Bassist Paul Riley tells how they did it their way

Survivor was formed in late March '78 as an offshoot of several bands — notably Schoolgirl and Edgar Broughton's occasional Bandages Band. There are five members, plus an able-bodied assortment of roadcrew: Griff, Nick and Martin. Dave Sprigg handles drums (and anything else he can get his hands on). Jon Ivory tickles his guitar alongside Dave (make mine a Yamaha) Simmonds who plays keys. The oral dept is headed by Rob Mathews, and Paul (yes please!) Riley eats bass guitars. The idea of the single was a logical one, coming about after we'd sat down and discussed how we were going to secure the European work that we felt was essential if we were going to have any chance of success.

Having decided that a single would be feasible (as it could be used in the UK as well) we looked at finance. The first and most important consideration was how much to set aside for the actual recording; we agreed upon a third of the total amount. The other two-thirds were to be spent on mastering, labels, covers etc.

Deciding which studio to use was obviously financially dictated — as we had heard good reports from Spaceward in Cambridge we phoned them for a quote. We decided, on past experiences with 8-track studios, that a minimum of 16 tracks would be needed. At this stage, we were talking about £300 for recording and mixdown. We then received a call from our old keyboard player who offered us time in the studio in which he works. As the studio was a large and very famous 24-track we of course agreed. At the reduced rate he offered, we estimated that we could afford three days at £150 a day — in order to allow time for everything. Said keyboard player, David Bascombe, (henceforward known as DB to save space) attended all rehearsals and advised us on all points related to the recording. Mainly, these meant that lengthy solos were out, and that any form of tempo deviation had to be very carefully approached. He also advised us to shorten the material to a maximum of five minutes per side (which is the usual maximum for a single). After playing each of the three tracks through, the band would then discuss the things they felt could benefit from effects, or from certain studio treatments. This is where DB was able to help, as he could explain what each effect would do, and how we could achieve it. The most important conclusion reached was not to use any effects pre-mix as studio effects are generally better (and cleaner!).

The recording was started two weeks later on a bright cold Sunday morning. We set up as follows: keyboards, DI+cab; Bass, DI+cab; drums, all drums miked individually + overheads + three mics on the snare (one above, one below, and one nearby — under the drum-stool for ambience). The guitar cab was enclosed in a soundproof booth thus allowing full volume to be utilised. We luckily managed to get the backing tracks done in four or five takes — rehearsing really does pay off. We then listened to the backing tracks without any tracking vocal, and checked for sounds — DB providing his worth as he beefed up the snare to achieve a quite amazing sound. We then spent the rest of the day putting down the main vocal. 18½ hours later we set everything level and took a cassette copy away with us, which everyone listened to so that ideas for additions, effects and levels could be thought about.

The following week we again went into the studio and put down the harmony vocals and solos. Two interesting facts emerged, one being that you have to allow two separate, but not adjacent, tracks for mixdown, for the computer. Also, strangely enough, you can achieve a very powerful powerchord sound using a small amp. Our lead guitarist found that his old AC10 (ye Gods!) cranked up sounded superb. Another interesting fact that emerged was that of solos. We found the best way was to have the instrumentalist in the control room, and his amplification in the studio — thus allowing him to play along with the backing track at a realistic level.

The first mix completed we left the studio with a 2-track master and again sat down and listened to the track complete with effects. After the rather bad experiences that we had had before with rushed mixdown sessions we allowed ¾ of a day to mix in. This is extremely important, as it takes far longer than you would imagine. Finally we went back to the studio for a third and final day and redid some of the main vocal and the final mix. Some points that did crop up were: 1 Always listen to the mix through more than one set of speakers — if possible a cheap and nasty pair too. What may sound great through Tannoys sounds terrible through a pair of Auratones! 2 Check levels of bass and drums, especially snare — these are often lost in the welter of mid and top frequencies. Use your producer or engineer to sort out the right sound for these instruments. What sounds good normally may not be right for a mix.

Eventually we had our master tape — so the next stage in the proceedings could start. We approached various distribution companies before deciding on how many to finally press (figures given in this article are for 2 000, though we did actually press more). It was decided to utilise a two colour sleeve and a black and white label, both designed and finished by friends of the band, and then submitted to the printers.

First the cutting — we decided to use a top company, as anything else would be false economy. Cost at the Master Room (Contact Details) was £32 (£16 per side) + VAT at 8%. Time per side was five minutes: two two-and-a-half-minute tracks and one four-and-a-half-minute track. Then the pressing and processing — British Homophone (Contact Details) was used as they seemed efficient and reasonable. Cost breakdown — £260 (per 2 000) - VAT at 8% for pressing, £26 for processing (+ VAT). This company supplied a complete price list on receipt of a phone call and were extremely helpful. It is important to note that they require 25% more labels than records to allow for wastage, and they advise that 50 pairs are sent beforehand for testing.

We decided to use Delga Press (Contact Details) for sleeves — they have a good reputation and their other products that we had seen seemed fine. Cost from Delga — £65 (per 2 000) plus £40 for the plate — all subject to VAT at 8%.

Our own label, Southern Songs, was registered with the Registry of business Names (Contact Details). The design for the labels, was sent to Peter Gray (Contact Details), who produced them in black and white. Cost was £29 (per 2 000) and £16 for the plate — all subject to VAT at 8%. We then included another £50 in the budget for posters and cardboard holders to be given to the record shops that had agreed to take the single on a sale or return basis. The artwork for both the label and the sleeve was costed out at another £50, allowing for either a design or photograph. So we have our product; now all we've got to do is sell it!

We'd like to thank Sound International (Contact Details), for their great help in obtaining names and addresses, and anyone else involved in the project. We've learnt a lot and we hope you can benefit from our mistakes (experiences).