Gary O'Toole quits STEVE HACKETT Band - who will fill the gap?

  • On a tangent but related to SH tours: in case anyone picks up on the horrifying story of a man being stabbed to death on a train out of Guildford yesterday, his name was Lee Pomeroy but wasn't the musician. No less tragic of course - murdered right in front of his 14yo son.

    Abandon all reason

    • Official Post

    We will have a report again about the 2019 CRUISE TO THE EDGE, Looking forward to hearing how Marco will be playing with the Hackett band!

  • I am sure Gary left because after 20 years he wanted a little more money. Steve is notorious for being tight with money and paranoid about his finances. Nick Magnus left for the same reason. Steve is tight with money. Which is why the band does not contribute to his studio albums, Steve does not want to pay them. I believe that is the reason Steve's studio work sounds cold to me. No collaboration.

    Edited once, last by Smallcrep: additional ().

  • So where has Gary gone for this extra money? Cos he sure wasn't coining it in pre-SH band.


    Also, have you had an accident with a time machine? 3 years is a long time to wait to chuck in an unnecessary insult.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • I’m not aware of any evidence for Steve being tight with money. He seems to be able to attract and keep some top flight musicians and give them a living for a long time. If he was motivated by money he would have stayed in Genesis. I read that Gary left after a difficult time for his family whilst he was away and he felt he needed to be home more.

  • I’m not aware of any evidence for Steve being tight with money. He seems to be able to attract and keep some top flight musicians and give them a living for a long time. If he was motivated by money he would have stayed in Genesis. I read that Gary left after a difficult time for his family whilst he was away and he felt he needed to be home more.

  • Read Steve's book for evidence of him paranoid about money. GTR demise was because Steve did not want to invest more money in it. He stopped recording at one point for a few years so his ex wife wouldn't get more money.


    I bring this up after seeing Steve twice without Gary O'Toole and he is sorely missed.

  • Read Steve's book for evidence of him paranoid about money. GTR demise was because Steve did not want to invest more money in it. He stopped recording at one point for a few years so his ex wife wouldn't get more money.


    I bring this up after seeing Steve twice without Gary O'Toole and he is sorely missed.

    You might want to check the definition of 'paranoid'.


    And by the way, Smallcreep has two Es - although replacing your single E with an A might work better.

  • I miss Gary as well, I liked his humour and he was a superb drummer, taking nothing away from his fantastic replacement. I thought Steve couldn’t release albums for a while because of legal problems with such releases, arguments over ownership etc meaning he would be unwise to do so, not just financial reasons.

  • He mentions in his book about not writing or recording as not to give Kim Poor any more money. Amanda Lehman does not tour with him in the US because he does not want to pay her. I love the live album with the orchestra. I listen to the version of Supper's Ready every day as loud as I can play it. But, he used the cheapest orchestra he could find.

  • I’ve had a quick look and can’t find that reference in his book, do you have the page number please? Is there a source for the Amanda Lehman story? I thought she was working her appearances around child care commitments. I agree the orchestral

    album is brilliant. I imagine any orchestra is a costly investment to work with but I don’t know what the relative booking fees are, they certainly sounded good enough to me. Thanks

  • I am sure Gary left because after 20 years he wanted a little more money. Steve is notorious for being tight with money and paranoid about his finances. Nick Magnus left for the same reason. Steve is tight with money. Which is why the band does not contribute to his studio albums, Steve does not want to pay them. I believe that is the reason Steve's studio work sounds cold to me. No collaboration.

    according to Nick in recent interview- this is why he left

    NM I didn’t actually leave the band – it dissolved by default when we stopped touring in 1984. I continued working with Steve in the studio right up until 1989. When he decided to resume touring in 1990, I was already deeply involved in doing production work. I felt I couldn’t do both, so I took a deep breath and opted to go my own way.

  • He mentions in his book about not writing or recording as not to give Kim Poor any more money. Amanda Lehman does not tour with him in the US because he does not want to pay her. I love the live album with the orchestra. I listen to the version of Supper's Ready every day as loud as I can play it. But, he used the cheapest orchestra he could find.

    Any evidence for these statements, or just more fake news?

  • I’ve had a quick look and can’t find that reference in his book, do you have the page number please? Is there a source for the Amanda Lehman story? I thought she was working her appearances around child care commitments. I agree the orchestral

    album is brilliant. I imagine any orchestra is a costly investment to work with but I don’t know what the relative booking fees are, they certainly sounded good enough to me. Thanks

    It's almost always the case that orchestras used for rock gigs are local musicians assembled by a rep of the promotor or the band, the Moody Blues have done this off and on for years since 1992, the band's orchestral leader forwards the score on, and the local rep rehearses with them and if they are lucky, they might get to do a soundcheck/run through of 2 or 3 songs before the actual gig. As they work from sheet music, they don't need to do any more. The artist themselves have no control over the personnel make-up of the orchestra.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Steve Hackett has read this thread, so now Amanda joins him for the shows in Germany and Italy.

    Maybe this time Amanda is playing for free and paying her own hotel bills? ;)

  • Maybe this time Amanda is playing for free and paying her own hotel bills? ;)


    Once you get a reputation it's impossible to shake off. I don't know why Gary left but he was a fine singer and drummer. Financially, the best thing Steve did was to play Genesis material, I bought his first couple of albums but he needed to be with other talented songwriters.