Sega Power, Article 3

Originally printed in Sega Power Issue 40, reproduced here without permission.
Contents listing...
There was no by line to the original listing.

SHE'S GOT IT TAPED!

When you get a babe as gorgeous as Cathy Dennis to do a cover cassette for you, it would be churlish not to devote a couple of pages in the mag to showing you how the cassette was made. Here's what happened and how - plus a few pictures of a pop star hard at work (and you thought it was all beach parties and pina coladas... Hmm, so did we...)

The article is credited to Dean Mortlock.

SHE'S GOT IT TAPED

Irresistible! Cathy Dennis and Sega Power join forces to provide you with a tape of tips the likes of which you've never ever heard before!

Our Cathy's pretty good with the old vocal chords - and she's well into Sega too (she takes her Game Gear with her wherever she goes y'know). Who better then to reocrd a tape packed to the beams with helpful advice on everything Sega? Dean Mortlock takes you through the trials and tribulations of the recording session...

The script was written... The tips were compilerd... Surely nothing could go wrong - or could it? After months of conversations, planning and hard work (Er, really? - Andy), things finally came together on Wednesday 23 December - the day I headed off to London with the Sega Power Crew to record the Cathy Dennis Tips Tape.
It couldn't have come at a worse time. Christmas was just two days away and things hd been pretty crazy in the Power offices. Cathy had only just come back from the ol' US of A, shot her latest video and was trying to wind down for a well-earned Christmas brek. Would she be in the mood for a crazy day with the bods from Sega Power? We hoped so...

1.40

We left Bath in a bit of a rush (thanks to all the usual last-minute disasters), but luckily our publisher's car (big, Japanese sports-type-thingy) made up for lost time.

3.50

Realised with a growing feeling of terror that no-one in the car knew exactly where the studio was. London, as you probably know, is not the smallest place in the world and trying to find this studio was like, well, trying to find a very small studio in a very large city.
After hunting through the "A-Z", ringing up Directory Enquiries and speaking to a few people who didn't have the faintest idea what we were talking about, we managed to find the place...

4.05

We entered the dimly-lit basement studio ("ooh, very compact and bijou" remarked Andy) and began preparing for Cathy's imminent arrival.
And talk about sardines! The place was packed! Apart from ourselves there was also the photographer, his equipment - as well as the important studio and record company bods.
...And now the nerves started. What would Cathy think of the script? Would it be long enough for the tape? When was I going to find time to de my last-minute Christmas shopping? And could we get away with pinching some of the booze on that trolley without anyone seeing us?

4.15

At last, everything was set up! All the studio technicians were fully briefed on the layout of the tape and, after many confused looks and scratching of heads, we finally managed to sort out the final details. The microphones were in place and enough tape had been fed through the machine to last for about ten hours - nothing could possibly go wrong!
4.25

More nerves as we wait for the main girl. John Cantlie was in fine form, busy organising the photographer (what kind of shots we needed, lighting positions etc...). By this time, I'd eaten away all my nails and started on my fingers.
I'd also given up trying to scrounge any of the booze - mainly 'cos John had guzzled it all himself - and was drinking the plentiful orange juice like it was going out of fashion.

4.30

Cathy Dennis arrives. She's had the rough script for a couple of days, but hasn't really had a chance to go through it with a fine-toothed comb yet.
With a large glass of orange juice in one hand and half-a-dozen half-eaten mince pies in the other, I mumbled a "hello" - and then we got straight down to recording the tape.
Cathy went into the sound-proofed room, read the script through into the microphone - and we were off!

4.50

While the photographer worked around us and the studio engineers handled the editing of the tape, we ploughed quickly through the script, correcting mistakes as and when necessary.
I continued chewing my fingers while Cathy did her best to make some sense of the words I'd given her.

5.30

Finished! Despite all the problems, Cathy had finished reading the script - and it sounded pretty good too.
While we were all feeling chuffed about how it went, the photographer decided it was a good oppurtunity to run off a few more photos - and just as we were struggling to sort out the editing of the tape and work out what all the flashing lights on the mixing desk were supposed to be doing too.
Thankfully, Cathy had some experience of these mysterious creatures and helped me look as though I knew exactly what I was doing. I didn't have a clue really!

5.45

With the tape finished and all the photos taken, it was time to relax. After sighs of relief, we chatted about the tape, finished off the mince pies and orange juice - and then said our goodbyes.
We started the long journey to Bath and left Cathy to do the rest of her shopping. The poor sould who had to edit the tape were probably up 'til the wee hours getting it into shape. Fine job, chaps!
The Sega Power web site is located in Futurenet, it's quite good, but has no Cathy stuff...
Take me back to the index.
Take me back to the Cathy information.
Take me back to the Second Sega Power Article.
Take me on to the GMTV interview.
Last Updated 22nd November 1996
by stephen@ukmix.net