in Shepherd\u2019s Bush and then he went back to Leeds. Since then we stayed in touch and gradually built up this ongoing thing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done some more narrations, we\u2019ve done Rainsmoke, I\u2019ve sung some harmonies on one of his albums, and we wrote a song together about a Stalker which is really creepy.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with several renowned musicians and producers: Dave Stewart, Brian May, Hugh Cornwell. Was there any bit of advice that you received from any of them when you first started recording that stuck with you and you latch onto whenever you prepare for a recording session? Perhaps something to help you relax behind the mic, yet still remain confident that you\u2019re ready to go once that Recording light goes on?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Because I\u2019ve worked in theatre a fair bit, I\u2019m always being told to tone it down, although I don\u2019t have a very loud voice. There\u2019s one guy who gave me good singing advice \u2013 Gareth Valentine \u2013 who was the maestro on the jazz musical <em>Chicago<\/em>.\u00a0 We were in the studio and the Americans were giving me all these technical notes which were making me freeze up.\u00a0 Gareth knew me as a character actor, and knew I was happiest feeling \u201cin character\u201d.\u00a0 He took over the booth and gave me some notes about what the character might be feeling, and what the joke of the song might be, and then the singing came out fine.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4930\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B-24x24.jpeg 24w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B-48x48.jpeg 48w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FC1141F8-46C9-4E60-91B4-BD143810248B-96x96.jpeg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You released a digital track (<a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/track\/city-in-the-summer\">\u2018City In The Summer\u2019<\/a>) last year which you recorded with Andrew Holdsworth and Tom Walsh during lockdown. There\u2019s a lovely laidback jazzy vibe to the song which evokes summer heat, yet cool jazz! Do you think you might expand this \u201cteaser\u201d into something larger, perhaps an EP or album?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>I\u2019d like to do that. I\u2019ve written a follow up song, but it\u2019s less jazzy, so we\u2019re just thinking what to do at the moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Is that \u2018Love Strikes\u2019?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> Yes.\u00a0\u2018Love Strikes\u2019 is now out on <a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/track\/love-strikes\">Bandcamp<\/a> and I\u2019m working on a couple more songs like that in the same smooth jazz style. I finally bought a new guitar \u2013 after 40 years! \u2013 and it\u2019s inspiring lots of new kinds of things. But I can\u2019t bring myself to actually throw away the old one now, even though it has a split right through the middle. I\u2019m attached to it, now that it finally recorded the \u2018Five Songs Left\u2019 and \u2018Four Songs More\u2019 EPs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4931\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-24x24.jpeg 24w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-48x48.jpeg 48w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C-96x96.jpeg 96w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3A82E27E-7E1C-480F-8E43-E5C212E4CE5C.jpeg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Tell us about the <i>Five Songs Left<\/i> EP. Obviously influenced by Nick Drake. Were you a fan of his back then? Or were the songs already written (about 50 years ago) and did you subsequently come to know Nick\u2019s work and parodied the title (<em>Five Leaves Left<\/em>) as a tribute to his seminal work?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>The first Nick Drake album (<em>Five Leaves Left<\/em>) came out in 1969.\u00a0 I bought it that week, it seemed to be talking directly to me. The songs on my <a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/album\/five-songs-left\">\u201cFive Songs Left\u201c<\/a> were written from about \u201970 to \u201973.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>What made you decide the time was right to get around to recording the songs at this time. Did the lockdown give you the opportunity to visit your back catalogue, as it were?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Yeah, that\u2019s about right.\u00a0 But we had been working on it with the Rainsmoke project, as I say. I think the lockdown just made it essential to simplify and get the recordings down to the essentials.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>And was Chris the only one you had in mind to bring the songs alive?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Well, I\u2019d had earlier attempts which didn\u2019t pull together for various reasons. Rainsmoke, as I said, and once with the late Simon Brint \u2013 the guy from Raw Sex. But this time it was basically Chris\u2019s enthusiasm and encouragement that made it happen. And his playing and singing of course which are just right. There\u2019s a recent version of the song \u2018Back of The Q\u2019, produced by my brother Rog, which sounds amazing, like some Latin American movie score. Perhaps we should release that sometime.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Did you ever record the songs for your own amusement back when they were written? Perhaps an old reel-to-reel or dusty cassette version exists in the vault? If not, did you ever consider throwing something together and shopping it around to record labels back in the early \u201870s?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>No, we never did.\u00a0 But I remember briefly having a manager, Tony, and going round to record company A &amp; R departments, with my brother Rog and actually playing some of the songs live to them, in their offices. Strange how times have changed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Any chance there are other tracks in storage that you might dig out and dust off and set to music? We\u2019d love to hear a full album.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><i>Four Songs More <\/i>is now out on <a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/album\/four-songs-more\">Bandcamp<\/a>. People seem to like it a lot, especially the more psychedelic \u2018Chorus Of Dawn\u2019, with its reference to \u201cClear Light\u201d. [What was that in 1971? Answers on a postcard.] Here\u2019s a comment on the music from Fairless Masterman [yes, that\u2019s his, real, cool name] \u201c&#8230; raw, folky, back-of-a-fag-packet feel really makes them stand out amongst the sea of over-engineered, over-produced stuff \u2013 retro on its head \u2013 it\u2019s Nigel in 1971 finally hearing his songs come out in 2021 (Fairless Masterman)\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The <i>Four Songs More<\/i> cover photo is quite funny. That\u2019s me on a beach in France, around 1972-ish, with Neil-length hair.\u00a0 And a mystery famous funk guitarist in the background.\u00a0 <em>Shindig!