By Steve Newton
Gather ’round kiddies and let ole Grandpa Newt tell tales of the long-ago days when the music industry was awash with cash, and promo reps didn’t know what do with it all. Back in 1984 some brainiac at A&M Records came up with the idea of putting the names of rock critics the label wanted to impress on the cover of an album.
So one day they sent me a copy of the new Roger Hodgson solo debut, In the Eye of the Storm, that had a message foil-stamped in the bottom left-hand corner of the front cover: A SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION CLEAR VINYL ALBUM ESPECIALLY FOR STEVE NEWTON.
I had to admit that that was pretty cool, but I also wondered why they hell they had to do it on a freakin’ Roger Hodgson album! I mean, Hodgson’s okay–he wrote and sang the best Supertramp tunes, no doubt–but there were a lot of albums in 1984 that I would have rather had my name foil-stamped on.
Like 1984, for starters. Where was the record rep for Van Halen‘s label, Warner Bros., when I needed him? Or the Capitol Records guy in charge of pushing Iron Maiden. Throw my fvckin’ moniker on the Powerslave album if you want to earn yourself some brownie points, dude.
Still, the fact that the disc came on clear vinyl was pretty sweet, ’cause that way you could lay it on top of the album cover and gaze lovingly at your own name right through the damn thing.
Still, if there’s any other guys named Steve Newton out there who are hardcore Roger Hodgson fanatics and in the market for a personalized collectible, I’m open to offers.