Post by darkstar on Jan 27, 2005 22:45:03 GMT
Spliff Magazine Online contains Parts 1 and 2 of an interview with
Clive Selwood, General Manager of Elektra London. Selwood speaks
about Jim's death and Doors performances in London in 1968.
The book, "Break On Through The Life and Death Of Jim Morrison" by James Riordan and Jerry Prochnicky talks about Clive Selwood and the
death of Jim Morrison on pages 453-454.
"By Sunday morning (July 4, 1971) there were rumors all over Paris that Jim Morrison had died sometime over the weekend, but when reporters called Pam's flat, they reported being told that Morrison was 'not dead but very tired and resting in a hospital.' The current
talk soon reached Clive Selwood, general manager of Elektra Records' London office. When Elektra U.K. phoned their Paris branch, they discovered the French office of the label didn't even know Morrison was in the city. Calls to the police and the American Embassy
revealed that no one named Morrison had shown up at the city morgue."
"Bill Siddons tells what happened next. 'It was 4:30am Monday, July 5. I got a call from Clive Selwood in London, saying. I don't want to upset you, but I've gotten calls from three different writers asking
me to confirm that Jim Morrison is dead.' Now, we'd had scares before. Jim's death had been rumored several times over the years, but Clive respected the writers who called, so I was anxious. I sat upright in my bed real fast. I called Jim and Pam's apartment in
Paris, and got no answer. In the meantime, my wife had woken up and said, 'Jim's dead.' She felt it. Since I couldn't reach Pam, though, I went back to bed."
"When Siddons got up around 8am he tried the apartment again and this time Pam answered and claimed the rumor wasn't true. 'She sounded
upset, so I pressed her a bit,' Siddons continued. 'You see, she preceived the other three Doors as enemies who were keeping Jim from doing what he really wanted to do and she considered me a part of
that circle....I said, 'Look, I'm calling as a friend, not as a
business representative. I don't want to do anything but help you. If there's anything happening, I want to know so I can help. Tell me, please, the truth - is Jim alive or dead?' She started to cry, so I
told her I was taking the next plane to Paris.
Spliff Magazine On-line:
Jim Morrison (part 1) by Clive Selwood
Sadly it fell to me to announce to the world the presumed death of Jim Morrison. In fact I have never been convinced that Jim died in the place and the manner generally accepted even though thousands of
fans make the annual pilgrimage to a tombstone in Paris.
The facts don't appear to hold up and it just may be that the Lizard King is alive and fat and laughing at us all.
Before the event, he had questioned a number of friends, myself included, whether we felt that he had yet reached the status where in death he would become legendary. We of course rushed to assure him
that it was much too soon but events have proved us wrong.
I heard the first Doors album in the form of a white label test pressing from America a few months after joining Elektra records in Britain as Sales Manager. It was both electric and electrifying and only the label's second venture into what became known as West Coast Rock. Elektra's first venture into that music genre had been Da Capo by Love who were at that time very much more popular in Los Angeles where both bands were based. Until then, Elektra's output had been essentially acoustic folk and the switch to electric guitar based rock was truly innovative and dangerous. The Doors album was magnificent in terms of performance, content and production but it was immediately apparent that it would be very difficult to sell to a British public and particularly to British radio which was dominated by the BBC Light programme who were extremely limited in the amount of records they were allowed to play and were still heavily reliant upon the happy sound of a two and a half minute pop single.
Elektra at the time was a small specialist label run out of a third floor office and basement in London's Dean Street. The staff comprised a Canadian Managing Director, a Secretary, a Production Assistant and me. We also imported the great Blue Note jazz label and Elektra's classical subsidiary Nonesuch. Hardly the sophisticated marketing and promotional organisation through which to launch a major world class act. We nevertheless released the album and set about trying to get radio plays, press reviews and hopefully a degree of acceptance with the leading tastemakers like The Beatles who were in the process of recording Sgt. Pepper. At this remove it is difficult to even recall just how revolutionary The Doors album really was but there was no doubt that we were entering new musical territory and meeting a lot of opinionated opposition.
Most of the initial reviews were mystified or hostile but a minor breakthrough was a tiny mention on one of the music papers that Ringo suggested that The Doors were one of the more interesting bands to emerge in America. Sales were minimal and there was nobody on pre Peel British radio prepared even to listen.
