history
By Chris Lloyd

Guess Who Came To Dinner

Eleven hours later we touched down in L.A. collected our bags, rented a red Mustang Convertible and made the two hour drive south to Solana Beach just outside San Diego where we checked in to the Holiday Inn. By six in the morning neither of us had managed to sleep a wink, so, feeling seriously jet lagged we decided to take a walk in the morning air and suss out the gig. The 'Belly Up' was no more than a fifteen minute walk from the hotel and as we approached there was clearly no sign of life, not surprising considering the hour, in fact, apart from the occasional jogger the streets were deserted so we strolled back to the hotel and I decided to try and get some sleep whilst Anni went off on one of her scouting adventures. She woke me at midday with a cup of coffee and, after a shower I was beginning to feel a little more human. We made our way down to the foyer where we had arranged to meet Paul from Regent St Productions and as the elevator doors opened I could see him checking in at reception.

He introduced his travelling companion to us as Hollywood Film Director Peter Foldy. "I'm starving" I said "Shall we eat?" "Great idea" said Paul, "but can we use your car as we're in a Convertible and there's very little room in the back for passengers". We made our way to the car park and there they were, side by side, two Mustang Convertibles, one red and one black. Laughing out loud Paul said, "You follow me then". We found an American diner and the four of us spent the day eating, chatting and just generally getting to know each other.

Peter Foldy & Paul Tennant.

As the day progressed Peter explained how he had just bought the rights to Paul's auto-biography 'ALL YOU NEED IS LUCK... OR HOW I GOT A RECORD DEAL BY MEETING PAUL McCARTNEY' and that they had almost completed the process of raising the finance to begin filming the movie. Peter then proceeded to give us a brief run down on Paul's story. It transpired that in 1967 he had been the first songwriter to be signed by Brian Epstein to 'Apple' and was at the very epicentre of the sixties music scene both in Liverpool and London and had witnessed first hand the pressure cooker birth of 'Apple Publishing'. He had got his big break with 'Apple' by following Paul McCartney into Hyde Park as he walked his dog and convinced him to help a budding fellow artist from Liverpool. He then persuaded the rock star to set up an introduction to Brian Epstein and Terry Doran who wasted no time in signing him after an impromptu audition in the 'Apple' offices at 94 Baker Street. Paul then spent a year writing and recording songs under the guidance of 'Apple Publishing' and during this time won praise for his writing skills from John Lennon and George Harrison. More recently Sir Paul McCartney had spoken about his work saying: "Paul Tennants's story about Liverpool and his year with 'Apple' is fascinating. I am pleased to have played a small part in it."... Well, they say that everyone has a story to tell and that may well be true but I doubt if there are many more engrossing than Paul's. We wished them well with their project before the four of us headed back to the Mustangs in readiness for the evenings entertainment.

Jack Tempchin in action 21st December 2009.

It was now just before eight o'clock and this time the 'Belly Up' was buzzing. An hour later a faceless voice made the announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Jack Tempchin" and the room erupted. Jack made his entrance to a standing ovation, sat on a stool, picked up his acoustic guitar and began to sing. He was great, but what impressed me most about Jack was his easy charm as he introduced each immortal self penned song. A short interval and it was time for Timothy B Schmit who was quite brilliant and the capacity crowd were clearly relishing the opportunity to hear him perform his new solo material.The standard of musicianship from his band was breathtaking, the sound was awesome and it had been an absolute privilege to see such legends in such an intimate environment.

The following day we hung out with Paul and Peter again and they informed us that Jack had invited us all to dinner that night. "Fantastic" I said "more food." A table for seven was booked at the Italian restaurant 'When In Rome' and it was an evening that will live with me forever. Jack, his wife Sheryl and his Manager Bradshaw Lambert were joined by Paul, Peter, Anni and me. I was totally engrossed in Jack's stories of how he had met his great friend Glenn Frey, the songs they had written together and the amazing experiences they had shared down the years. Then, Paul suggested that I explain to Jack how Talon had come to be and how we hoped that he would join us in the UK and play some gigs together. As my story unfolded I felt him warming both to me and the whole idea of being associated with Talon. He said that he had listened to our C.D. and been very impressed and surprised by the quality of our work and that he looked forward to working with us in the future.

Timothy B Schmit in action 21st December 2009.

Anni then took a few photo's for the newsletter and posterity before we said our goodbyes. The next morning we met up with Paul and Peter for breakfast before they moved on. Paul said that he would start the negotiations on his return and that he was confident that things would turn out just fine. I had no doubt he was right. I had only known him a short time but already he had earned my trust and admiration.

Me looking very happy flanked by Jack and Peter.

Anni and I then spent Christmas as tourists before arriving home just in time for the New Year. Throughout January Paul kept me up to date with all the latest news and I even managed to read his book. His final contact with me was the following email...

"Hi Chris, so glad you liked the book, as you say, an interesting story. There was another hundred pages that were taken out at the editing stage so there is a little bit more than in the book, but it's nice to reflect on and as you say the movie should get made. I met last week with Ellis Rich and the outcome is that he is trying to get hold of Jooles Holland, whom he knows very well with the intention of getting Jack on. I am working on the BBC so it's moving along. Any more information and I will get back to you. Keep on trucking buddy. Tata, Paul."

Then two days later we received an email from Peter Foldy that would shake us to the core. It read. "Sorry to have to tell you this via email guys but, Paul has died."... It was news that left me feeling both numb and perplexed. How had a man with such a colourful past and a future so full of promise come to such an abrupt and tragic end? Over the ensuing weeks, countless tributes were paid from around the world. I only knew Paul Tennant for a brief moment but he had certainly had a positive influence on my career and I only wish I could have got to know the man better.

With acoustic gigs with Pete, Jonny and Keith imminent, songs to learn for the forthcoming spring tour plus all my business responsibilities it fell to Anni to continue negotiations with Jack and his Manager and, as we have come to expect, she didn't disappoint. By the time our little 'acoustic tour' had come to a close she gave us the amazing news that Jack Tempchin would be flying out at the end of April to appear with Talon as our very special guest. In early March we went in to rehearsals and before we knew it we were ready for opening night. Talon were back on tour...

Chapter 20: Walking With Giants

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