A little bit of tumbleweed has been blowing through the blog, as we have focussed our energies on finishing the ’zine proper. There has been a fairly steep learning curve, as we have finally come to terms with the fact that ‘editing’ in this case really means publishing – i.e. designing, proofing, transcribing etc… Fortunately we have a London launch date pencilled in for early May (more details soon) and, with that deadline breathing down our neck, have been hell-for-leather towards completion.
Temporarily distracted, we had somehow missed the extraordinary events over at Rui’s Felt Forum page. On 19 March, one Nigel Silver responded to an old Times article on Felt by Bob Stanley which had been posted the previous week. His post began:
Once again it is demonstrated just how the world is plunged into an delusory abyss by heavily distorted historical manipulations that are generated either for dramatic effect, or even more nefarious reasons.
I do not know if certain details concerning Mr. Deebank are the invention of L. Heyward, or the textual histrionics of B. Stanley. Either way it is a very sorry state of affairs. For those who treasure the truth rather than sensationalism, the following true account is offered…
In the rest of the post, and a dozen or so which have followed since, Mr Silver took up the task of correcting what he sees as the Lawrence-heavy bias to history’s record of Felt. Claiming “a certain amount of limited contact with M.D.,” his posts (apparently short in length due to his limited internet access) are full of extraordinary little details, particularly from the early Water Orton days (“They used to play two electric guitars through a single 5 watt practice amp”).
At this point we would offer no comment, but I would strongly recommend you to stroll over to the Forum to take a look – there have been three new posts today alone…
And more from us on the thing itself very soon.
This is really entertaining. Looks like obvious fibbing to me but I really hope it keeps going. The fax fiasco thing is great, reminds me of David Shayler.
ReplyDeleteAlan
Apparently the person is well informed, but according to what I've heard his given name of Nigel Silver may well be in doubt.
ReplyDeleteWhoever he may be - and there are theories - the guy is completely impossible and should not be put in charge of a computer keyboard. That's the trouble with the damn internet.
ReplyDeleteWell I've put in my two coppecks worth over on the forum; not sure whether it'll get him out of paranoid ranting mode for long enough to shed any more light on his Deebank connection (the guy has previously made claim to having been Deebank's 'student'), but it was worth a try. Anyone who's interested should have a look but I imagine it'll only prompt another rabid response. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteAny more news on the 'zine?
I've read your response Ciaran and very well put - but I think we can predict.....I'm keeping it offline but I have informed the webmaster of the Felt forum my reasons behind the fact that "Nigel Silver" could well be an alias. To coin a phrase he had the front to level at me - "Pathetic", really.
ReplyDeleteHi Ciaran, thanks for the post. The 'zine itself is almost there, though it has spiralled slightly out of control - looking like 150+ pages at last count, which is considerably more than we ever imagined, but then such is the enthusiasm... a few loose ends to tie up, but will announce official launch very shortly!
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteI know the zine is going to be available in print. For overseas fans is there any way of ordering a copy? Thanks!!!
Absolutely. Our team of boffins is currently working on a Paypal button for this blog, so hopefully anyone will be able to order it directly through the site. But if you know of any local record shops that might want to stock some copies, do let us know!
ReplyDeleteNigel (or should I say Maurice) is getting ridiculous now.
ReplyDeleteHe's gone now. OK - it's a shame that his pearls of wisdom re early Felt shall not grace this stage but his ramblings and personal abuse leave a sour taste. His name is definitely a pseudonym - fine - I use one here - you all know my real name (Lee McFadden) - but I don't hide behind it to give out abuse.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a tragic loss his Cult-of-Deebank rants will be! Still, I doubt that's the last we'll hear of him; after all he's been doing this revisionist trolling act for a good few years now.
ReplyDeleteMike, as far as outlets go, there's a shop here in good old Manchester that sells zines and the like. It does tend to veer towards the twee, but that may not be a bad thing (curious B&S kids and all that), so maybe there's the chance you could shift a few copies that way. I do know one girl who managed to peddle some bedwetter rubbish there in record time, so hopefully they'd jump at the chance to stock something which promises to be a whole lot more exciting: http://goodgriefshop.blogspot.com/
Thanks Ciaran - sounds like a good tip. (I think we should definitely try to reach out to the twee/bedwetting community.)
ReplyDeleteAlthough my knowledge of the history of Felt is limited, I would like to express some reserve concerning the psychology of Mr. Silver. My feeling is that Mr. Silver, who is not actually standing in court, has reasons to remain vague regarding his identity that should be respected. Information is sometimes over-rated. The suspicions against Maurice Deebank in this affair are, in my humble opinion, unfounded and, as Mr. Silver has already pointed out, rather misplaced. However, I have been wondering in amusement about the possible involvement of the only disciple/admirer of Maurice Deebank I have ever heard of, who could legitimately give a detailed account of Felt's early years, find guilty pleasure in contesting the merits of Lawrence or teasing his die-hard fans, and have a relative interest in clearing things out with style hidden behind a farcical alias, be it a sense of integrity or a mere distraction from boredom.
ReplyDelete'The rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times.'
Besides, I look forward to the magazine.
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the quick response. I'm just wondering, how much would the zine be (inc. postage) for overseas fans? Will there be future issues after the release of this one? I have something interesting (regarding an unusual copy of Pictorial Jackson Review) that I wish you to see. Please let me know if you have an e-mail address that I can reach you at.
"My feeling is that Mr. Silver, who is not actually standing in court, has reasons to remain vague regarding his identity that should be respected."
ReplyDeleteIf these reasons include personal abuse of other forum users then he has no respect from me.
Yes, we should probably have spelled out that this is a one-off! I know 'zines are traditionaly an ongoing thing, we have decided to put the whole thing between two covers and make that the last word... As for the price on those covers, as low as we can make it, depending on our print costs, which we are currently confirming. Will get to grips with the international postage question too, I promise.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, for any non-public communications you can always email us at foxtrotecholimatango
[at]googlemail[dot]com - be great to hear about your PJR oddity. Just to let you know, both Christian and I will be travelling the next couple of days, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Pfffft! Nigel's been doing this since 2005!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?action=showall&boardid=41&threadid=2990
(10th Oct 2005)