EP85 - Max Beesley - Actor & Musician - ”Into the stars and always up”
It was a sheer delight to welcome actor and musician, Max Beesley onto The Paul Weller Fan Podcast.What a talent! - piano, vibes, drums and percussion - song-writing - production - and a successful TV & movie acting career to boot!.
The Paul Weller Movement kicks off...
Even though he was just 18 at the time, Max played a key part in those early days of Paul's solo career with The Paul Weller Movement. He performed live as part of the band across the UK and Europe in 1990/91. Surely I'm not the only one who managed to wear out a VHS copy of the Brixton Academy show because I played it so often?!.I've posted a link to that gig below as it's so very special to me - amazing songs and performances all round. Funky as hell too!.It was recorded on 20th April 1991, a whole year before Paul's first solo album was released in Japan (18 months in the UK). The gig features Steve White on drums, Jacko Peake on saxophone and flute, Henry Thomas on bass and Max Beesley on keys and vibes.
Into Tomorrow, Kosmos & playing on the Wild Wood LP
Cast your mind back to 6th May 1991. The first solo single… Into Tomorrow was released - and Paul was back!.Recorded at Solid Bond in February, this absolute banger has Weller on vocals, bass, guitars and percussion. Steve White is on drums, Dr. Robert (The Blow Monkeys) on guitar (and BV) with Max on the organ. He also mentions on the podcast about recording Kosmos during that session too.
Next time you are digging in to your Weller albums - check out Wild Wood to hear Max performing extra vocals with Marco Nelson on Has My Fire Really Gone Out? and playing wurlitzer on Moon on Your Pyjamas (a song that Paul wrote for his eldest son, Nat).
New Music - Song for Sabrina + Omar + Weller Solo?
As you'll hear during our chat, Max has been working with Paul again in recent years. We hear about a very special collaboration called Song for Sabrina on his own soon-to-be-released solo album - The Groove Spectrum, working with his old Guildhall mate (and previous podcast guest) Omar in Paul's studio for his new LP and even recording some late night grooves with Paul at Black Barn that will hopefully turn up in the future.
What a Roll Call...
As a session musician, Max played, toured or recorded with the likes of Incognito, Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Omar, Brand New Heavies, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, The JB's and Zero7.
As an actor, he has starred in many hugely successful TV series - The History of Tom Jones, Bodies, Hotel Babylon, Mad Dogs, Jamestown and The Outsider. In 2022, you'll be able to see Max starring alongside Keeley Hawes in Sky TV sci-fi thriller The Midwich Cuckoos and in Guy Ritchie's new movie Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre with Hugh Grant, Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza and Josh Hartnett.Spoiler alert, you can also see Max on screen during the Paul Weller video On Sunset - with a little cameo appearance at the end on the promo film.
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