YouSaid · the spoken record

Harvey Goldsmith

lines on the record: 43
first: 2009-07-05
most recent: 2009-07-05
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I've always wanted to play piano and never had the time or the room or some reason or other, I'd love a piano. I think I could while away my time learning to play.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I am the world's most useless do it yourself person. So I think while my time away the reader's digest complete do it yourself manual it is the definitive guide on do it yourself and I think out of it I ought to be able to learn to do something”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've always had a balance of comedy in my life, and one of the most exciting times I had was working with Monty Python. I loved them all dearly, and we toured them not enough, unfortunately, but all over the world, and the last sketch was always the parrot sketch. And every time I hear it I just fall about laughing.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, I'd love it. Yeah, I'm quite straight. I mean, I do actually turn off. We have a family home abroad. I try and spend a month in the summer, even though there is always work going on I do relax and I do have a balance and I'm very fortunate having an understanding wife who can help me with that because you do need a balance. But I quite looking forward to this because it's such a shift change for me and if it ever happened I'm thinking of all the things that I would like to do and having Boy Scout training is going to help me a lot in surviving I think.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, he's actually in the restaurant. He found it quite difficult being in my shadow wherever he went it was always assumed that it was because of me, and he wants to find a life where he's in control, he's in charge, and it's because of him not because of me. I respect that, it's quite difficult quite difficult.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There's no doubt that I didn't really devote enough time to our son when he was growing up, and it was just the way it was. I regret that a lot, but we now have a pretty good relationship.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When the battery runs out. That's it's never off. I'm afraid I live a life whether I like it or not my wife absolutely hates it that I have to be in touch with people I'm in a service business and you have to provide a service to other people That's the way it is”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Jeff Beck, a wonderful human being probably the best guitarist in the world, had known and worked with him for thirty odd years sporadically, and then I suddenly got a phone call, and he said that he was feeling very frustrated that his life wasn't going anywhere, he wanted to change, and would I help him? I said, Yeah, I'd love to help him. And he said, no, no, I want you to manage me. So we teamed up just before Christmas, and we've had a ball ever since, and He is a beautiful guy, he is a genius at playing and I'm really enjoying working with them.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Definitely more risk averse. So I just learned that you literally have to take complete responsibility for all of your actions.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I was devastated. I had actually spent most of the year on the road, my promoting sigh was still doing and was literally propping up the whole company. I was working twenty four hours a day literally, and this was in the back of my mind and these reports are coming and the accounts are telling me. And I was absolutely devastated. I wanted to take some time off, but in a group of people got together when they read about it and said you can't stop, and we're going to put some money up and when you restart. It took me about three or four years to really build back up again, and I was quite determined to do so.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I suppose in hindsight what I and my partner were trying to do was to build up a definitive entertainment company, but I think what happened was we expanded too quickly. We had a very, very successful movie, and then we were in production of two more movies, I think we started believing our own publicity a little bit. And I think we probably expanded too quickly.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“thank goodness I didn't go bust the company did get into financial difficulties we just couldn't keep it together anymore and the company went into liquidation.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Anyway, concert started, and Pavi went on stage, you know, we had the prince and princess of Wales there. Most of the cabinet were there. Half of the rest of the royal family, and 125,000 fans to boot. And after the second or third number, I could see jostling going on with people having umbrellas up and other people couldn't see. And I rushed on stage, grabbed a mic, and I said, could you please put your umbrellas down? And the very first person to do it was the Princess of Wales. She did it. Pavty just he was a gog and made it into a great kind of famous concert. So the track I've chosen is for man or let's go and it was the song that he dedicated to Princess Dinah.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We just became instant friends and remained so until his unfortunate demise. And it was Pavarotti's thirtieth anniversary of performing. He wanted to do something special. It was just after the dreadful hurricanes and all the trees had blown down in the park. And I said, why didn't we do something in Hyde Park, whatever money we raise? Let's give it to redo the trees. And the night before it was so hot we were actually concerned we added lots more stamp pipes for water in case they were going to pass out. Woke up the next day it was raining.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I was backstage. When Bob dropped the bombshell that he wanted two concerts, one in America and one in London at the same time. Just remember no mobile phones. And I remember sitting up in one of the productions offices at the BBC with a big satellite map and a pair of calipers trying to figure out where the satellite would be. So just get that into context. My day at Wembley was simply clocks. I bought forty clocks. I even hung rung round my neck and I sent a message round to everybody. I said, I don't care what time you go on, I only care what time you come off. It was critical that nobody overran and everybody pretty much played the game. So my day was about clocks and getting people off everybody else's was about having a great day and getting people on.