Paul Dunford Interview

I have previously written an in-depth blog post about the various stages of Spector fandom in the form of fanclubs, newsletters and fanzines. You can read about it here:

The Phil Spector Appreciation Society

Since starting this blog, Paul Dunford, the former president of the ‘Phil Spector Appreciation Society’ (PSAS), has become one of the readers following my writings and research. In order to learn more about the PSAS, Paul has been kind enough to answer some questions about the fanclub he started in the 70s.

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Paul, thank you for taking the time out to answer some questions about the PSAS. Let’s start off by learning more about your own interest in Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound. When and how did you discover his music? Was there a definitive moment for you or a specific song that won you over?

I was just 14 years old and in my garden when I heard ‘Be my Baby’ by the Ronettes in 1963. I couldn’t believe the sound that was coming from my little transistor radio! I had to stop whatever I was doing and turn the sound up. That voice and the Spector sound was uplifting to me. And then I began to listen to all Spector’s artists. But I was always most interested in the Ronettes.

According to my research you must have started the PSAS in 1975; the year before the release of the first volume of the Rare Masters rarities collection. Did the PSAS evolve because of the new flurry of Spector activity in lieu of the newly formed Phil Spector International label & his deal with Polydor? Please do tell what you remember about the formation of the PSAS.

Yes. It was in 1975. I was working as a store manager for Venus Records, a UK chain comprising six record shops, and had contact with Barry Barnes from Polydor who did all the displays for me at my shop – and in time, also at the PSAS convention that was held.

Barry was working as a promotions man for Polydor and a good friend of mine. He covered my shop with covers of ‘Echoes of the 60s’ – the greatest hits collection that came out in 1977. I actually got a silver disc for that release as a gift which I am very proud of. It was issued to recognize the sale in the UK of more than “£ 150.000 worth of the Phil Spector album Echoes of the 60s”

Paul and his ‘Echoes of the 60s’ silver disc.

I was also in contact with Tony Bramwell a lot. We often met at Polydor Records. Tony was the main reason for me getting all the news – he had previously been the road manager of the Beatles. [Cue Castanets: Tony Bramwell was instrumental in negotiations behind the short-lived Warner-Spector and Phil Spector International labels.] A lot happened during those years. The Dion album came out and the Rare Masters collections. My address is actually on Rare Masters volume 2. ‘Oak Cottage, Isington, Alton, Hampshire.’

You continued the name from an older fan club run by Phil Chapman in the late 60s – were you a member of that one? Was Phil a member of the new PSAS? And how did you go about spreading the word on your fanclub?

No, I was never in Phil Chapman’s fanclub and he was never in mine. I did use the ‘Phil Spector Appreciation Society’ name to get members. When I started the fanclub up I used to put adverts in the New Musical Express and Record Mirror and it was very successful.

From the newsletters I gather that Spector-crazy DJs like Roger Scott, Peter Young and Mike Reid were honorary members – as were Ronnie Spector, Dusty Springfield and Gene Pitney! Any other honorary member amongst your ranks back then?

The honorary members were the ones you listed, only missing is BBC host Bob Harris who I’ve gotten very friendly with. He is a DJ on BBC 2. He loves his music and he’s 68 years old now.

Bob Harris

The PSAS was an international fanclub with members both in Europe and the US. One newsletter informs that you’ve reached nearly 200 members due to 75 new members coming onboard because of a mention of the PSAS on the back of the Rare Masters vol. 2 album. Do you remember if the PSAS attained even more members?

I think we had about 300 members. We even had fanclub merchandise like t-shirts and car stickers. We promoted Phil Spector’s company and tried to make Jeri Bo Keno’s ‘Here It Comes (and Here I Go)’ a turntable hit. But it should have been sung by Ronnie. Her voice was better than Jeri Bo Keno.

On the 25^th of September 1976 the PSAS had a convention. Could you tell a bit about it? Did you have other, more informal gatherings?

We only had that one convention at Alton, my hometown. It was a great night. The DJ played everything old and new, and obviously the recent Jerri Bo Keno release. The highlight of the night was a telexed message to us from the man himself.

[Cue Castanets: the message was read aloud at the convention and re-printed in the next PSAS newsletter. The message was as follows: “This message is to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to you and all the members of the Society for their overwhelming dedication and work and love. If there were more people in the world like all of you there would not only be more of my records played and sold but more importantly this world would be a better place in which to live. I hope the convention is a success and I know it will be with so many lovely people in attendance. I am truly sorry that I cannot be there to meet each and every one of you. I thank and appreciate all of you from the buttom of my heart. With much love, Phil Spector.”]

Did you have an actual PSAS office you ran the fanclub from?

Yes, we did. It was in my home in Alton. Here is a photo of the office. That’s me sitting down and Kevin Kennedy answering the phone. He was a member of PSAS and very helpful too.

