GuilFest 2005. The Guildford Music Festival on 15th, 16th and 17th July 2005

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Artist: Rolf Harris
Genre: Legend
Performing: 17th July 2004 / BBC Radio 2 Main Stage
Website Address: [www.rolfharris.com]
Author: Stuart Dowling

Welcome back to GuilFest - You are becoming a welcomed regular to the Guildford crowds - what can the crowds expect this year? They asked me on the radio the other night how many times I have played here and they tell me its my 3rd time. I like it here. I like GuilFest!

You have a new album out this year called 'Now & Then', what can your fans expect to hear on this one?
Yes, we have recorded a number of new tracks, all the news ones I can think of are...erm..one is called Scringe Scrange, it's a nonsense song which developed from a wedding celebration that we were at, the whole song came from the wedding reception when we were all drinking Pimms, and I thought it was lemonade and was very happily drinking it, the result was Scringe Scrange. [laughs]

There is a another song called 'WHERE DID YOU GET TO' which I wrote while I was promoting 'FINE DAY' and 'My BRUDDA SYLVEST' its an old old song that I have done a new take on with Jon Culshaw from Dead Ringers, he's a talented guy does the voice of Frank Bruno and Sylvester Stalone. It's a song about an old Boxer.

We also have a couple of songs from South Africa called 'The Click Song' which was recorded a long time ago by Miriam Makeba and I wrote some English words to that. I also had a lovely singer called Stevie "Vann" Lange and she actually speaks the Cosa language, where they click with the voice and she coached me on that one and she is on the recording of that song.

We've also done an old song which was a huge hit in South Africa in 1960 called 'AG PLEEZ DADDY' which everyone South African knows instinctively, and I've always loved it.

We've got 'FINE DAY' on the album which could have been an enormous hit but no one radio would play it, its incredible isn't it, can you believe it. [laughs].

JUMBUK' is an old song which I re-recorded, an Australian song which I wrote. What else? Oh 'I KNOW A MAN' which I recorded with George Martin

Wow, the same George Martin who recorded the Beatles?

Yes, he recorded all my first songs in the early 60's before the Beatles became so huge and he didn't have any time to do anyone else. He recorded that with me and we were sure it was going to be an enormous hit, the song was written by two guys Frith & McDermott. These guys went on to America to write the show Godspell. George was sure this track was going to be a hit but I could never perform it because it had me doing two voices in harmony with myself which back then you couldn't do live, but nowadays you just have it running on separate track. This was very similar as the track 'BLUER THAN BLUE' which he recorded too which could have been a hit. It was written by Barry Mason and all the guys were involved in writing it.

Will you playing any of these today?
Yeah, we'll be doing SCRINGE SCRANGE, we're doing 'I KNOW A MAN' from the album, we'll be doing 'WHERE DID YOU GET TO?', 'FINE DAY' … (He laughs as he shows me his set list) Ha, they have typed out my set list with 'Hairyway to Stevens' instead of 'Stairway to Heaven'. [laughs]

Out of all the songs you have recorded, which do you feel most proud of?
Well, 'SUN ARISE' was so far ahead of its time really, in 1962, it was like the first World Music song, and George Martin recorded that one. George insisted on EMI plugging that for 3 months, they usually plug a song only a couple of weeks and if there was no action they would drop it, but George said 'it was so weird and so different that you've got to keep playing it so people could get the idea of it in their heads', so they plugged it for 3 months before it started to move, and then it was amazing, suddenly it was number 33 in the hit parade and then number 17 and then 13, and then number 2 then next week and I thought 'wow, its going to number 1 but some guy [ Rolf laughs] called Elvis Presley came from no where with ' Return to Sender' and I never got to the number 1, but I was sure I was going to be number 1. [laughs out loud]

The name ROLF HARRIS is recognised by so many different people and for so many different reasons - as artist, musician, presenter of Animal Hospital and as "The KING of Australia". Which peg does Rolf Harris feel most at home with?

Well people say, 'what would like to do here, chose just one thing and get rid of the rest?', I couldn't do it, you know I couldn't say I'd just do the music and get rid of the art, I just couldn't do it. I love painting, I love the creative side of things, I love the song writing and performing, getting out in front of an audience, there's no other drug like it. It's the biggest lift you can imagine.

I loved Animal Hospital, that was a lovely experience for me, we are doing 4 specials starting in August talking about the making of Animal Hospital, 4 half hour programs weekly on BBC 1. But it finishes after 10 years as you know, that was incredible!

Do you get to go back to Australia often?
Yes, I regularly go back, although working there is a difficult thing, the only way I can work there is by harking back to what I used to do.

Do you get to do any festivals over there?
Yes, I did one in January, I was flown out there specially to do a show and really enjoyed it.

ROLF'S NEW ALBUM IS OUT NOW AND AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH HIS WEBSITE, please visit [www.rolfharris.com]