By Ron Evans
Local Pink Floyd disciples, Artemidorus, return to the stage with a performance of two complete classic Floyd albums: Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. The show is March 10 at Numerica Performing Arts Center and as if a stage full of top notch musicians playing Pink Floyd tunes with some fog and a serious laser show isn’t enough to get your asses in the seats...the inclusion of special guest Durga McBroom should cinch it.
McBroom was a backup singer (and soloist on “The Great Gig In The Sky”) with Pink Floyd for over 20 years, appearing on the Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse live albums. She has also had a very successful solo career in music with a chart topping hit “Naked In The Rain” along with being a well-known actress - she played Heels in the 1983 cultural phenomenon Flashdance. I chatted with McBroom to learn more about her impressive and eclectic career.
How and when did you first get involved with performing with Pink Floyd? Were you a fan before then?
Well, of course I was a fan - I mean, Dark Side of the Moon came out in 1973 when I was 10 so I didn’t really get into it until I was around 13. I went to a very unique private school called MOBOC (Mobile Open Classrooms). Our teacher was a former San Francisco Haight-Ashbury beat poet. So we used to have quite the interesting mix of music that we would listen to. We had an eight track player in our bus, a Pace Arrow which was like a giant motorhome but with plush seats. And Dark Side of the Moon was a staple on that stereo. And that’s when I really got into listening to Pink Floyd. Also, some of the guys in class were obsessed with Jethro Tull. So I was well versed in my prog introduction pretty early on.
I can’t think of a cooler school than that. Or a more perfect setting to hear Dark Side of the Moon.
Yeah it was pretty amazing. So yeah I was a fan before. After Pink Floyd had split from Roger Waters they were starting the whole Momentary Lapse of Reason tour based on that album, which is the first one that they recorded without Roger. And there was a lot riding on this tour. I didn’t realize, until much later, just how much they were gambling on that tour which they had put up their own money to fund.
And they likely felt they had to prove themselves as a post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd.
Exactly. So they’d hired Margaret Taylor, she’s gone back to her Asian name Machan Taylor now. After they had shot some live concert footage in Atlanta, David (Gilmour) decided that he wanted to add a bit of “color.’’ [laughs] His exact words. So he asked Michael Pillot, the owner of their production company, if he knew any black singers. Michael was a friend of my sister, Lorelei, and he recommended her. And I happened to be in New York with her at the time because she was working on an album for Capitol Records. I was doing some backup vocals for that album and so she of course recommended me, along with a friend of hers, Roberta Freeman. So we sent in some tapes of what we’d just recorded and they hired us. They flew us in and suddenly we were backstage and…you know, Pink Floyd was big into not really showing themselves all that much right? Well, a gentleman with an acoustic guitar comes backstage and in this very proper sort of English voice says “Hello. Would you like to go over some of the parts?”
We’re like, who is this guy? Then he starts singing…oh. It’s David Gilmour! We were supposed to be there on tour that first night just watching the show and seeing how it all worked but he said “You all sound great. Wanna give it a go tonight?”
Wow.
Yeah. So we said ok, and we went from performing in front of 500 people to over 15,000 people. That was the first time performing with Pink Floyd. David then asked me to join the rest of the tour to provide some “bottom end” to the singers.
Of course there were lots of backup moments, harmonies etc. for you to sing but, “The Great Gig In The Sky” is really your time to shine. I’m curious how you handled stepping into that role - it’s such a unique piece of music. The way Pink Floyd had stitched together the original vocal tracks by Clare Torry on the album, and just the chaotic nature of it. Obviously you want to hit some of the recognizable notes and phrasing while still making it your own. How did you go about that?
Well, David wanted us to learn it note for note. And when we first did it…it was awful. But we grew into it and eventually we did find our way and we were able to add our own nuances. What’s really interesting and humbling is that now, with some of these Pink Floyd tribute bands, I will hear them using some of my ad libs for “The Great Gig In The Sky.”
That’s amazing, although it’s not surprising because you were on the Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse tours which are the two big live Floyd albums/concert videos. It makes sense that you have now become a part of the lineage of that song.
Yeah, I suppose that’s true. You know, a lot of people don’t know what the song really is about. It’s a song about dying, in three separate movements. The first part, the real sort of more chaotic parts, that’s the anger part. You’re raging at God - why me? It’s not fair. But then the second part, which on the recordings is the part that I sing, is when the sadness comes in. The loss and regret and the realization that there’s nothing you can do to stop it, you’re going to die. And the third part is the release and the acceptance, and the finding peace in realizing that it’s time to leave. So these are the three movements of that song.
Is David Gilmour as chill as he seems?
Yes. He’s a real perfectionist and he knows exactly what he wants. And he has this sort of gravitas about him when he enters a room but I have to say…as I got to know him I realized that he’s actually quite shy and very quiet.
