Solo artist, and lead singer of Kajagoogoo, Limahl is our guest this week and it was an honor to talk to the singer of the chart topping soundtrack song, The NeverEnding Story. It was a top 10 hit in over 15 countries, including hitting #1 in Norway, Spain and Sweden. Limahl has recently released a new single, a great cover of America's "A Horse with No Name". It's available on all digital streaming services. The video can be found here:
Ryan talks to Limahl about about how the song, "The NeverEnding Story" came together with legendary award winning producer and songwriter, Giorgio Moroder (Take My Breath Away, Flashdance What a Feeling, Danger Zone, and more).
They also discuss:
To keep up to date with Limahl:
Website
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Ryan talks to Limahl about about how the song, "The NeverEnding Story" came together with legendary award winning producer and songwriter, Giorgio Moroder (Take My Breath Away, Flashdance What a Feeling, Danger Zone, and more).
They also discuss:
- The Season 3 finale of Stranger Things, where the song "The NeverEnding Story" is performed by 2 characters on the show
- The emergence of Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" in shows like American Horror Story and Black Mirror
- Limahl's process of creating his own version of "A Horse with No Name" while showing respect for the original version
To keep up to date with Limahl:
Website
YouTube
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My name is Ryan Packin. It's a soundtrack Your Life,
where we speak with a guest about a soundtrack that
is important to them. Today we have the honor to
speak to Limo. He was and is the lead singer
of Kajak Googu, and he also sings the theme for
the nineteen eighty four film The Never Ending Story.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome limmel Hi, Ryan, lovely to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
So you have a new single out and it's great.
It's a cover of America is a Horse with No Name?
So why did you choose to cover that song?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I've always loved it and as a songwriter to myself,
I don't think it's a song I could have ever written.
It's so unique lyrically. I know that the rights of
the song from the band of Maria Dewey Bonnell. His
father was in an Air Force base near the desert,
so do we spent some of his childhood going through
(01:09):
New Mexico Desert and the Arizona Desert From where I
live in Manchester. There are no deserts I going to
show you in the UK, so that I don't think
a song like that was ever going to come from me.
But the irony, the irony is that the song was
actually written. Did you know this? It was actually written
in the UK in a town called puddle Town in Dorset.
(01:31):
Now how's that for a Harry Potter sounding town? Puddle Town? Yeah.
So I love the song and it's been in my
subconscious with the two voices in my head. Don't touch
a classic, that's dangerous, or can I do anything with this?
(01:52):
Because I love it? And really every creative, whether it's
making film or writing a book or music or even
drawing as an artist, has unfinished work, and I have
plenty on my shelf. You know, you start something and
(02:13):
for whatever reason you get block, You get stuff, work
gets in the way, family gets in the way, whatever
you get sick, whatever it is. And that just did
not happen with Horse. It came together rather nicely. I
mean I did work really hard, but it almost came
(02:33):
to me sometimes. I remember my early thoughts were, I've
got to make it my own. I've got to try
it to be faithful to the original, but put my
own stamp on it if I can. And so I
thought the first way I could do that is to
(02:54):
steer away from the lovely acoustic guitar that sort of
drives the overriding personality in the production of the original,
and I started playing around with the electronica. There's a
great synthesizer that came out around nineteen eighty and actually
we use one in the Caju Google video for Too Shy.
(03:16):
It's called a Roland jupid at eight and it was
the new synthesizer kid on the block, really, And now
you can just get it as an audio plugin, which
is what I'm using, and I just got this lovely
sequence of going. It's a bit like a world wide guitar.
The envelope potent's w and through some and as a
(03:36):
chord and then a music chord, and then just throwing
lots of nice reverbs on it. Immediately, I just thought, oh,
this is so nice, and it's kind of progressed from there,
so I was steering away from the guitar. A lot
of new music makers, young new music makers today are
being influenced by the eighties and nineties, and of course
(03:57):
I was there the first time, so I sort of
put a I went down the sort of nineties production
route with the you know, with the rhythms and stuff
and some of the sounds, and it just kept really
enjoying it. When I was listening back to it, I
have a break, it told me quite a while. It's
been in my back pocket for a while. And then
(04:19):
I did a TV show in the UK with a
popular singer here called Jane McDonald, and I had I
was performing never any story actually, and I had to
rehearse with the band and I met this great guitarist
she uses, called Steve Cooper, who's based in Birmingham. And
I sent the files to Steve and said, look, I
(04:42):
don't know if I'm going to use guitar. I thought
I'd be steering away from guitar, but would you throw
some ideas down, you know, And what came back was
so phenomenally good, and I started, you know, I took
a couple of weeks editing the guitar. There was so
much choice, and then it was like a no brainer.
(05:06):
You know, this is the icing on the cake. And
so you have this wonderful blend of the electronica and
this great, very different guitar from Steve Cooper. And and
I'm still being faithful to the song, but there are
three different things in my version. One we open with
(05:28):
the La las, so that's a new introduction the there's
a key change which is not on the original, and
that was just again this part of the organic process
of creating. Let's try a key change there. Oh oh,
that's nice. That lifts it up, you know, something new.
(05:50):
And then and then in the in the final chorus,
to use the two vocal motives, so Chris crossing each other.
So the la la and the main hook been through
the As a Horse with No Name, it's sort of
akin to a choir. I sort of like to compare
it to something like the Mammas and Poppers of the sixties,
(06:13):
because I love their records and I'm always listened to
me records.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
We're very pro physical media on this podcast.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yes and that, And that's really a long answer to
your question about you know, how, how, how and why
my version of A Horse with No Name came together.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yeah. I got a advanced copy to it and it
was great. I like the song and the original, and
I like what you did with it. I think it
is faithful. But it is definitely not like a carbon
copy of it either.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You know what's surprising. The tempo is basically the same.
I've had a couple of I've done a couple of
interviews and people say, oh, you've speeded it up. No,
they're both one, two five. It's just with the four
on the floor based from and you know, a lot
punch here in terms of the drums, because I think
the original is more acoustic. Is percussion going on and
(07:14):
acoustic guitar. The first verse of the original is a
tad slower, and then they sort of speed it up
as they get to verse two, something that sometimes bands
do in a live situation to you know, to pick
songs up. No, I'm thrilled with it. And what will
happen with it? I don't know. It'd be nice to
(07:36):
get the approval of America. I don't know if they've
heard it yet, but if I do, it'll be straight
on my social media because there would be no better
stamp of approval.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Yeah, And I think you've done a great job with it.
I think it's a new take on it without you know,
making it into something that's unrecognizable.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
That's great. I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So you have my stamp for approval, though I'm not
in America. I'm in the country of America, not in
the band.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So this is your first single since twenty twenty. Do
you have any plans the tour on a are you're
just kind of looking at what the response to the
song was.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
First, well, I need a good excuse to tour. I
do a lot of single shows, you know. I tend
to do like music festivals, not unlike Glastonbury, but for
a lot of retro festivals around the world. They're really
popular now, so you know, there's there's several in the
(08:42):
UK and then globally there's many. So I whether there's
a multi artist lineup and people kind of go. It's
a big day out. Usually sometimes there's even a funfair
for the kids. It's a family day out. There's a
big stage, there's food stalls and if the weather's good,
(09:04):
you know, it's great fun. And then of course you
get a lineup of artists and songs that relate to
people's journey, the important songs. You know. I can't tell
you the many times that people have come up to
me and said too shy of the first record I bought, Wow,
or our first dance at the wedding, and similarly really
(09:29):
with never Ending Story. So those are the I'm going
to Recuvic in Iceland for the first time. I think
it's September, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm also
playing at the Pride Festival in Cologne in July. You know,
every December, I always never quite sure where the next
year is going to take me. These two songs too
(09:52):
Shy with Cadja Google and never Ending Story and I
hope Horse with No Name. Maybe at some point they
just in the old school length you say, keep the
phone ringing. You know, they're just the big hits in
every country almost and it's one. It's been a wonderful journey.
It is a wonderful journey I'm having still.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Right, And I would assume with a never Ending Story,
I mean, did you expect that to be a huge
success or for it to have lived as long as
it has. I know that. You know, you worked with
Georgia Moroder, who was obviously like a legend. But you
know what was kind of your thoughts when you were
kind of when you got the call to work on
(10:35):
that song.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, firstly, I think if I had known how important
that track was going to become in my life, I
would have gone to bed early that night the night
before I recorded it. Instead, I was out till three am.
