Real by Reel

(Partridge)

#\#i#/#Drums and Wires#\#/i#/#

Drums and Wires

Recordings
XTCfans interview with Andy Partridge
Art
Lyrics
Chords and Tablature
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Recordings

  1. Album version, 3'47.
    Released on Drums and Wires.
  2. BBC version (Peel Session), 3'48.
    Recorded 8 October 1979 at BBC Studio Maida Vale 4.
    Produced by Tony Wilson. Engineered by Dave Dade.
    First broadcast 15 October 1979 on the John Peel Show, BBC Radio 1.
    Released on 5 October 1994 on Drums and Wireless in the U.K.
    Also available on Transistor Blast.
    Andy Partridge - vocals, guitars and keyboard
    Colin Moulding - vocals and bass guitar
    Dave Gregory - guitars
    Terry Chambers - drums
    Andy: “Live in the studio with cranked-up guitars and lots of stomping along. We used to open our live set with this, because if you could get past that little guitar part with shaking hands, you could get through the rest of the set pretty good.”
  3. Single version, unused.
    Recorded at Townhouse Studios and DJM Studios, London, in June 1979.
    Produced by Steve Lillywhite. Engineered by Hugh Padgham.
    Intended for release as a single, but shelved.
    Released on 25 March 2002 on Coat of Many Cupboards in the U.K.
    Also released on the Blu-ray reissue of Drums and Wires on 27 October 2014 in the U.K.
    Andy Partridge - Guitar, Keyboard and Vocals
    Colin Moulding - Bass and Vocals
    Dave Gregory - Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals
    Terry Chambers - Drums
    Andy: “By now, ‘Nigel’ had been a reasonable hit and we needed a follow up. Perhaps there were some songs on Drums And Wires we'd overlooked, so before that Japanese/Australian tour (see tracks 1 [‘Meccanik Dancing’] & 2 [‘Into the Atom Age’]) we had a rapid shufty. Quickly, with Steve and Hugh at the controls, we bundled into Beatle publisher Dick James' DJM Studios to rummage around with the next three tracks. Keeping the bass and drums, but re-recording the vocals, some of the guitars and adding extra percussion, had we found a successor? Well the answer is a two letter word beginning with N and ending with O. But, I have to say, I think these are much better than the versions that were on Drums And Wires. More spunk, more punk, more funk, more chunk.”
  4. Go Home Productions remix dub.
    Remixed by Mark Vidler.
    Released on 21 September 2007 on Go Home Productions: GHP Complete CD11 ‘Unofficial Remixes 2’ in the U.K.
  5. Live video version.
    Recorded live 18 November 1979 at Théâtre de l'Empire, Paris, France, for Chorus.
    Produced by Antoine de Caunes.
    Released in October 2010 on Sur la scène du Théâtre de l'Empire à Paris - Chorus - 18/11/1979 in France.
  6. 2014 stereo mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the DVD and Blu-ray reissue of Drums and Wires on 27 October 2014 in the U.K.
  7. 2014 5.1 mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the DVD and Blu-ray reissue of Drums and Wires on 27 October 2014 in the U.K.
  8. 2014 instrumental mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the Blu-ray reissue of Drums and Wires on 27 October 2014 in the U.K.
  9. Tudor Barn rehearsal version.
    Recorded live at Tudor Studios, Shaw Ridge, Wiltshire, England, 10-17 June 1979, during rehearsals for Drums and Wires.
    Released on the Blu-ray reissue of Drums and Wires on 27 October 2014 in the U.K.

[Thanks to R. Stevie Moore]


Art

   

Lyrics

In this secret time, invading on our privacy
Unknowing we mime, we play for the ministry
They can film you in bed
Or when you take a bath
They can tape every cry
They can tape every laugh
They can turn you around so you won't know what's

Real by reel
Busy little bees recording everything you feel
On real by reel
Documented down like rats
They're catching up on every squeal
On real by reel
Real by reel by real by

In this hidden time, ignorance may help you to cope
Rehearsing for crimes, in government cinemascope
They can film you at work
Or when they let you play
They can tape what you think
They can tape what you say
They can blur your I.D. so you won't know what's

Now I lay me down to sleep
Knowing that your lenses peep
Now I eat my daily bread
And into the tape spool I'll be fed

© 1979 Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd.


Chords and Tablature

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:14:23 +0100
From: Paul Ferguson <tigerlight (at) ukf dot net>
Subject: TAB - supergirl, real by reel, dear god
Message-Id: <a8141aacfe2921a84a55c117c660d26a (at) ukf dot net>
Hi John, it's been many years since I posted on this site but I wanted
to share the fruits of a piece of software I downloaded called
Audacity, which allows one to do all sorts of effects such as slowing
down your favourite Dave Gregory solos to find out exactly how they are
played!

First up is the TAB for That's Really Super Supergirl. (I can just
about play this at half speed, no idea how Dave does it but then he is
superhuman!)

Then we have Real by Reel, which is only SLIGHTLY easier to play
And finally Dear God, which is arguably the easiest to play of the
three but to a ham fisted so and so like me the argument rages well on
into the night...

cheers

Paul Ferguson

Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 03:04:23 -0500
From: "Jason Legacy" <jasonlegacy (at) hotmail dot com>
Subject: Real by Reel tab
Message-ID: <F6I8fO50sQB7H1ESCs00000d841 (at) hotmail dot com>


I noticed there was no tab for this...
Intro (both bass and guitar):
    -------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------
    --4--44-2-0-----0--------2-22-0------------
    ------------3-2-----------------3-1-0-3----
    ------------------3---------------------1--

Main riff (lead guitar):
    -------------------------------------------
    -------9-8-------------------9-8-----------
    --10-8-8-7-10-----------10-8-8-7-10-8-7-5--
    --10-8-----10-----------10-8-----10-8-7-5--
    -------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------

The only unorthodox chords are the way Andy shapes the rhythm guitar chords
during the pre-chorus, mainly the 'F#' and 'G'.
  The 'F#' is:   6    and the 'G' is just:   7
                 7                           8
                 6                           7
                 x                           x
                 x                           x
                 x                           x

The lyrics are already posted, and none of this is very difficult, so I'll
just state the chords for each part of the song.
   verse: 'C' and 'F'(I only hear the lead riff, actually)
   pre-chorus: 'D', 'F#', 'G', 'C'(x3)(played ska-like)
   chorus: 'F','A#','F','A#','F','C','D#','A#'(x2)
           'F','A#','F',"oh!" (x2)
   bridge: this part is centered around a 'D'chord. I'm not sure if
           what I've got is correct. I started to get a real headache
           figuring this out so I had to stop! Whenever you play the
           9th fret, the string should be bent 1/2:

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    ----10--------------10-----------------------------------
    -------7-9--------7----9----------7-9----------7-9-------
    --7-------------7---------------7------------9-----------
    ------------------------------8------------8-------------
    ---------------------------------------------------------

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