Description
This is the in-depth story of twenty golden years of the recording industry, revealing vivid insight into the founding and inner workings of Virgin in its fledgling years.
The 1970s was a golden era for music recording and it set the standards for more or less all that followed. These were the times when the skills, upon which so much of the modern recording world is now based, were honed.
Having worked at the forefront of studio engineering from early in his career, a chance reply to Philip’s advert selling surplus equipment in Exchange & Mart led to a life-changing role to develop the now legendary Manor Studios for Virgin. The Manor created a stage to perform on, and the whole environment provided a sense of worth. It was all about uplifting musicians and supporting their morale in a way that would bring out their creativity.
Philip’s career right at the very heart of the Virgin Empire has taken a fascinating path, recounted here in intricate detail, including the stories of building The Town House and The Pink Museum studios, music production for many varied artists, touring with Mike Oldfield and getting arrested in Wyoming.
Richard Branson read an advanced draft and commented: “I absolutely loved your book – devoured every single word of it. For me it was fascinating seeing the early days of Virgin and the studios through someone else’s lens. Your memory I certainly envy! And your writing skills! I laughed out loud on many occasions (your trip to Germany was hilarious).”
A free sample containing the first chapter, list of photos and index is available to download: Sample Autobiography - Philip Newell (PDF, 760kB)
PAPERBACK EDITION: The paperback edition has been updated and amended in response to feedback from the initial hardback edition.
Philip's Notes About the Second Edition:
The hardback edition of Gaining My Virginity was released to coincide with the 50th-anniversary convention for Mike’s album, Hergest Ridge. After years of gathering and confirming the information, the time had come to commit the book to print, but I did end the Preface with the statement that I would be open to correction should anyone be able to disprove any facts.
Well, fortunately, there didn’t seem to be many errors, but people sent me a considerable amount of additional information, and some quite unexpected events also occurred. For example, in the story about the recording of The Who, at The Oval, I concluded by saying that I had no knowledge of what ultimately happened to the tapes of that concert, yet coincidentally, only days after the book was released, mixing of the recording began, and less than a year later, a new album by The Who was released: Live at the Oval, 1971. So, the story could at last be completed. And indeed, a passage from the book was also used in the booklet accompanying the album.
It had always been intended to eventually release the book in paperback, but in the light of all the new details that have been received in the intervening 18 months, it made little sense not to take the opportunity to update the text and amend anything that required correction. As before, though, any addition information or clarifications will always be gratefully received.
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