Come on, I'm twenty three years old. I was out clubbing,
smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol. I had a hangover. I I
(11:00):
almost missed the flight to Muni, where Giorgio Moroder, the producer,
had his studio, And when I got there, I was
so tired I couldn't sing a note. And it's quite
high the song, you know, And we tried the vocal
in the afternoon and it wasn't coming. My voice was going,
go away, go away. I'm tired. But we had some
(11:24):
wine and some food and kind of relaxed, and then,
you know, when you're twenty three, your body recovers a
lot quicker from the night before. And I nailed it
about eight pm. So the answer to your question is no,
I had no idea, and if I had had an idea,
it would have been a very sensible boy and gone
some bet early. It's very hard to know, you know,
(11:47):
you can hear things coming back, because I think success
depends on so many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle coming together,
and one you know, so many people can influence that outcome.
Did you ask me Ryan how the song came about.
I'm sorry, I've.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, Like, how did that collaboration come together.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
So Georgio Morouder, the producer, if you get a call
from him back in those days, it was it would
be like an actor getting a call from Steven Spielberg.
I mean it was just that important Georgie and Morouder,
this electronic pioneer. I feel loved on a Summer three
Academy Awards, I think for music from film. So Top Gun.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Minute Express You Take.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
My Breath Away by the Band of Berlin from Top
Gun Midnight Express was the first one, yes, and there
was no song there really, it was just the theme
music to a very powerful film, dark film, and then
of course there was Flashdown Swater feeling Irene Cara. So anyway,
(12:55):
I was when Caji Google broke up. My first solo
single was called Only for Love and my records it
asked me to go to Japan to perform at the
Tokyo Music Festival. So went off to Japan, verycited to
go there for my first time. The Buddhacuan Hall is
this stunning, famous historic building in Tokyo, a bit like
(13:18):
the Royal Albert Hall in London. I think it's circular,
and that's where I met Georgia Murder. I was there
with my manager at the time, Billy Gaff, an Irish
guy who'd worked with Roger Stewart. Billy took Georgio to
dinner and I can just hear Billy now. He was
such an entrepreneur. Billy would have been saying, in his
(13:40):
lovely Irish accent, you know, Lamal's going to be the
best things in sliced bread, because that's the way he was.
Billy's parties in Chelsea were infamous and he was a
real networker. So that happens, And unbeknown to me, Joe
was a fan of the Caju Goo Go song because
(14:02):
it was a big hit in the States. So you know,
there's a bit of serendipity, a bit of luck if
you like. Got back to the UK after Japan, manager
received a call I'd like to try Lamar's voice on
a new movie soundtrack that I'm working on. That was
very exciting, the idea of putting my voice because Cajua
(14:26):
Google was not an overnight sensation. Yes, our first single
went to, you know, number one all over the world practically,
but I think I'd been in like three theater shows,
musicals singing. I'd been in singing lessons in demo studios.
Three other bands before I met Caja Gougu, and of
course with Caju Gougu too, they'd all learned their instruments
(14:47):
and done gigs. There were previously another band called Art
Nouveau as a four piece band. Before I joined it
became the fifth member. So it was not an overnight sensation.
We all worked very hard for it. But when it came,
you know, he just felt fantastic and sorry, I've digressed
and I forgot the original. I do this, I go
(15:09):
off piece and I think, what was the original question?
What was the original question? Again? We're talking about how
George and so, yeah, so so so. I flew back
from Munich, I'd done the vocal, and for two days
I didn't hear anything. Then my manager called and said,
Georgio likes the vocal and he's going to use it.
(15:32):
So I thought great. And then of course you know
they're editing the movie or they're still filming the movie,
and Georgia was working on the soundtrack. EMI Records sign
the soundtrack that was my label, and then of course
the film came out, the song came out. I literally
(15:56):
I must have traveled the world. Doing promotion for that
song took almost a year of my life all over Europe.
The song was huge, number one in seventeen countries. I mean,
it just took my breath away and it was such
a surprise. The biggest surprise is, ironically the title is
(16:19):
coming true because as you know, The Never Any Story
is being picked up. You may already know it's been
picked up by a big production company to be turned
into a live action series for one of the big
streaming companies. I believe. I think there were rumors it
(16:42):
was Disney, but I don't know. It might old be
top secret. There's a musical of The Never Any Story
being adapted for stage in Spain. I went to the
opening night and sang with the cast after the show,
and that's called Interminabla and it's all in Spanish and
(17:04):
it's absolutely stunning. I watched it even though I don't
really speak Spanish, and the investment into this stage production
is just phenomenal, beyond entertainment that's now running in Barcelona.
I guess there's always a chance, if it's done well,
that it will get picked up, either translated to English,
(17:26):
or will playing other Spanish speaking territories. So it goes
on and I again I think if I'd known how
important the song was going to become, I wouldn't have
got any sleep. Then I'd have been terrified.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
So when did you first see the movie? It doesn't
sound like you saw before you recorded the song.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
No, I knew nothing because the original book was in German,
so the German title best selling book of children's book
of all time and by German author Mikhael Ende and
the title was de un English and gosh dai or goshta.
(18:11):
It's quite a mouthful, but kind of beautiful. I think, Yeah,
he didn't like the film. Did you know that was
that for controversy? You know, there's always something, isn't there.
You can please some of the people some of the time.
But again I forgot the question.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Sorry, so when did you first see the film?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And yeah, that's when I When did I first see
the film? Mhmm. When I recorded the song, they put
a green screen. There was a green screen behind my
head and they said to me clips of the film
will go hear lam all you just keep performing. So
(18:55):
even at that point I had no idea about the
and I, you know, twenty I was just kind of
that was a bit of a party boy. I wasn't
delving too deeply into anything cultural, just music. So I
think I attended a premiere of the film somewhere in Europe,
(19:19):
and that's the first time that I saw it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Yeah, did you think it was just like a children's
movie or did you you know? What were your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I thought it was adorable. I love the opening sequence
where the boy steals the book and the old man says, no,
you don't want this book. This is a very special book. Haha.
I actually have a copy here. I'm leaning over for it.
I'll show you like that.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Oh very cool, that's great.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, I love of that. And of course he runs
off with a book. It's just the sort of thing
a young boy would do, especially a boy who's like
really into adventure books. Yeah. No, it's it's a it's
a gorgeous story, and and like all good stories, it
has its dark moments. It's it's scary moments. I can't
(20:23):
tell you how many people have somehow. I mean, obviously
people are devastated when our attacks. The beautiful white Horse
is going down in the quicksand I've seen people on
social media saying I can't watch. I can't watch. The
Wolf is very scary section, but the creatures are wonderful.
(20:45):
The rock Monster, yeah, the luck Dragon that can fly,
I mean, just beautiful work. There's a documentary have you
seen it? Called but yeah, I forgot to mention that
in the list of things. So the making of The
Never Ending Story have you heard about That? I've heard of.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I haven't seen it yet.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Yeah, it's I mean the footage in that, what they've
put together. I met Tammy Stronaut for the first time
at the screening in London a few months ago, and
I was just blown away. You know, the when you
get behind the scenes and see the real skills and
the talent of this huge team that's involved, all with
(21:31):
this driving passion to create something wonderful. It's very moving
and and it just makes me so proud to be
a part of it.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, And so I read that they cut them they
filmed the movie. There's a German composer who scored it,
and then they brought in Georgia to add music and
obviously add the theme song, which you know is where
he brought in you. I guess the Germans when they
saw it. When when it first premiered, it had it
(22:02):
did not have your song or any of Georgia's music.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, And in the same way America's first album when
it was released, it did not have a horse with
no Name in Europe. The song was not on that album,
and the album wasn't doing that great, and then the
record company said, do you have any more songs? And
so it could have been the first album, might have
(22:26):
been the second. So the band says, yeah, well we've
got this other song, the Desert Song, but we don't
really like it. Anyway, they went off and developed this song,
then it was put onto the album and re released
then became this huge success. I think that's why when
you're closed to a project, you can't always you can't
(22:48):
always know the right thing to do, what's the right song.
I've heard Elton John talk about that. He jokingly says, oh,
I can't pick the singles. I haven't got a clue
because you just get too close to the work and
you can't judge it anymore. Yeah, and sometimes you're actually
even fed up with it, so leave it to maybe
(23:09):
other people who are bigger, fresh perspective.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right. I've read that you also sang it in French.
