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Legendary drummer Geoff Britton chats with Kal and Rosy. Part 2 with more about playing drums for Paul McCartney and later projects.
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Bobby Darin beyond the sea with us this
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afternoon Geoff Britten drama with the
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wild angels manfred Mann's Earth Band
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wings also the keys number of other
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things down the years what did you think
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your performance stand in rehearsal with
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Formica in wings before the break on
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Jack it was great I think your tummy was
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better than is that he did not happen
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well you know credit support well I mean
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he's a multi-instrumentalist but it's
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not his it's not his prime instrument is
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it no he's a genius but even geniuses
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Cantor you've got to agree with this
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that you before the Beatles they used to
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towards like a trio didn't know him
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George and John and he was on the drums
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amazing musical talent but getting quite
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a lot of people talking and about you
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Jeff this is from actually he's our
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political correspondent Stephen Burke
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who said that he saw you playing with
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the wild angels a long long long time
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ago and also a messaging from Mike in
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that via longer saying a very
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interesting interview jet Britain sounds
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a cool guy absolutely not bad with a
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stick side he's right I'm Gordon in
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Valencia amazing drumming so yeah
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absolutely we have to say you were
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telling us off air about an appearance
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at the Royal Variety Performance that
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you did in which case well I believe it
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you tell it because I don't want to do
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the punchline
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oh no I see yeah it's 1981 the Royal
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Variety show the annual one attended in
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this that year buyer are quoting Her
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Majesty and I was playing backing alva
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Stardust and just just for a crack
1:56
during the rehearsals they say it's it's
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it's filmed a few days before it comes
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out on sis usually Sunday night the
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Sunday night
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you to be at the Palladium this
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particular was the cotton guard theater
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and so during the solo of the guitar
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solo I jumped up on the drums and this
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is what I used to do with the wild
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angels and then the technicians came
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over at the end of the song said you've
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got to do that on the night because
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we've turned in on you and click mark
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the cameras so ok no problems well not
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having anything around me any props are
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in the I put my spare drumsticks in my
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back pocket so I'm standing up on the
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drums and actually my back and my rear
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half is facing the box it's gone because
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they recorded it most watched it with
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you mom and dad
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yeah queen and then that happened yeah I
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gotta say it was it was great my mum and
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dad and my girlfriend my quietly yes and
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watch that and yeah it was it was quite
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electric and at the end all the staff
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are lined up also stuffed all the acts
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are lined up on the stage and seeing a
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national anthem and they and some of the
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guys were at the back and we're sort of
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mimicking the Queen's little wave that
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she used to do when she drove around
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I've never seen as a schoolboy and I
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tried to pass the school and you've got
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little bit away and you can see it on
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the telly tell us about the making of
3:40
that Venus Mars only because you were
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not all of the tracks no but that was
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what the one that you that's really the
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only we're auditioning for was it
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because the jet was actually part of a
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rehearsal for a film I think was it yeah
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that was that was yes you're right that
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was done it to Abbey Road did a lot of
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the stuff off the yeah the band on the
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run album which was
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monster solo and yeah we did some track
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yeah that was for the one hand clapping
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film that I don't think ever got
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released actually hang on a minute yeah
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it came out no I'm getting mixed up the
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Sun came out across a film that
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McCartney music we shoot on let me get
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this let me get my facts right no it
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didn't come out and but it was it was
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earmarked as a little feature so we
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recorded all those or rerecorded stuff
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that already been done that were popular
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and and I record some new things but
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they they didn't make it onto the film
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and it's on IMDB so it might be
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available now he know through various
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different mediums or what rarely-seen
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rockumentary says so yeah probably not
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on general release but you might be able
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to find it that yeah it's amazing in
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those days you did things like we did a
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swings we did a TV advert for mothers
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pride brave neighbors a great effort but
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because bread went up a penny
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the next day through the government or
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something it was scratched so lots of
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weird things you did in those days and
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just never saw the lights of time how
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come I read you the cast list from the
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from from the one hand clapping film
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from 1974 it's I think it's it's like
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this Jeff Britain has himself Danny Lane
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himself Linda McCartney Paul McCartney
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himself Jimmy McCulloch himself there
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you go you're at the top of the list so
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[Laughter]
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yes right I just start out by asking
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about how the Venus Mars over the house
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how did that come together with Paul
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just tell you this is what we want this
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is what we're on to play or were you
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actually there with in creating the
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tracks right um certainly with letting
5:56
go we wanted to get the feel of an our
5:59
green track and there was a bit of an
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issue actually it's a great story of
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this you don't mind me do with it that's
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why you're here we're not bored at all
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well as it happens we sent out and it
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got like an 8 inch deep snare drum
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because was to get this hell green now a
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week before that in time out magazine
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there being this great article about
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Robert Mitchum and Robert Aldrich they
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were making the film farewell my lovely
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and Robert Aldrich was is a really top
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American film director done some great
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films and obviously Bob Mitchum was a
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big Hollywood star so they come to a
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part in the film where Robert Aldrich
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the director asked for Mitchum if we
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could do that line again because he
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thought he could do it better and Bob
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Mitchum says no he can't do it any
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better that's the best he can do so
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evidently there was a silence on the set
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because you've got the big the big
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director and the big star anyway Robert
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Aldrich capitulate says okay okay and
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they carried on shooting now at the end
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of the day of filming they they do a
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thing called looking at the rushes and
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when they showed that saying Robert
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Aldrich walked up to Bob Mitchum shook
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his hand I said you were right that's
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right so what happens when you made
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records in those days I'm not up to
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speed with today but you made records as
7:25
the whole group and then you normally go
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into the control room which had the late
7:30
great Geoff Emerick only passed away a
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few weeks ago who was the genius behind
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all the Beatles sound you know all their
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unusual sound things so we go into the
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control booth and they played the track
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which is done letting go and then
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there's always this like pregnant pause
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and silence after it's playback and
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someone usually pipes up because you
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kind of listen to yourself no I could do
7:58
yeah it's not good enough or it's not
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right and it's that the other so you've
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got all this negativity going around the
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room and then they said well what do you
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think Jeff what do you think of it and I
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just did a Bob Mitchum you see I just
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said I can't do any better than that
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and we've got it but you don't realize
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it so there was silence on that was like
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oh wow so I said tell you what Paul's
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house at that time was just around the
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corner from Abbey Road I said why don't
8:29
we someone on the road crew and get an
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Al Green album before we let the
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computers new they just died up and
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compare it stop showing us that we took
8:39
that too bright and then that kind of
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rarities with the Al Green so up in the
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control booth again put on our green and
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we put on letting go and we all dance
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around the room because we know it got
8:54
it and I I knew but all I was doing was
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quoting Robert Mitchum yeah I've got my
9:00
courage from his article shall we ever
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listen and then go yeah because I'm not
9:05
really happy with what kinda they added
9:06
a lot of brass it kind of killed anybody
9:09
killed a bit of it for me but I haven't
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heard it in a long time so maybe I
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changed my mind
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