For those of us who were friends of Larry, and for anyone who has done ANY investigation, one will quickly realize that this film is simply a smear campaign from someone who has an axe to grind. It is shocking that Canadian Christianity hasn't done due diligence in corroborating the story BEHIND the film. Shame on you...you have become an accessory to the crime, and clearly your journalistic integrity is right up there with the film's producer.

why oh why,have you printed this distasteful rubbish. I hope youve checked the character of Mr Sabatino who seems to have an ego so big i couldnt get it all on my wide screen monitor. This cannot be called journalism and your magazine should be ashamed for printing such biased drivel.

I can't vouch for Di Sabatino's character but the questions that Larry's words and actions raised with MANY people are finally addressed by this film. Larry was great in some ways but we always knew that under the surface something wasn't right.

I distinctly remember that Solid Rock had 3 releases that we kept hearing about, but took forever to surface: Something New by LN, Horrendous Disc, by DA, and a new Stonehill release, not sure if we knew the title in advance. All of these were recorded about '77-78 and were released around '80-81. I seriously doubt that LN would have held up his own record if he just wanted to sabotage DA! I spoke to DA’s drummer Ed McTaggart of the Alarma tour as to why they left Solid rock. He just said “Mostly Larry, being too busy and too slow. We just couldn’t wait.” It should be noted that in the interim, Solid Rock put out 2 releases by Mark Heard, and one each by Tom Howard & Pantano-Salsbury. Hardly something someone would do if he wanted to ruin others careers. All of this can be verified on the relevant Wikipedia articles, and some of it can be found on the artist’s own websites as well.

According to the Patano-Salsbury bio on One-way.org, their old band was disbanded before they signed to Solid Rock. Larry did not change their name. They were originally called “RON SALSBURY AND JC POWER OUTLET” and you can read that on any scan of their album covers. When I saw the Pantano-Salsbury album reviewed in Cornerstone magazine, I recognized the name & immediately knew who it was. C-stone mischaracterized the music as “Christian Disco’ (it wasn’t,) and Campus Life mag gave an equally tepid review, so blame P/S for not having enough good material.
“The album didn’t sell?” Give me a break. NONE of these releases were going to be in the Michael Jackson multi-platinum stratosphere so they all were a “flop” by any objective standards. Pantano-Salsbury’s 1977 release “Hit the Switch” was less of the driving guitar rock of the JCPO days, more Jazzy/progressive like Steely Dan. A very good reason for the name change. Another band doing a similar style blew P/S away on their 1st 2 releases: DeGarmo & Key.

I don’t think CCM ever actually apologized for printing an opinion by Larry when it was an opinion, after all. I remember it more that they received calls from a lot of the people involved, understandably angry at what he had said, but they chose not to take sides.

Taking over someone else’s publishing rights is common. The Beatles never owned their own songs. I own a copy of the CD Release of Paradise and to me the characterization of Larry being very in charge of those sessions comes from statements in the liner noted penned by Randy himself.

Sorry, but too much of this is way too subjective to be taken seriously.

One other issue needs to be addressed: Form the article: ““By the time you get to the late 80s, early 90s… Larry…Rather than create new music, he began to re-record the songs that had made him famous.” In fact in 1993 I saw him when Stranded In Babylon was new and he released (at least) 3 more albums of new material and a couple of albums of covers of other artist’s songs or Christmas music. I never saw hardly any attempt at re-recording his own music, (other than live albums) unless some of those compilations that I never heard had new versions of old songs on them, but I assumed that wasn’t the case. In any event, this is just one more instance where I’ve noticed you have a tendency to spin things a certain way yourself.

myspace.com/kevinwayne

Why do so many in church find it so distasteful to acknowledge the truth? What in this article(or the documentary-which I've seen) smacks of a smear campaign? I, as one who has grown up in the church, for ALL of my 31 years, is refreshed by the sacrifice of people who are willing to take on the onslaught of the religious in the name of speaking truth. Who better to confess to the church's dirty laundry than the church itself? Wouldn't it have been nice to hear the Catholic church confess and rebuke the behaviour of some of its priests for the sexual misconduct we are now so familiar with instead of covering it? Are we not called to judge ourselves before God judges us? 1 Cor. 2:15 says that "the spiritual man makes judgments about all things". Furthermore, James 5:19-20 say, "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

Are we wrong to discuss truth? Of course, no one wants all the skeletons in our closet to be displayed for the world to see- that's the beauty of Jesus... he cleans out the closet. But if we are in unrepentant sin, it is our brothers and sisters in Christ responsibility to call us to account- ESPECIALLY if we are harming others.

I don't see the gospel flourishing due to those who sweep the untidy history of Christian sin under the carpet... I do see it flourish when we can be transparent about our shortcomings before each other so that no one is surprised when we fall, therefore showing that it is Jesus who makes sinners right before God, and not our impressive roster of "sin-avoidance" and legalistic rule-following that twists God's arm into judging us acceptable.

I merely see Di Sabatino's work as a service to us all to shake the false infrastructure of celebrity to the ground, so that we might not lift any others up to lofty heights that no one deserves.

Di Sabatino fan

First of all, I just want to state that John, the writer of this article, is a personal friend of mine. And that I haven't seen the movie in question. And that I am a fan of Larry's music and even sing his songs myself occasionally.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this article. In a way, it brought into focus my own ambivalence about Larry. In fact, it's probably the most balanced thing I've read about him. Well done!

Having said that, I still hate the thought of sitting down and watching the movie. The trailer is ridiculously sensationalist. And I already know a lot of the bad stuff and don't particularly want to sit through a bunch of people grinding their axes, no matter how justified they are.

Like a lot of people, I was also an increasingly bemused onlooker as Larry (or, more precisely, the public image of Larry - I didn't know the real man) gradually became a slightly pitiable self-mythologizing cartoon.

