Sneak Preview -A Candid Interview with The English Beat/ General Public’s Dave Wakeling

A sneak preview of my upcoming candid, and highly entertaining feature, from one of the best interviews I have done. Full interview coming tomorrow. In the meantime enjoy a highlight; one of the many fantastic stories and responses from the charismatic ska legend.

Do you have a favorite memory of touring past or present?

We did this show opening for David Bowie and Saxa who was in his 60s then, our old saxophone player, was a bit mad because they hadn’t got his favorite beer in the refrigerator. David Bowie came and said hello to us, which was remarkable, while he was in his stage clothes wearing black pants and a black vest with a white shirt on. He comes in our trailer and says, “really great to do be doing some shows with you, I’m very pleased. I just wanted to check to see if everything is ok. Do you have everything you need?” Saxa sitting in the back of the bus says (in a Jamaican accent) “Hay sonny boy come with me” and puts his arm around Bowie dragging him to the fridge Saxa opens it up and says “You see any Red Stripe in there?” Bowie’s replies, “No I don’t ”. To which Saxa says “Ah Sonny Boy, that’s what we need!” Bowie responds, “Right away” and dashed out the caravan. About 10 minutes later another guy shows up with a case of Red Stripe. Saxa, being all happy, says “Nice man there, who is him anyway coming in the caravan like that?” and I said, well that’s David Bowie! Saxa replies “Me thought he was a waiter!” It got into the papers in England, and they made a huge fuss about it. “David Bowie pays the price for looking like a New York waiter on stage.”

Check back for the full interview tomorrow.

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome below.

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Jason Miller
Jason Miller

Jason Miller is a leading digital B2B marketer, who’s held senior roles at LinkedIn, Marketo, and ActiveCampaign. Before entering the B2B space, he spent ten years at Sony, developing and executing marketing campaigns around the biggest names in music. He is a prolific keynote speaker, digital marketing instructor at UC Berkeley, and best-selling author. Also an accomplished rock concert photographer, his work appears in books, magazines, and album covers.

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