<\/em> should issue a prize draw for people who correctly guess his identity.\u00a0 Clue: he\u2019s too sexy!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Was Chris along to help on these songs as well?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> Yeah, Chris Wade does more than help, he plays on all of them and even sings lead vocal on <a href=\"https:\/\/nigelplaner.bandcamp.com\/track\/winter\">\u2018Winter\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Does that complete the collection of your older songs that you\u2019ve revived or are there still \u201c\u2026More Songs\u201d waiting to be arranged and recorded?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Well, I thought it was all of them, but I remembered a couple when I started playing around on my new guitar. Incredible that chords and lyrics can still be hiding in your subconscious after 40 years. But there they were. Like a refreak. Maybe \u2018Two Songs Forgotten\u2019 next?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4932\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-24x24.jpeg 24w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-48x48.jpeg 48w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00-96x96.jpeg 96w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/CBB437F9-A78E-41D6-9281-51ACBB9D6E00.jpeg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>You\u2019ve also recently released a new album with Neil Avery, <em>Commit No Nuisance<\/em> to launch the Pink Deer Record label. Is that a homegrown label amongst yourselves or some friends getting together to get the music out to the public?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> It\u2019s Neil\u2019s label.\u00a0 I\u2019ve just been writing lyrics for him for a couple of years now.\u00a0 It\u2019s a new departure for me, because all the references are different \u2013 he\u2019s very \u201880s jangly guitar pop. So it\u2019s been fun. I do some of the backup vocals too.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>How did you and Neil meet and how did the conversation get around to musical possibilities?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> We met through a mutual friend. And he was going on about how he wrote songs but was often stuck for words, and I said, \u201cThat\u2019s funny, because I\u2019ve got a whole drawer full of lyrics which never found a melody, going back a while.\u201d They\u2019re slightly dark songs \u2013 ones that sound quite bouncy and poppy until you maybe hear the hook and it\u2019ll be about a stalker, or a friend who drowned, or other nastiness.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Talk It Out - Neil Avery &amp; Nigel Planer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/B88PnBRMJPU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>There are many different participants on this project. Was it recorded before the virus and lockdown? I see you are including \u2018Talk It Out\u2019, the free single you contributed for Time To Talk Day (6th February, 2020) right before the virus became front page news.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP:<\/em><\/strong> Yes, they took a year or more to record, and then it took a while to get them mixed, etc.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad they\u2019re up on Bandcamp now and we can carry on writing the new batch \u2013 first lot were called <em>Commit No Nuisance<\/em>, the new lot are going to be called <em>Happy Little \u00a0Zombies<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SD!: <\/em><\/strong>Anything else that\u2019s in the hopper would make a great wrap-up if you are working on new projects you would like to promote?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>NP: <\/em><\/strong>Weirdly, in these days when people say theatre is dead, killed by indifference and COVID, I actually have a play I\u2019ve written going on tour! It\u2019s called <em>All Above Board<\/em>. It\u2019s a comedy, a farce, for something called the <a href=\"https:\/\/northerncomedytheatre.com\/all-above-board\">Northern Comedy Theatre<\/a>. It\u2019s going round theatres in the north [New Brighton, York, Coventry, Gloucester, Stockport, St. Helens] through July, August and September. Plot too complicated to explain here, but basically it\u2019s about a banker who wants to look cool and get an OBE, so he starts a charity and hires a PR agent and things go really badly wrong for him.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve also been working with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MattsLindblomTrubadur\">Matts Lindblom<\/a>.\u00a0 He\u2019s a Swedish rocker, an old guy with a gravel voice.\u00a0 We hit it off, and I\u2019ve been writing lyrics for him for a few months and he\u2019s recorded an album of our songs releasing them one by one on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/0QRFi4bH1aV7lUETZ9wOU2\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Good stuff because he\u2019s singing his age, and I\u2019m writing mine. We\u2019re a couple of old guys. So lyrics for instance go \u201cAll the kids are laughing and dancing, but I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 So take me home, I should never have come here, but I just can\u2019t take one more night on my own, and my cowboy boots are not in fashion, and I\u2019m too drunk now, take me home, take me home\u201d [\u2018Take Me Home\u2019].<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s one song about phoning his kid in Thailand, called \u2018Bad Connection\u2019, and there\u2019s even one called \u2018Dad Dancing\u2019 where he goes crazily funky.\u00a0 It\u2019s been fun working with this guy. I think he might interest Shindiggers.<\/p>\n<span class=\"synved-social-container synved-social-container-share\"><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F4927&#038;t=Nigel%20Planer%E2%80%A6%20from%20hippy%20kid%20to%20Neil%20and%20beyond&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F4927&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F07%2Fneil-credit-nobby-clarke-crop.jpg&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Nigel%20Planer%E2%80%A6%20from%20hippy%20kid%20to%20Neil%20and%20beyond\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F4927&#038;text=New%20post%20on%20our%20site\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Nigel%20Planer%E2%80%A6%20from%20hippy%20kid%20to%20Neil%20and%20beyond&#038;body=New%20post%20on%20our%20site:%20https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F4927\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An excerpt from JEFF PENCZAK\u2019s interview with NIGEL PLANER appeared in Shindig #113. We thought you\u2019d enjoy reading the entire conversation Shindig!: Your musical career seems to have begun in 1980 with the Pam &amp; The Paper Clips one-off &#8216;Typing Pool&#8217; single with your brother Roger and an uncredited Pamela Stephenson from Not The Nine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,7],"tags":[946,947],"class_list":["post-4927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-music-videos","tag-nigel-planer","tag-the-young-ones","post_format-post-format-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4927"}],"version-history":[{"count":-1,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}