Although it seemed to me that a lot of it was just the way the people around him chose to keep eking out his diminishing output. It seemed that the less music he created, the faster the CDs came out. So it became a trickier and trickier marketing exercise. I guess people gotta live.

Larry had an absolutely enormous burden of expectation on his shoulders, in fact he really was in a similar situation to Elvis, Lennon or Michael Jackson. No matter where you go you meet a lot of people who are massive fans of his, even obsessed. I am guilty of the same thing myself - I held him up the same way as people would someone like John Lennon, except with the added, complicating layer of "the Christian thing". I'm the kind of guy who doesn't "go up" to my idols and harass them, but I witnessed people do it all the time on the few occasions I was around Larry.

For that reason I've always found it easy to forgive his behaviour. He couldn't have led a normal life because no matter where he went there were people wanting a part of him. That kind of adulation is difficult for anyone to cope with, as history attests.

Add to that the slings and arrows that he received from the Christian establishment - it's easy to forget just how conservative the church was back in the 60s and 70s, and how utterly outrageous Larry would have seemed. He would have had to suffer criticism and adulation in equal amounts.

Then there's the burden of having to follow up the incredible string of albums that he put out in the early 70s. Unlike the Beatles, he couldnt just "break up". He would have felt the pressure to keep coming up with brilliant songs and yet the output became slimmer and slimmer. There were still some beauties over the years (eg Goodbye Farewell), but he was never going to be such a major force again.

And on top of it all, he possibly did have some mental problems, and then there was the reported head injury in the airplane incident, which I presume is true.

And that's not to mention his physical health issues. We can make fun of him passing round the hat and then doing high kicks in the second half, and I used to groan a little every time he'd play up the ill-health thing, but, you know, he did actually become visibly frail and then die young, so I think he could justifiably have quoted Spike Milligan and put on his gravestone, "I told you I was ill!"

None of that excuses whatever lying and cheating might have taken place, but it might help explain it in part.

So, bottom line, I can still enjoy his music and his message. What Mr. Di Sabatino said about Jacob is true. And the Bible is absolutely full of flawed characters that God used. I don't let the whole Bathsheba thing put me off the Psalms, either.

It's a smear campaign to say he has a son he never recognized publically, but that he admitted to the same thing privately, to respectable friends of his? It's a smear campaign to print what people who loved him, and knew him personally say, because it's not the party line? Oh please.

If David Di Sabatino had the conscience of an average person we'd have to call an ambulance for him as he would be dying of embarrassment about saying on the one hand that Larry Norman lied about his history and spun it to make himself look good and then on the other hand letting an interview like this with so many factual inaccuracies go to press.

Denny Fridkin did not dislike Larry Norman. Denny left his home and job and moved house to look after Larry Norman whenhe saw how bad Larry Norman's health was at the time of the partial People reunion in 2006. David will never mention this fact in any interview or in any edit of his film because it does not fit with his claims that Larry Norman was defrauding fans by exaggerating his health problems while asking fans for donations to pay his medical bills. Speaking of which, all David offers as evidence for this fraud in his film is 1 anecdote from an ex-fiance following 1 concert in 1994 and this is supposed to back up David's claims that for 30 years Larry lied to everyone about having a brain injury and heart problems.

The whole Solid Rock family have not embraced David Di Sabatino. Half of Daniel Amos did not give interviews for Fallen Angel, Mark Heard is obviously deceased, Janet Heard was not featured in the film, Pantano Salsbury were not featured in the film, Steve Scott is featured in the film but very deliberately did not want to say anything about any negative sides to being involved with Larry and Solid Rock and has said in an interview with Gord Wilson that Larry Norman has not received enough credit for helping to launch other artists careers- something you will never hear David Di Sabatino quote because it doesn't fit his sublimely bizarre hypothesis that Larry only signed Randy Stonehill, Tom Howard, Daniel Amos, Panatno Salsbury, Mark Heard, Salvation Air Force and others so he could stop their LPs coming out and ruin their careers. Donnie Gossett has published a lengthy critique of David's "Fallen Angel" film from the point of view of someone who was on Solid Rock Records in the 70s (and like Steve Scott never got their album released). Anyone wanting to check this out then please go to the Cross Rhythms website and search for the Denny Fridkin interview with Tony Cummings where Denny speaks warmly about his present (at the time) friendship with Larry and reminices about his time in People. Cross Rhythms also have an interview with Tom Howard from last November where despite having taken part in the "Fallen Angel" film with David and knowing all the allegations contained in the film Tom alludes to some negative sides towards the end of Solid Rock but says he doesn't want to talk about those and was happy to speak warmly about meeting Larry, signing with Solid Rock and recording View From The Bridge. Most Solid Rock artists left tributes to Larry on the UK Larry Norman website after Larry died last year.

