How did Château D’Hérouville inform the album?
The Honky Château was also a funky Château. The bedrooms were sparsely appointed without bedside tables, only a weak overhead lamp. The walls could’ve used a new paint job, and the rooms were really dark. Only one bedroom was well decorated for the “star”, and the rest of the band had to make do with cotsized beds. At the time the area around the Château was devoid of restaurants and pubs, and Paris was a 13-mile drive away. The studio offered three meals a day of their choice, but we were never asked what we preferred. So if you didn’t like rabbit, which was frequently served, you went without. Maybe you’d eat the bread left over from breakfast. The impetus was to just get as much music recorded in fewer days than normal, and to get out of there. That suited Marc, because after Electric Warrior he was his own boss and paying the bills. It’s no secret that he wasn’t a big spender. One night after dinner, as we were sipping the last glass of wine, Marc ran down from the studio and yelled, “I’m not paying you to eat!” I think we recorded 18 backing tracks in three days.