Fall reverb wrote:
P.P.S. - also courtesy of YouTube - here's the
only footage I've ever seen featuring Michael Dempsey as well as Robert Smith's first Jazzmaster
before it was modified -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPpXMoWd1Ms
Amazing ! I never noticed that (perhaps because the first LP leaves me cold, but 2 or 3 songs).
I had no time to comment this (lunch) : we should check the ending of "Staring at the sea - The images". I think they mention the dates when the clips were shot (or is it the release date of the singles ?).
Anyway : it means than "10:15 Saturday night" was already recorded. So, quoting "Ten Imaginary Years" again :
"On 20/09/1978, (...) the band book the Morgan Studio 4. The morning after they record 5 songs : Killing an Arab, 10:15, Fire in Cairo, Plastic Passion and Three Imaginary Boys". So for sure, by that time, the white JM had not been modified (the clip was shot after the recording). They came back again to the Morgan by 12/10/1978 to record the remaining songs of "3 imaginary boys".
However, Mike Hedges said that Robert was still using his £20 Woolworth's Top 20 and a HH amp by the time of the sessions. Chris Parry mentions that the amp burst everytime Robert ended playing the "3 imaginary boys" solo.
On the 19/12/1978, they played the "Hope & Anchor" in Islington. Robert was still playing with the Top 20 (there are many available pictures of this show, no Jazzmaster to be seen).
By the 08/01/1979, the come back again to the Morgan Studio. This time, Mickael Dempsey states : "Chris Parry managed inducing Smith to buy a Fender Jazzmaster and a Roland JC-160".
By March 1979, at the Marquee Club, London, he was still using the Top 20 (Smith was a stubborn boy...).
So what happened to the Jazzmaster between early January and 01/07/1979 @ Strand Lyceum Ballroom (the JM was modified by then, and that's the earliest officially dated picture showing it).