Charlie Dore is among Britain’s most respected songwriters, whose work has been covered by everyone from George Harrison to Tina Turner.
She has also written for Lisa Stansfield, Paul Carrack, Celine Dion, Ricky Ross, Sheena Easton, UB40 and Jimmy Nail, for whom she wrote the UK number one Ain't No Doubt.
As an artist, Charlie has been performing her own songs since the seventies, and has consistently released internationally successful albums every decade.
She is probably best known for her song Pilot of the Airwaves, which, when released in 1979, became an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic and earned Charlie an ASCAP Award.
Then, in November 1990, it had the honour of being the final track played on the iconic pirate station Radio Caroline before it ceased transmission.
We spent some time with Charlie to learn how the song came about and hear more about her songwriting experiences over the years.
Pilot of the Airwaves is about an unnamed DJ – who did you have in mind when you wrote it?
It wasn’t written about a specific person, it was more about the relationship that exists between a DJ and a late night listener. People think I wrote it with an eye to flattering radio people, but I didn’t - it was about a shy girl who felt a connection with this man she’d probably never meet, but who was important in her life.
How did the song start life? A riff, melody, lyric or something else?
I often have a title and keep it in my back pocket for a while before I use it. I’d had this one for a couple of years and didn’t do anything with it. I thought the play on words was so obvious that someone else must have thought of it before me. Finally, I figured that actually no one else had, so I’d better get on and write it before they did.
Do you remember how the rest of the lyrics came about?
Well, after the title arrived, once I finally sat down to write the rest, the lyrics flowed quite easily. The chorus seemed to come out more or less fully formed, which is unusual for me. Normally it’s a difficult birth. The verses took a little longer. I wrote it at the kitchen table in my £14 per week flat in West Hampstead. Luxury!
I came up with the chords on acoustic guitar. The pivotal chord change for me was the B to the E minor under the line, ‘Listening to your show on the radio’.
She has also written for Lisa Stansfield, Paul Carrack, Celine Dion, Ricky Ross, Sheena Easton, UB40 and Jimmy Nail, for whom she wrote the UK number one Ain't No Doubt.
As an artist, Charlie has been performing her own songs since the seventies, and has consistently released internationally successful albums every decade.
She is probably best known for her song Pilot of the Airwaves, which, when released in 1979, became an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic and earned Charlie an ASCAP Award.
Then, in November 1990, it had the honour of being the final track played on the iconic pirate station Radio Caroline before it ceased transmission.
We spent some time with Charlie to learn how the song came about and hear more about her songwriting experiences over the years.
Pilot of the Airwaves is about an unnamed DJ – who did you have in mind when you wrote it?
It wasn’t written about a specific person, it was more about the relationship that exists between a DJ and a late night listener. People think I wrote it with an eye to flattering radio people, but I didn’t - it was about a shy girl who felt a connection with this man she’d probably never meet, but who was important in her life.
How did the song start life? A riff, melody, lyric or something else?
I often have a title and keep it in my back pocket for a while before I use it. I’d had this one for a couple of years and didn’t do anything with it. I thought the play on words was so obvious that someone else must have thought of it before me. Finally, I figured that actually no one else had, so I’d better get on and write it before they did.
Do you remember how the rest of the lyrics came about?
Well, after the title arrived, once I finally sat down to write the rest, the lyrics flowed quite easily. The chorus seemed to come out more or less fully formed, which is unusual for me. Normally it’s a difficult birth. The verses took a little longer. I wrote it at the kitchen table in my £14 per week flat in West Hampstead. Luxury!
I came up with the chords on acoustic guitar. The pivotal chord change for me was the B to the E minor under the line, ‘Listening to your show on the radio’.
How did you work out all the harmonies? Who else sang with you?
I’m a sucker for harmonies, so there are a lot in Pilot of the Airwaves! We used to do the track in the live set with my band. At that time the band consisted of Julian Littman, Gus York, Keith Nelson, Garrick Dewar and Pick Withers on drums. They all sang. On the record it’s me, lots of Alan Tarney tracked up, plus Gary Taylor singing the bass part.
The song has got a real country feel – was that intentional?
I think that’s because the band line-up at that time included pedal steel, banjo and mandolin. But the version that was actually released had none of those on it because Alan and Bruce Welch, who produced the released version, were much more pop-oriented. I guess the chord structure was still pretty country. I was listening to The McGarrigles, Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris around the time I wrote it, plus a whole lot of bluegrass.
Where and when did you record it?
It was recorded twice - once in Nashville at JJ Cale’s studio with Audie Ashworth on production duties in summer 1978. Then it was rerecorded in London at RG Jones in early 1979 – that was the version with Alan and Bruce. It was a difficult time for me because I’d been signed to Island as a sort of British Emmylou Harris and we’d been shipped out to Nashville to make (I thought) a fairly rootsy album. I was completely green, so I wasn’t thinking about how it was going to be marketed or whatever.
