The above video can also be seen on YouTube:
This is a big deal. If you’ve been following The Non-Writer, you may remember my interview with Francis about a year ago. At that time, Francis was preparing to give away his book on Giorgio Gomelsky. His search for a publisher was exhausted, or so he thought. Then, within a week of posting his interview, he was contacted by a London publisher who was very interested in publishing his book.
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Over that year of working with the publisher, the book changed a bit. It got expanded – more stories, more pictures. A foreword was added … BY ME! I was so honored that they wanted me to do it, but I couldn’t help but ask them several times, are you sure? I was certain they would have no problem finding someone famous. But, instead of Jim McCarty or Jimmy Page, they insisted on Rick Rees.
The book, called Giorgio Gomelsky ‘For Your Love’, will have its first release party on Sunday April 30th, 2023, at One Kew Road, the place where the original Crawdaddy Club was founded by Giorgio Gomelsky in the back room of what used to be the Station Hotel in Richmond back in 1963. From this location, Giorgio launched the career of the Rolling Stones. They became so popular he had to move to a larger venue at the Richmond Athletic Ground. When the Rolling Stones moved on, he found the Yardbirds with Eric Clapton to replace them.
Gomelsky would go on to manage and produce records for many new artists including Daevid Allen in Soft Machine and Gong, Magma, John McLaughlin’s first solo album, Keith Tippett and Julie Driscoll just to name a very few on this lengthy list.
In the late 1970’s Gomelsky moved to NYC and did the very first recordings of the band that would become Bill Laswell’s Material. He remained living in NYC for the rest of his life where he spent many years carousing with Francis. The stories in Francis’s book gave me a wonderful portrait of this man; a man that I regrettably will never be able to meet. Now, thanks to Francis I feel like I know Giorgio Gomelsky – at least a little. Did anyone know the complete person? Even Francis admits that to this day he meets people he never knew about that also had a lengthy friendship with Giorgio.
A second release party is planned for late June in NYC.
The April 30th book release event is being organized by Paul Endacott of Music Heritage London. He hosts live music events at One Kew Road, as well as in-person and online tours of famous music venues in his historic West London town of Richmond. I first “met” Paul during the pandemic when I came across his online tours. His virtual tour experience allowed me to gather with a few of my friends from around the world during the time of peak lock-down. It was liberating to say the least, and great fun. Paul is a fantastic tour host even from thousands of miles away. I hope to meet him in person, but unfortunately I can’t make it to London this month. However, if you CAN make it, here’s the info:
Getting this book published was quite a journey for both Francis and I. I wrote about that journey in the book foreword, as well as right here on The Non-Writer. Francis acknowledges a list of people that helped him to write the book, and I want to highlight two of them that were instrumental in getting it published.
The first is my long-time close friend and author Brad Schreiber. As soon as I started talking to Francis about finding a publisher, I thought of Brad. Of the many books he’s written, two are music related: MUSIC IS POWER and BECOMING JIMI HENDRIX. Brad knew exactly how to guide Francis through the process of preparing to submit his book to publishers.
The second is Jon Sadleir. Jon is a documentary filmmaker. He was working on a film about Gomelsky right up until Giorgio died in 2016. Jon told me he was a very difficult subject to capture as his interest in the film project would ebb and flow. Today, that interview material with Gomelsky still exists, awaiting funding for a full-length documentary to be assembled. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this wonderful trailer Jon made:
Gomelsky Trailer 2018 by Jon Sadleir
jonsadleir@yahoo.com
I was introduced to Jon early in my research into Gomelsky. We spent some time exchanging email, and I would often see his name on my frequent online trips to the Giorgio Gomelsky Tribute website. I hadn’t been in touch with Jon for awhile when I posted my interview with Francis. I was not aware that Jon was a subscriber to The Non-Writer. It was Jon that put Francis in touch with the publisher Aurora Metro Books, located in Richmond.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Music history in this case.
The book should be available for immediate delivery in England about now … in France in mid-May … and in the USA around June 23.
I would encourage you to support your local bookshop. I’m sure they will be happy to order it, and maybe they can recommend more music history books for you. In my town of Pacifica, that shop would be Florey's Book Co. where Aaron Schlieve is always very helpful. He may even have an early copy to show you (wink, wink).
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Related Info:
Giorgio Gomelsky ‘For Your Love’ by Francis Dumaurier at Aurora Metro Books
Indie Publisher Hosting a Tribute Event to Giorgio Gomelsky - the Man Behind British R&B
Giorgio Gomelsky Tribute Website
Jon Sadleir: jonsadleir@yahoo.com
Gomelsky book by Francis Dumaurier gets published!