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It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004)
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You are my god. My inspiration, my everything. He's on a different level now, how he listens... ...how he plays records. I think he's very special... ...because no other DJ can do that. I don't know what he was doing, whether he was... ...honing his talents in another direction. He just disappeared from the scene completely. It was really depressing. I mean he's probably down in South America, still hanging out. Probably trying to snort up one of the countries, or... I don't know, he's just... I like to think he's still out there. Frankie, I'm curious. Can you tell me about your flip-flop collection? I'm a bit of the lmelda Marcos of the flip-flop world. Flip-flop, for me, is perfection. And sometimes if I'm stuck and I can't mix, I can't... You know, I'm a creative person. I'm an artist. So sometimes I just stare at a flip-flop for hours. I'm not joking. I'm being serious, yeah. - Really? - Yes, I do. Recently, you've been married... ...so how is it now being a husband? - An "ass band"? - Husband. - Oh, husband. - Husband. A husband. Yeah, it's very nice. It's what I've... Say hello! Hello, lbiza! DJ! DJ! DJ! DJ! This is Pete Tong, you're listening to The Essential Selection. I'm sitting across from Frankie Wilde. How are you, Frankie? I feel like a star, man. Eleven years. Eleven years in Ibiza... ...playing some of the best clubs in the world. - How do you feel about it this year? - What, mate? It's your 11 th year, Frankie, playing in Ibiza. You must be thrilled. It's been fucking hot, ain't it, here, the last week? God. I mean... ...think about... You're old, like me. You're an old geezer. You remember that martini campaign in the '70s? "Martini is" Dot, dot, dot, dot. Remember that? When I was a kid, that wow-ed me out, man, bigtime. It's like, "is" what? What the fuck is it? What the fuck is martini? But I was young, and I didn't really understand. And now I'm mature... ...and I've lived 38 years, and I can confidently say: "Lbiza is" Dot, dot, dot, dot. You know what I mean? And that's really nice. It's really nice to be able to feel that. There's spunk everywhere on this island. Everyone's done it, and they've been free with it. They haven't done it to make babies. They've fucking swung out and spun a bit out... ...and it's hit a plant, and that's grown. Wall, and there's vines and ivy and shit. It's all spunk. Look at this lot out here. Look at them. They all love it. They fucking love it. - Who out there likes to fucking party? - Yeah! I can't hear you! Who out there likes to fucking party? - Who likes to fucking party? - Yeah! Frankie was definitely one of the best. He had his very, sort of, own style... ...his very own momentum with the crowd. No one else did it his way. He's a showman as much as he is a musician. He controlled the crowd musically and physically. He was a born natural behind the turntable. There's no doubt. I was jealous of that. I always had to try a bit harder. Super, super, super, loco. Frankie was cruising along, doing his thing... ...getting all the attention that he needed. And then he met Max. No. Hey, tell him it's like a wasp just stung my clit, yeah. I don't give a fuck if he's religious. Tell him anyway. Fuck him. Bye. Anyway... A bit of a tosser. Not my sort of person... ...but absolutely took him to the next level. I love you, Max! Max first brought Frankie to my attention. I knew he had what it took behind the decks... ...but it turned out that Frankie really understood the music production side. You know, knew his way around a studio. Do you think we're making a jazz album? I'm just right in the middle of going all the fucking way. Should we swap them over for some brushes? You know: Start fucking hitting those drums. Start banging those drums like you bang your fucking sister! Clear, Siegfried? That's the first one. So I signed him straightaway. And Frankie delivered. It was massive. Come out of car windows, in the supermarket. Even my grandmother... ...would whistle that tune when I went to see her in the nursing home. Frankie met Sonya when they were on the video shoot to "Rise Again." Oh, man. I mean, everybody knew that she'd been about. But he seemed to like that. I mean, that was his thing. You know, I mean, even I'd had a go at her. 15-love. I was thinking, you know how Paul Newman's got... ...his salad dressings and that? So why not Frankie Wilde hummus? - That's a good idea. - People