Frequently Asked Questions:

• What/who is Garden Records?

Garden Records is the general name for the music produced by Parsley the Lion, a.k.a. Andrew Ralph Godleman.

Parsley was inspired by the TV music of Barry Gray and the film music of John Barry.

He combines that with a love of the psychedelic sixties and the new wave of the seventies. Usually leading on Hammond organ, and occasionally bass or vocals, his aim is to make exciting and interesting music.

Under several different guises he has written and performed in bands, made records, and produced music used in TV and films.

• How much does it cost to hire a Garden Records band for a concert ?
That depends on where the gig is, and what equipment we need to bring. Gigs outside of London cost more because we have to hire a van, and potentially we have to be ready to stay overnight. If we need to bring our own PA system then there is the cost of hire. If we can use other peoples' equipment that saves us effort and you money, but obviously it has to be the right stuff, and in decent condition. If you send us a mail (using the links on the band pages etc.) telling us about what you want to do, we will advise you of the likely cost.

• Why am I called Parsley?
Parsley the Lion is a childrens TV character created by Michael Bond, who also created Paddington Bear. He is fierce looking, but actually quite timid. He was originally in a lunchtime 'watch with mother' show called The Herbs, and then a 5-minute teatime show called 'The Adventures of Parsley'. There's more info at this link : Herbidaceous
Parsley was a lovable Green Lion, whose mane and tail were made out of the herb parsley (hence the name). He is the one that seems to show us around the garden and loves waving to the viewers. He's not a brave lion and hides when there is trouble/danger around. Parsley also doesn't like to get his tail wet or climb (as he found out when climbing the Tarragon Plant).

I came to be called Parsley because… In 1981 I was in Manchester, and I was invited to be in a band that was just going to play a concert without rehearsing. It was going to be called The Quanta Jubilee Ensemble. I said I wanted to be the front man, and just sing, because I had never done that before. Unfortunately, we did rehearse and our guitarist realised how bad it was going to be. Afterwards he 'found a reason' why he wasn't going to be around for the concert. I told the others that we could still go ahead, as I would play the guitar. I had never played the guitar before (and I have rarely played it since). The drummer went by the nickname of 'Dill'. When we were announced on stage, I promptly re-announced us, saying that we were now The Herbs. I was Parsley, the bass player was Sage, and the drummer was called...Norman. It was a cheap joke. The subsequent musical performance was dreadful, but mercifully funny, and we were immediately offered 2 more gigs, which our drummer refused to do. So began my efforts to find musicians willing to do more absurd things. The following year I had a severely crappy time and resolved that I was going to reform the band, but do it properly with the best musicians. The name stuck, particularly after I left college, and wanted a soft namby pamby name, 'cos I didn't want to take things seriously.

• Is Parsley your real name ?
Amazingly, no. My real name is Napoleon Bonaparte. No, actually it's Andrew Ralph Godleman. Godleman is an old English name, originally Godliman, and the family were originally shoe-makers. "Cobblers !"I hear you say, but it's true. There is still a Godliman Street in the City of London, and Godalming in Surrey is from the same derivation, so I'm told.

• Where do you get your clothes from ?
Mostly they are from 3 sources :
1. Babzotica - These were made specially for me by her at my request. Babz has since moved to Australia if you would like some of your own. She made my Austin Powers outfit, my silver spacesuit, my 'one-piece' Straker suits, and my leopard and zebra Nehru suits.
2. New Delhi - In the early nineties, my Mum won a holiday to India, and said I could go with her. I took an empty suitcase, and a photo book of my favorite TV show, UFO. I came back with 12 suits in the UFO style, including my white suit (with cross-pieces and brass buttons), and my maroon Paisley Nehru suit.
3. Bermans and Nathan's Theatrical Costumiers (now known as Angels) - In the early eighties Bermans decided to sell off a load of clothes that were worn out or too recognisable to be used again. Later they would auction such items, but at first they just sold them at bargain basement prices. I read about it in an article in the NME, and got down there very early. Amongst other things, I bought 8 outfits from Space:1999 which I later used as stage wear for the Adventures of Parsley.

• What musical equipment do you use onstage ?
Mainly I use my split Hammond L100 with my transistor Leslie.

• In Dutronc you sing in French - Can you speak French ?
I have basic 'O' level French, but I sing the songs of Jacques Dutronc mostly from memory.

• How do you find the time to be in so many bands ?
Well, although I am in a large number of bands, they are not all playing at the same time, and many are 'resting' for long periods. I do concerts 'on demand' i.e. when people ask me to, so I just fill up my schedule with whoever asks first.

• Who are your musical influences ?
When I first started making music I was a punk, and particularly a fan of The Jam. When I joined my first band (Orson Blake) with Terry Hassett, he got me into Syd Barrett and psychedelia. When having a bad time in Manchester I spent a lot of time in my room with a bass guitar learning to play the bass lines of Jet Harris in The Shadows. Along with TV themes, I am most into psychedelia/sixties, punk/new wave and rock and roll music. My heroes are Syd Barrett, Jet Harris, Barry Gray and John Barry. In my writing for The Herbs I was influenced by The Psychedelic Furs and The Sisters of Mercy. The Adventures of Parsley sound was influenced by the original James Taylor Quartet (with Wolf Howard and Allan Crockford).

• Why did you form Dutronc ?
When I was playing in France I had tried to find some Gainsbourg records for my brother, and when I couldn't find any Chris Roux recommended I bought a Dutronc double album instead. I did and I liked it. My brother had been doing a band called 'Faut Parler' with the music of Serge Gainsbourg. In my opinion he was taking it far too seriously, so I decided to ridicule it with a very short simple set of the most basic Dutronc songs I could find. We dressed to match the English stereotype of the French (stripey T-shirts, onions, Bruce even sat on a bicycle when he was playing the guitar). I had also seen a band in Paris doing Rolling Stones songs and even talking in English between the songs. I resolved that when doing Dutronc I would try to speak only in French.

E-mail your questions to parsley@gardenrecords.com