When Island said it was too country for them and suggested we rerecord it, I was completely thrown. Suddenly I didn’t know what was expected of me. Alan and Bruce did a great job and produced the version that became the big hit, so it all worked out, but I won’t pretend it was easy.
Were you surprised by the song’s success in America and the rest of the world?
Yes! I got all the reports posted from the record stores. It just kept going up the charts but Island/ Warner Bros didn’t want me to tour the US as they’d already paid for two albums…so I just heard about the success over there as if it were happening to someone else. But later I did get to go to Europe, Japan and Australia to do TV and radio. That was fun.
I’m a sucker for harmonies, so there are a lot in Pilot of the Airwaves! We used to do the track in the live set with my band. At that time the band consisted of Julian Littman, Gus York, Keith Nelson, Garrick Dewar and Pick Withers on drums. They all sang. On the record it’s me, lots of Alan Tarney tracked up, plus Gary Taylor singing the bass part.
The song has got a real country feel – was that intentional?
I think that’s because the band line-up at that time included pedal steel, banjo and mandolin. But the version that was actually released had none of those on it because Alan and Bruce Welch, who produced the released version, were much more pop-oriented. I guess the chord structure was still pretty country. I was listening to The McGarrigles, Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris around the time I wrote it, plus a whole lot of bluegrass.
Where and when did you record it?
It was recorded twice - once in Nashville at JJ Cale’s studio with Audie Ashworth on production duties in summer 1978. Then it was rerecorded in London at RG Jones in early 1979 – that was the version with Alan and Bruce. It was a difficult time for me because I’d been signed to Island as a sort of British Emmylou Harris and we’d been shipped out to Nashville to make (I thought) a fairly rootsy album. I was completely green, so I wasn’t thinking about how it was going to be marketed or whatever.
When Island said it was too country for them and suggested we rerecord it, I was completely thrown. Suddenly I didn’t know what was expected of me. Alan and Bruce did a great job and produced the version that became the big hit, so it all worked out, but I won’t pretend it was easy.
Were you surprised by the song’s success in America and the rest of the world?
Yes! I got all the reports posted from the record stores. It just kept going up the charts but Island/ Warner Bros didn’t want me to tour the US as they’d already paid for two albums…so I just heard about the success over there as if it were happening to someone else. But later I did get to go to Europe, Japan and Australia to do TV and radio. That was fun.
We’d been playing the then very healthy pub circuit for about 18 months and there was a certain amount of buzz. We had a good following, but I still thought it was a brave signing for Chris Blackwell at that point in 1978 because that year was really the epicentre of the punk explosion and I was essentially a country-rock act. Timing!
What do you remember most about that time?
We played live all the time early on and that was a very vibrant scene, so I remember that fondly. Also, going to the US for the first time and experiencing full-strength Nashville and LA, and falling in and out of love.
What were you listening to?
The McGarrigles, Paul Simon, Jimmy Rodgers, Guy Clarke, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman…and over here Elvis Costello, Kate Bush.
What does it feel like to have written the last song to have ever been played on Radio Caroline?
I was unaware of that until a couple of years ago! I’m very flattered. It’s always wonderful to hear that a song has touched someone and been part of a soundtrack to their life. We played a set at the Radio Caroline 50 year Birthday celebration in March and it was terrific. We sang Pilot with a 40-strong choir, The Big Sing, and clearly it was an emotional moment for some people.
How do you feel about the song now?
It definitely opened a lot of doors for me early on. But it’s hard when you do something early on like that – basically, I was a folk and roots artist. Pilot was this terribly glossy pop production which suddenly became successful. That was great but it wasn’t generally what I was about. Mind you, I wrote the song – so it’s all my fault!
What have you learned about songwriting and the music business over the years?
It probably took me about 20 years to discover that you have to do what is true for you. I’m very grateful for the success of that song, but I’ve also spent years trying to convince people that Pilot only represents a tiny snapshot of one time in my career. After six albums of rootsy acoustic music I think I’m just about getting my point across.
You still write avidly to this day. What keeps you going back to songwriting?
I’m very dogged and I feel I haven’t got where I’m going yet. There’s a lot more to do. If there’s a piano or guitar in the room I’m still drawn to it. I just want to do that until I fall over.
A lot of people might only have one good album in them, or just a few songs, before they dry up. How do you keep going? Is it your inner critic that keeps you going back?
I have discovered that because I wear two hats – one as a jobbing songwriter and the other as an artist – the onus is on you to be happy and commercial for other people. But often, if I write something that is very personal, in the end that gets through and people relate to it. Often, the strangest little ideas are the ones that have caught.
http://www.charliedore.com
Upcoming live dates:
10 August: Hideaway Festival, Fawley Hill, Henley on Thames
15 August: Folk East Festival, Glemham Hall, Suffolk
5 September: Sedgefield Folk Festival, County Durham
14 November: Acoustic Routes, Wigan Parish Church, St Michaels
29 November: St Margaret’s Hall, Bradford on Avon, with The Wiltshire Wailers