come and see the gigs... ...they say, "Fuck, that was a great set, Frankie." I'll say, "Cheers, mate. You want some hummus?" - You know, just as a thing. - Yeah. Quite a good name for an album. How's that? Frankie Wilde, Hummus. What, call my album Hummus? - Yeah. - I don't think so. I've got good ideas, Frankie. You should listen to me. If I've got my own hummus brand and my album's called Hummus... ...it's getting a bit much. - I think it's a good name. Why don't I change my name to "Frankie Hummus"? No, it sounds good. Yeah. I think a lot of people tolerated her because she was Frankie's wife. At the end of the day, I think she was partying with everyone else. I didn't like her. I didn't think she was good for him. - I fucking hate you. - I fucking hate you. - And did I fuck her? - Yeah. Yeah, I fucked her. Legend has it that Frank's problems started undramatically. It was the simplest thing that kicked it off. It was years and years of noise was the basis of the problem. But the very beginnings of it, in his life, started very plainly. Frankie's problem was quite a common problem amongst DJ's... ...an occupational hazard. They work in the clubs. The noise just takes its toll. Someone like Frankie, having a problem like that, I thought: "This geezer's gonna go. He's gonna lose it." And he did lose it. I watched him lose it, slowly but surely. Fucking come on, then! I think we could have the Spanish look, I like this color for the water. Perhaps maybe that one, Japanese. Frankie. Morning, honey. Oh, Frankie! Come here. I want to ask you something. - Morning. - Morning, sweet... You all right? If we go for the Spanish look... It's for the garden. - A bit of both. - Okay. Little bit of both. - We can do that, can't we? - Yeah. Fuck! Fucking hell! You all right? His hearing was fucked. But he tried to keep working and plow through. You know, put the horse blinkers on. Ignore the problem, and it'll go away. You know, always works for me. Can you tell us what's happening with the new album? Have I got a spot? Have I...? - No. - It's fine. You're perfect. You're perfect. Your fans are curious about the new album. They have to know. It's good. It's going really well. It's going really well. Been bending the sound, sort of. I've been forging it. With a lyrical smelter. Yeah. - Not as beautiful as you. - Thank you. And I got these two... ...like, Austrian mates... ...who are stoking the fires. Everybody should have at least two Austrian mates. Everybody should have at least two. When can we expect the new album to come out? - Soon. - Soon? Ish. Can I have a word? Can I have a word? Yeah. It's good? I took a call just before, a couple of hours ago. I forgot to mention it, but I need to... I need to... The album people, they want the lyrics for the sleeve. I just need you to write them down. We can pop them off. Get them off and we don't have to worry about it. No, no, we never write them down. That's it. What else did you sing after that? Frankie. Frank. Frank! What? Have you got a condom? - Have you got a condom? - No, I'm not gonna fuck her. I'm knackered. I'm just gonna have a nosh. Frankie! Frankie! Frankie! Well, denial is a river in Frank, and it runs deep. And his sets were shambolic on times. Clearly, could only be the work of a man who couldn't hear. It wasn't pretty, but, you know, for me... ...for someone that has gone through something like that... ...to still get up there and give it a go is a big thing. Off! Off! Off! Off! Let go, fuckers! Fuckers! Fucking fuckers! - Because they dangle when they're cold. Yeah. Now, listen very carefully, okay? It's very important. This is very important. I have cancer, okay? And I'm very delicate. So they have to be very gentle. - Hey, Frank. - All right? - How are you? - All right. - Attaboy. - How you doing? Good, good. Motherfucker. Listen, I had that dream again. I was sucking my own cock. But this time, I don't have a huge cock. I have a normal-sized cock. No spine. My spine disappears. So my head, it just flops down onto my... Anyway... - You all right? - Yeah. Sit down, sit down, sit down. Look, I was just talking to the label... ...and they'd like to see a couple of tracks. The label would like a couple of tracks, Frank. - It's coming. It's coming. - Yeah. The tracks are coming, man, relax. Don't worry, mate, it's fine. - It's all right. - I saw your show last night. I tell you, I really fucked up last night, man. - It's my call. I picked the wrong set. - It stunk. It stunk like shit, Frank. It stunk like... Well, like you shit your pants... ...and you just