SLARK LYWILSBIE
Copyright (c) Explicit Music 1982.
Music by George Davies.
Recorded at Daylight Recording Studios, Honiton by Paul Bateman, Summer 1988.
Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2010.
Performers:
Andy Richardson – guitar
George Davies – guitars
Jerry Peirce – bass
Danny Bouget – drums, percussion
Facts:
- This is another of Rough Terrain’s quirky instrumentals. This one is in the key of F major.
- It was written at around the same time as Frog and Professor Dinboffin always referred to this tune as ‘Jack Rabbit’.
- This sounds rather unlike the live version that Rough Terrain would play. The live version was somewhat more raucous and heavy without any acoustic guitar or percussion.
- For this studio version, George played the in-house Fender acoustic using the softest plectrum he could find (a white Jim Dunlop) for flappous maximus.
- Danny played some of Daylight Studio’s percussion instruments as well.
- The strange little melody of the rising scales at the end was very much a part of the piece although that part was rarely played live as George would usually play the main lead guitar part.
- Andy again plays the rhythm guitar on Nicodemus.
- The name Slark Lywilsbie was derived from ‘Slark’, a utopian city in a novel George had thought up but never wrote, and ‘Lywilsbie’ was from the ands and beginnings of the names of two beautiful girls from school that George missed after he left.
- ‘Lywilsbie’ is pronounced ‘Lie-Wills-Bee’, with the stress on the second syllable.
- Laney invented and choreographed a special and rather ridiculous dance for this tune but sadly it was only ever performed in private.