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MCRS :Thanks to you I now know that
"Strong As I Am" was issued as a
single and also had a promo video too.
SEVERS:
It was shot by
Dante Spinotti and was financed by Mann
himself. I have
a copy of it that was taken from the television - honestly,
was
hoping that it
would
be included in the new double DVD, but I
guess not. |
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Are the Prime Movers still
performing after your departure or was there a general break up ?
The group broke up not
too long after the Manhunter movie. We had
been
around several years before that and had some success in
England with a
song called "On The
Trail" (B-side was "Strong As I
Am"). Even went on a
UK tour with Big Country in
1986! |
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Was the song specifically written
for Manhunter or does it come
from
a Prime Movers album ? It just seems to work so well with
the scene.
No, it was a recording
that existed before the film. Michael Mann had
come to
see us live several times and I think that he already had the
idea for this song
in his head. |
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Were any other songs from the Prime
Movers catalogue considered
for use ?
Not that I can remember. At that
time, we had only recorded a five song
EP for Island and because of publishing concerns, these were
the only
ones that could be
considered. I don't
believe that there was time to do
a new song. By the way, when
we were first became involved, the
movie
was still called "Red Dragon." I think that it was
changed because it
sounded
too much like a martial arts movie (I personally
prefer "Red Dragon"). |
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What was it like when you and the
other Movers saw that scene
for the first time?
For
months before we became involved with Manhunter, our
management had
been shuttling us about to see the most horrible
movies that you can possibly
imagine, wanting us
to put music to
them. Lots of skateboard/surfer/frat dude
stuff.
Really awful. Us being
art-istes, said no, no and more no. We wanted to
be involved with
quality
projects.
When Michael Mann invited
us to his office
and told us about Red
Dragon, we were very excited. This is EXACTLY what we
hoped to
be involved with. So when we saw the finished scene, we were blown
away (no pun).
We
really had no idea that our song would be used in
such a
pivotal spot in the movie. It was
quite a compliment to us and
we were VERY
impressed. |
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Opinion on the soundtrack is
polarized between people who love
it, such as myself, and those who hate it. I think it might be a
anti-
1980's thing. Do you have an opinion
on this and what do you
think of the soundtrack as a whole ?
I was totally honored
to be on the same soundtrack as Iron Butterfly. I am
a giant fan
of what is called psychedelic, or garage sixties music and
grew up loving the
IB. Also
a fan
of Shriekback. |
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In historical perspective, you have
to remember that Michael Mann
was best
known for the Miami Vice television show who's claim
to fame was incorporating
contemporary rock music
as well as the
pastel look of the filming. I think that
by the time Manhunter was
released,
there was a bit of a backlash because of the show. I
remember the film getting excellent reviews, but
the box office
wasn't what was hoped for (and believe me, I had my fingers
crossed!). |
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What are you doing these days ?
It's funny, because I have just, in
the last two weeks begun to work with
my old
Prime Mover partner, Gary Putman, again. Maybe we'll have
some new Movers!
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