sat in it for a week, and then you shit yourself again. That's how fucking bad it stunk, Frank. - It was shit, yeah? - It was shit, Frank. Yes, it was shit. I tell you, the fucking monitors at that place. You know, I'm fucking mixing my heart out. I can't hear a fucking thing. We gotta have words with them... ...get this sorted out, otherwise we blow that place out. - I couldn't hear a fucking thing. - Right. Because you might be deaf, Frank. - What's that? - You could be deaf, Frank. - What you saying? - You are deaf. - Can't hear you, Max. - You're fucking deaf, asshole! Who the fuck you fooling, Frank? You're talking like a 95-year-old war vet. Frank, you need professional help. I'm thinking about getting some professional help. Yeah. Yeah. Fuck it. Hello, Frank. Come in, Frank. Frank! I don't want you to panic, Frank. I've got some bad news for you, though. You're going deaf. Completely deaf. As you know, your right ear is completely shot. Your left ear, that's this one, has got 20 percent left. You were born with little holes in them... ...and slowly the fluid pressure is dropping. Can't you just plug it up with some ear putty or something? The ear organism, it's way too sensitive and delicate for that. Surgery doesn't work. Cochlear implant doesn't work. You've gotta stop exposing yourself to so much noise. What do you mean by that? It means that if you listen to absolute silence... ...your ears are gonna last a little bit longer. They're crumbling as we speak. Stop the drugs, Frank. Stop the drinking. Go to bed at a decent hour. We can give you a hearing aid that gives you temporary hearing... ...but that damages the ear even further. - Speak up. - These are the facts, Frank. These are the facts, Frank. We can't change them. You are deaf, man. You are a deaf man. This is costing me 2000 fucking euros an hour. Chuck me a fucking bone! This is your hearing aid, Frank. Use it only when you have to. Only when you have to. - Only when I have to. - Right. Only when you have to. Got that? No exceptions. Can you keep on gigging? Frankie? Can you keep on gigging? Can you keep on gigging? I love them both, you know? I love hearing, and I love DJ'ing. I was thinking this morning maybe I should write a book. That's a brilliant idea. That might take years, though, so... Perhaps, like, a pamphlet. A sort of brochure thing. Listen, Frankie, l... I want to tell you that whatever your decision... ...I will support it wholeheartedly. You and me and little Kingie. That's all that matters to me. Deaf, dumb or blind, baby, we will get through this. It's brilliant to almost hear that. Fair play to the guy. I have no idea what I would have done in that situation. I mean, there he is. You know, he's between a rock... ...and you know, another rock... ...which is harder and bigger. Hi. I'm actually thinking about giving it a bit of a break. Of course I fucking love you. How can you say that? I just think we don't necessarily bring out the best in each other. Not always the best thing for me. It's my problem. It's not your problem. You know what I mean? Why can't we just be mates for a little bit? I could just give you a ring every few weeks, you know? Just make it a little bit more casual. Couldn't we do that? It sounds like the caca. No. Is Frank there? Is this Frank standing in front of me? No, this is a drunken baboon drooling on the mix board. What in all of the heavens are you on, Frank? Are you fucking deaf or something? What's your fucking problem? They would laugh you out of Austria. I can hear them laughing now. Where is Frankie fucking Wilde, Frankie? Is he fucking gone? And the fucking, "Go away. Stay, stay, stay," huh? So you're deaf? You're deaf? Almost. This is like all the terrors and the horrors of the world... ...raining down on your skull. Last three months, it's really rapidly accelerated. But I've... I've got this. And I really thought I could do this job, man. I'll show you. Hello, Mr. Drum! Drummer! The left ear, there's still a little bit left. And this little fella is a fucking lifeline, man. But I can use it only when I have to. Long as I'm careful, I can hear more. - What? What has happened? - What? He was stone-fucking deaf. There's not much you can do as a DJ if you can't hear. Generally, the field of music... ...other than the obvious example... ...has been dominated by people who can hear. He was never gonna hear again. It was as simple as that. It was... ...gone. All right, Frankie? All right? Blink! Hola, mate. - All right? - All right. Good game? - Is it a good game? - Yeah, it's all