Mellotronists

a couple of rick/biro related anecdotes that y's've all probably seen 
a million times but they still make me laugh/cry. especially when I 
picture the caped crusader with a tin of petrol and him not actually 
drinking from it....
apologies for the formatting (if there is any) but I'm accessing 
yahoo at work on a piece-of-crap pc instead of my trusty i-mac.

> There was an instrument in the 70's called the
> Birotron that was developed in association with Rick
> Wakeman as a next generation Mellotron.
> <http://www.8trackheaven.com/birotron.html> While the
> Mellotron's notes came from pre-recorded strips of
> 1/4" tape, the birotron actually used 8-track
> cartridges. When you played the keyboard, whatever was
> on the cartridges would sound. The problem was,
> Mellotron tapes contained the note's attack portion,
> and the Birotron's cartridges were endless loops in
> which a keyed note would start abruptly.


Whoa - I just read the little Rick Wakeman interview
at the above link. Perhaps he should have done it on stage...

"RW: The Mellotron... I used to have two single Mellotrons,
and a double special Mellotron. And the two single ones I had,
I was so frustrated, because of tuning problems, and the tapes...
And full of anger, I took the two Mellotrons into a field,
and put petrol over them, and I fired them.  

YM: You really did that? I can't believe it! 

RW: Yeah. And all of them, all the wood, burnt and all the metal 
just... 

YM: Did you enjoy that?. 

RW: At the time, at the time I enjoyed it, because they had ruined
so many sessions through going wrong and breaking, but afterwards
I regret it. Oh, of course I regret it!"

and this:

>>There's a story (perhaps apocryphal, but who knows?)
about a practical joke the members of Yes played on
Wakeman at a rehearsal; after a dinner break, Wakeman
was late in returning (he was notoriously 'thirsty' in
those days) and the band members brought in a bunch of
8-tracks from their cars. When they were playing again
after Wakeman returned and they got to the part where
the Birotron was supposed to produce the sounds of
choirs or strings or whatever, Wakeman hit the keys
and heard Simon & Garfunkel.<<

duncan/r.m.i./m400nr1098, on fire with anticipation for it's new 
frame.