Verlaine: “very shy”
T
OM Verlaine plays scorching lead guitar on the up tempo version of “This
Is
The Sea” included on
1985.
At the time, the Television maestro was signed to Virgin and living above Livingston Studios in north London, where Scott was recording. Co-producer Mick Glossop had worked with Verlaine and put in a word.
“He was aguitar hero of mine,” says Scott, who namechecked Verlaine on an earlier Waterboys song, “Some Of My Best Friends Are Trains”. “I still think he’s one of the greatest five or six guitarists in rock’n’roll. Like Jimi Hendrix, he was able to hit cosmic heights and also play super dumb ‘Louie Louie’ stuff. We needed lead guitar on the fast version of ‘This Is The Sea’ –I’d tried it myself, but my plan didn’t quite make it. I thought, ‘Well, let’s get Tom!’ Glossop asked him and he came into the studio.