right. It's pretty good. It's decent. Sonya in? Sonya in? Yeah, she's here. She's upstairs. - She's packing, mate. - She all right? She's leaving you, Frank. She's leaving you. For me. - Get in there! - Did you see that? Fucking hell! Fucking, how was that one, eh? Ter-fucking-rific! - Yes, brilliant, wasn't it? - Want a line? Not right now, thanks. Cheers. Frankie. - You all right? - Yeah. I'm leaving you. I'm gonna take the tiger. That's mine. And I want those ones, obviously, because they're mine. And you can have the sculpture that your mother bought us. Aren't you upset, Frankie? Do you wanna say anything to me? Anything at all? Frankie! Where the fuck's the album, Frank? Where the fuck is the album, Frank?! Where the fuck is the album?! It smells like shit in here, Frank. What the fuck's happened to you? What the fuck happened to you, Frank? I don't know what this is. I don't know what this is. This is bullshit, Frank. This isn't how you take on things, huh? Listen... Maybe this isn't the worst thing in the world. Take some fucking time off. Go in the sun for fuck's sakes, huh? Eat a lot of fruit, get some fucking vitamins in you. Vegetables and greens and shit. I can't... You know, there's... I was reading yesterday... ...there's a fish, it's called a zebra fish. Has little hairs on it. And somehow, they can implant that... I don't know. It's too fucking hot. It's always too fucking hot. I can't help you. I don't know how to... I don't know how to help... - I don't want to help you. I can't help you. I didn't want a deaf DJ on the label. I didn't want the company to be touched with the deaf stamp. Well, business is tough... ...and sometimes you have to make awkward decisions. And I've made harder decisions than dropping the deaf DJ. Frank just locks himself up in his room... ...didn't come out of his villa for a long time. He had this theory he was gonna get his hearing back... ...by having complete silence. He wanted to rest his ears completely. He hired people to bring in supplies for him to the villa. The only accounts we have of Frank during this period... ...come from various drug dealers. He was in a very dark place. I love you too. - Where is Frankie Wilde today? - What? I haven't... I haven't talked to him in almost a year now. I've heard some stories. This guy supposedly saw him in New York... ...wearing a garbage bag for a hat and shoeboxes on his feet. And he... And he had a rock... ...and he was trying to eat it like a sandwich. I don't... I don't think Frankie would do that. He looked like a bum. He always looked like a bum. But he had a really special bond with the homeless. Hello. Hello? Hello. Is this where you come if you want to learn how to read lips? Of course. You want to learn? I've got no idea what you're saying, darling. I can't hear anything. This is the place, yeah? They look like a couple of cunts. I don't know how to lip read. Maybe you should write something down. I can't hear you, and I can't read lips. So we need to get started somehow. So, maybe, write something down. Temper, temper. Watch. Concentrate. Watch my lips. Watch... ...lips. Tongue. Jaw. One's facial expression... ...gesture. Lip reading... ...is about seeing... ...feeling. Fill in the blanks, Frank. Stepdad. Husband. The quick brown fox. - The. - The. - Quick. - Quick. - Brown. - Brown. - Fox. - Fox. - Jumps over the lazy... - Over the lazy dog. Faster. The quick brown fox... ...jumps over the lazy dog. Good. Good. Fucking good. They all speak English here. Don't worry. Scotch neat, please, mate. Double Scotch neat. - Is that okay? - It's very good. See what he comes back with. To my lips. Cheers. You and me got the same hobby. Another one? What can I get you? Scotch neat, please. Double Scotch again. In England, it means "fuck off." Very similar gesture. Fuck off. Double. Double fuck off. Waiter! Double Scotch, please, mate. No, more. What do you want to drink to? Do you want to drink to something? Who's Simon? Silence. - Who is he? - Not Simon, silence. - Are you finished with him? - Good. Great. I know what I could do. I know what I could do. I know what I could do. Fuck the DJ lark. You know on TV, you got a little ugly bird... ...bottom right-hand corner, doing all this business? I could do that. I could be a cool one. A cool little fucker in the corner of the box. I could. Think positively. Yeah. "Are you going down to Pacha tonight?" "Oh, no, mate. No, I'm staying in because Frankie Wilde's... ...at the right-hand bottom corner of the TV tonight... ...doing the fucking hand jive. It'll be brilliant." You