Though there are some good stories connected to some of my songs I think? Unfortunately good stories don’t always have good endings.
My kind of inspiration is like many, triggered from a thought, a passing comment, something in the media, family-people, life itself is an up or down trigger for every songwriter. Once you make it, you are then given other ideas of what they want of you as a songwriter, whatever, like most songwriters, moods, thoughts, love, desires etc., the down or up of all of this sparks a song. Read more….
A song I wrote both lyrics and music called Last Journey Home is currently with 4 Radio Stations, it’s a bit of a tribute to the loss of life in any conflict, I had the feeling that I wanted to write it, bagpipes, drums the full-on feel of an Amazing Grace type of song.
After thoughts…
Song- Don’t Worry About Me (Pop/Classical) I wrote this on the back of it being put forward to Sarah Brightman’s management, through her music director at the time P. Bateman, I was told by Mr Bateman it was not considered suitable for Sarah. (I wrote the lyrics and the late great Clive Scott, the music). Song from the Johnny Cash My Tribute 4 track demo album: There’s a Lot of Don’t that I’ve Done – my closest friend in the music business is Michael Randolfi and this is his favourite song of mine that he has heard. Then there’s David Stark – Publisher of SongLink International the worlds biggest tip sheet, David is a friend of mine as well, he turned this song down for one of his promotional CD’s some years ago because it wasn’t edgy enough. Read more…
Heard my musical - The Inn?
Listen to some of my songs on my home page
All my comments throughout this page, are without intrusion, just my truth of what has unfolded throughout my many years now as a songwriter, not to expect a great deal of help from anyone as a songwriter (just fine words) then you won’t be disappointed. 1st June 2010. I hope I have not gone on too much, the song listings will include a brief comment. I also hope you have found something of interest in my views / thoughts, and you get some enjoyment from reviewing my mix of songs. Any information regarding my musical The Inn – please contact me.
Regards
Barry Foot – Real Potential Songs.
Two strong thoughts came from watching TV- There’s No One Like Us.
Program about super models, a catwalk shot, I think it was Cindy Crawford or some other great fashion model, the comment was made that there was no-one like her, something like that – I thought that there was no-one like most of the top models, hence I wrote the song there and then I wrote the lyrics to this Pop / Dance song).
It got into the final twenty of the selection for our entry into the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest which went on to become the first year we received nil points from a song, it was sung by the Girl and Boy duo Gemini.
Again a TV program about one of the most spiritual places in the USA – Santa FE, inspired me to write a crossover Country & Western song – written while watching the television program. (I wrote the lyrics).
When Jonny Cash died I wrote a four track demo entitled My Tribute – The Songs Johnny Cash Could Have Sung. (I wrote the lyrics for all four songs).
When David Beckham was in the news for his alleged affair with the then nanny Rebecca Loos, it triggered me to write Fairytales a love ballad (I wrote both lyrics and music) so from the very sad news, to the questionable news, there lies inspiration. Read more…
I can’t remember how may years ago it was that I wrote the song Dracula – I had the idea to maybe use it as a base for a musical, my sons were young back then and it was one of those songs that was easy for all to sing when anyone was in a tormenting mood to sing at you, silly kids stuff and all that.
I was going to offer it to a group of people some time later with my idea, but thought, maybe not, it might get taken over as my idea and after a while, saw I was right not to.
Then when I thought about doing it in a partnership, I couldn’t think of anyone who would be willing to go that far with me in a partnership. Clive Scott was always busy and he would have been my first choice. So I went for it alone and wrote all of the lyrics and the music. It is a dual story running parallel, the Inn Keeper and the Waitress plus Dracula entitled The Inn – sixteen tracks, all with a view to be able to dance a different dance to. Read more…
Michael Randolfi: Author of “Inspirations” writes about Barry
Barry has many years experience as a songwriter and is also a published poet. Most notably for his poem about the plight of the homeless “No Tomorrow”
During the late nineties his songs were heard on mainstream radio stations and he also had a song short listed for the Eurovision Song Contest. First and foremost a lyricist, Barry now writes all the music to his songs but still likes to collaborate with other writers whenever the opportunity arises.