I assume that wasn't like the first plan.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So in nineteen eighty four, French radio had a rule,
it's like a union rule, that only so much foreign
language music could be played. And so the record company
requested that I sing it in French and Jan Francie,
(23:43):
it's just sus de soles. So they literally brought in
a linguist to teach me line by line. I had
to sing that song in French, and it was a challenge.
No French, she's got its uh accents. Shall we say?
(24:07):
It's a lovely language. I mean, I think the whole
world likes French, but to really be it's so popular.
So Anne Calvert, I think, was the or she would be,
you know, with the tea without an ee in French
that you don't The rule in French is if you
if there's no e after the consonant, you don't pronounce
(24:30):
the consonants. So it would be Anne Calvert probably. So yeah,
I met Anne and that's it. I went in, did
my vocal, came away, and they mixed it, and I
guess the record company, the conglomerate. I mean, when you
sign with these monster conglomerates, you have you know you
(24:51):
have to play ball. Yeah, it kind of it's a
two way street. You know, you've got a whole I mean,
it's easy to to complain, you know, when you've got
a record deal with a massive company like that. And
that's why Cajua Google were foolish throwing it all away,
firing me because they didn't they thought they were a
(25:14):
teeny band and it was my fault. So let's get
rid of the pretty boy singer. You know that the
Beatles were a teeny band and you ran were a
teeny band, and why we're a teeny band and you
grow out of that stuff. I forgot what I was saying.
Now I've done it again.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Well, you were talking about how they made you recorded
in France and how you got to play ball with
the label.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
So you've got to play ball. You got to play
the game. It's a two way street. So e my
record asked me to go to friends and do this,
and I said yes. I said yes, and that's how
that came about.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Yeah, it's funny because in the movie That Thing You Do,
they tell the band to record in Spanish, and that's
kind of the last straw for that band to break
up in the movie We Married That Thing You Do?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
That Thing You Do. I've never seen it.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
It's a great Tom Hanks directed it, and it's about
like the sixties pop band and they have this one
song called that Thing You Do and they become an
overnight sensation and then you know, they start, you know,
different personality issues start coming up and they're basically about
to break up. And then the manager brings them in
(26:24):
the studio and the lead singers like, I've got some
new songs, and the manager goes, no, we got to
record that Thing you Do in Spanish. And that's when
the lead singer finally has had enough.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
So I like Tom Hanks, when did that film.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Come out ninety five?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I'm going to go and find that. I like it.
I like the sound of that. I love anything like that. Yeah, yeah,
I guess so yeah. Oh, the smallest things can break
up a band. I think one of the problems is
you spend suddenly spending you could argue too much time
with each other, and then certain things get said that
(27:02):
can't be unsaid. There's arguments over silly things. We're using
this photo, No we're not. We're doing this gig. No
we're not. We're using that mix. No we're not. And
so it goes on, you know, and then there'll be
what's the word I'm looking for, There will be natural allegiances,
(27:25):
you know. So the problem with Caju Gugu was they
were a four piece for three years before I joined,
and even though they brought me in, so I was
always kind of the outsider. And I think it's a
miracle really that we managed to do one album, and
thank god we you know, we've got that legacy of
(27:47):
that one album and the single too shy because we
were all pulling musically from such different directions. But I
still wish that we would have gone one or two
more albums at least. It's a big what if in
my life. Now everyone's got what ifs in their life.
(28:08):
What if I had gone to this town, I'd I
wouldn't have met that partner. What if I hadn't gone there,
wouldn't have got that job because I met so and
so I mean it goes on, you know, So I'll
never know. But the irony is if I if the
band hadn't split, what I've got the opportunity to do
the never ending story? Not sure, because I certainly wouldn't
(28:31):
have been in Japan as a solo artist. So has
that for Irony.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Right, And I must say, Too Shy, great song. I
love that song.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Oh gosh, I could say so much about it, Too Shy.
I'll tell you what I can say this, A Horse
with No Name had two demos before the final recording
that became known. Same with Too Shy. So we had
a demo that we did at home. Then there was
a demo in a demo studio, and then the final
(29:03):
recording with Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran co producing with
their producer Colin Thurston, and that was That's important because
when you've got five personalities in a band and the
guitarist wants the guitar aloud, and the drummer wants to drum,
snare up, etc. You need someone at the helm, the
captain of the ship that just cracks the whip and
(29:24):
says get out the studio and leave us to do
our job and that and of course as a new band,
that's what we had to do. We had to do
as we were told. They were like the teachers, really
great teachers. And Colin, the late Colin Thurston, bless him,
he brought such a brilliant, kind of old school engineer
(29:44):
head to the whole production. You know, he knew what
equipment to hire if the studio didn't have it. I
remember him hiring some something for the bass drum. It
was a a valve compressor or something, and it really
made a difference. Yeah, if you get an engineer that
(30:07):
knows this stuff can be really helpful. And then of
course Nick was great with arrangements and ideas and just
an inspiration to have involved. Really Nick Rhodes of Juanne.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I mean the song still sounds fresh today. And
you know, your vocals are great, melodies are great. I remember, like,
you know, being a kid and loving that song, but
also being young enough to not ask who sings a
song or what the song titill is. So it was
great to kind of rediscover that, and you know, watch
(30:38):
your performances on YouTube of it, and vocals are still
great as well.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
And you know, the journey of a song is so
interesting because forty years later, you know, I can look back.
It's been used. I think it was used in season
nine of American Horror Story where they actually featured Kaja
Goo Goo in the storyline, and that was a thrill,
an absolute thrill, and the song, of course suddenly reaches
a whole new generation of the parents are going, ah,
(31:05):
we know this song. We were there the first time, right.
And then the same with Never Any Story in Stranger
Things season three finale, and then I saw the stream
The online streams got from three hundred thousand a month
to one point five million, which is the average at
the moment for Never Any Story. Just phenomenal. The journey
(31:27):
of a song I think too Shy was used in
Adam Sandler movie nineties movie The Wedding Singer. Never Any
Story was featured in a Hugh Grant film in the
I think nineties early naughties. I think it was called
song and lyrics, Music and lyrics or something like that.
Music and lyrics, yeah, music and lyrics, and of course
(31:50):
to being used around the world in other languages. I
think Never Any Story was used in the national lottery
in Sweden, in TV commercials and radio commercials, and of
course it's played on the radio all over the world,
and it's appeared on count countless compilation albums. So the
(32:11):
songs have been incredibly good to me, they really have.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So when it was going to be featured on Stranger Things.
Did you get any sort of notification about it from
your manager, Like, did you know about how Stranger Things
has kind of done this for other songs before that.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I had no idea about Stranger Things. I wasn't watching
the show, although looking back, I should have been, because
the soundtrack alone was worth of watching. The music they
were using was so great. No, it was a surprise,
and that was almost like part of the fun that
I didn't know about this thing. And then suddenly I'm
(32:49):
seeing all this stuff online and my sister's kids are
calling me or messaging me, going, oh mg. They call
me Uncle c because my real name's Chris, so I'm
Uncle Chris and they call me uncle See uncle Cee.
Have you seen? Have you seen? Going absolutely crazy getting
so excited. And then then of course I'm excited as
(33:14):
well because I see the youth. I mean, my nephews
are in their early twenties. So yeah, it's been amazing.
It's still amazing, and I wonder where in the future
they're going to turn up even more.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Right, I mean, with this new live action series that
is in the works, I mean, I'm sure they're gonna
feature your song somehow, Well.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
If you know anyone involved, put a word in because
I doubt it. I doubt I doubt they'll want to
use the original. They probably want to. You know, the
conglomerates will get their heads together and you know the
Disney will who were associated with whatever company. It's a
bit cruel that way. Actually, when I was looking for
(34:04):
a record deal, there were about forty independent record companies
in London or the UK at the time, and now
the conglomerates have swallowed them all up and they control
everything Sony Warner Universal and BMG. It's very tough out there.
You can have the best song in the world and
you go to see a record company and they say,
(34:25):
what are your streaming numbers on TikTok. It's like that's
what's more important. They see an immediate audience and the
marketing head. It's all about marketing. And it does feel
a bit like I mean, they still I believe they
still have an A and R department artists and repertoire
(34:47):
that was supposed to sign the artists. But you know,
all the musicians of my era, we're all complaining that
the business has been run by lawyers and accountants. But
you know, we have to grap about something, don't we.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Well, I'm glad that you got that bump from Stranger Things.
I mean, obviously it's done great for I think a
joy division and Kate Bush as well. Yeah, you know,
and obviously American Horror Story. That's another real iconic show.