finish? You finish? There's nothing wrong with being deaf. I'm deaf. Trust your other senses. Your sight, your smell and your touch. Just relax. It will come. It just takes time. It will come. Well, Frank's system was ingenious, and with the weight of his sight... ...he proclaims that he began to see a rhythm in everything... ...a pattern in the visual world around him. You know, could see music. Frankie had worked with this all his life... ...and then he realized he was able to piece together... ...those sets that he used to do. And... Hey, presto, you know, four to the floor, returneth. I once stole 500 quid from your wallet, in the studio. Well... ...it's only money, eh? No big deal. And it was me who stuck that scaff bar... ...through the windscreen of your Merc. - It wasn't that Asian kid. - Well, he's probably out now anyway... ...so no harm done. I shagged Twila. For three years. Because you're a mate, yeah... ...I only ever made love to her bum. She doesn't like it in the bum. Have a listen to this. Tell me what you think. Yeah? Open the door! Frank! Frank! Open the fucking door! Open the door! Frank! Frank! Open the fucking door! Do you want some more coffee? Frank! Frank! Open the door. Open the fucking door. - So? - Oh, Frank. Oh, God. - Yeah? - Oh, God, it's good, - Fucking good. - It's good? Okay, it's fucking hot. First off, did you...? Who's this? Max, this is Penelope. Penelope, this is Max. Hi, Max. Hi. Forget it. Look, Did you mix this? - Yeah. - Did you produce this? - Yeah. - Oh, fuck. Fuck it, Frank. It's gold. Fucking gold. It's beautiful. Tell me! I haven't heard it. It gets in your fucking chest. I've never heard nothing like it. Fucking: Like fucking heart. It changed... What...? What do you mean you haven't heard it? What do you mean? Well, I haven't heard it. Why? I'm completely deaf, Max. Completely? Yeah. Nothing. To the handicapped. Sorry. The first time I heard Hear No Evil... ...I was like, you know, "Whatever." But then Max told me Frankie's story... ...and the penny dropped. People love a good tragedy. People love handicaps, frankly. It gets them emotional, you know. So I'll get on that deaf train with a wheelchair ramp. No problem. First-class ticket, please. I don't see why we should limit ourselves to deaf people, really. I don't want to reveal too much either... ...about where we're going. But it's gonna be big. It's gonna be big, and it's gonna be handicapped. Imagine all the deaf people, all the deaf people in the world. Imagine all the deaf people, all the deaf people in the world. They need a fucking hero, Frank. They don't have a fucking hero. There's no deaf hero, huh? It's you, Frank. You're, like, the fucking link. You're drawing all the deaf kids that are screaming, with no hearing. They're yelling out to... Who's gonna listen? Not other fucking deaf kids. They can't hear, huh? You. You're the fucking voice, eh? And wait. Wait. You're gonna love this. Can you hear me? "No, I can't hear you, Max. Are you trying to make me money?" Yes. I'm making you money. Okay. Fuck, look... ...that is just the fucking beginning. I wouldn't put my name to any old product. If I could describe it... ...as bad speed in a can. We've all had bad speed, haven't we? I'm just gonna have a sip. I can't resist. Fuck. He made disabilities cool. What's with the fucking ear? The ear, that represents your deafness, okay. Deaf people hate their ears, see. Don't they? See? So it's symbolic. So you're gonna smash it. The deaf kids are gonna go fucking nuts. Don't actually hit the ear... ...because I'll put some glass on that and turn that into a table. It's wank. I'm sucking deaf cock for you, mate... ...and I'm fucking choking on it. - All right, first off, okay... ...you're sucking show-biz cock. But look, this is gonna be good money. This is all about cash. Shitloads of cash, Frank. And better than that... ...Sonya can't get her grubby fingers on this fucking money, understand? - This is Sonya-free cash. - He's not a whore! Look, Frank, okay? You're not giving me any fucking positive feedback. I need fucking... You know what really fucking bothers me about you? The fact that you think art just fucking happens. It's just free. Like these people just took out... ...time from their fucking day to come down here... ...and do a bunch of shit for nothing. What you gotta realize... ...is you're a hero. That's what the yellow's about. You make fun of me on that jacket. I picked that jacket. Deaf kids all over the world are gonna see that yellow. They'll run out, they'll buy that jacket. Two, maybe $300. They're gonna run around, proudly deaf... ...all just yellow, fluorescently deaf... Sit down. Charlize Bondo, Ibiza Beat. Frankie, can you really DJ as a deaf man? How is that possible? - They murmuring? - Yeah, quite a bit. I'm an honest man. And I can tell you that this album was made... ...completely without the aid of my ears. And at Pacha next week, I'll be DJ'ing as a deaf man. And if you don't believe me... ...you know, fuck you... ...because I've got nothing, nothing to prove... ...to you sluts at all. - Okay. Okay. Role model. - Nothing. - Wait a minute. Okay, role model. Listen. Listen to me. No. No. He loves sluts. Frank loves sluts. Now, I think what he's trying to say is... ...even though he feels he has nothing to prove to you... ...he'd be happy to prove anything you want, to you. It's important that we all realize that this is a major comeback from a rock. You know, what he's accomplished in the last few months is astonishing. He'll be at the Pacha nightclub. You can come down... ...and watch him mix yourself... ...and watch the miracle happen, okay? Because, you know, I realize, okay, that there are doubters in this room... ...which fucks me up. Because, you know... ...why would someone pretend to be deaf? I mean, that's retarded. That's ridic... It's not like he's fucking benefiting from this. It's a fucking obstacle. He can't hear a fuck... Your mom's a cunt. Nothing. Zero. Blank. This man, what he's done, fucking... It gets me in my fucking heart, what he's done. And you... You come down here, and you put on this big fucking show... ...like he's gonna fucking make shit up! Relax. Relax, man. All right. Next question. One more! One more! I thought it was amazing, you know, that somebody... ...that's deaf can actually... Can actually... ...you know, be a DJ. - Frankie Wilde, good luck. - Good luck. I just think that guy is so fantastic. He has a gift that no one else has. And somehow, he is gonna do it. Frankie! Frankie! Frankie! Frankie! The vibe that night was incredible. All the memories had come back, you know. He'd hit the depths... ...then he was just back. Pacha, Frankie Wilde, comeback. "Take this. Check this out." I've never seen an atmosphere like it. It was amazing. Frankie! Frankie! Frankie! He probably never thought he'd ever feel that again. And to come back and actually feel that and more... ...it was a great experience. Everybody in the room... ...shared the same experience. It was really, really special. It was kind of what dance music's about, really. He just had clubland sparking, bigtime. He just took the roof off the place. It was amazing. It was like he was an even better DJ... ...as a deaf man than he'd been before. It was incredible. Frankie! Frankie! We won it! Listen! Fuck! We're the fucking champions! We got the fucking award! This is it. This is our fucking moment! There's nothing... I can't... Fuck. What do you wanna do, buy the moon? We'll buy the moon! Doesn't matter. You don't understand, it's huge. Hold on. Okay, they're gonna come in. Fifteen minutes. They all wanna talk to you. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes, Frank. This is a big moment. Listen, it's important. Fifteen minutes. That's all they need. Tomorrow, big, fucking press conference. That's what we're gonna do. Very important, okay? - You have to watch. - Max? - What? What? - Can you do me a favor, mate? Anything. Anything. Could you leave us alone for 10 minutes? No. See, you're not listening. Okay, listen to me. Look at my lips, okay? Okay? They come in for 15 minutes of your life. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen fucking minutes. Frank. No, no, no, no. Frank, no. No. Frank. Frank, 10 minutes. Ten minutes. Ten minutes. Sure. Okay. Yeah. Fucking sure. What the fuck do I know? Okay, now. All right, now. Calm down. Okay, you're getting in, buddy. Don't worry. You I used to like. All right. You could do with some cheering up. All right. Okay. Hold on. Okay. Frankie? Frankie! Jesus Christ. Frankie! Frank! Fuck. There was like a flat line. It was... Still, to this day, I'm... That was it, gone. Frankie Wilde, bye-bye. Gone. And everybody was like that: Holding the baby. I've heard a story that he's running a record shop in Oxford. There's a story that he went to Fiji and then died of syphilis. But nobody knows. You know, I don't know where he is. He was another deaf guy with a deaf guy's needs. And he went off... ...to a quiet place. Although, I suppose that wouldn't make much difference. |
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