Another inaccuracy is David saying Larry's career was finished by the late 80s and early 90s by which point he was reduced to re-recording his old songs in his own garage. Someone whowas recording albums in their own garage inthe late 80s and early 90s was Bob Dylan and he still seems to be doing OK for himself having recorded part of both Travelling Wilbury'salbumsin his own garage and the Good As I Been To You album there too. If David hadn't stopped listening to Larry around 1990 he might have spotted that the late 80s and early 90s see the quality of Larry's songwriting and released albums improve dramatically after 5 or 6 years of disasterously bad releases from 1981 onwards (Roll Away The Stone, Barking At The Ants, Letter of the Law, Labor of Love, Down Under(But Not Out),Rehearsal 4 Reality and Back To America are nowhere near the quality of songwriting or production we expected from Larry in the 70s). In 1988 we get the first decent compilation album in the shape of White Blossoms From Black Roots. In 1988 we get a limited edition release called The best of The Second Trilogy- all studio recordings of songs said to be coming out on Home At Last (1989 - patchy), Stranded In Babylon (released in 1991 but with no Best of 2nd Trilogy songs present!) and Behind the Curtain - an album which was never released). So far in these 1988 and 1989 releases none of the songs were recorded in Larry's garage. In 1991 Larry recorded Stranded in Babylon in Sharon Studios in Saronsdal, Norway containing 13 new studio recordings ofsongs which had never been released anywhere else before. 1994 saw "A Moment In Time" released a collection of 10 new rough mix recordings done in 1993 in Sun Studios in Memphis. Copper Wires from 1998 featured 15 songs from Larry's birthday party events in 1997 and 1998 on the internet recorded in his home studio and mixed and mastered at Wavelength Studios in Salem. Shouting In The Storm was recorded on mainstage at the Flevo Totaal Festival in Netherlands and had additional recording and mixing at Hulst Studios in Zwolle and was matered at Wisselwoord Studios, Hilversum where 1998's studio rehearsals album "Breathe In,Breathe Out" was also recorded. Parts of Tourniquet (2001) were recorded in a studio in Norway in 2000. I may be coming across as pedantic but my reason for posting in detail on a few points is to show that for the most part when david opens his mouth and talks with seeming authority about Larry's life and music its factually inaccurate hot air and not actually very well researched.

Most of the people who are interviewed in David's film actually only represent a few specific years from the last 40 years of Larry's life. Denny and Rob from People the band Larry was in from 1966-68. Randy Stonehill, Tom Howard, The Daniel Amos guys, Philip Manguano & Holly, Steve Scott worked with Larry at Solid Rock at most from 1974-81.

Then you have a few people who didn't work with Larry but had interviewed him for CCM Magazine,one ex-wife (1971-80), one ex-fiance from the 90s and er that's it. A lot of people who worked with Larry from the 70s, 80s, 90's and 00s refused to speak to David.

If people watch David's film and seewhat bits David includes from his interviews with the likesof Denny Fridkin, Tom Howard, Steve Scott and compare that with what they are on record as saying about Larry elsewhere you'll notice he only includes stuff that fits with his own theories and that he homes in on the negative aspects people had. You learn almost nothing about Larry's time inPeople from Denny and Rob because all that gets included is the bits David wants to paint - the other members didn't know of Larry's faith and disagree about whether the debut album was always going to be called I Love You or not.The main thing David wants to get across about Larry's time in People is that it is the start of a pattern of Larry spinning his own version of recording sessions and relationships withother artists and record companies. I'm sure the average fan would have liked more info on what it was like being in the band and working with Larry and about their live dates, unrecorded songs, the making of their album with Larry etc but that's alloutside the remit of David's crusade to bring Larry down.

Elsewhere in his film David speculates Larry was abused and had mental problems but as usual its all vague stuff with no supporting evidence to back up the claims in what is supposed to be a documentary... and that's the default position of the film. Make lots of claims about Larry in 90 minutes and avoid givingany figures or documentation which actually shows that Larry ripped off Randy Stonehill financially, or shows that larry defruaded fans with untrue cliams about his health and so on.

This article is a really bad reflection on Canadian Christianity that something as badly researched as this can be published unchecked with complete disregard for the facts, and worse still made to look like it is an authorative carefully investigated account of Larry Norman's life and music. I'm sure David will blame the reporter for misquoting him (anyone remember all the inaccuaracies in the OC Weekly interview and similar in Phoenix Preacher?)

I've attempted to leave a comment on the article with David Di Sabatino. Hopefully you'll be good enough to include some or all of what I've posted and correct my typos where my wonky spacebar let me down! I realise that it was a long reply but believe me there are so many inaccuracies and so much spin from David that it really was just the tip of the iceberg that I covered. It would take a day's work at least to document the spin and factual errors attributed to david in the interview.

Since your magazine seems to be of the view that Larry Norman was a liar and it is hard to establish the truth based on anything the man said I have included lots of interview quotes from people David names in his interview as sources for his film and people who he claims share his view of Larry Norman. In most cases I think you'll find that when these sources are left to speak in their own words for more than a few sentences which back up a zany Sabatino claim they paint a very different picture from David Di Sabatino's portrait of Larry as a madman, liar, serial fornicator and fraudster. So here's what ex-People members and ex-Solid Rock Records artists actually say about Larry rather than what David Di Sabatino says they say... please notice there are glaring differences!!!

I have copied and pasted some of the interview with Denny Fridkin from Cross Rhythms website first published in August 2007.

In your interview with David, Denny is described as a member of People who disliked Larry.

In the Cross Rhythms interview here's Denny on meeting Larry for the first time:

"But once more Denny's chance of the music big time was scuppered by his mother. Reluctantly Denny went off to San Jose State. And there in San Jose he was to have his fateful meeting with Larry Norman. Recalled Denny, "I had actually decided not to be involved with music and knuckle down with my studies. But after a few days I started missing playing. I was already taking 15 or 16 units and I decided to add on or get into the jazz band. So, at least I could play a bit. So I asked my Mum if she would send my drums up on a Greyhound bus. So I'm on my way to pick up my drums at the bus station and I get there and they're not there yet. So I walk into this electronics store, not looking for anything in particular, just wasting some time, then I get this tap on the shoulder."
The man doing the tapping was a long haired singer/guitarist called Larry Norman. Denny recalled, "I just remember being so taken by his physical presence and his aura, you know, with that long blonde hair and his loving demeanour. I was a bit stunned but I think he just said, 'Do you play drums?' I said, 'As a matter of fact I do. I was just on my way to get my drums at the Greyhound bus station.' So then Larry asked, 'You want to be in my band?' I was living in a boarding house at the time, going to school. For the audition the guitar player and bass player came over and I set up my drums downstairs in this tiny little lobby. We probably had planned on doing more but I actually played only one song and sang 'Born in Chicago' by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. And they said, 'OK, you're in.' And two weeks later we're opening for the Dave Clark Five."
In your interview with David he claims the band fired Larry because he was difficult to work with. In the Cross Rhythms interview with Denny here is his memory of why Larry left the band. Once again it differs from how David tells the story in your interview:
"By the time the 'I Love You' album was released and the band undertook its first major tour of the USA in the summer of 1968 Larry Norman had left People!. I asked Denny why Larry left. "I'm sure you've got many interpretations and you have gotten or will get from the horse's mouth. As I perceived it at the time the whole band had gotten interested in Scientology, sort of culty thing. . . I was into that Ron L Hubbard stuff for a short time, a couple of years. Albert the keyboard player was the first one to get exposed to it and he came to rehearsal one day and was just all excited about it. But Larry was just not at all interested in it of course. The band was not into drugs and maybe we have Scientology to thank for that. We were minor marijuana users, nobody was a drinker or anything. So it was an unusual band in that respect and when we were on tour there was a lot of that [around] and we just kind of stayed pretty much clear of it."
I asked Denny whether Larry's strong Christian faith caused tensions in People!. "Not outwardly at first. But we were playing in Monterey, California with a makeshift stage and during the dragon killing, during the epic where he would use a microphone stand and mimic killing a dragon... The stage had separated from Larry and he fell and damaged his finger. In fact a piece of bone flew off his finger and blood was spurting out all over the place. He finished the song with his finger a bleeding mess. Shortly after that is when he announced that he was leaving the band. My understanding is God told him that he was to be doing something else. Larry said, 'I don't know what that is but I'm following the Lord.'" ... so Larry left of his own choice then to follow God's leading (as larry has always said) and not because he was fired by the band as David claims.
In the Cross Rhythms interview Denny also speaks about how he moved in with Larry in 2006 to look after Larry because he realised Larry's health was so bad he couldn't look after himself. In your interview with David all that gets said about Larry's health is that he exaggerated how ill he was so he could defraud his fans by play acting during concerts to appear more ill than he actually was so he could get more money from sympathetic and naive fans donating money in good faith that he really was seriously ill when he wasn't. Here's Denny again:
"Larry Norman had re-established contact with Denny and Gene Mason and a mini People! concert in Salem, Oregon was arranged. The People! reunion concert in April 2006 with the group's two original lead singers Larry Norman and Gene Mason was a minor marvel, the veterans performing such much loved oldies as "I Love You", the Fridkin-penned "Crying Shoes", Larry's "She's A Dancer" and the still relevant "We Need A Whole Lot More Jesus..." thrilling the audience. Recently a CD recorded made at the concert was released by Larry's Solid Rock Records. Said Denny, "After the concert I was on my way to Seattle. But I couldn't stop thinking that I needed to go back to Larry. I know now the pull was from God but at the time I was thinking Larry needed someone to look after him because he was in such poor health. Larry's son was living in the house with Larry but was getting married in August and would be moving out. I recognised that Larry needed somebody to look after him and a friend his own age. And so I just wanted to offer myself to Larry. I had my one small trailer load of belongings in storage there in Seattle. So he and Mike, his son, were about to take a holiday in Canada for a week and he said well, you're welcome to come stay at my house as long as you want. He didn't even get that I wanted to help him, he turned it round that he wanted to help me. So I caravanned down with him and Mike, followed them down to Salem. He asked me if I wanted to sit in on a Bible study. I said sure and that basically was that. That night I asked Larry for a Bible. I'd never read the Bible to speak of. Larry told me, 'For now, just read the bits in red.'"
In the same interview Denny explains how he and the other lead singer in People came to faith in the aftermath of their reunion concert with Larry in 2006.
Tom Howard is according to your interview with David one of the Solid Rock Records family who has embraced David and finally decided to spill the beans about how bad Larry was behind the scenes. Here's what he is on record as saying in an interview with Mike Rimmer in November 2008 (also for Cross Rhythms website). Mike notes Tom was guarded in what he says about the label's demise:
"As the '80s dawned, Solid Rock started to go through changes and not for the better. The same weekend I interviewed Tom Howard, I also attended a small party where artists and management, Solid Rock workers and friends all gathered together to watch a new documentary film by David Di Sabatino about the life of Larry Norman. The full story of that evening would make an article in itself but it seemed that as friends from those days talked about the events that caused the collapse of Solid Rock, they were still trying to make sense of it. 30 years have passed and still, they are not totally sure what happened.
From his perspective, Tom is guarded but says, "We were headed into a perfect storm from the tail end of the '70s. Larry's marriage was in a lot of trouble. People were splintering off. It turned into a soap opera there in the way that marriages were falling apart*. Why all of that happened is anyone's guess. But there were also business considerations; part of it was the policing that started happening with the parent company and part of it could have been interpreted as the 'shenanigans' that were going on right in the Solid Rock offices. Some of the fissures that started occurring just for me personally was that these guys started showing up that Larry brought in as new artists and they didn't have any particular spiritual, artistic or emotional connection with what Solid Rock was doing. I didn't understand why they were even in the mix. Not that anyone was guarding their turf but it almost felt like, 'What is really going on here?!'"
[comment from Dougie Adam inserted * In Fallen Angel the main angle taken on the demise of the marriage of Larry & Pamela Norman and Randy & Sarah Stonehill is that Larry had an affair with Sarah Stonehill which led to both divorces (in spring to summer 1980?). Larry is portrayed as the bad guy. No mention is made of that fact that by 1981 (one year later) Randy Stonehill had remarried as had Pam Newman... a fairly short space of time for getting divorced, meeting someone new, getting engaged and remarried. David's film doesn't question the motives of Randy or Pamela in any of this - it's ALL Larry's fault, just like the demise of a record label with around 20 musicians and managers is all down to Larry's failings while everyone else was always reasonable and had no major faults!]