I believe Black Mirror also uses too shy.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Oh, yes, of course, yeah, Black Mirror. I forgot about
that one, and it was in a computer game as well. Yeah,
I should have. I should have this list. I did know,
but I forget. I forget. I get so distracted. I
hope the same will happen, you know, with one of
my new music from the last five years, because it's
(35:40):
such a different world now. So I had a solo
single in the Pandemic game when I had a lot
more time, I had a beautiful song. I'm so proud
of it. It's called Still in Love with a Very
It's a very uh. It's a poignant lyric in the verse,
this kind of pining, slightly dark in places, and then
(36:04):
this optimistic feeling in the chorus, and that again, that
was just an organic accident in the creative process. So
I'm proud of that. And then I did a Christmas
song which I plug like crazy every November and December.
That's called One Wish for Christmas Again, made a beautiful video,
(36:28):
hired a choreographer in a theater, put this lovely video together,
and I'm so proud of the song that I wrote
with the pianist from the Savoy Hotel in London, John
nicol And then here here I am with Horse. You know,
people say to me, oh, where's the album? Was it? This?
Was it that? And I say, look, it's quality not quantity.
With me as a self releasing artist, I have to
(36:51):
take my time. I've got to you know, I've got
to have the right amount of I've got to have
the right product, the right amount of energy. Everything thing
takes time and money. But I hold one day, you know, maybe,
you know, even sometime in the next ten years, maybe
that somehow these tracks will get picked up and I'll
(37:14):
be having another conversation with you about I have spoke
to Warners who own the rights the copyright to a
Horse with No Name. Indeed, I had to get their permission.
They have a synchronization department. This is the department that
touts for placing music within commercials and movies, etc. So
(37:40):
I've got dialogue with them and they are sending the
track out and they do like it, so we'll see.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Yeah, I think it would do great in commercials. I
think it's a great version. Obviously, people recognize the song.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
It's just got to fall on the right right table,
at the right ears, at the right time, and you'll
never know unless you try. And if it fails, fine,
but at least I can say, well, look I tried.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
You know, I'll pitch it to my co host, who
couldn't be here today, she works on advertising.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Sound Yes, great, see there you.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Go, Yeah, push it, push it. You can't be here
for the interview, so the least you could do is
help push the single. See if you can put in
a commercial.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Yeah, there you go. Perfect.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
We will we will do what we can. I mean,
I think it's it's a great version. Like I said earlier, Yeah,
I would love to see that in a commercial. I
think I think it would do great.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Well, check out the video. I had so much from
making the video, lots of green screen, which of course
allowed us to have a lot of fun with those lyrics.
You know, yeah hallus, I can't even say the word
hallunogenic CLEI flew and no, I mean it gave us
(39:02):
a license to just create this, to take one of
those crazy dreams when you wake up, when you're you're
you're either glad it's over or you want to go
straight back to it. So do check that out. I
think it's going to be a big selling point for
the you know, it's a it's a real bonus, visual
(39:22):
bonus to the audio.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Oh I've seen it. You have, Yeah, your publicist sent
it over and I was like, oh, this is very cool.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Good, I'll take very cool. That's good. That's good. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I mean I think the whole the whole way that
you're packaging and presenting, I think it's it's a.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
It would.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I mean, I know that there are a lot of
factors that are in play to make something a success,
but I think you've done your part.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Well and that's all I can do. That's all I
can do. And then the rest is just like we've
all this whole conversation. You know, a chance meeting of
Nick Rhodes, the Embassy Club where I was a waiter,
the chance meeting of Georgia Moroder. But those chance meetings
would have only been a chance meeting if I hadn't
(40:15):
had some if I hadn't been at some point or
have some product or been ready for those opportunities if
you like. So, I know people say, well, you make
your own luck. I think there's a little bit of that.
I mean, nothing is going to fall onto your lap,
you know, unless you win the lottery or something. So yeah,
(40:38):
and I often say nothing happens if you stay home.
Just got to get out there, put yourself out there,
take the knox, and hopefully what doesn't kill you will
make you stronger. As they say, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Know you can't what is it use? You can't score
if you don't shoot.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
I like that exactly. Yeah. And then.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Someone said this about luck, and I've used this since
I've heard it, so it's not my I didn't come
up with it. I did not coin this term, but
I think you'll like it. But they say luck is
opportunity meeting preparation.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
Woo haha. Well, without sounding conceited or anything, I think
that is one hund you know, unless, of course, you
know there's nepotism involved, then you might but still got
to have the skill to a certain extent. I knew
(41:40):
a guy who got a job at a company in
the UK, a good job, and he was up for
with six other people. But of course his uncle, it
was his uncle was related to a friend of whatever
it was. Of course he got the gig. So you
know that that's a factor. But I don't have that
factor here. But you know, I have been known, I
(42:04):
have been known to get gigs, you know, gigs across
the world because the boss's wife had a post with
me on the wall. You know, I might do a
corporate show or something, and I'll take that. I mean,
you know, if that's what it takes, bring it on.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
So I'm hoping that things will continue to do well
for you. I don't know if you're aware of this,
but in the US they are putting out a limited version,
a limited edition of The Never Ending Story and Soundtrack
on vinyl in April.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Right, yeah, no, it's happening in the UK as well.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
How they're done in the UK as well. So it's it's.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Called it's called Record Vinyl Day or something Record Record Story,
Record Store Day. Yeah, absolutely well why not? Why not?
Speaker 1 (42:54):
So hopefully that'll also give you a bit of a boost.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Yeah, I'm sure it will, because I keep being invited
to the conventions, the comic con I haven't been rave
enough to go yet. I haven't been rave enough to
go yet. Maybe one day.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
It's got a lot cooler because you know, obviously comic
book movies are are cool now. But yeah, you will
still get a lot of a lot of the people
that you imagine you're going to see. You will also
see those people.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yeah, yeah, I just I think you know, the right time,
right place, if I'm in the right frame of mind,
the right energy and everything. Because at the end of
the day, I do like meeting people, you know, I
love I love sharing stories. My problem was b I'd
never get through the queue because I just I just
(43:54):
like talking to people. I love hearing. I love hearing
their journeys, you know. And everybody's journey is valid. Everybody
is contributing to life in some way as a collective
human race. That's what it's all about, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yeah, I agree, And I think that's why people love
your music, because you are writing about your experience.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Yes, yes, we're still in love. It was my experience.
One wish for Christmas is a bit Disney. Nothing wrong
with that bit of escapism. A horse with her name
is someone else's inspiration in terms of songwriting. Production wise,
(44:44):
I've brought something new to it. So that's an interesting
could be an interesting twist. Yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Well. I wish you the best of luck. Obviously, your
music is timeless. It's been we won't talk about how
long it's been, but you know, obviously, if your music
is still being talked about years after it's been released,
I feel like it's it's a it's timeless, and I
think you have some great songs that people still love
to this day. And obviously now they're putting it into
(45:15):
TV shows and stuff like that, which is great for you.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Are you going to play my new single in this podcast?
Speaker 1 (45:21):
Ryan, Yeah, I'll ask Ray for a copy, will kind
of well let people get a taste of it at
the end.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Yeah, or certainly put a link to it on your
on your on your pages or your site. No, that
would be great.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
I mean you've got to we've talked so much about it,
you've gotten to.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Yeah, I'll get a copy of it and then well,
well we'll close the episode out with not the whole
thing because we want people to go and find it
on their own.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
But yeah, absolutely. And don't forget that executive advertising executive
friend got my fingers crossed right now.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, I'll tell her, but I don't know how much
how much sways she has, but I'll be like, come on,
push it, see if see if they'll take it.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
So if you see it in a car commercial, you
can thank us later. Yeah. But thank you Limmell for
being on our podcast. It's a huge honor to have
someone who had such a great soundtrack song beyond our podcast.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Now I've enjoyed, I've enjoyed the reminiscing. Thank you Ryan,
all the best and I hope to speak to you soon.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
You are the Yeah, you have the biggest song that
we as as far as people we've had recording uh
recording artists, you are you have the biggest soundtrack song
that we've ever had.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Okay, well that's great, that's great. It's been a pleasure,
absolute pleasure.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
And yeah, thank you so much and we will be
in touch all right, all the best. Thanks to Limmel
for being our guest on Soundtrack Your Life. You can
check out his music www dot limmled dot com. We'll
have his links in our show notes, as well as
his social media links. You can check us out on
(47:07):
Blue Sky Soundtrack, Yourlife dot net and Instagram at soundtrack cast,
and if you would like bonus content and early access
to episodes, you can go to hetrend dot com slash
soundtrack Your Life and It's Too Close outter episode. As promised,
(47:28):
here is a teaser of ms A horse reply, The.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Barn of the Journey.