Clive Selwood, General Manager of Elektra London. Selwood speaks
about Jim's death and Doors performances in London in 1968.
The book, "Break On Through The Life and Death Of Jim Morrison" by James Riordan and Jerry Prochnicky talks about Clive Selwood and the
death of Jim Morrison on pages 453-454.
"By Sunday morning (July 4, 1971) there were rumors all over Paris that Jim Morrison had died sometime over the weekend, but when reporters called Pam's flat, they reported being told that Morrison was 'not dead but very tired and resting in a hospital.' The current
talk soon reached Clive Selwood, general manager of Elektra Records' London office. When Elektra U.K. phoned their Paris branch, they discovered the French office of the label didn't even know Morrison was in the city. Calls to the police and the American Embassy
revealed that no one named Morrison had shown up at the city morgue."
"Bill Siddons tells what happened next. 'It was 4:30am Monday, July 5. I got a call from Clive Selwood in London, saying. I don't want to upset you, but I've gotten calls from three different writers asking
me to confirm that Jim Morrison is dead.' Now, we'd had scares before. Jim's death had been rumored several times over the years, but Clive respected the writers who called, so I was anxious. I sat upright in my bed real fast. I called Jim and Pam's apartment in
Paris, and got no answer. In the meantime, my wife had woken up and said, 'Jim's dead.' She felt it. Since I couldn't reach Pam, though, I went back to bed."
"When Siddons got up around 8am he tried the apartment again and this time Pam answered and claimed the rumor wasn't true. 'She sounded
upset, so I pressed her a bit,' Siddons continued. 'You see, she preceived the other three Doors as enemies who were keeping Jim from doing what he really wanted to do and she considered me a part of
that circle....I said, 'Look, I'm calling as a friend, not as a
business representative. I don't want to do anything but help you. If there's anything happening, I want to know so I can help. Tell me, please, the truth - is Jim alive or dead?' She started to cry, so I
told her I was taking the next plane to Paris.
Spliff Magazine On-line:
Jim Morrison (part 1) by Clive Selwood
Sadly it fell to me to announce to the world the presumed death of Jim Morrison. In fact I have never been convinced that Jim died in the place and the manner generally accepted even though thousands of
fans make the annual pilgrimage to a tombstone in Paris.
The facts don't appear to hold up and it just may be that the Lizard King is alive and fat and laughing at us all.
Before the event, he had questioned a number of friends, myself included, whether we felt that he had yet reached the status where in death he would become legendary. We of course rushed to assure him
that it was much too soon but events have proved us wrong.
I heard the first Doors album in the form of a white label test pressing from America a few months after joining Elektra records in Britain as Sales Manager. It was both electric and electrifying and only the label's second venture into what became known as West Coast Rock. Elektra's first venture into that music genre had been Da Capo by Love who were at that time very much more popular in Los Angeles where both bands were based. Until then, Elektra's output had been essentially acoustic folk and the switch to electric guitar based rock was truly innovative and dangerous. The Doors album was magnificent in terms of performance, content and production but it was immediately apparent that it would be very difficult to sell to a British public and particularly to British radio which was dominated by the BBC Light programme who were extremely limited in the amount of records they were allowed to play and were still heavily reliant upon the happy sound of a two and a half minute pop single.
Elektra at the time was a small specialist label run out of a third floor office and basement in London's Dean Street. The staff comprised a Canadian Managing Director, a Secretary, a Production Assistant and me. We also imported the great Blue Note jazz label and Elektra's classical subsidiary Nonesuch. Hardly the sophisticated marketing and promotional organisation through which to launch a major world class act. We nevertheless released the album and set about trying to get radio plays, press reviews and hopefully a degree of acceptance with the leading tastemakers like The Beatles who were in the process of recording Sgt. Pepper. At this remove it is difficult to even recall just how revolutionary The Doors album really was but there was no doubt that we were entering new musical territory and meeting a lot of opinionated opposition.
Most of the initial reviews were mystified or hostile but a minor breakthrough was a tiny mention on one of the music papers that Ringo suggested that The Doors were one of the more interesting bands to emerge in America. Sales were minimal and there was nobody on pre Peel British radio prepared even to listen.