Tom is too honourable to name names even 30 years on! "I'm just saying that all of a sudden the Solid Rock we knew and loved was being compromised in a very new business model that was coming in and I don't think anybody really understood what that was all about. Poor Daniel Amos were kind of caught in that morass and their album was put on hold. Daniel Amos and Terry Taylor in particular, came in late in the game but there is a case for instance where they felt like a hand in glove; they felt exactly like they should be there at every level - emotionally, the social, the artistic level. But because all these other ancillary artists were all of a sudden swarming around there and Larry had brought them in, the darkest reading of that is that the more artists he was bringing at that time the more record budgets he could wrestle out of Word. Honestly, I don't know what the whole intention was but it felt like all of a sudden something was being stirred which shouldn't have been; that's just what it felt like."
So how did it end for Tom? "With a whimper!" he laughs. "There was nothing explosive with Larry and I. Other artists had explosive endings, I didn't. Mark Heard was smart enough to run off to Switzerland so nothing happened there. Larry and I stayed in contact somewhat but I made a very smooth shifting of gears realising that although there had been talk for a year or two about a second Tom Howard record, it was not going to happen. I started being much more open to getting more into behind-the-scenes stuff and arranging. Fortunately with contacts that I had and with a certain amount of respect that I had garnered in the industry I could make a pretty painless transition out of Solid Rock, out of that whole thing. I did try an ill-fated production company with Terry Taylor called Rebel Base Productions and I did one record with that. It was a lot of fun to make but it didn't quite have the heart and the soul of the Solid Rock experience. It was more of a solo artist record and it got some good press but it didn't do anything."
So far this all sounds very different from David's quotes about Larry deciding he was going to deliberately try and ruin everyone's career including his own recording career!
Here's Tom speaking positively about his time with Larry and the other Solid Rock artists:
"In those days, the Christian music industry was in its infancy in the USA. There was a scene in California, in Los Angeles with Solid Rock and down the road in Orange County with music emerging from Maranatha. It hadn't yet moved to Nashville. Solid Rock's parent company, Word, was still based in Waco, Texas. Did that mean that the artists had more creative freedom? "There was complete creative freedom," he asserts, "because that's where Larry structured his production deal with Word. Man, we could have put out polka records and they couldn't have said anything! So when you're given that kind of freedom you also have a certain sense of intrinsic responsibility to do a really good job. But we did enjoy writing records that no A&R guy was going to come in and mess with.
In that era, many of those involved have expressed to me that the camaraderie between artists was extremely important. "Absolutely!" Tom agrees. "That was probably the most essential element of those years. We ate together, laughed together, cried together, travelled together. It wasn't like a cult or anything; I mean we'd go off to our own families and our own pockets of friendships but there was definitely a sense of gathering among that small handful of artists." Those early years of his career have been very influential for Tom's creativity in the decades that have passed since then. "I think the best art, as far as communicative art like music, that expresses and draws in communities of listeners is always a collaborative effort."
In those days, I asked him, just who was hanging out at Solid Rock? "The main players were Randy Stonehill, Mark Heard; but then there's a whole collection of people kind of brought in from different places. Steve Scott became a real good friend. Steve Turner would show up. I didn't know Steve Turner as well but he was really close with Larry and Randy. But every now and then we would be hanging out at the Solid Rock offices on the seventh floor of Hollywood Boulevard and some other artist would show up, like Randy Matthews; just a bunch of 'em would kind of come through. I think they basically wanted to hook up with Larry. Paul Stookey I remember at that point in time. Barry McGuire didn't come to us, we went to him, because Larry did a TV show with Barry during that time and I went down to the taping of it. But it was a real loose collection of very, very intriguing and wonderful people."
Here's Tom speaking about meeting Larry, signing with Solid Rock and making his View From The Bridge album with Larry:
"Tom tells me how a 26 year old singer/songwriter/pianist connected up with Larry. "I moved out to California and just started pestering Larry Norman with demo tapes!" He laughs, "I was living up in Santa Cruz, which is up in the Bay area; Larry of course was in Los Angeles. Finally I just got this bee in my bonnet and I got in my car and drove to Los Angeles and I called Solid Rock though it was called Street Level at that point. I got Larry on the phone and said, 'I've driven to Los Angeles and I would like to take you out to lunch.'"
The year was 1975 and Howard confesses, "I was just dumb enough to be dangerous and not know that you just don't do that with rock stars. But we sat down and had lunch and I was thinking that I would have 45 minutes in which to tell him what I'm about. Then, about five or six hours later we'd just talked about everything. We went up to his office, right there in Hollywood Boulevard, and I played him a few songs and he said, 'I want to do a record with you.' That day!"
Tom laughs at the memory of it all. "Larry was a very intuitive guy and he knew whether he wanted to work with somebody or not. I think it was very much a God's timing kind of thing. I mean even the fact that I was prompted to just drive down there and go for it, because I'm not that bold a person normally."
So what was Tom like at that period in his life? "I was driving a delivery truck in Santa Cruz and I was playing organ at a Catholic church," he remembers. "I was making demos on a four-track. I actually got quite aggressive in the demos and brought in a string quartet from UC Santa Cruz and brought in instrumentalists and stuff. That's the stuff I sent to Larry and he's kind of going, 'What's this guy doing with a string quartet on a demo?!'" Tom laughs and muses, "I wish I still had those because actually they were pretty interesting little pieces of music but I have no idea where they are now."
Things then began to gather pace as Larry Norman and Tom Howard started thinking about recording his debut album. Tom was back in Santa Cruz and when Larry visited his parents nearby they got together. Tom remembers how they started talking about one of the album's standout cuts, "One More Reason". He recalls, "I remember him sitting at his kitchen table and doing that little piano riff on the table. He could actually suss out exactly what I was doing and I kind of sang it and he goes, 'Man, we gotta record that!' I'm just going, 'Duh da, duh-da duh duh. . .' And he caught the vision right there because he's a musical guy. That was one of the songs that we had the most fun with. That song was actually written as I was walking home from the beach in Santa Cruz. It says, 'Blue Pacific on a summer's day, rushing in to meet the yellow sand/The view's terrific, I can see Monterey. . .' And I could see it!"
Recording a first album is always a memorable experience though for Tom it wasn't always for good reasons. "It was gruelling," he says simply. "The engineer had an agreement with the guy who had just built this studio and it was state-of-the-art, but the only way that we could get into the studio was to show up at midnight and work till eight in the morning. So that's why it was gruelling. Once I got used to that it was a very exciting process because all of a sudden I'm in there with really great players doing MY music! The first time out, it's just exciting I think for anybody."
Reflecting back from the 21st century, Howard has added musical arrangements to albums and created film and television scores so perhaps it isn't surprising that even his debut album has a certain cinematic feel. "I've always thought in cinematic terms when I write music; even some of the story songs and stuff. With my instrumental records for instance, one of the main comments I get is that it's kind of picturesque; that images do come from the music. That kind of stuff started more from a very recognisable vibe that I wanted to just put into a musical setting. For instance, 'She Likes To Look At Pictures'."