Speaker 4 (47:55):
I was looking at all the blands and roads from
the road sad things, and there were sad and hills
and rings.
Speaker 2 (48:07):
The first thing of me was if I were a.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
Bird in the sky with no rounds. The heath was
hut and the round rostarsca the air was born outside.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
You seemed again in the desert on the morning, and
go to be out of the bay in the desert
you when you can remembering the bay all around
Speaker 4 (48:35):
The bat again Ba
My name is Ryan Packin. It's a soundtrack Your Life,
where we speak with a guest about a soundtrack that
is important to them. Today we have the honor to
speak to Limo. He was and is the lead singer
of Kajak Googu, and he also sings the theme for
the nineteen eighty four film The Never Ending Story.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome limmel Hi, Ryan, lovely to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
So you have a new single out and it's great.
It's a cover of America is a Horse with No Name?
So why did you choose to cover that song?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I've always loved it and as a songwriter to myself,
I don't think it's a song I could have ever written.
It's so unique lyrically. I know that the rights of
the song from the band of Maria Dewey Bonnell. His
father was in an Air Force base near the desert,
so do we spent some of his childhood going through
(01:09):
New Mexico Desert and the Arizona Desert From where I
live in Manchester. There are no deserts I going to
show you in the UK, so that I don't think
a song like that was ever going to come from me.
But the irony, the irony is that the song was
actually written. Did you know this? It was actually written
in the UK in a town called puddle Town in Dorset.
(01:31):
Now how's that for a Harry Potter sounding town? Puddle Town? Yeah.
So I love the song and it's been in my
subconscious with the two voices in my head. Don't touch
a classic, that's dangerous, or can I do anything with this?
(01:52):
Because I love it? And really every creative, whether it's
making film or writing a book or music or even
drawing as an artist, has unfinished work, and I have
plenty on my shelf. You know, you start something and
(02:13):
for whatever reason you get block, You get stuff, work
gets in the way, family gets in the way, whatever
you get sick, whatever it is. And that just did
not happen with Horse. It came together rather nicely. I
mean I did work really hard, but it almost came
(02:33):
to me sometimes. I remember my early thoughts were, I've
got to make it my own. I've got to try
it to be faithful to the original, but put my
own stamp on it if I can. And so I
thought the first way I could do that is to
(02:54):
steer away from the lovely acoustic guitar that sort of
drives the overriding personality in the production of the original,
and I started playing around with the electronica. There's a
great synthesizer that came out around nineteen eighty and actually
we use one in the Caju Google video for Too Shy.
(03:16):
It's called a Roland jupid at eight and it was
the new synthesizer kid on the block, really, And now
you can just get it as an audio plugin, which
is what I'm using, and I just got this lovely
sequence of going. It's a bit like a world wide guitar.
The envelope potent's w and through some and as a
(03:36):
chord and then a music chord, and then just throwing
lots of nice reverbs on it. Immediately, I just thought, oh,
this is so nice, and it's kind of progressed from there,
so I was steering away from the guitar. A lot
of new music makers, young new music makers today are
being influenced by the eighties and nineties, and of course
(03:57):
I was there the first time, so I sort of
put a I went down the sort of nineties production
route with the you know, with the rhythms and stuff
and some of the sounds, and it just kept really
enjoying it. When I was listening back to it, I
have a break, it told me quite a while. It's
been in my back pocket for a while. And then
(04:19):
I did a TV show in the UK with a
popular singer here called Jane McDonald, and I had I
was performing never any story actually, and I had to
rehearse with the band and I met this great guitarist
she uses, called Steve Cooper, who's based in Birmingham. And
I sent the files to Steve and said, look, I
(04:42):
don't know if I'm going to use guitar. I thought
I'd be steering away from guitar, but would you throw
some ideas down, you know, And what came back was
so phenomenally good, and I started, you know, I took
a couple of weeks editing the guitar. There was so
much choice, and then it was like a no brainer.
(05:06):
You know, this is the icing on the cake. And
so you have this wonderful blend of the electronica and
this great, very different guitar from Steve Cooper. And and
I'm still being faithful to the song, but there are
three different things in my version. One we open with
(05:28):
the La las, so that's a new introduction the there's
a key change which is not on the original, and
that was just again this part of the organic process
of creating. Let's try a key change there. Oh oh,
that's nice. That lifts it up, you know, something new.
(05:50):
And then and then in the in the final chorus,
to use the two vocal motives, so Chris crossing each other.
So the la la and the main hook been through
the As a Horse with No Name, it's sort of
akin to a choir. I sort of like to compare
it to something like the Mammas and Poppers of the sixties,
(06:13):
because I love their records and I'm always listened to
me records.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
We're very pro physical media on this podcast.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yes and that, And that's really a long answer to
your question about you know, how, how, how and why
my version of A Horse with No Name came together.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yeah. I got a advanced copy to it and it
was great. I like the song and the original, and
I like what you did with it. I think it
is faithful. But it is definitely not like a carbon
copy of it either.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You know what's surprising. The tempo is basically the same.
I've had a couple of I've done a couple of
interviews and people say, oh, you've speeded it up. No,
they're both one, two five. It's just with the four
on the floor based from and you know, a lot
punch here in terms of the drums, because I think
the original is more acoustic. Is percussion going on and
(07:14):
acoustic guitar. The first verse of the original is a
tad slower, and then they sort of speed it up
as they get to verse two, something that sometimes bands
do in a live situation to you know, to pick
songs up. No, I'm thrilled with it. And what will
happen with it? I don't know. It'd be nice to
(07:36):
get the approval of America. I don't know if they've
heard it yet, but if I do, it'll be straight
on my social media because there would be no better
stamp of approval.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Yeah, And I think you've done a great job with it.
I think it's a new take on it without you know,
making it into something that's unrecognizable.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
That's great. I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So you have my stamp for approval, though I'm not
in America. I'm in the country of America, not in
the band.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So this is your first single since twenty twenty. Do
you have any plans the tour on a are you're
just kind of looking at what the response to the
song was.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
First, well, I need a good excuse to tour. I
do a lot of single shows, you know. I tend
to do like music festivals, not unlike Glastonbury, but for
a lot of retro festivals around the world. They're really
popular now, so you know, there's there's several in the
(08:42):
UK and then globally there's many. So I whether there's
a multi artist lineup and people kind of go. It's
a big day out. Usually sometimes there's even a funfair
for the kids. It's a family day out. There's a
big stage, there's food stalls and if the weather's good,
(09:04):
you know, it's great fun. And then of course you
get a lineup of artists and songs that relate to
people's journey, the important songs. You know. I can't tell
you the many times that people have come up to
me and said too shy of the first record I bought, Wow,
or our first dance at the wedding, and similarly really
(09:29):
with never Ending Story. So those are the I'm going
to Recuvic in Iceland for the first time. I think
it's September, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm also
playing at the Pride Festival in Cologne in July. You know,
every December, I always never quite sure where the next
year is going to take me. These two songs too
(09:52):
Shy with Cadja Google and never Ending Story and I
hope Horse with No Name. Maybe at some point they
just in the old school length you say, keep the
phone ringing. You know, they're just the big hits in
every country almost and it's one. It's been a wonderful journey.
It is a wonderful journey I'm having still.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Right, And I would assume with a never Ending Story,
I mean, did you expect that to be a huge
success or for it to have lived as long as
it has. I know that. You know, you worked with
Georgia Moroder, who was obviously like a legend. But you
know what was kind of your thoughts when you were
kind of when you got the call to work on
(10:35):
that song.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, firstly, I think if I had known how important
that track was going to become in my life, I
would have gone to bed early that night the night
before I recorded it. Instead, I was out till three am.
Come on, I'm twenty three years old. I was out clubbing,
smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol. I had a hangover. I I
(11:00):
almost missed the flight to Muni, where Giorgio Moroder, the producer,
had his studio, And when I got there, I was
so tired I couldn't sing a note. And it's quite
high the song, you know, And we tried the vocal
in the afternoon and it wasn't coming. My voice was going,
go away, go away. I'm tired. But we had some
(11:24):
wine and some food and kind of relaxed, and then,
you know, when you're twenty three, your body recovers a
lot quicker from the night before. And I nailed it
about eight pm. So the answer to your question is no,
I had no idea, and if I had had an idea,
it would have been a very sensible boy and gone
some bet early. It's very hard to know, you know,
(11:47):
you can hear things coming back, because I think success
depends on so many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle coming together,
and one you know, so many people can influence that outcome.
