THE DEBT
We considered the possibility of trying to get free of all our contractual obligations and discovered that the only way that could be considered as an option would be if we were able to pay back all the monies that had been advanced to us. This was in the region of £10,000 which at that time, was a huge amount of money and there was no way that we could have raised that amount.
If we continued as a band we would always still be obligated to repay the £10,000 to our record company etc.
We concluded that the only realistic way in which we could avoid having to pay this money back, was for us to dissolve the band.
MY STORY ENDS
As if that prospect wasn’t bad enough, to do so would result in us having to return all the equipment that had been purchased by the record company on our behalf. This included a huge PA system, a Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty, a Rickenbacker Stereo bass guitar AND my Gretsch drum kit.
Steve and Robin had retained their original guitars so the return of the ‘new’ equipment did not really cause them any problems.
However, as I mentioned earlier, when the Gretsch drum kit had been bought for me, I had sold my Premier drum kit and had ploughed the money back into the band kitty which by now, had completely dissolved.
Consequently, if the Gretsch kit were to be returned to the record company, I would be left with no equipment of my own and no money to buy any replacements. However, we decided that given the hopeless situation in which we found ourselves, there was really no other option available to us.
We dissolved the band and collectively, we said farewell to our dreams. I think that nowadays, it would be unlikely that a group of musicians would find themselves in a similar situation. And even if they did, there would probably be ways available now to ensure a fairer resolution of the problem.