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I was in the middle of a really busy period I was taking wham to China which was the first time a western pop band had gone to China and here was Bob banging on my door saying we're going to do this concert and I want you to do it and I said I just cannot deal with it. Call me when I get back and then I had Bruce Springsteen coming over and playing Wembley Stadium. I was just up to my neck in it. I got back from China and literally walked in the office the next day and Bob was standing outside and he said to me You've got to do these concerts and we talked about it and you know obviously I got the message very quickly. I wasn't really sure what was doable and what wasn't. We went down to the BBC and we discuss with them the notion of literally doing all day of music. It's never been done before. And then from then it started to grow.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Watermelon's a statement of slavery and I didn't know this at all, by the way, and it was something that black Americans just looked at as a kind of probably the worst insult you could possibly do to somebody. It is huge route. He went on stage and played a brilliant show, which is always a good sign. And a most extraordinary musician, again, changed the face of music, could create emotions inside you that nobody else can, as far as I'm concerned”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Try and do it. I was bringing Myles Davis over to Europe. It was very hot. It was July. And I thought this is nice I would lay on a kind of buffet. I had his huge tray of watermelon, which I thought would be fantastic, because you didn't see watermelon much, elegant. I had it all laid out on a bed of ice laid out. He walked into the room and I could see there was like fire coming out of his eyes. And I thought he was going to actually knock me flying. And I had no idea what the issue was, and of course watermelon for a black American was like literally as bout as bad as you could possibly get”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I suppose the only real music hero I've ever had, and that was Myles Davis. Probably one of the single most difficult artists I'd ever work with in my life who actually threatened to kill me the first time I met him, and then we became great friends”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I can only tell you that through the various number of assistants who get the brunt of it that I have most of them I think would happily say they'd come back and work for me tomorrow.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“seventy one we got married thirty eight years I do lose my temper at home. I'm a bit more easy today than I was. With marriage it takes two to tango, so I used to get back just as much as I threw. It's just what I am. I find that I can get my frustrations out very quickly. It's blown over and then I'm back to normal.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The biggest thing I've thrown at somebody was negotiating with the management of Earl's court. I can't remember it was for Bruce Springsteen or something like that. And we were going to finalize the agreement. They took us to a lovely restaurant in Ellscourt. And there were eight of us. We sat down and we were talking away. And they suddenly turned the tables on the deal. They just dropped it out somewhere as the main course was being served. And I literally picked the whole table up and dumped it in all the food, everything in their lap walked out. The next day the deal got done. I think that's the biggest thing I've done”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I can't stand fools and I can't deal with people that aren't prepared to own up when there's an issue. I do blow off steam, but I can blow off steam with somebody and then take em out for dinner.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The ho, I suppose my favourite rock band, the most excited rock band of all time still at the top I love em to death. Besides the material and the fantastic songs that Pete's written, they still today just turn me on completely and they're just the most exciting band of all Barbara O'Reilly.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'm prepared to take responsibility, so therefore I have to be in control to be able to take responsibility. If I'm in control and I have the responsibility, I have to deliver. And that's what keeps me going. Um, I”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“and if the train's late they get angry if they're in a traffic jam they get angry if the nanny turns up late they get angry and i always Try very hard to make sure that the environment for the audience is as good if not better than it is for the artist because to me that interface is so important.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There are certain people that will solve a problem by creating chaos and then being the heroes at solving the problem. I like to look at it if there's an issue to be dealt with, the quicker you nip it in the bud the better. I see there is a line at the end of the stage, which is the dividing line. A performer has to jump over that the edge of that stage and react with an audience and the audience at the same time give it back. That's what makes a great event. But in order to get to that point, the artist has to be happy in its mind and all the things that they need backstage, and equally, funnily enough, so do the public, because the experience that the public have of going to an event starts the minute they close the door of their house or apartment or whatever.