Did you ask me Ryan how the song came about.
I'm sorry, I've.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, Like, how did that collaboration come together.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
So Georgio Morouder, the producer, if you get a call
from him back in those days, it was it would
be like an actor getting a call from Steven Spielberg.
I mean it was just that important Georgie and Morouder,
this electronic pioneer. I feel loved on a Summer three
Academy Awards, I think for music from film. So Top Gun.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Minute Express You Take.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
My Breath Away by the Band of Berlin from Top
Gun Midnight Express was the first one, yes, and there
was no song there really, it was just the theme
music to a very powerful film, dark film, and then
of course there was Flashdown Swater feeling Irene Cara. So anyway,
(12:55):
I was when Caji Google broke up. My first solo
single was called Only for Love and my records it
asked me to go to Japan to perform at the
Tokyo Music Festival. So went off to Japan, verycited to
go there for my first time. The Buddhacuan Hall is
this stunning, famous historic building in Tokyo, a bit like
(13:18):
the Royal Albert Hall in London. I think it's circular,
and that's where I met Georgia Murder. I was there
with my manager at the time, Billy Gaff, an Irish
guy who'd worked with Roger Stewart. Billy took Georgio to
dinner and I can just hear Billy now. He was
such an entrepreneur. Billy would have been saying, in his
(13:40):
lovely Irish accent, you know, Lamal's going to be the
best things in sliced bread, because that's the way he was.
Billy's parties in Chelsea were infamous and he was a
real networker. So that happens, And unbeknown to me, Joe
was a fan of the Caju Goo Go song because
(14:02):
it was a big hit in the States. So you know,
there's a bit of serendipity, a bit of luck if
you like. Got back to the UK after Japan, manager
received a call I'd like to try Lamar's voice on
a new movie soundtrack that I'm working on. That was
very exciting, the idea of putting my voice because Cajua
(14:26):
Google was not an overnight sensation. Yes, our first single
went to, you know, number one all over the world practically,
but I think I'd been in like three theater shows,
musicals singing. I'd been in singing lessons in demo studios.
Three other bands before I met Caja Gougu, and of
course with Caju Gougu too, they'd all learned their instruments
(14:47):
and done gigs. There were previously another band called Art
Nouveau as a four piece band. Before I joined it
became the fifth member. So it was not an overnight sensation.
We all worked very hard for it. But when it came,
you know, he just felt fantastic and sorry, I've digressed
and I forgot the original. I do this, I go
(15:09):
off piece and I think, what was the original question?
What was the original question? Again? We're talking about how
George and so, yeah, so so so. I flew back
from Munich, I'd done the vocal, and for two days
I didn't hear anything. Then my manager called and said,
Georgio likes the vocal and he's going to use it.
(15:32):
So I thought great. And then of course you know
they're editing the movie or they're still filming the movie,
and Georgia was working on the soundtrack. EMI Records sign
the soundtrack that was my label, and then of course
the film came out, the song came out. I literally
(15:56):
I must have traveled the world. Doing promotion for that
song took almost a year of my life all over Europe.
The song was huge, number one in seventeen countries. I mean,
it just took my breath away and it was such
a surprise. The biggest surprise is, ironically the title is
(16:19):
coming true because as you know, The Never Any Story
is being picked up. You may already know it's been
picked up by a big production company to be turned
into a live action series for one of the big
streaming companies. I believe. I think there were rumors it
(16:42):
was Disney, but I don't know. It might old be
top secret. There's a musical of The Never Any Story
being adapted for stage in Spain. I went to the
opening night and sang with the cast after the show,
and that's called Interminabla and it's all in Spanish and
(17:04):
it's absolutely stunning. I watched it even though I don't
really speak Spanish, and the investment into this stage production
is just phenomenal, beyond entertainment that's now running in Barcelona.
I guess there's always a chance, if it's done well,
that it will get picked up, either translated to English,
(17:26):
or will playing other Spanish speaking territories. So it goes
on and I again I think if I'd known how
important the song was going to become, I wouldn't have
got any sleep. Then I'd have been terrified.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
So when did you first see the movie? It doesn't
sound like you saw before you recorded the song.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
No, I knew nothing because the original book was in German,
so the German title best selling book of children's book
of all time and by German author Mikhael Ende and
the title was de un English and gosh dai or goshta.
(18:11):
It's quite a mouthful, but kind of beautiful. I think, Yeah,
he didn't like the film. Did you know that was
that for controversy? You know, there's always something, isn't there.
You can please some of the people some of the time.
But again I forgot the question.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Sorry, so when did you first see the film?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And yeah, that's when I When did I first see
the film? Mhmm. When I recorded the song, they put
a green screen. There was a green screen behind my
head and they said to me clips of the film
will go hear lam all you just keep performing. So
(18:55):
even at that point I had no idea about the
and I, you know, twenty I was just kind of
that was a bit of a party boy. I wasn't
delving too deeply into anything cultural, just music. So I
think I attended a premiere of the film somewhere in Europe,
(19:19):
and that's the first time that I saw it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Yeah, did you think it was just like a children's
movie or did you you know? What were your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I thought it was adorable. I love the opening sequence
where the boy steals the book and the old man says, no,
you don't want this book. This is a very special book. Haha.
I actually have a copy here. I'm leaning over for it.
I'll show you like that.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Oh very cool, that's great.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, I love of that. And of course he runs
off with a book. It's just the sort of thing
a young boy would do, especially a boy who's like
really into adventure books. Yeah. No, it's it's a it's
a gorgeous story, and and like all good stories, it
has its dark moments. It's it's scary moments. I can't
(20:23):
tell you how many people have somehow. I mean, obviously
people are devastated when our attacks. The beautiful white Horse
is going down in the quicksand I've seen people on
social media saying I can't watch. I can't watch. The
Wolf is very scary section, but the creatures are wonderful.
(20:45):
The rock Monster, yeah, the luck Dragon that can fly,
I mean, just beautiful work. There's a documentary have you
seen it? Called but yeah, I forgot to mention that
in the list of things. So the making of The
Never Ending Story have you heard about That? I've heard of.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I haven't seen it yet.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Yeah, it's I mean the footage in that, what they've
put together. I met Tammy Stronaut for the first time
at the screening in London a few months ago, and
I was just blown away. You know, the when you
get behind the scenes and see the real skills and
the talent of this huge team that's involved, all with
(21:31):
this driving passion to create something wonderful. It's very moving
and and it just makes me so proud to be
a part of it.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, And so I read that they cut them they
filmed the movie. There's a German composer who scored it,
and then they brought in Georgia to add music and
obviously add the theme song, which you know is where
he brought in you. I guess the Germans when they
saw it. When when it first premiered, it had it
(22:02):
did not have your song or any of Georgia's music.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, And in the same way America's first album when
it was released, it did not have a horse with
no Name in Europe. The song was not on that album,
and the album wasn't doing that great, and then the
record company said, do you have any more songs? And
so it could have been the first album, might have
(22:26):
been the second. So the band says, yeah, well we've
got this other song, the Desert Song, but we don't
really like it. Anyway, they went off and developed this song,
then it was put onto the album and re released
then became this huge success. I think that's why when
you're closed to a project, you can't always you can't
(22:48):
always know the right thing to do, what's the right song.
I've heard Elton John talk about that. He jokingly says, oh,
I can't pick the singles. I haven't got a clue
because you just get too close to the work and
you can't judge it anymore. Yeah, and sometimes you're actually
even fed up with it, so leave it to maybe
(23:09):
other people who are bigger, fresh perspective.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right. I've read that you also sang it in French.
I assume that wasn't like the first plan.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So in nineteen eighty four, French radio had a rule,
it's like a union rule, that only so much foreign
language music could be played. And so the record company
requested that I sing it in French and Jan Francie,
(23:43):
it's just sus de soles. So they literally brought in
a linguist to teach me line by line. I had
to sing that song in French, and it was a challenge.
No French, she's got its uh accents. Shall we say?
(24:07):
It's a lovely language. I mean, I think the whole
world likes French, but to really be it's so popular.
