Andy Bole's First Experience with Magma

MY MAGMA AWAKENING

It all started when I was in my early teens, I probably discovered music like most people at about the age of 13.

I remember the 1st record I bought was the single Ride a White Swan by T .Rex, so not your average pop start, anyway then I discovered L.P’s and Prog Rock with the likes of Genesis, Yes and even stranger Gentle Giant. As a teenager I had a bunch of like minded friends and it seems our mission was to discover more and more obscure music to introduce to each other, our local record shop in Manchester (Virgin) was a local hippy store with black painted walls, incense burning and odd looking posters and album sleeves, one day (about 1973-74) we discovered 4 really cheap L.P’s Gongs ‘’Camembert Electrique’’, Cans’’ Limited Edition’’, Amon Duul 2’s ‘’Phallus Dei’’ and the Faust Tapes these albums were 50p each, after that we never looked back going on to discover Tangerine Dream, Henry Cow, Beefheart, Klaus Schulze, P.F.M and then ever on to more and more obscure stuff. One day though our lives would never be the same one of the gang my cousin Steve Ashworth came back with M.D.K….it was crazy, mad, shocking music and we loved it going on to listen to 1001° Centigrades , Ẁurdah Ïtah , Köhntarkösz, Üdü Wüdü , Attahk , Magma changed my musical life forever, more Zeuhl music was bought via Recommended Records Univers Zero, Art Zoid etc. When I left home I went to work for Recommended Records and the old Henry Cow shop in Wandsworth and later became a full time musician myself and am lucky enough to have my albums available through ReRe and Recommended in the States and have gigged with a lot of those early musical influences but not met any Magma members… I don’t think I would want to anyway.

Magma’s music has been a constant in my life and only last week I got together with some of my teenage friends Steve Ashworth and Tim Barret at the London gig and had a truly great time (we now only seem to be able meet at Magma gigs)…..There are 5 great albums that I listen to constantly, Trout Mask Replica, Camembert Electrique,Tago Mago, M.D.K and the best live album ever recorded Magma Live..

Mr Vander is one of the true great artists in this world long may he reign.

Andy Bole

www.andybole.co.uk