Boy for my Birthday - Dale Hibbert Q&A

It's been 24 hours, if anyone has questions....fire away. I will do my best to answer them. I suppose the main question is "why now" ? It's been a long time. I once had a friend, who found a singer, for six months we rehearsed, talked, examined possibilities. The friend convinced me to leave the band I was with, and join him. We were kids, to be fair, but...

It's a sweet, innocent, charming recording and one that I am fond of.
Anyhow, this means a lot more to some people than it does me, it's out there because it brings joy to people.
We change as we age, if you can make people happy then do it, that's "why now". It was set to premiere on my birthday because anticipation is exquisite, we now live in an "on demand" society, I prefer the old ways.

If anyone is old enough to remember the excitement of Thursday evenings, or the countdown on Sundays, cassette recorder at the ready, fingers hovering above play+(red)record, you will remember the old ways.


Related item:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for putting it out there so we can finally hear it. :):thumb:

Do you think Morrissey and Marr have a copy of this? Or is the tape that Johnny gave to you the original tape?

I mean, did he give you a mix down version from the original source tape that he may still have?


It's been 24 hours, if anyone has questions....fire away. I will do my best to answer them. I suppose the main question is "why now" ? It's been a long time. I once had a friend, who found a singer, for six months we rehearsed, talked, examined possibilities. The friend convinced me to leave the band I was with, and join him. We were kids, to be fair, but...

It's a sweet, innocent, charming recording and one that I am fond of.
Anyhow, this means a lot more to some people than it does me, it's out there because it brings joy to people.
We change as we age, if you can make people happy then do it, that's "why now". It was set to premiere on my birthday because anticipation is exquisite, we now live in an "on demand" society, I prefer the old ways.

If anyone is old enough to remember the excitement of Thursday evenings, or the countdown on Sundays, cassette recorder at the ready, fingers hovering above play+(red)record, you will remember the old ways.
 
Thanks for putting it out there so we can finally hear it. :):thumb:

Do you think Morrissey and Marr have a copy of this? Or is the tape that Johnny gave to you the original tape?

I mean, did he give you a mix down version from the original source tape that he may still have?

Hi there, he gave me a cassette, I presume (though can not confirm) that it came from his Portastudio. I would imagine that if they kept a version, it has prob got lost, as it was only recorded for me to put the bass line to. Back then, you couldn't just research on the net, I wasn't aware of the song, so needed something to go off. It's a fairly obscure track, plus the version they gave me had a different tempo.
 
Talking about quitting a band or choosing something else I posted an article in the what are you reading now thread about the former KENT guitarist Martin Roos who chose to work for a record company instead never dreaming of at the time that the band would keep on going for so long.

This has happened a lot in history where members have left bands that made it big time. KENT even had a member who left the band and is now working as a police. In his case there are some regrets.

But if we talk about people who were around those that made it in music I believe it is harder for those who were just friends with someone who went on and became famous. Like mates from childhood and I of course got to know the KENT singers childhood friend when I met P and during a couple dinner it was clear that he struggled a bit to get his head around the fact that his childhood mate succeeded in the way he did.

Any regrets on your part Dale and how do you view it all these days?
 
It's been 24 hours, if anyone has questions....fire away. I will do my best to answer them. I suppose the main question is "why now" ? It's been a long time. I once had a friend, who found a singer, for six months we rehearsed, talked, examined possibilities. The friend convinced me to leave the band I was with, and join him. We were kids, to be fair, but...

It's a sweet, innocent, charming recording and one that I am fond of.
Anyhow, this means a lot more to some people than it does me, it's out there because it brings joy to people.
We change as we age, if you can make people happy then do it, that's "why now". It was set to premiere on my birthday because anticipation is exquisite, we now live in an "on demand" society, I prefer the old ways.

If anyone is old enough to remember the excitement of Thursday evenings, or the countdown on Sundays, cassette recorder at the ready, fingers hovering above play+(red)record, you will remember the old ways.
Yes, indeed remember fingers hovering over the pause button praying for no voice interruptions if the song was decent...
So I guess one question that will be asked is what were the circumstances surrounding the track being sold on and the audio surfacing now - was all of that amicable or is someone putting pins in a doll of you somewhere? :)
When the bulk of the demo tracks appeared, some were deleted - what was the reasoning behind that?
Did you rename the YT channel to distance it from the cafe (and how's that going btw)?
Has there been any form of response by his nibs or associates?
I really enjoyed Boy, Interrupted - any plans for more writing?
Anything more lurking out there in a dusty box slowly oxidising?
On behalf of all those who've enjoyed hearing a slice of the past - thank you kindly for sharing.
I hope you had a good birthday and I wish you & yours a great Christmas.
Kind regards,
FWD.
 
Hi Dale, I have your book and really enjoyed it! Thank you for the upload, it's wonderful. When you played this song live, how different was it from this recording? And did you ever find any images from the photo session you did with Morrissey and Marr? Thanks again!
 
Hi Dale. Would you please officially endorse
this thread as the “official Dale Hibbert approved ‘I Want A Boy For My Birthday’ thread”? Thanks!
 
Also Dale, do you think I’m cute? Are you a fan of my work?
 
No regrets, like thousands of other "ex's" I wish I had held onto more ephemera, all the bits of paper thrown away, photographs, I guess these days where every second seems to be instagramable, peoples past will always be accessible.
 