The song is one of the most moving moments on Howard's debut album. He shares the inspiration for the song. "I was working in a hospital and this elevator went up and down from the psych ward and there was this beautiful young girl, maybe 18 or 19 years old, and she was in this psych ward. She had her own little world that she was trapped in for whatever horrible reason and I remember her holding some celebrity magazine or something. But with the vibe that came off that girl as she was riding up the elevator with some doctor or something, I went home and wrote "She Likes to Look at Pictures". That's what that's about."
For me, living in England and buying this music, there was something about those records that stood out from the crowd. I can remember that they were pretty luxurious in terms of the way that they were presented. It was all kind of part of a bigger package and there was something very artistic about it. Was Tom aware of that? "Yeah," he responds, "there was a very conscious effort to present a bigger picture than a piece of plastic that has music on it. So for instance each artist did the interview section and the reason for that was to bring the listener in on the conversations that were going on within Solid Rock. There were a lot of readers; Mark Heard was a great intellectual as well as a fabulous songwriter and really, some of those interviews almost bounced right out of us sitting around drinking coffee and talking about this and that. So what we were trying to do was to portray an entire artistic community and what was going on there at that particular time."
Solid Rock in the late '70s was a very special place for the artists involved. It was a community of shared ideas and discussion. Artists would work on each other's projects and even tour together. It seems to have been a place where they were trying to create art that would cross over. Larry Norman in particular had a desire to not simply create Christian music but music that was from a Christian worldview that would stand up in the mainstream and that people could accept and be challenged by. Was Tom part of that debate? He remembers, "Well that was certainly a conscious thing going on and there were gentlemen's disagreements even within Solid Rock on that very issue. Some people thought you didn't have to say anything about Christianity to make an important statement of faith. And others felt that the name of Jesus had to be exalted. Even within the Solid Rock stable there were varying opinions. But I think the overall thrust of it was that it was better to be able to stand up at least on some level in the real marketplace."
"A lot of his work has been instrumental so does he miss doing vocal albums? "Well unfortunately I probably miss it more than any listener misses it!" he laughs. "I never considered myself a vocalist. I mean, I can carry a tune but that's not my main instrument. I actually went through a time where I'd be working with other singers and knowing in my heart: I could express this song so much better than you're doing right now because I can dig deeper. But I don't have the instrument to bring it forth! And it was frustrating in that sense but I've mellowed. It's helped me get into the mind and heart of other singers. And so now I'm a very good vocal producer. The answer is, I don't miss doing vocal things because that really was not my strength. But I had the privilege of making a couple of vocal records and I gave it my best shot. And Larry, who did my first record, was a very patient producer. This is way before auto tuning and that kind of thing so what you hear is what you got! We had fun with it though.
Here's Tom's tribute to Larry in the tributes page of the official Larry Norman UK website:
"At his core, I think Larry was a teacher. Growing up, as he did, with a career schoolteacher (his father, Joe) he took on a gift for the instructional that informed his performances, his art, and his life. The hours we spent together in the studio or just sitting around and gabbing were always infused with a passion for learning and taking in new ideas. In our early years together he was an able and patient teacher when it came to the craft of song writing. Larry's performances, satisfying as they often were musically, also had this teaching element, which enraptured his audiences. Larry contributed to my formative years in the recording studio, for which I will always be grateful.
Tom Howard"
Now does this sound like the same Tom Howard as described by David in your interview who didn't go to the funeral in case people thought he was publicly approving of Larry's life?
Here is Steve Scott's tribute to Larry on the same website. Sure, if you read between the lines there are hints that life with Larry and Solid Rock wasn't always rosey for Steve but here is still what he said:
"My last conversation with Larry was in 2005, I was in a dodgy little cyber cafe in the town of Sanur, Bali, checking my Email. There was a message from him asking after my health, life, and how things were going... I met Larry in England in the early 1970s. It was because of his and Randy Stonehill's enthusiasm and generosity that I initially moved to USA to try and make music and art. Larry, at his best, was committed to his own deep faith, his own abundant creativity, and being a source of empowerment and encouragement to others. His music and art opened the door and turned on the light for many many people all over the world... I'm not sure if there's a way of measuring the extent of his influence.
Steve Scott"
Here's Steve talking about Larry in an interview with Gord Wilson from April 2007 answering a question on how Steve came to reside in USA.
"Well, Larry Norman had expressed interest in my songs and we were seriously talking record deal. And as I say in the interview in Crying for A vision, there’s someone else who is a pioneer. I think he is due a lot more than he’s currently getting. Also, let's keep in mind that it was his initial interest in my work and the generous support of him and Randy Stonehill that made it possible for me to come here in the first place, just as the ongoing support and generosity from Louis and Mary Neely and Warehouse Christian Ministries made it possible to remain here. "
Steve doesn't appear to share David Di Sabatino's view that Larry tried to deliberately wreck the careers of all the Solid Rock records roster!
Shortly after Larry's death In February 2008 Gord Wilson posted a message on the official Larry Norman website giving further quotes from Steve Scott about Larry Norman:
"Larry said he was Only Visiting This Planet, and now he's gone home. While we mourn his loss here, we rejoice with the angels that he's home in heaven, and now there will be lots of great music when we get there. In the interview we did in Steve Scott's recent book, Crying for a Vision and Other Essays he says (among other things),

