Listening to the Bono book, Surrender, I enjoyed a reference to Paul Barrett’s Fairlight CMI at STS Studios in Temple Bar, Dublin and it took me back to a fun project we did back in 2007.
John Lancken, the CEO of Fairlight, was one of the best clients I ever worked with. He was full of ideas and raw energy and had an innate connection to his market — He was at one with the sound engineers and musicians he served and, as a former professional musician, had a strong appreciation of the sounds and experiences they created.
In advance of the 30th anniversary of the period-defining Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) John had the idea of dismantling a keyboard and sending keys to the iconic artists who shaped the synth sound of the eighties and nineties, reassembling the keyboard and auctioning it for charity.
“Brilliant idea, John! Now who is the one who has to make that happen?”
Our team worked for two years finding the 44 artists, explaining our goal, issuing the keys and having them send back the signed keys so the keyboard could be reassembled. It was an extensive process of working with managers, agents, friends of friends and even staking out venues in NYC and we eventually collected autographed keys from David Bowie, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Costello, Annie Lennox, Steve Winwood, Mark Knopfler and Sir George Martin among others. I fondly remember Malcolm Boyd and I dropping the keyboard to David Bowie’s offices on Lafayette Street and Jeremy Kaplan helping pick it up. I got a ticket for double-parking that I still have!
We ultimately had 45 icons of modern music sign the keyboard. The auction was held at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom in aid of Peter Gabriel’s charity, Witness. Gabriel and actor Gael Garcia Bernal MC’d the event and the talent for the evening included Paul Simon, Angelique Kidjo and The B-52s.
There are so many brilliant stories from the two years of building the keyboard to the star-studded night itself. Helping John realize his vision and sharing the process and the night with some close friends from the media made the hard work worth it! Most importantly, Witness gained funds to amazing work — work it continues to this day.