The PSAS office – hard at work promoting the Wall of Sound! Note the ‘Phil Spector Story’ book by Rob Finnis on the table.

Judging from the newsletters, you obviously got some inside information on upcoming releases and Phil Spector’s current sessions from Polydor. There are interesting tid-bids in the newsletters; an unmixed version of Darlene Love’s ‘Lord If You’re a Woman’ and a new signing by Spector in the form of a vocal group called the Brewers. Apparently, there was also enough material for a third volume of Rare Masters. Was all this info always courtesy of Tony Bramwell?

Yes. There was indeed an unmixed version of ‘Lord If You’re a Woman’ and I was told there was enough material for a fantastic Darlene Love album, 10 tracks including ‘I Love Him Like I Love my Very Life.’ But for reasons unknown to me and Tony Bramwell it didn’t see the light of day. Perhaps one day we might hear it! As for the Brewers, – I have never heard about them. I think it was all rumors.

Were you ever in contact with Spector himself as president of the PSAS or was contact with him through his management / distributors?

I was in contact with his personal assistant Devra Robitaille. [Cue Castanets: Devra’s official title was that of Administrative Director of Warner-Spector. Among other things, she organized the sessions at Gold Star for the Dion album in 1975.] How wonderful that Dion album was! And Cher’s ‘A Woman’s Story & Baby, I Love You’ on the B-side. The PSAS even arranged a ‘Spector Day’ on March 7^th 1976. How did you come up with that idea?

It was due to the fact that it had been 10 years since ‘River Deep Mountain High’ was recorded. It was a wonderful day. DJs Roger Scott, Peter Young and Mike Reid got involved and every two hours ‘River Deep’ was played. It was played both on Capital radio and the BBC.  Some shows were even dedicated to the PSAS.

You eventually stepped down as president of the PSAS in late 1977 and Mick Patrick and Carole Gardiner took over. They later re-morphed the newsletters into the Philately fanzine.

Yes, I knew Mick and Carole very well. We even went to CBS in London to meet Ronnie when ‘Say Goodbye to Hollywood’ was released in May, 1977. When I handed over the PSAS it got better and better. I was very pleased that it improved.

Speaking of Ronnie Spector, I know you were close with her? Do tell.

I toured with her in 1979. I was Ronnie’s manager and I paid the Ronettes. It was a great tour and we played the Venue in London for two nights. I even shared a room with her. We stayed in many hotels and I shall always remember that tour till the day I die. She even came to my house in Alton and stayed there for two nights. It’s great to know that Ronnie is bringing her ‘Beyond the Beehive’ one-woman show to the UK this year!

Add for New York dates on Ronnie’s ‘Beyond the Beehive’ tour.

Thank you for all this info, Paul. Finally, what are your five personal favorite Spector records?

My personal all-time favorites are

1. The Ronettes – ‘Be my Baby’
2. The Crystals – ‘Then He Kissed Me’
3. The Ronettes – ‘When I Saw You’
4. Checkmates Ltd – ‘Black Pearl’
5. Dion – ‘Born to Be with You’

The Phil Spector Appreciation Society

If you’ve read the ’about’ section on here you know I started my blog because of a lack of an online reference point with different angles and news on the Wall of Sound. So I decided to create such a site myself. I assume there are others like me out there and if you come across this blog, I’d love to hear from you. You can comment on the posts or contact me via my blog profile. No matter what, I hope you’ll check in from time to time and read the future posts.

Obviously, the internet has completely changed the game of how not only fans of Phil Spector’s music but music fans in general come together and stay up to date about releases, rarities, concerts etc. Online forums, specialist music websites, blogs, mailing lists and Facebook pages all provide fans with direct access to news and discussion with likeminded folks like never before.

Then imagine the ‘wilderness’ years before the internet. The dark ages where fans had to rely on chance encounters with other fans at record stores or record fairs, pen pal-type ads in music magazines or, if you were really lucky, privately pressed fanzines provided of course that your favorite music had a strong enough following to merit such a labour-of-love. Luckily for Spector fans, they’ve had several fanzines to consult through the years.

I’m too young to have been a part of the fan community back then so what I know about these fanzines I’ve learned second-hand, mainly because, the geek that I am, I’ve hunted down some of the few remaining copies or have kindly received photocopied ones from other collectors.

I find these fanzines very fascinating. They are great for researching the cultural history of Spector fandom as each issue somewhat represents a time capsule of the interests, mentality, hopes and dreams of the fan community at the time of publication. You can sense that much care and love has been put into them and as fanzines go, they’re pervaded by a sense of comforting, tight-knit camaraderie.

Members of the Phil Spector Appreciation Society (PSAS) sent in their personal top 10 in 1976. “Here are the results of the Spectorian jury.”

The people behind these fanzines knew that they weren’t writing for masses but providing valuable information for a few diehard fans who cared and where willing to subscribe even when, in the case of Phil Spector, news were at best very infrequent and unsubstantial. In all honesty, once Spector seemingly closed the door on his producer career with his involvement in the Ramones album ‘End of the Century’ in 1980, there wasn’t much to report.

