“Yeah, he was under so much criticism at that time with the other two doing so well, and he was possibly overshadowed by them. George had All Things Must Pass and Lennon was doing well with Phil Spector.

“But I’ve always regarded Paul as musically the cleverest of the four. It’s just taste. I prefer the stuff he’s done as opposed to the other two.”

With the Pink Floyd, Parsons won a Grammy award for his engineering expertise on Dark Side of the Moon and cites his involvement with them as a landmark in his career. After the Floyd experience, he’s learned enough to become a producer but still has vivid recollections of Floyd’s response to recording.

“They were very, very unenthusiastic about making records. Some of the songs on Dark Side of the Moon were tremendous, but they just treated it all as just another day of hard work. They’d want to go home and watch football or Monty Python.”

“They were the most laid-back people as far as enthusiasm was concerned. I think it was a combination of superstardom and the fact that they were aware the record was their best yet and they knew they were onto a good thing.”

Parsons says that if he hadn’t worked on the Floyd album, he’s sure he wouldn’t have been able to step right into production, where his major conquests to date have been Cockney Rebel, John Miles, and Pilot.

Of Steve Harley, he says, “I’d heard that he was a strange customer, but I found this not to be the case when I worked with him.” And of his famed ego: “It’s there, but I’m still not sure whether he does it as a front for publicity or not. He thrives on knocking other people’s music. It’s egomania really, on a musical level.”

“I think, though, that he is extraordinarily talented, especially as a lyric writer. His way of projecting lyrics through pop is extraordinary. His facial expressions seem to come through on the plastic.”

Parsons’ involvement with Harley and Rebel ended before the last album, Timeless Flight, when Steve decided to produce himself. It’s also noticeable that the album was a relative flop.

Parsons failed to give Pilot the widespread recognition they desperately sought, and the band recently acquired the services of Roy Thomas Baker to produce their new album.

“I don’t know whether it was on a musical level or whether it was the way they were being promoted. They fell into the teenybop thing and couldn’t get out of it. 10cc managed to walk across the bridge to the other side but the strange thing is that in the States when you have a Top 10 single, as Pilot had, you automatically sell albums.

“There had to be something wrong somewhere when this didn’t happen. It’s almost inevitable that they’d feel they weren’t being produced properly. I obviously don’t agree with them.”

The loss of Rebel and Pilot has been more than compensated, though, by the addition to Parsons’ fold of John Miles, who, despite all the hype that accompanied his entry to the big time, has earned substantial credibility. Parsons is in no doubt about Miles’ ability and says he is easily the greatest artist he has ever produced—”He’s one of the true greats. I think he’s the greatest I’ve ever worked with as a performer. He’s so 100 percent there.”

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