"Planet P Project - 25th anniversary edition"

Planet P Project – 25 years on

As you might know, I moved to Germany after my little adventure with Rainbow. I had a 'name' as a keyboard player, and not much else....

I finagled my way into a situation in which I had free use of a recording studio after hours. There was a grand piano, and I started writing songs. All night long....
By 1980 I was recording anything that came into my head, all day, every day, having proven my sincerity, I suppose. The next logical step was a record deal. I had a few hundred pieces lying around, and I was ready to Conquer the World (like every other songwriter before or since)....

We found a label to release 'Jamie', my first American single. My mom heard it on the radio in Fresno, to her astonishment and delight. She might have been the only one; the single didn't attract much attention and quietly disappeared. So, on we went....

The newly-formed Rocshire Records wanted to sign me and release 'I Won't Be Home Tonight'; I flew over to LA to talk to them and remember thinking 'stretch limos, huh? I could get used to this.... ' Ah, the bloom of youth – how could a startup label afford firstclass flights, five-star hotels, and limos? More about that later....
'I Won't Be Home Tonight' made quite an impact. It was on everybody's chart of something-or-other, all over the radio. My mom, of course, was ecstatic.

At the same time, Geffen Records took an interest in and signed 'Planet P', releasing the single and video 'Why Me?'. If you have a copy of that album, it's REALLY rare because almost immediately, we were sued by a disco group called 'Planet Patrol' for copyright infringement. The second printing included a name change – 'Planet P Project' – which I've used ever since.

The deal with Geffen stipulated that I wasn't to appear in any PPP videos or do any personal promotion, as it was in obvious conflict with the 'Tony Carey' album that was doing so well.

So there I was, living in my two-room flat in Germany, with two record deals in America and both records doing well. And I was still slogging away writing songs. Then the fun part: It turned out Rocshire Records was 100 percent funded by embezzled cash from Hughes Aircraft – the owner's wife was the comptroller – and everybody went to jail. 'I Won't Be Home Tonight' became the property of the IRS, and still is. Ya gotta laugh.

NOW, to this 25th Anniversary Release of 'Planet P Project': I've included two 'disco maxi remixes' of 'Why Me?', which were all the rage in the 80's, and the original demos of 'Power Tools' and 'Why Me?', both in their instrumental, two-days-in-the-studio, versions.

The original PPP concept featured a character called The Ranger, who was actually the protagonist in 'Static', 'Power Tools', and almost everything else. He fell by the wayside as the album developed. One song, 'Ranger to the Rescue', didn't make the album; this allowed me to rephrase the rest of the lyrics to first person singular. In the demo to 'Why
Me?', that's The Ranger on the megaphone.
My mom loved this record; I hope you will too. My brother Dave plays some of the songs in his hobby band, which is the next best thing to immortality. He's picky.

P.S. Special thanks to Smitty and Leonard for locating the ancient material...
Betti Bauer for www.truebeliever.de...
Oliver Engstrom for his great graphics...
Jules cause she's smart and funny and as the credit card ads say, that’s priceless...
And of course, to Sylvie and Joey for Just Being There. It isn't always easy.

tony carey
germany
fall 2008