Pink Floyd shows are well known for their grand, enveloping displays of lasers, effects and props. I’m curious if you ever experienced any major malfunctions or Spinal Tap moments with these productions while you were with the band.
Oh! [laughs] So…there was the inflatable pig that used to be floated out in front of the audience. And there were these laser cannons that had to be water cooled, because they would get so hot. The pig would stay in this bin. It was set up so that it would be speed-inflated to go out on the lines over the audience. One time the water from the laser cannons leaked into the bin, so when they went to inflate it they could see it had a bunch of water in it. And they had to think fast and snip the lowest hanging point of the pig to release the water. You can guess what that was.
Oh no…
Yep. They had to snip off the tip of its pee pee and float it out which of course meant that as soon as it went out over the audience, the pig was just pissing all over everybody. And we were rolling.
As if the audience members weren’t already feeling like just another brick in the wall…they got peed on by an inflatable pig.
We were rolling.
So how did you get involved with Artemidorus?
They contacted me on social media about working with them. They’d seen that I’d performed with other Pink Floyd tribute bands and we set up the show in Wenatchee and another one at the Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane.
You have also had a successful solo career as a musician - talk about that a bit, was that going on before Pink Floyd?
No that came after. So, the Pink Floyd live show in Venice was a big deal and Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd’s bassist at the time) was friends with Youth (producer and musician with Killing Joke, the Fireman, Paul McCartney) who was at the show. And he approached me after the concert and said he really liked my voice and we talked about working together. The first song we recorded together was “Naked In The Rain” which became a huge hit all over Europe. It hit number 4 in the British pop charts and number 2 in a lot of the other European charts. So yeah, I have Pink Floyd to thank for my solo career. We have a second album that we have now recorded that we are currently looking for the right home for.
McBroom performing The Great Gig In The Sky as David Gilmour plays the familiar haunting pedal steel. Pulse (1995) Columbia Records/PMI/Sony Music Video
Well before we end I gotta ask you about playing Heels in Flashdance. How did that all come about?
Well, I beat out a whole hell of a lot of other actresses for that part. It’s actually kind of interesting... I went to an open dance audition for the lead, which I knew I wasn’t going to get, but it was an open audition so I went. My boyfriend at the time was also an actor, and he had an audition on the Paramount lot, and I drove him. And while he was there, I looked over and there was this little bungalow that said “Flashdance” on it. That was the casting office. So my bold black ass just walked in there and said “Hi, I should be in your movie.” And the assistant casting director saw me and she said, “You know, there is a part you would be good for. Let me have you read something.” And then I read and she’s like, “Okay, I want you to come back.” and when I came back, I was sitting waiting to go in. And this funny little Englishman walked over and sat next to me and he said “Hello, who are you?” I said, “I’m Durga McBroom and I’m reading for Heels.” And we had a nice little conversation. And that turned out to be Adrian Lyne, the director. And he really liked me. So I beat out something like 300 other actresses for that part.
Being such a well-known, maybe even cult-classic level, film - have you done any conventions for Flashdance?
You know, a lot of us (from the movie) still talk. Michael Nouri (Nick) is one of my best friends. I love him to death - I just had dinner with him a couple of weeks ago, and Malcolm Danare (Cecil) just called me to say he does a lot of fan conventions because he was also in Christine (1983). And you know, the horror fans are really, really loyal. So he said that since this year, incidentally, is the 40th anniversary of Flashdance there may be some plans for a convention thing. I would doubt Jennifer Beals (Alex) would be a part of it. She kind of walked away from the spotlight after Flashdance. She has acted but mostly in more independent roles.
I can so picture the cosplay at this event when it happens. Are you still acting?
Oh yeah, the leg warmers and all. And yeah, I just did a movie called Sammy-Gate a couple years ago. It’s basically about Sammy Davis Jr. and his connection to the Nixon White House. And what did he know? And when did he know it? I play kind of an Oprah Winfrey type talk show host back in the early 70s who has a very brutal and blunt interview with Sammy. So much so that he gets up and walks out off the set.
I have to ask, have you ever experienced syncing Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz?
I haven’t. I know I should, everyone tells me I should.
I ask because, to me, the most amazing part of this is “The Great Gig In The Sky” which pairs with Dorothy being pulled up into the tornado. It’s incredible. You have to watch it! I’m gonna text you the video after this, it’s on YouTube.
Ok, I’ll watch it. I’ve heard a lot about it.
Artemidorus w/ Durga McBroom: FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2023 AT 8 PM at Numerica PAC
Tickets: numericapac.org. As of this interview the tickets for the Wenatchee Artemidorus show are dangerously close to selling out. Get those tickets fast!