Barry has recently completed the score to his first musical The Inn
Samples of some of Barry’s songs can be heard by clicking on this link
Santa Fe I entered this song into the UNI Song Contest out in California a long time back now, it got 10% of the vote out of 47 countries. I was contacted by a small record company a while after the contest asking about the female singer Faye Dempsey. Faye had won Stars In Their Eyes back in 1995/96 as Olivia Newton John. I told the record company what little I knew about Faye and to send the recording contract they were offering onto my co-writer Brian Hall in Liverpool because Faye was Brian’s studio session singer.
They were going to do an album and put all of the songs that Faye had recorded of mine and Brian’s on it if they were as good as Santa Fe however they sent the contract to me by mistake. I then sent it onto Brian, he took it round to Faye’s house, he said Faye wasn’t even a bit excited, all she said was leave it with me and I’ll be in touch. A while later Brian told me Faye had rang him to say she had turned it down but didn’t want to talk about why!! (that was hard to understand at the time and even to this day).
A fair amount of time went by before Brian phoned me to tell me. He asked me if I’d heard of Pop Idol – I had heard of it but never knew much about it at that time. He told me that Faye was in the second or third stage of auditions (which was around the same time the record contract about Santa Fe arrived) and the rules were that singers could not be signed to anyone which is why Faye had to say no to the record contract. Read more…
After So Long is a Duet taken from my musical The Inn and is sung by the Waitress and the Innkeeper. After I’d had a meeting with David Arnold at his studio some years ago, his advice was to change the name of the musical, my son Paul was the one who came up with the idea to change from Dracula to The Inn. The musical had two love stories but no duet, I wrote the duet on the train from Liverpool Street Station on the way home after our meeting. Then he said where’s The Overture? I could see I needed his help more than I thought I did, funny when I went to meet him, I thought I had done it all and he would be impressed – but I came away from the meeting with David a little depressed and he hadn’t even listened to my demo CD while I was there with him. However, I went off to do as I was told leaving him with the first demo CD of the musical and the booklet along with my thanks for his helpful advice. Read more…
What I thought was the greatest chance to get a song into EON Productions the people who produce the James Bond films – but after much promise, it came to nothing.
Then when I heard that Amy Winehouse was out of the frame for both writing and singing the song for the last Bond Film, I thought I’d try again by ringing up David Arnold, for those who don’t know, I’m sure that number is few, he writes and produces the music for the Bond films taking over from John Barry.
I left a message and David phoned me back saying my song could not be in the running at that time or thereafter. David Arnold is nothing short of a good man in my eyes for many reasons however, I’m puzzled as to how on earth anyone ever gets a glimmer of hope of anything outside of, it’s not what you know, but who you know agenda.
I cannot mention the name of the person who was going to make my great chance possible with EON, if I’d have made it with them, then I would. The song I’m talking about in connection with this is Now The End Begins (I wrote the lyrics and my son Paul composed the melody and the song was arranged and produced by the late great Clive Scott of Jigsaw fame (Skyhigh) in his usual magical way.
A short story still in the running is my musical The Inn. I sent the demo CD and booklet of the triggers/outline etc. to Caroline Underwood head of the musical section / department at Warner Chappell Music that is now in its fourth year with them. Since that time I have met Caroline at every Ivor Award and at least two Gold Badge award ceremonies. She tells me, I am and have been at the very top of her pile for the last two years – repeated each time we meet that she will get back to me. And yes, when I asked her my name or the name of my musical at this years Ivor’s (20/05/2010) she couldn’t remember my name – if I’d been ‘someone’ you know the rest. I wrote both lyrics and music to all of the 17 tracks in my musical in 2003-2005. Read more…
On a bright note, Marcel Stellman of Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Abba, Decca Records and Countdown fame said to me, most musicals (not themed) only ever have two outstanding songs in them whereas my musical The Inn, he felt, had five to eight outstanding songs in it. So much so, that when it takes off, he would be willing to put a few pence into it, nice offer, but I would have preferred help in pointing me in the right direction for take off. In relation to the songs, I would like to state track one and two up first are in dedication to not only a great man, a great composer and arranger, and he didn’t have a bad voice either, but for someone who never let me down whenever I asked him to work with me on a song. He knew no other way but to do his best for me, also writing songs with my son Paul. We both feel the happiest days we have had writing songs were when we were at Clive Scott’s studios working with him. Read more…