"Regardless of the pros and cons of Solid Rock and all the stories that swirl around Larry Norman, I do think he's made an immensely valuable, foundational contribution to the whole contemporary Christian music industry... and I don't understand how someone that everyone nods towards and acknowledges as seminal ends up apparently scrabbling to pay for medical bills.... The guy took all the bullets, created the market.... I'm just saying that in real world terms... he's owed a lot more than he's currently getting from those parts of the machine that benefitted most from his pioneering work."

Hopefully Solid Rock will release Steve Scott's Moving Pictures, which would both echo Larry's creative endeavors and help pay off still extant medical bills. I found out about both Steve Scott and Steve Turner in the liner notes of Larry's Barking at the Ants album. Since then, I've found both Steves to be as creative and engaging as Larry said they were, and I know Larry would want all his fans and friends to discover them. Steve Turner is a rock journalist whose latest book is The Gospel According to the Beatles. They were also friends, and Turner said of Scott: "Steve Scott is a rare individual with a deep love and understanding of Scripture and a passion for the arts". Peter Banks, keyboardist for the rock band After the Fire, known for "Der Kommisar" wrote, "A uniquely gifted musical poet? One thing you cannot do with Steve Scott is categorise him". Chris Well, in CCM called the book "a must read".

Steve Scott can be contacted at thescotts4@sbcglobal.net. Excerpts from the book may be read on Amazon.com. Review copies are still being sent out. Please write Gord Wilson at gordrw@yahoo.com and put "Steve Scott" in the subject line. -The Best, Gord Wilson, gordrw@yahoo.com, alivingdog.com. "
In March 2008 Steve Scott himself posted this message on Larry's official website:
"Hello. In the midst of all this brouhaha about who said what about who and where and when, in what newsletter, album sleeve or subway grafftiti I'm afraid we're possibly going to lose sight of an important value that Larry, at his best, exemplified. He consistently drew attention to the work of other people. Its one thing to namedrop the rich and famous. Its another thing to use your influence to draw attention to artists whose work otherwise might only find exposure among a small circle of friends. Here's a great `kingdom' principle that everyone reading this can put into motion (or continue in, for those of you already in practice)...for everyone, encouraged or influenced by Larry in some(however small) way...everyone that ever , picked up a guitar, strummed a chord, hit a piano key,wrote a song played a local gig or went national or cut an album independently or with a label....consistently think of four or five friends or associates that you know are trying to prepare, practice or promote their own creative work to the Greater Glory and get behind them, talk them up, recommend them, promote them and do anything else that is within your power to empower and encourage them. And keep doing it. It works. Steve"
Finally, I'd recommend you read Donnie Gossett's review of David's film. As he explains his review Donnie was one of those unfortunate people who signed with Solid Rock but nevr got their album relased by Larry's label. He knew a lot of the other artists and some of the background issues at the label. You can find his review at this URL:

http://www.donniegossett.com/Review/Film/FallenAngel/FallenAngel.htm

Ive just read that O.k magazine have printed a picture of Michael Jacksons last minuites on the front cover of their magazine. I never expected journalism too fall that low ,but the above article comes pretty close. Whatever happened to decency ,or has Christendom too secumbed to priting anything that brings in the mighty dollar.

The primary role of "christian journalism" . . . if there is such a thing . . . is to bring wholeness, healing, and restoration . . .

These were never the goals of david d and it is clear that they are not the goals of Canadian Christianity either.

Such myopic trash. You should work a bit at getting you facts straight . . .

O Canada!

Yes, clearly Canadian Christianity is to Christian journalism what the Weekly World News is to grocery store rags.

Presumably, the editors don't read these comments. You'd think that they'd care about the reaction to their magazine.

I'm ashamed of the state of Christian journalism in my country. It's nothing short of disgraceful.

good article on larry norman! I had no idea. But we've seen so much of this in the church...I think the truth is the best thing for everyone. I don't know why people would criticize your article? It's weird to me.
It was super insightful....but then again, I'm not threatened by imperfection in the church.

Hey Deb,

You have to realise that what you are getting here is NOT, "the truth."

Please re-read Dougie Adam's comments.

This is David Di Sabatino's usual formula of spin and half truths laced with inaccuracies.

