Bobby Gillespie has spoken about the impact Andrew Weatherall had on his life and music in a new interview, following the death of the legendary producer and DJ on Monday (February 23).
Speaking to The Guardian, Gillespie recalls Weatherall being initially cautious with his Primal Scream remixes. “We’d already become good mates when someone suggested that he should mix ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’,” the singer explained. “He said OK, but his remix was a bit low-key. He loved the song and maybe he thought we’d be offended if he really went to town on it.
“It was Innes [Andrew Innes, Primal Scream’s guitarist], who told him to do it again and ‘just fucking destroy it’. That’s how ‘Loaded’ came into being, basically. We gave him free rein and he went for it.”
Gillespie also fondly recalled Weatherall reviewing Primal Scream for NME in 1989.
“I remember the NME asked him to review a Primal Scream gig and he came to see us play at Exeter University. He turned up in leather trousers with really long hair – he could have been in the band! After that, we’d go and see him whenever he was DJing in London.”
As well as being an acclaimed producer, Weatherall also attracted great acclaim for his work as a DJ, providing a new twist on tracks including Happy Mondays‘ ‘Hallelujah’ and New Order‘s ‘World In Motion’ – as well as, famously, Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded’.
“‘Loaded’ just exploded on dance floors across the country,” Gillespie added. “Looking back, it definitely caught something of the time. That was down to Andrew. All I can say is that the experience of standing in a club and seeing people go wild to it was something else.”
