Sunday 28 March 2010

Were you there?

Time for a progress update. The book is coming along very nicely and things are moving ever forward. I've just completed a section about Manuel's archive of unreleased music. Obviously I can only write about the known material and I strongly suspect I've merely scratched the surface of what is really in the vault, awaiting possible release. One thing is certain, though: if Manuel were to at some stage decide to release a series of archival recordings we fans would be in for a serious treat.

My current writing finds me in 1985/86. This has been a great period to write about, firstly because it hasn't been documented in any detail in the past and secondly because alongside the recollections of Lutz Ulbrich and Harald Grosskopf I have accounts from two fans who saw Ashra live in Sheffield in 1985. This leads on to some questions that I'd like to ask you:

Were you there too?....or were you lucky enough to see the Berlin Planetarium shows from 1988? Did you see the Cologne Cathedral concert of 1991 or maybe you saw Ashra live in 1997? Perhaps you caught Ash Ra Tempel or Ashra back in those heady days of the 1970s or you've seen a more recent Manuel Gottsching live performance?

If you have ever seen Manuel, Ash Ra Tempel or Ashra live at any point I would love to hear you accounts and I hope to be able to put them in the book too. Please get in touch!