Simon Campbell

Tomorrow is my 66th birthday and…

I am going to retire Retirement ages are being pushed back more and more, but for me on January 9th, 2024 at the age of 66 I am officially going to retire.

Well we are on holiday. It’s a strange feeling as usually when travelling, music is involved.

I came to Tenerife many years ago on my BSAC - British Sub-Aqua Club Open Water Instructor course and a lot has changed. It’s expensive, very touristic and almost impossible to find food that’s not designed and priced for the winter sun-seeking Brit: we are so lucky living in Portugal.

On the other hand and I are decompressing, relaxing and enjoying the company of musical friends Kaz Hawkins and her husband David who suggested we join them on their Canary’s retreat.

She is a great artist and they are wonderful companions.

It was a fantastic idea and didn’t realise how much we needed this.

Looking forward to kicking the ass out of 2024!

Episode 149: The Supertone end of year show with Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell Suzy and Simon present their music and chat show about songs and the people who make them.

We had a long think about what we have learned this past year - enjoy!
We hope you discover the things in life that give you true meaning and a real sense of being alive.

Happy New Year - Carpe Diem!! ⭐️

https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com/p/12-things-we-have-learnt-in-2023

12 things we have learnt in 2023. We hope you discover the things in life that give you true meaning and a real sense of being alive. Happy New Year - Carpe Diem!

https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com/p/12-things-we-have-learnt-in-2023

Episode 148: The Supertone Christmas Show with Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell Suzy and Simon present their music and chat show about songs and the people who make them.

Following on from the last note, one of the most bizarre items on the things to do list was to repair the Alien Abduction lamp.

Yes, we have one and it’s been on the list for some time. Intermittent fault. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it didn’t. Bastard aliens…

So two hours later, a 5V USB changer and some lateral thinking, it’s back to its full resplendence.

Next the damaged Flying Saucer. Independence Day anyone?

🇵🇹

Continuing on from last week's episode on Johnny Marr, the second in our series on the most influential post-modern British guitar players features the ridiculously talented Jonny Greenwood (what’s is it with these Jonny’s?).

From the descant recorder, Ondes Martenot, Stephen Bennet to the Fender Telecaster - this week's special series of The Supertone Show featuring our favourite post-modern guitar players goes all Jonny Greenwood.

https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com/p/episode-147-the-supertone-show

Rehearsal studios, broken contracts, creepy hotels and more in Day 5 - 'Diary of a Touring Musician' out now.

Diary of a touring musician: day five Being full-time musicians we love playing live! With our new album STARLITE.ONE we took to the road in September and October for our UK headline tour. This is part five of the warts-and-all-account.

The first in a special series of The Supertone Show featuring great British post-modern guitar players - Johnny Marr

This week’s Supertone Show is all about Johnny Marr - the first in a special series featuring great British post-modern guitar players.
Join Suzy Starlite & Simon Campbell for an hour of great music and stories about the people who have influenced and changed the sound of music.
The show is syndicated on radio stations across the planet and is also available by subscribing free to VIBES on Substack - https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com/p/episode-146-the-supertone-show

The next instalment - Day 4 - Diary of a Touring Musician!

Diary of a touring musician: day four Being full-time musicians we love playing live! With our new album STARLITE.ONE we took to the road in September and October for our UK headline tour. This is part three of the warts-and-all-account.

We have been quiet over the past week as we were visiting our friend Paco Loco in his studio close to Cádiz and swinging past Faro in Algarve on our way home. Loco by name but not by nature. Passionate, knowledgeable, open, obsessed with all things analogue and not a plug-in in sight. His gear collection is extraordinary and he knows how to use it.

Sir Roderick David Stewart - this week’s episode of The Supertone Show features Rod during his coolest period from 1964 to 1973 with music from The Jeff Beck Group, Python Lee Jackson and the Faces.

If you like the music why not add these tracks to your YouTube Music playlist and while there, subscribe to our channel - it’s free!

💥Link in bio

New show out now featuring Rod when he was ultra cool!

Sir Roderick David Stewart - this week’s episode of The Supertone Show features Rod during his coolest period from 1964 to 1973 with music from The Jeff Beck Group, Python Lee Jackson and the Faces.

If you like the music why not add these tracks to your YouTube Music playlist and while there, subscribe to our channel - it’s free!

💥Listen now: https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com/p/episode-145-the-supertone-show

Diary of a touring musician: day three Being full-time musicians we love playing live! With our new album STARLITE.ONE we took to the road in September and October for our UK headline tour. This is part three of the warts-and-all-account.

Very sad news...

Shane MacGowan, Pogues songwriter and Irish music legend, dies aged 65 One of the all-time great bandleaders and writer of Christmas classic Fairytale of New York, MacGowan invigorated rock with the power of Irish folk music

Great to see our ace friend Javier Muñoz from LaCueva Studio & Tech in Spain who was giving Betty our 48-channel analog CADAC console some TLC in the Supertone studio. Simon Campbell had a great time geeking out about all things sound.

