Gary Wilson teamed up with Caroline
Munro on this scarce three-track CD single
with high hopes of releasing a broader
collection of songs. Ironically, both Wilson
and Munro are veterans of the Numa
Records label. In the studio, Gary Willson
performed drums on Larry Loeber's
"Shivers Up My Spine," and so is officially
connected to the Numa label's humble
beginnings.
Wilson's alliance with Caroline Munro, however, began with her lengendary film career. It
was this same repertoire of vampish heroines in campy Hammer horrors and whimsical
Harryhausen fantasies that first attracted Gary Numan to her in 1984 for his "Pump Me Up"
single. And, like Numan, Wilson sought the role of producer for Munro and others whose
cult following had demonstrated as yet untapped potential.
Back in 1998, on Halloween night, Gary Wilson released a highly
anticipated soundtrack album of music from Hammer horror
films--an album which he not only produced but which he
released on his own record label, GDI Records. The success of
this first volume would lead to a full series of Hammer
soundtracks in the next few years. However, it was for this
first album that Caroline Munro and Gary Wilson made
appearances together at conventions and other promotional
events. Wilson even performs alongside Hammer legend
Christopher Lee in two of Lee's more recent music videos
(available on the Anchor Bay
Dracula). Gary Wilson's
brother, session musician
Clive Wilson, was enlisted
for the soundtrack project as
well, and Clive's guitar
playing can be heard in two
of Christopher Lee's
recordings: "Wanderin' Star"
and "It's Now Or Never." In a
strangely ingenious way, Gary Wilson succeeded in
insinuating himself into the cult of Hammer fandom by
being responsible for bringing its music and its film icons
into the new millenium, and for giving the Hammer
phenomenon the veneer of credibility much needed to
reach modern goths. Despite his own musical roots in
the doo-wop and sixties rock traditions, and ignoring the
daunting incongruity of Christopher Lee and Caroline
Munro's formal vocal styles with the darker and more
violent sensibility of modern goth rock, Wilson
nonetheless grafted their image to bands like Incubus-
Succubus and Forbidden Planet--bands that more
truthfully engendered the slasher sensibility of Caroline's
later films with leading man Joe Spinell, but which
nonetheless breathed new life into the campy goth
image of Captain Kronos and Carla.
Wilson, it seems, also gave up some flesh for the beast--
as a young actor, that is, in the 1972 Lions Of St.
Petersburg, by Italian director Mario Siciliano. Siciliano,
who sometimes worked under the pseudonym of Lee
Castle, is oft remembered for films like Orgazmo non-
stop and Porno lui erotica lei that blurred the line
between art and sleaze. (Incidentally, this was a line
that Caroline Munro refused to cross, even when asked
to play the leading role in Vampirella, Jim Wynorski's
1996 homage to the Hammer classic, Captain Kronos:
Vampire Hunter.) Wilson's work in Lions Of St.
Petersburg (film
posters mistakenly
dropped the plural "-s"
from Lions) was a good
ten years, however,
before he joined Rick
Kemp's Maddy Prior
Band--which later took
the name Maddy Prior
& The Answers.
Clearly, even after Wilson's record company changed its
management and Wilson discontinued work on the
Hammer soundtracks, his friendship with Caroline Munro
endured. No further evidence of another Wilson-Munro
single has surfaced, much less the hoped-for album's
worth of material, but clearly Caroline has not ruled out
the possibility. In many of her interviews since the
single's release, she has expressed hopes to return to the
studio with Gary Wilson and record more.
A quick listen to the tracks on the "Let It Be Me" single (which includes one original track,
co-written by Brian Hodgson and Gary's brother, Clive) demonstrates why, for there is
something at once familiar about the choice of material and about the chemistry of the
duet that makes "Let It Be Me" reminiscent of the Judd & Miss Munro singles of the late
1970s. Unfortunately, Gary Wilson has the stronger voice in these recordings. Whether this
is a product of the mixing or of the actual talent enjoyed between them, it is immaterial;
the duet performances on this single make us pine to hear each artist sing individually, and
for Caroline, in particular, to show us more colors from the range of style we know her to
have. Her pre-Wilson Munro convention cassette of demos provides an incomplete glimpse
into that range, and it would still be nice to hear someday a cohesive and modern
collection of songs from a woman who is every bit as talented and every bit as connected as
Nancy Sinatra. In any event, the single is a credit to the very fine musicians, Brian Hodgson
and Clive Wilson, who give it an undeniable finesse.
Profts from the sale of "Let It Be Me" went to the U.K. based Winston's Wish organization, a
charity assisting grieving children and their families with financial, emotional and other
practical support. The single is now difficult to locate even on the secondary market but
copies can be purchased from the Official Caroline Munro Fan Club.
CLICK THE SONG TITLES TO HEAR BRIEF SAMPLES
Let It Be Me
(Mann / Becaud) B.M.G. Music
Everlasting Love
(Cason / Gaydon) E.M.I. Music
Cruisin'
(Hodgson / Wilson) Britton Music / Leosongs
Wilson Munro are Gary Wilson, Caroline Munro, Darrel King, Justin King & Clive Wilson
Produced and arranged by Darrell King
Recorded and mixed at DJK Music Studios, Essex, England
Management: Robb Eden 01608 651129
For further information please visit
http://dspace.dialpipex.com/wilson-munro/ *
or contact us by e-mail Wilson-munro@dialpipex.com
or fax 01255 223232
*Note from the site administrator: This web address is no longer operational.