Larry Norman
At that stage I had been dragged along to various 'Christian concerts and frankly I wasn't keen! The songs seemed like evangelical tracts and It appeared to me that every lyric had to make a reference to John 3:16. Not a bad thing in itself of course, except that none of the writers seemed to be interested in mastering their craft. Anyhow, I had been enjoying 'Buzz' magazine, the venue was the Isle of Wight and it was summer. On top of this I had heard that an American singer/songwriter called Larry Norman would be playing at some stage. I thought that might be worth going along for as someone had played me one of his albums. On hearing 'Upon This Rock' I recognised that here was someone who really could write songs from a Christian perspective.
As a musician it was quite a fun week for me as I had some interesting chats with people such as the journalist Peter Meadows and members of the band 'Parchment' from the Liverpool folk scene. The week became even more interesting when I met a very attractive blonde girl named Kathy who later became my wife, but that's another story.
At the end of the week Larry duly appeared - a clearly recognisable denim-clad figure with shoulder length white hair. I'll never forget that performance. That isn't because of his presentation 'cause frankly that was delightfully shambolic! He arrived on stage with his guitar still cased and while the audience waited, carried out a lengthy tune up. Larry was not one to neatly work through an ordered setlist but the self-penned songs he performed that night were wonderful. He delivered them thoughtfully, at times breaking off to share something that had occurred to him while singing. At other times he made scat sounds to impersonate the absent saxophone on a solo section ! He made some pointed comments about people taking flash photographs without asking and made reference to Christians using songs like 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' - along the lines of; 'Most people don't even know they are in troubled water. You have to let them know'. 'I Wish We'd All Been Ready' - a powerful song about the second coming of Christ, closed his set and he backed slowly out of microphone range repeating the phrase " I wish we'd all been ready...I wish we'd all been ready..." Finally he quit stage. Like I said, I'll never forget that performance. Not because of his presentation, not because of his guitar work, which he kept to workmanlike self accompaniment, not because of any lighting or effects - there were none! It has stayed with me because I had heard a truly honest performance. The songs were not attempts to sound like anything on the chart or go with the trends of the time; neither were they 'Gospel' songs in the 70s sense of the term. They were songs which expressed what he really felt about salvation, loss, personal responsibility. The more familiar I became with Larry's work the more I grew to respect him as an artist and a craftsman.
'I am the 6 O'clock News' with its lyric about media indifference to suffering told through the eyes of a photographer ; 'Colour pictures of misery..6 o'clock news - all those kids without shoes....'
'Why Don't You Look Into Jesus?' referencing the addictions and escapes we try; 'Take a look at what you've done to yourself - put the bottle back on the shelf ...Gonorrhoea on Valentine;s day - You're still lookin' for the perfect lay...'
'I Wish We'd All Been Ready' with its images of the famine and hardship preceding the second coming of Christ.. 'Children died, the days grew cold, a piece of bread could buy a bag of gold, I wish we'd all been ready'
He rarely polished the work, the songs arrived, were delivered and he moved on.
I was truly saddened that the mainstream Christian community didn't really 'get' Larry Norman. In certain interviews he let slip the isolation he sometimes felt. Songs like 'Shot Down' addressed the sniping from Christian critics. Over the years I have experienced the same reactions to my work - at one point a certain church officer accused me outright of playing the devil's music - others in the churches have seen the delivery as 'far too professional'. Still others make an issue out of 'what is worship and what is performance?' One Christian bass player declined to work with me because some of my songs like 'Candledance' addressed themes he found disturbing.
I have always drawn comfort from the fact that Larry had to put up with the same thing on an even larger scale. Like him I am considered by some 'Too Rock and Roll for the Christians and sometimes too Christian for the really heavy rockers.' Larry's work helped me to be much more comfortable with who I am as a craftsman. He helped me get to where I could clearly see the line between 'song and dance artists' and the area I was drawn to work in - a circle which included the likes of Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Tim Buckley, Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn and so forth. I am grateful for that clarity which has sustained me through some tough times.
There is nothing so rewarding as a comment, letter or e-mail telling you that one or other of your songs has helped someone through difficulty, a bereavement, an illness - or has helped them towards faith. At sixty years of age Larry was considered by some to be the 'grandfather' of gospel rock in the UK. At 58 I'm still at it - presently with my dear friends in 'The Connection', and I guess might be considered as one of its more eccentric uncles!
When Larry Norman died on Sunday morning the 24th February 2008, he left a body of work any songwriter would be justifiably proud of. More importantly he left behind a great number of people whom he had helped to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Between concerts he would talk to people he met on the street, whether they were successful business types, tramps or hookers he gave them the gospel.
Goodbye Larry. Thanks for being true to your calling and for such wonderful work. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you. I'll see you soon, brother.
Chris Betts
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In the Summer of 1972 I got persuaded by friends to go on a holiday organised by 'Buzz' magazine. It wasn't the kind of event that I would usually have signed up for as it promised 'Christian music acts.