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Vi Morrison, a very incredible live concert at the Rainbow and a track called Domino. In nineteen seventy six I was promoting the Rolling Stones and they were doing this big run of shows at Earl's Court. I got a phone call from Bill Wyman to say that Van Morrison wanted to meet me, and I'd always loved Van Morrison music I'd only ever worked with him once. He wasn't easy, and he was looking for a manager, and I said no, no, I don't do management. And he then persuaded me to take him on, and we had a fascinating time. He wanted to come back and live in England. He described exactly the kind of house he wanted to live in. I found the house, rented it for him, picked him up at the airport, he came, he walked in, took one, looked, and said No, don't like it, I'm going back home. And that was it.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Dropping out was the single last thing on my mind, I was so excited about all these experiments. experiences that I saw that I wanted to just gobble them up and bring them back to England as fast as possible.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I went to America on an exchange course and I bought a greyhound bus ticket ninety nine dollars for ninety nine days. I went from one side of America to the other by Greyhound bus. And I saw this mass of people in the park at Golden Gate Park and I thought this looks interesting. Rush down there and was listening to this music which happened to be the Grateful Dead. And as one does I whir my way backstage and said I'm a promoter from England and whatever and the grateful dead took to me and I became very friendly with them and that lasted all the way through. They then spiked my drink. I lost about two days of my life because they put acid in the Coca Cola I was drinking.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Naturally, you did it. I like challenges. And it was a challenge. By the end of the summer term, I actually was on the Finance Committee of the University and I had a secretary. He was just going so well. And then it took over my life and I ended up booking I think it was twelve colleges and the university along the south coast all of their events. So it happened very quickly.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I start off with some local bands, and then at that time there were bands like the Move and the Moody Blues and Fleetwood Mac, and I very quickly I learnt one that you have to take care of your audience, so we created an atmosphere in the club with some we had no budget, of course, but some lights, we put candles on the tables, bowls of nuts around. So it just felt a little bit better. And at that time, the university circuit was quite important, right?”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, after six weeks, I said, Where's the social life? And I opened a club called Club sixty six in nineteen sixty six just after Christmas term.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I met Benny Goodman, unfortunately very late in life, in his life, we had a very pleasant afternoon having tea at Claridge's, where I was trying to persuade him to come back and perform, and we talked about it, but unfortunately he couldn't do it, and then not long afterwards passed away.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My second track is Benny Goodman, playing a track called Sing Sing from a very famous tourism concert did at Carnody Hall in New York.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, it is important to me, and I am glad that I had that grounding. And the area that I was brought up in was quite a young growing area, so there were lots of people who had moved out there either just before the war or during the war, but everybody I think was trying to create a new start for themselves and that pervaded through their families and children.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They were tough, they didn't take any nonsense, but equally they gave us our own opportunity to develop in our own way. We were brought up in a Jewish household, and all of the festivals and the knowledge and so on and had to go to classes two days a week and which I hated. And is that important?”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, T Quite naught, yes Our house is always full of people, and one of the big events of the week was Sunday afternoons, where it was like games afternoons, so those days we'd play Scrabble or Monopoly or Topoly or whatever, and there was always fifteen, twenty people, kids all round the house all sitting on the floor playing various games and so on. So it was a very sociable atmosphere that we grew up in.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, there was a lot of kind of air of mythology about them that constantly travel with them. Obviously, I mean, I'm not a saint, but equally I realise right at the beginning that if I'm going to take control of situation, I had to be slightly aloof from it, so I had to restrict my partying and entertaining. So unfortunately I was often at most of the fun and games that would go on in those days, but couldn't really participate too much.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think both most of the music is just music that I adore from albums that I think in my life are pretty important. Starting off with Led Zeppelin. A track that is very emotive and kind of, I think, says it all about this fantastic rock”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There are two things that I learnt in life very early when I started promoting one is you have to keep the crew happy because a happy crew is a happy band and secondly of all if the band wants something there's normally a reason for it if you can get it why not and if you can't get it own up quickly and find an alternative”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Keith was a very excitable drummer and a wonderful human being, and I think the exuberance of performance carried on often for some time after he'd finished playing. He was a wonderful character.”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it was the Leicester Post House that we were at there was a swimming pool directly below we were on he was on about the sixth or seventh floor or something like that a little bit of an argument started he obviously was very angry and he literally picked the television up opened the window and just dumped it and when it landed in the pool he just shouted out bullseye to the”
2009-07-05 · Desert Island Discs · Harvey Goldsmith · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source