It was really good to catch up and Javi also shared some fascinating stories from his time as Head of Tech at Metropolis Studios in London.

Music family!!

This week’s special edition of The Supertone Show is dedicated to the late, great cartoonist Tony Husband and features stories and music from Buffalo Springfield, , , The Modern Lovers, , Canned Heat, The Undertones and The Animals.
https://vibes.starlite-campbell.com
Photographer:

This week's special edition of The Supertone Show is dedicated to the late, great Tony Husband and features stories and music that he loved from Buffalo Springfield, Low, Iggy Pop, The Modern Lovers, Ry Cooder, Canned Heat, The Undertones and The Animals.

Episode 144: The Supertone Show with Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell Listen now (60 mins) | Suzy and Simon present their music and chat show about songs and the people who make them.

So tonight, we have started to work again on new material. Do we ever stop? No.

Simon has been wandering around the studio picking up instruments that he hasn’t played or used for some time.

Here is a custom Telecaster that he had made back in the 90s by Gordon Whitham (one-half of Gordon Smith guitars) fitted with a Duesenberg Guitars Multibender alongside two custom amps: clones of an early 60s blackface Bandmaster and a brown Bandmaster 3x10.

Great setup.

Great interview with my spirit animal, Daniel Lanois.



https://www.lafabriqueculturelle.tv/capsules/14801/la-quete-de-sens-et-de-sons-de-daniel-lanois-rencontre-intimiste-avec-une-legende-vivante

The past few days have been funny. Not funny, haha, but strange and kind of detached from reality - whatever that is in 2023.

On Thursday we had a meeting with a potential studio client which lasted all day - wine, local bread, cheese and tomatoes were consumed.

Travelling around the whole of Santerém (the region where we live) trying to find an environmentally sound, cool-looking Christmas tree; working on the next series of diary articles about the tour; programming the podcast for recording tonight; still sorting s**t hanging around from the massive UK trip.

We did however have a break last night and went to Alcochetano - our favourite fish place in Alcochete for dinner where Daniel, the head chef bought all our back catalogue on CD and then onto Bar do Concelho in Samora Corriea for drinks.

Today though I am going to try and write something and play guitar.

The image is my wife - Suzy - from the multimedia presentation at the Met in Bury, UK and reminds us what we are really supposed to be doing.



https://substack.com//note/c-43874686

GEEK ALERT

Part two, live in a few hours.

Commissioning a new custom electric guitar: part two From concept to concert: navigating the final stages of your custom electric guitar journey.

It’s our day off. It’s the middle of the night (0830) and we are in the gym. Why? There is a wine tasting in Vila Franca de Xira at 1100 so we can’t work out after that. More reps; more weight; more speed; more pain.

Today is one of my saddest in 48 years of being a musician.

On our recent tour we had a date pulled by the promoter 24 hours before the gig was scheduled.

A contract is in place which covers the fee, rider and what happened if it was cancelled within two weeks of the event.

We asked them to honour the terms of the contract but, apart from some garbled nonsense by telephone, received no reply and hence had no alternative but to seek remedy through the courts.

Now, they have a County Court Judgement and we have instructed bailiffs to collect the money.

Horrible.

Suzy and I are deeply upset but the amount of money was substantial and we just can’t afford not to be paid.

Touring within the UK is an expensive business but from Europe much more so and we are writing a full account of the trip.

We are not publishing the second part of the series as yet due to these legal issues but you can read part one…

Subscribe to be kept up to date. The next edition is ugly.

Diary of a touring musician: in the beginning Being full-time musicians we love playing live! With our new album STARLITE.ONE to share - we took to the road for a two-week UK headline tour. This is part one of the warts-and-all account.

I am in a bar. That serves beer. And wine. Alcohol in general. Bottles of it. I am drinking coffee. YES COFFEE. FU***NG COFFEE… is having her hair cut then off to the gym.

We have lived in Portugal now for over three years and have never figured out the economic dynamic.

Portugal is in Europe. Ireland is in Europe. Portugal has over 10M people. Ireland has a little over 5M. They both run Governments, social security and have high taxes.

The difference is Ireland is a wealthy country: check out this article by Noah Smith. https://open.substack.com/pub/noahpinion/p/how-ireland-got-so-rich

The people of Portugal are clever and hard working but the country always seems on its ass. Here European funded motorways are heavily tolled. It costs us nearly €50 one way to Porto in the Van of Rock.

The question is, where does all the money go??

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/07/portuguese-pm-antonio-costa-resigns-amid-corruption-inquiry

Portuguese PM António Costa resigns amid corruption inquiry Police search socialist prime minister’s official residence in investigation into alleged corruption

Honoured to be video of the week on Photogroupie 🚀🚀🚀

Starlite & Campbell are back with It's our WATCH HERE https://www.photogroupie.com/post/starlite-campbell-the-voting-machine

We’re back…