In the lack of any real news the fanzines were often then padded out with discographies, artists bios, discussions on soundalike records etc. In other words, all the info we take for granted today with Discogs, Wikipedia or Allmusic. But back then Spector fans had to get such info piece by piece as if they were slowly and collectively solving a major puzzle as the years went on.

The PSAS predict a bright future for Spector at the end of 1976.

So, what’s the basic timeline of the fanzines? Not much info can be found online which is strange actually. You’d think that some of the passionate people behind these fanzines would have picked up from where they left off once they got online? The legendary Spectropop message board probably took its fair share of former subscribers and that forum has had a few posts about the fanzines but nothing really informative.

My research shows the following timeline:

Phil Spector Appreciation Society Newsletters – 1968-1969/1970

According to an interview with British Spector historian, collector and producer Phil Chapman in 1984 (Philately # 4) this newsletter was started by him around 1968. As a young Spector fan he had gotten into contact with numerous other fans using the pen pal sections of music magazines. Instead of continuing writing each other back and forth with the same news he decided to start a society that eventually grew to about 100 or so active members. Only six newsletters were issued during the course of a year so the final one must have come out in 1969 or 1970. [Phil Chapman’s six newsletters were for sale as reprints in 1984 as advertised in Philately along with the interview. If anyone out there has these and would be willing to send me photocopies I’d be very grateful. I’ve yet to read them.]

Image of the six 60s PSAS newsletters as shown in Philately 4.

Phil Spector Appreciation Society Newsletters – ca. 1975-1983

The name Phil Chapman used for ‘his’ fanclub was dusted off by a new group of people throughout the 70s. Like Chapman’s club, this society was also based in the UK but it also had subscribers in the US. I have photocopies of all newsletters from November 1976 until Christmas 1981. Some I’ve bought off Ebay, others I have kindly been able to borrow for copying from a fellow fan.

I don’t know exactly when this new version of the PSAS started but according to the last newsletter I have, the one from the end of 1981, it had been active for nearly 7 years. This would suggest a start sometime in 1975. That seems very likely since this was the year Phil Spector issued a batch of new compilations of his old hits on a newly formed label, ‘Phil Spector International.’ I imagine the flurry of activity got fans together again. The founding member was Paul R. Dunford but for most issues dynamic duo Mick Patrick and Carole Gardiner was in charge. The newsletters are very informative but very simple in their layout. Basically, they are nothing more than typewritten pages in the a5 format with the occasional image. The newsletters came out roughly 4 times a year. [I lack PSAS newsletters from 1982 and onwards until Philately took over. If you have some that you’d like to copy for me, please get in touch.]

PSAS newsletters from the 70s.

The 70s edition of the PSAS even held a convention in september 1976 at Alton, Hampshire in the UK. According to the subsequent newsletter “a disco played Spector records all night.” The surprise of the evening was a telexed message from Phil Spector who expressed his gratitude to his fans. I have color photocopies of photos taken that evening and show four here. Look at those wall displays! I guess they had quite a few Phil Spector International sleeves to spare, huh? The DJ can even be seen putting on a record. Considering the time, I’m guessing it’s Jerri Bo Keno’s ‘Here It Comes (And Here I Go)’!

PSAS members party at their convention, September 1976.

Philately – seven issues, 1983-ca. 1989/1990

Mick Patrick and Carole Gardiner, as well as other contributors, expanded the simple newsletter into a very stylish-looking fanzine from 1983 onwards. Under the tongue-in-cheek title Philately, fans worldwide were kept updated with the same kind of info as had been the norm in the old PSAS newsletters. Philately though, had a much more professional style. More varied fonts, better reproduction of images and interviews with various people close to Spector such as Jerry Riopelle, Ronnie Spector, Nino Tempo and others.

The Philately fanzine was clearly the pinnacle of Spector fandom and make for great reading. I don’t know why it had run its course by the 7^th issue but I have Mick Patrick’s word for it being the last issue when I asked him about it online. Mick would of course go on to work on all sorts of interesting projects for Ace Records, i.e. the fantastic three Phil’s Spectre compilations of Spector soundalikes, many of which had been raved about in the ‘Erect-a-Spector’ columns in the old PSAS newsletters or Philately. Whereas the PSAS newsletters had been a mixture of Spector stuff and more general info on 60s girl groups, Philately was mainly Spector stuff with girl group articles reserved for a sister publication by the PSAS called ‘That will never happen again.’ [The only issue of Philately I don’t have is # 5. A photocopy would be kindly welcomed.]

Issue 1, 4 and 6 of Philately. The design got more professional with each issue.

And thus concludes my ‘dissertation’ on the obscure and overlooked, but wonderful world of Spector fandom & fanzines.