“While tens of thousands found me in demand…”
UNCUT magazine in the UK has posted a version of Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me online, that hasn’t had a public airing for over forty years.
Released as a promo 7″ to American radio stations in September, 1974, this is the ‘Short Version’ single edit of the longer David Live track.
Originally recorded for Diamond Dogs, Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me was “accidentally” co-written with Warren Peace (Geoff MacCormack), who is pictured with David in our montage.
Geoff explains the genesis of the song at David’s Oakley Street home…
“The ground floor housed a large kitchen; the first floor a double lounge area with a grand piano at one end and a television at the other; the other floors above contained various bedrooms, an office and a music room with an upright piano. It was on the upright that I accidentally wrote a song with David.
One evening I had nothing to do and nobody to play with so I thought I’d go and annoy David. When I got to Oakley Street he was enjoying a short break from writing. He was stuck on a song idea so we made some coffee and chewed the fat.
After a while, just for something to do, I decided to tinkle the upright’s ivories. I played this half-arsed melody I had devised and David came over and asked me to play it again. I was fully aware that it was no masterpiece but duly obliged. ‘Let’s have a go,’ he said. We swapped places and he began to play my little tune. After a couple of run-throughs, and to my amazement, he ran through my little bit and straight into a killer chorus that went, ‘When you rock ‘n’ roll with me, there’s no one else I’d rather be…’
It was about this time that I changed my name to Warren Peace, partly because I thought it a good name for an impostor, and partly because it felt like I was the last person in London or New York without an alias. That’s how my name appears on the credits.”
The track will appear on Re:Call 2 the compilation of single versions and non-album B-sides (which coincidentally features a wonderful shot by Geoff of David in the studio on its cover), from the forthcoming Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set.
We will be posting more exclusive content from the box over the coming weeks, but meanwhile go here for the full list of contents.
#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox