Re: Yyrkoon's Pretty Black Hair.

["Rob O'Reilly" <roreill@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 6 Nov 1997 jacqueb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi,
> I'll tell you right now. Bill Curbishley said it! [OR he was misquoted.]
> It appears in an interview which was even on the Internet at one time.
> I know because I downloaded it and read it with a kind of awe/surprise
> that 
> a manager would say such a thing.

Here's a passage from an article about the Page/Plant tour that appears on
page 92 of the August 1995 edition of "Q" magazine:

"[Curbishely] is no Peter Grant-style despot.  Curbishely sees a bigger
picture.  Having managed The Who for 23 years, during which time Keith
Moon died on him, Curbishley is very big on karma.  And his influence on
the Page & Plant tour is massive and far-reaching.

"'You never get away with anything, karma-wise,' he will tell you.  'And
after this carrer finished, if you've distorted yourself as a person as a
result of what happened ... you're not living.'  His gaze steady, he goes
on: 'A lot of people in this business have suffered as a result of the way
they've treated other people.  Inflated egos.  The way they've misused
power.'

"Which is exactly what Led Zeppelin are believed to have don in their
heyday?  'Absolutely,' he says.  'That's why we're not doing it now.'

"The anti-Grant stance implicit in his demeanour extends to doing the
opposite of whatever Grant did 20 years ago.  Grant confiscated bootlegs
from record shops; Curbishley makes sure recording facilities are on hand
for anyone who wishes to tape gigs on this tour.  Grant took little
interest in local affairs; Curbishely not only demands reasonable
ticket prices ($25-$30) but sets up a non-endorsement sponsorship with
Miller Beer to help raise food and money for homeless people in whichever
city Page & Plant are playing in that night.

"'So in fact,' he says, 'we're feeding each city as we go along.'

"Rather than raze it to the ground, which is what Zep - arguably the least
socially conscious band in history - would have done?  'Exactly,' says
Curbishely.  'To handle any kind of power, adulation or money is an art
form.  You've got to have a little bit of humility, and you've got to keep
your feet on the ground.  Otherwise, you get punished on the way back.'

"And will feeding the homeless provide Page & Plant with limitless credit
at the karma bank?

"'No,' he replies, smiling stiffly.  'I don't think so.  But it's a way of
making amends.  You know what I mean?  And I think everybody's entitled to
make amends in this life.'"


> 
> I thought, "What? He actually *bought* that _Hammer of the Gods_ 
> bad karma stuff???"

The concept of karma appears in many faiths in some variety or another, so
it's not that unusual for someone to believe in karma or in people being
punished for their sins or whatever.  And if half the stories I've read
about Zeppelin are true, they're certainly guilty of abuses which
Curbishley mentions.  So it's not that surprising that he has such
thoughts; that he says them publicly, however, is rather surprising.



Rob


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"When he who hears doesn't understand him who speaks, and when he who
speaks doesn't know what he himself means - that is philosophy" - Voltaire
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