So Anne Calvert, I think, was the or she would be,
you know, with the tea without an ee in French
that you don't The rule in French is if you
if there's no e after the consonant, you don't pronounce
(24:30):
the consonants. So it would be Anne Calvert probably. So yeah,
I met Anne and that's it. I went in, did
my vocal, came away, and they mixed it, and I
guess the record company, the conglomerate. I mean, when you
sign with these monster conglomerates, you have you know you
(24:51):
have to play ball. Yeah, it kind of it's a
two way street. You know, you've got a whole I mean,
it's easy to to complain, you know, when you've got
a record deal with a massive company like that. And
that's why Cajua Google were foolish throwing it all away,
firing me because they didn't they thought they were a
(25:14):
teeny band and it was my fault. So let's get
rid of the pretty boy singer. You know that the
Beatles were a teeny band and you ran were a
teeny band, and why we're a teeny band and you
grow out of that stuff. I forgot what I was saying.
Now I've done it again.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Well, you were talking about how they made you recorded
in France and how you got to play ball with
the label.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
So you've got to play ball. You got to play
the game. It's a two way street. So e my
record asked me to go to friends and do this,
and I said yes. I said yes, and that's how
that came about.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Yeah, it's funny because in the movie That Thing You Do,
they tell the band to record in Spanish, and that's
kind of the last straw for that band to break
up in the movie We Married That Thing You Do?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
That Thing You Do. I've never seen it.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
It's a great Tom Hanks directed it, and it's about
like the sixties pop band and they have this one
song called that Thing You Do and they become an
overnight sensation and then you know, they start, you know,
different personality issues start coming up and they're basically about
to break up. And then the manager brings them in
(26:24):
the studio and the lead singers like, I've got some
new songs, and the manager goes, no, we got to
record that Thing you Do in Spanish. And that's when
the lead singer finally has had enough.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
So I like Tom Hanks, when did that film.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Come out ninety five?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I'm going to go and find that. I like it.
I like the sound of that. I love anything like that. Yeah, yeah,
I guess so yeah. Oh, the smallest things can break
up a band. I think one of the problems is
you spend suddenly spending you could argue too much time
with each other, and then certain things get said that
(27:02):
can't be unsaid. There's arguments over silly things. We're using
this photo, No we're not. We're doing this gig. No
we're not. We're using that mix. No we're not. And
so it goes on, you know, and then there'll be
what's the word I'm looking for, There will be natural allegiances,
(27:25):
you know. So the problem with Caju Gugu was they
were a four piece for three years before I joined,
and even though they brought me in, so I was
always kind of the outsider. And I think it's a
miracle really that we managed to do one album, and
thank god we you know, we've got that legacy of
(27:47):
that one album and the single too shy because we
were all pulling musically from such different directions. But I
still wish that we would have gone one or two
more albums at least. It's a big what if in
my life. Now everyone's got what ifs in their life.
(28:08):
What if I had gone to this town, I'd I
wouldn't have met that partner. What if I hadn't gone there,
wouldn't have got that job because I met so and
so I mean it goes on, you know, So I'll
never know. But the irony is if I if the
band hadn't split, what I've got the opportunity to do
the never ending story? Not sure, because I certainly wouldn't
(28:31):
have been in Japan as a solo artist. So has
that for Irony.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Right, And I must say, Too Shy, great song. I
love that song.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Oh gosh, I could say so much about it, Too Shy.
I'll tell you what I can say this, A Horse
with No Name had two demos before the final recording
that became known. Same with Too Shy. So we had
a demo that we did at home. Then there was
a demo in a demo studio, and then the final
(29:03):
recording with Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran co producing with
their producer Colin Thurston, and that was That's important because
when you've got five personalities in a band and the
guitarist wants the guitar aloud, and the drummer wants to drum,
snare up, etc. You need someone at the helm, the
captain of the ship that just cracks the whip and
(29:24):
says get out the studio and leave us to do
our job and that and of course as a new band,
that's what we had to do. We had to do
as we were told. They were like the teachers, really
great teachers. And Colin, the late Colin Thurston, bless him,
he brought such a brilliant, kind of old school engineer
(29:44):
head to the whole production. You know, he knew what
equipment to hire if the studio didn't have it. I
remember him hiring some something for the bass drum. It
was a a valve compressor or something, and it really
made a difference. Yeah, if you get an engineer that
(30:07):
knows this stuff can be really helpful. And then of
course Nick was great with arrangements and ideas and just
an inspiration to have involved. Really Nick Rhodes of Juanne.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I mean the song still sounds fresh today. And
you know, your vocals are great, melodies are great. I remember, like,
you know, being a kid and loving that song, but
also being young enough to not ask who sings a
song or what the song titill is. So it was
great to kind of rediscover that, and you know, watch
(30:38):
your performances on YouTube of it, and vocals are still
great as well.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
And you know, the journey of a song is so
interesting because forty years later, you know, I can look back.
It's been used. I think it was used in season
nine of American Horror Story where they actually featured Kaja
Goo Goo in the storyline, and that was a thrill,
an absolute thrill, and the song, of course suddenly reaches
a whole new generation of the parents are going, ah,
(31:05):
we know this song. We were there the first time, right.
And then the same with Never Any Story in Stranger
Things season three finale, and then I saw the stream
The online streams got from three hundred thousand a month
to one point five million, which is the average at
the moment for Never Any Story. Just phenomenal. The journey
(31:27):
of a song I think too Shy was used in
Adam Sandler movie nineties movie The Wedding Singer. Never Any
Story was featured in a Hugh Grant film in the
I think nineties early naughties. I think it was called
song and lyrics, Music and lyrics or something like that.
Music and lyrics, yeah, music and lyrics, and of course
(31:50):
to being used around the world in other languages. I
think Never Any Story was used in the national lottery
in Sweden, in TV commercials and radio commercials, and of
course it's played on the radio all over the world,
and it's appeared on count countless compilation albums. So the
(32:11):
songs have been incredibly good to me, they really have.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So when it was going to be featured on Stranger Things.
Did you get any sort of notification about it from
your manager, Like, did you know about how Stranger Things
has kind of done this for other songs before that.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I had no idea about Stranger Things. I wasn't watching
the show, although looking back, I should have been, because
the soundtrack alone was worth of watching. The music they
were using was so great. No, it was a surprise,
and that was almost like part of the fun that
I didn't know about this thing. And then suddenly I'm
(32:49):
seeing all this stuff online and my sister's kids are
calling me or messaging me, going, oh mg. They call
me Uncle c because my real name's Chris, so I'm
Uncle Chris and they call me uncle See uncle Cee.
Have you seen? Have you seen? Going absolutely crazy getting
so excited. And then then of course I'm excited as
(33:14):
well because I see the youth. I mean, my nephews
are in their early twenties. So yeah, it's been amazing.
It's still amazing, and I wonder where in the future
they're going to turn up even more.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Right, I mean, with this new live action series that
is in the works, I mean, I'm sure they're gonna
feature your song somehow, Well.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
If you know anyone involved, put a word in because
I doubt it. I doubt I doubt they'll want to
use the original. They probably want to. You know, the
conglomerates will get their heads together and you know the
Disney will who were associated with whatever company. It's a
bit cruel that way. Actually, when I was looking for
(34:04):
a record deal, there were about forty independent record companies
in London or the UK at the time, and now
the conglomerates have swallowed them all up and they control
everything Sony Warner Universal and BMG. It's very tough out there.
You can have the best song in the world and
you go to see a record company and they say,
(34:25):
what are your streaming numbers on TikTok. It's like that's
what's more important. They see an immediate audience and the
marketing head. It's all about marketing. And it does feel
a bit like I mean, they still I believe they
still have an A and R department artists and repertoire
(34:47):
that was supposed to sign the artists. But you know,
all the musicians of my era, we're all complaining that
the business has been run by lawyers and accountants. But
you know, we have to grap about something, don't we.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Well, I'm glad that you got that bump from Stranger Things.
I mean, obviously it's done great for I think a
joy division and Kate Bush as well. Yeah, you know,
and obviously American Horror Story. That's another real iconic show.
I believe Black Mirror also uses too shy.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Oh, yes, of course, yeah, Black Mirror. I forgot about
that one, and it was in a computer game as well. Yeah,
I should have. I should have this list. I did know,
but I forget. I forget. I get so distracted. I
hope the same will happen, you know, with one of
my new music from the last five years, because it's
(35:40):
such a different world now. So I had a solo
single in the Pandemic game when I had a lot
more time, I had a beautiful song. I'm so proud
of it. It's called Still in Love with a Very
It's a very uh. It's a poignant lyric in the verse,
this kind of pining, slightly dark in places, and then
(36:04):
this optimistic feeling in the chorus, and that again, that
was just an organic accident in the creative process. So
I'm proud of that. And then I did a Christmas
song which I plug like crazy every November and December.