Yes, indeed remember fingers hovering over the pause button praying for no voice interruptions if the song was decent...
So I guess one question that will be asked is what were the circumstances surrounding the track being sold on and the audio surfacing now - was all of that amicable or is someone putting pins in a doll of you somewhere? :)
When the bulk of the demo tracks appeared, some were deleted - what was the reasoning behind that?
Did you rename the YT channel to distance it from the cafe (and how's that going btw)?
Has there been any form of response by his nibs or associates?
I really enjoyed Boy, Interrupted - any plans for more writing?
Anything more lurking out there in a dusty box slowly oxidising?
On behalf of all those who've enjoyed hearing a slice of the past - thank you kindly for sharing.
I hope you had a good birthday and I wish you & yours a great Christmas.
Kind regards,
FWD.


The ejection from the band was amicable, but to be honest, some of the things Johnny has said have been hurtful. The other three do not concern me, as we were never friends. His truth and mine are different, and if stories are spun for years and years, they become part of factual history.

The only tracks deleted were because they had the wrong title, so I removed them, then uploaded again with the correct title.

I renamed the YT channel because I plan to start uploading videos of cooking demos etc, I thought if i renamed it, it would exist on it's own, but it's still attached to the cafe email address etc, i suppose when everyone has had their fill, I will clear the Smiths stuff out, rename it back, and use it as I originally intended. The cafe is going well btw.

No contact with any of the members for a long time, the last contact was Andy asking to DJ at a club I owned, he didn't realise it was mine at the time though, someone else dealt with it.

Nothing else lurking, not in my collection anyway. Someone has photographs somewhere, unless they were destroyed, and it was interesting to see one of the original Ritz posters, that someone found in a cellar.

All the best
 
Hi Dale, I have your book and really enjoyed it! Thank you for the upload, it's wonderful. When you played this song live, how different was it from this recording? And did you ever find any images from the photo session you did with Morrissey and Marr? Thanks again!


I'd love to say that I remember playing it live, but I do not. I remember sections from the night, walking with the band through the arches up to The Ritz, being in front of the stage, not on it, a disagreement about where we should stand, as an Aspie it made more sense for me to be on Stephens left, with Johnny on his right, then the guitar necks would form a triangle ( I'm left handed), it couldnt of bothered me that much though, as it was a short lived argument, and it seems the placement that night was used for a long time. Although history states that the opening music was a piece they used later, it was actually Montagues & Capulets that we came on to, you know when you first hear a piece of music, and you remember exactly where you were, this was the first time I had heard it, and was struck by the incredible composition of the piece. No images were ever found.
 
Hi Dale. Uncleskinny/Peter here. Not logged in as abroad at the mo.

Congrats on following through on This, and a pox on anyone dissing its release. Any Smiths Scholar will welcome hearing it.

By the way, so you still sell those coffee bag cushions in Kava? My wife and I bought a few last year, but rarely been back to Tod.

Have a jolly Xmas,

Peter/Uncleskinny
 
A recent acquaintance of mine told me you sold the Boy-cassette and the Decibel-tapes to him in the nineties. I have no reason not to believe him as I heard the recordings months ago. Also, the mixes he played me of Suffer and Hand are far superior to the ones you have uploaded on YT. He bought the tapes first hand from you and both of you signed a document confirming these were unique items and there were no copies of these.
 
Hi Dale. Do you remember the band discussing the Ritz gig afterwards? Did it feel like a triumph, or like there was still work to do?
 
Hello Dale,
Hope you had a good birthday.
Thanks for uploading, the countdown was brilliant and after the disappointment of so many unearthing fanfares this did not disappoint at all.
I read a lot about this song and the various offered reasons behind why the band decided it would be cool to play it. Anything you would add or clarify to that?

Best wishes
 
Dale,

Thanks for your kindness and consideration in releasing the track.

Regarding your memoir from a few years back, I recall a positive review in the Irish Times which intrigued me. As I search for a locally available (US) copy, I wanted to ask if your excerpt regarding Morrissey's intention to name each Smiths' member after a serial killer had any merit amongst the group?

Happy holidays and belated birthday from another Sagittarian married to a Ukrainian.

MrShoes
 
Hi Dale, thanks so much for releasing this, and the other tracks at the beginning of the year. It's amazing to hear the full version of this song after all these years of listening to that shortened clip. I remember downloading that clip that was made available twenty(?) odd years ago, I think it was one of the first audio files I ever downloaded from the internet from this very site. I was wondering what the background was to how and why that got circulated at the time (was it you or someone else??)
 
Well Dale, what can we say? Thanks so much for sharing! What a lovely gesture. And what a lovely recording it is too. Been playing it about a dozen times since yesterday and still want to hear more. Even if it is a demo and a cover the brilliance of both the guitarist and the singer and the chemistry between them becomes apparent.

How have the reactions been? I’ve read the comments on YouTube but apart from that? And are you overwhelmed by the reactions or are they less than you expected? It’s baffling to me that (so far) this little piece of musical history has not been picked up by any of the music sites but I could be mistaken. Also 14K after a day on YT seems much too low for such a long-awaited rarity. Any views on that, and why it hasn’t been picked up yet? Hopefully a lot more people get to hear this, but so far I’m happy I did.

Thanks and have a great Xmas.
 

Trending Threads

Back
Top Bottom