In this whole process, the movie references, the imagery, the actual voices of Pacino, Arnie, Stallone, McDowell... NO ONE had thought about whether it was legal to just put them on a record. No ONE!!!! Not Moroder, A&R, our lawyers, the Press or record reviewers. It just sounded great and no one had done it on a commercial single before that was now at number 1. Stanley madman Kubric himself had been shopping in his local high street and heard the record blasting out from a record store. The film was BANNED for Christsakes in the UK, Kubric had himself withdrawn it. Wish I could have been there and seen his face! I would have talked him into it, def, no problem - this was Concept Art Stanley, you love that don’t you?
Corporate EMI man held his head in his hands wearily. A lot of shit was about to hit the fan. A lot of really really nightmare expensive shit. The bill is still lounging on Sputniks giant, no, GIGANTIC unrecouped position today, hundreds of thousands, even though we sold millions of records.“This is a high tab project” I assured him “don’t worry....we’re gonna be millionaires!”
Yea, AND it sounds great I said as I left. Damn - bit of a minor glitch. They had to redo all the samples for the USA release and it sounded shit. Hmmm. I’ve got about a hundred other samples I was just about to put all over the album too. I’m not ringing Clint or Cruise. Oh well, lets get a drink.
Champagne everyone? We’re a success boys.........
Straight after the studio I was on to the ideas for the promotion video. This was going to be special too - no straight pop video for Sputnik then. I convinced EMI to make a promo clip in the form of a movie trailer with that deep voice over booming out. And I assured EMI it wouldn’t matter, but I was definitely not having the music of the single in the clip either. Heresy or Genius? You tell me!
It was only much later that I relented to EMI’s pleading that we recut the trailer into a conventional 3 minute promo clip. Yes, I let them have the music in it this time. Because I didn’t care by then as I was already off on the next big idea!
One day, as the record was already at the top of the charts, selling 60,000 copies a day in the UK, I got a call to come in and see the Head of Business affairs in his office. It was on a high floor I’d never been to before at EMI Manchester Square, where the big corporate boys lived.
On his desk was laid out the posters and all the press advertising and all the different copies of the single, looking great. “We do have clearance for all these samples I assume” he said looking me straight in the dark glasses pleadingly.....
“What does clearance mean”? I asked honestly. And then it dawned on both of us.