That's called One Wish for Christmas Again, made a beautiful video,
(36:28):
hired a choreographer in a theater, put this lovely video together,
and I'm so proud of the song that I wrote
with the pianist from the Savoy Hotel in London, John
nicol And then here here I am with Horse. You know,
people say to me, oh, where's the album? Was it? This?
Was it that? And I say, look, it's quality not quantity.
With me as a self releasing artist, I have to
(36:51):
take my time. I've got to you know, I've got
to have the right amount of I've got to have
the right product, the right amount of energy. Everything thing
takes time and money. But I hold one day, you know, maybe,
you know, even sometime in the next ten years, maybe
that somehow these tracks will get picked up and I'll
(37:14):
be having another conversation with you about I have spoke
to Warners who own the rights the copyright to a
Horse with No Name. Indeed, I had to get their permission.
They have a synchronization department. This is the department that
touts for placing music within commercials and movies, etc. So
(37:40):
I've got dialogue with them and they are sending the
track out and they do like it, so we'll see.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Yeah, I think it would do great in commercials. I
think it's a great version. Obviously, people recognize the song.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
It's just got to fall on the right right table,
at the right ears, at the right time, and you'll
never know unless you try. And if it fails, fine,
but at least I can say, well, look I tried.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
You know, I'll pitch it to my co host, who
couldn't be here today, she works on advertising.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Sound Yes, great, see there you.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Go, Yeah, push it, push it. You can't be here
for the interview, so the least you could do is
help push the single. See if you can put in
a commercial.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Yeah, there you go. Perfect.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
We will we will do what we can. I mean,
I think it's it's a great version. Like I said earlier, Yeah,
I would love to see that in a commercial. I
think I think it would do great.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Well, check out the video. I had so much from
making the video, lots of green screen, which of course
allowed us to have a lot of fun with those lyrics.
You know, yeah hallus, I can't even say the word
hallunogenic CLEI flew and no, I mean it gave us
(39:02):
a license to just create this, to take one of
those crazy dreams when you wake up, when you're you're
you're either glad it's over or you want to go
straight back to it. So do check that out. I
think it's going to be a big selling point for
the you know, it's a it's a real bonus, visual
(39:22):
bonus to the audio.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Oh I've seen it. You have, Yeah, your publicist sent
it over and I was like, oh, this is very cool.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Good, I'll take very cool. That's good. That's good. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I mean I think the whole the whole way that
you're packaging and presenting, I think it's it's a.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
It would.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I mean, I know that there are a lot of
factors that are in play to make something a success,
but I think you've done your part.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Well and that's all I can do. That's all I
can do. And then the rest is just like we've
all this whole conversation. You know, a chance meeting of
Nick Rhodes, the Embassy Club where I was a waiter,
the chance meeting of Georgia Moroder. But those chance meetings
would have only been a chance meeting if I hadn't
(40:15):
had some if I hadn't been at some point or
have some product or been ready for those opportunities if
you like. So, I know people say, well, you make
your own luck. I think there's a little bit of that.
I mean, nothing is going to fall onto your lap,
you know, unless you win the lottery or something. So yeah,
(40:38):
and I often say nothing happens if you stay home.
Just got to get out there, put yourself out there,
take the knox, and hopefully what doesn't kill you will
make you stronger. As they say, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Know you can't what is it use? You can't score
if you don't shoot.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
I like that exactly. Yeah. And then.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Someone said this about luck, and I've used this since
I've heard it, so it's not my I didn't come
up with it. I did not coin this term, but
I think you'll like it. But they say luck is
opportunity meeting preparation.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
Woo haha. Well, without sounding conceited or anything, I think
that is one hund you know, unless, of course, you
know there's nepotism involved, then you might but still got
to have the skill to a certain extent. I knew
(41:40):
a guy who got a job at a company in
the UK, a good job, and he was up for
with six other people. But of course his uncle, it
was his uncle was related to a friend of whatever
it was. Of course he got the gig. So you
know that that's a factor. But I don't have that
factor here. But you know, I have been known, I
(42:04):
have been known to get gigs, you know, gigs across
the world because the boss's wife had a post with
me on the wall. You know, I might do a
corporate show or something, and I'll take that. I mean,
you know, if that's what it takes, bring it on.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
So I'm hoping that things will continue to do well
for you. I don't know if you're aware of this,
but in the US they are putting out a limited version,
a limited edition of The Never Ending Story and Soundtrack
on vinyl in April.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Right, yeah, no, it's happening in the UK as well.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
How they're done in the UK as well. So it's it's.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Called it's called Record Vinyl Day or something Record Record Story,
Record Store Day. Yeah, absolutely well why not? Why not?
Speaker 1 (42:54):
So hopefully that'll also give you a bit of a boost.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Yeah, I'm sure it will, because I keep being invited
to the conventions, the comic con I haven't been rave
enough to go yet. I haven't been rave enough to
go yet. Maybe one day.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
It's got a lot cooler because you know, obviously comic
book movies are are cool now. But yeah, you will
still get a lot of a lot of the people
that you imagine you're going to see. You will also
see those people.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yeah, yeah, I just I think you know, the right time,
right place, if I'm in the right frame of mind,
the right energy and everything. Because at the end of
the day, I do like meeting people, you know, I
love I love sharing stories. My problem was b I'd
never get through the queue because I just I just
(43:54):
like talking to people. I love hearing. I love hearing
their journeys, you know. And everybody's journey is valid. Everybody
is contributing to life in some way as a collective
human race. That's what it's all about, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yeah, I agree, And I think that's why people love
your music, because you are writing about your experience.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Yes, yes, we're still in love. It was my experience.
One wish for Christmas is a bit Disney. Nothing wrong
with that bit of escapism. A horse with her name
is someone else's inspiration in terms of songwriting. Production wise,
(44:44):
I've brought something new to it. So that's an interesting
could be an interesting twist. Yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Well. I wish you the best of luck. Obviously, your
music is timeless. It's been we won't talk about how
long it's been, but you know, obviously, if your music
is still being talked about years after it's been released,
I feel like it's it's a it's timeless, and I
think you have some great songs that people still love
to this day. And obviously now they're putting it into
(45:15):
TV shows and stuff like that, which is great for you.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Are you going to play my new single in this podcast?
Speaker 1 (45:21):
Ryan, Yeah, I'll ask Ray for a copy, will kind
of well let people get a taste of it at
the end.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Yeah, or certainly put a link to it on your
on your on your pages or your site. No, that
would be great.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
I mean you've got to we've talked so much about it,
you've gotten to.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Yeah, I'll get a copy of it and then well,
well we'll close the episode out with not the whole
thing because we want people to go and find it
on their own.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
But yeah, absolutely. And don't forget that executive advertising executive
friend got my fingers crossed right now.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, I'll tell her, but I don't know how much
how much sways she has, but I'll be like, come on,
push it, see if see if they'll take it.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
So if you see it in a car commercial, you
can thank us later. Yeah. But thank you Limmell for
being on our podcast. It's a huge honor to have
someone who had such a great soundtrack song beyond our podcast.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Now I've enjoyed, I've enjoyed the reminiscing. Thank you Ryan,
all the best and I hope to speak to you soon.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
You are the Yeah, you have the biggest song that
we as as far as people we've had recording uh
recording artists, you are you have the biggest soundtrack song
that we've ever had.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Okay, well that's great, that's great. It's been a pleasure,
absolute pleasure.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
And yeah, thank you so much and we will be
in touch all right, all the best. Thanks to Limmel
for being our guest on Soundtrack Your Life. You can
check out his music www dot limmled dot com. We'll
have his links in our show notes, as well as
his social media links. You can check us out on
(47:07):
Blue Sky Soundtrack, Yourlife dot net and Instagram at soundtrack cast,
and if you would like bonus content and early access
to episodes, you can go to hetrend dot com slash
soundtrack Your Life and It's Too Close outter episode. As promised,
(47:28):
here is a teaser of ms A horse reply, The.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Barn of the Journey.
Speaker 4 (47:55):
I was looking at all the blands and roads from
the road sad things, and there were sad and hills
and rings.
Speaker 2 (48:07):
The first thing of me was if I were a.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
Bird in the sky with no rounds. The heath was
hut and the round rostarsca the air was born outside.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
You seemed again in the desert on the morning, and
go to be out of the bay in the desert
you when you can remembering the bay all around
Speaker 4 (48:35):
The bat again Ba
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!