Severs Ramsey - Prime Movers

A Prime Mover Speaks An exclusive interview with Severs Ramsey
Severs Ramsey died at the end of 2014, member of The Prime Movers and co-writer of "Strong As I Am". I was lucky enough to conduct a brief interview with him when this site was in it's early days


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.

		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!

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.

		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").

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.

		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.

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!).

		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!