I congratulate the editors (or author of the article) for correcting the factual inaccuracy where the identities Denny Fridkin and Robb Levin had been confused in a quote attributed to David Di Sabatino. Will you now look into correcting the other inaccuracies in the quotes attributable to David. In your interview with David he is quoted as saying Larry was rerecording his old songs in his garage... and this is supposedly typical of his output in later years. Will David provide any evidence to refute the credits which suggest the "Home At Last" (1989), "Stranded In Babylon" (1991), "A Moment In Time" (1994), "Copper Wires" (1998), "Shouting In The Storm" (1998), "Breathe In, Breathe Out" (1998), "Tourniquet"(2001), "Christmastime" (2003), "Sessions" (2004) would appear to have been recorded in bonafide recording studios in USA, Netherlands, Norway rather than in Mr Norman's garage? In David's previous interviews promoting the film there have been statements in the articles saying that Larry retired from public ministry for years after his first divorce in 1980 and was rumoured to be living in a cave near the Hollywood Hills etc when in fact Larry was living, recording, and performing in public in Europe. None of these factual inaccuracies ever get corrected. So please can David produce some evidence that Larry has lied about where these albums were recorded and mixed and mastered and if he isn't willing to provide evidence for these claims how about the editors removing David's claims where he isn't prepared to provide documentary evidence to back his claims up? I'll happily supply the editors with a list of people who were involved with Solid Rock Records in the '70s and a list of people who Larry has worked with since 1980 so the editors and readers can judge whether David's film really does have "dozens" of key people from every phase of Larry's career all telling the same story about him. Only 2 person who met Larry after 1980 are represented in the film! (That's 2 people representing the last 30 years of Larry's life). In all the spin coming from David its easy to miss the fact that no family members or friends or collaborators from the last 30 years participated in David's film. No one from any of the European labels Larry had deals with is represented, no European journalists are interviewed, none of the European bands and singers that Larry toured with or recorded with are featured and neither are any European concert promoters or any of the people who helped run Larry's American mail order companies Bill Ayers (Phydeaux), Kati Fischer (Street Level), Kerry Hopkins (Solid Rock) etc.

Thank you for writing and publishing the Fallen Angel article in spite of the controversy is was inevitable to cause.
It is helpful for the Christian community to recognize and talk about the fact that we are all fallen and continue to struggle. I had the opportunity to meet Larry Norman a couple of times (the band I was in even opened for him once) and I had heard rumors about his 'complications'. Still, he was a hero to me and his music an inspiration.
I think Larry was a prophet. And if you are a student of the Bible, you will know that God's prophets were always complicated human beings who continued to sin, had ego problems, and who much of the world would assume mentally imbalanced.
The fact was that Larry Norman had issues and the film Fallen Angel addresses this. But that's not a reason to dismiss Larry Norman, his music, or honest reflections on the person he was. On the contrary; his music is even more meaningful knowing that it came from someone who struggled with his demons, just like the rest of us.

I read this story and all the comments. I got bogged down with Dougie Adam though... just too much. Whether or not there were inaccuracies or things left out (when is it ever otherwise?) the over-riding impression I get is that this guy Norman was a human being who found out that accepting Jesus didn't change him the way the church tells you it does, and yet didn't want to give up hope - nor the image that people had of him. Sounds like me. His story sounds like it could be pretty interesting. I don't have much tolerance for contemporary Christian music but I'd probably like to hear some of his songs. John Cody’s comments help clarify one of my greatest problems with the church - that everyone tries to cover the truth about themselves. We'd be a much more authentic people if we didn't feel the need to project an image of love and satisfaction and fulfillment that most don't have in order to conform to everyone else in the church (who are trying to project the same things). This is such a disservice to the gospel and must be a disgrace to Jesus.

The passion of Larry Norman’s fans and respect for his pioneering contributions to Christian rock music notwithstanding, those enriched by Norman’s work and testimony now confront reports of his private life, the imperfect who dared take a stand for the Perfect.
Whether David Di Sabatino’s “Fallen Angel” documentary handles the less-than-admirable aspects of Norman’s life in as flattering a manner as the fans would like, Canadian Christian reviewer John Cody presents a balanced report on the issue of the fallible placing himself on the line to make his artistic statement.
The lesson is whenever an enterprise is built around a testimony for Christ, the spiritual battle intensifies; there’s no fallibility allowed. Who among us would welcome the pressure of keeping such a standard in public? At some point keep up appearances is inevitable.
Norman’s work was important, pivotal, a great contribution to faith expressed purely in visceral pop culture. It will stand despite, or perhaps alongside the story presented by Fallen Angel.
Writer John Cody’s observations serve to strengthen a balanced overview, possibly making us all more honest in assessing our own imperfect lives against our testimony for the Lord.
- Al Harlow

I grew up on Larry's music. I was and still am a huge fan of his songs and his talent. What he created, especially in the '70s, still sounds fresh today and in my opinion can be counted as not only some of the best Christian music ever produced, but some of the best pop music ever.

That said, none of the disclosures brought forth in the film really surprise me. I've read much about what Larry wrote about himself and his music, from his liner notes to interviews and other writings by him. Quite frequently I found myself reading his claims with a significantly raised eyebrow. The matters of his questionable relationship with Randy Stonehill's first wife have been well established before this film was released, so they come as no big shock (there was a good reason as to why Randy was out of fellowship with Larry for over 21 years). That alone should give us great pause to think before we start jumping on Di Sabatino for making the film and John Cody for reporting on it.

If we assume the film has its facts correct, should this information be brought out? Biblically speaking, if we give Larry an "eldership" status in the church (and it could be argued that there are many who have done so de facto), 1 Timothy 5:19 states that "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses." We have many more than that willing to speak in this film alone. As well, in Matthew 18:15, Jesus instructs says the following:

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church..."

Again, it does seem that the Biblical mandate was followed, and in the end, the church was told. This, of course, is assuming that the filmmaker and those interviewed are telling the truth (and if they aren't, then we have an even bigger problem on our hands, for we have gone from having one fallen angel to a whole host of liars). And that is the real issue. Is what Di Sabatino presenting here the truth, or at least as close to it as we can get in a documentary. For if it is, then I believe it is important that the truth about our heroes be known, even if it is uncomfortable. It stops us from idolizing them. The Bible does this over and over again, never shying away from the character flaws of many of it's greatest figures.

I will always be a fan of Larry's music, even after this film. May it remind me that a deeply troubled individual can still make something beautiful, something that brings glory to God, in despite of himself.

Have you no shame? Why dont you just crucify Larry Norman. Youve already stoned his reputation to death. Lets hope you never have to depend on people like yourselves. No mercy shown,none will be given.
I doubt this will silent you, Thirty pieces of silver is too tempting.

i hope you can live with yourselves after not actual doing your due diligence regarding this article... i worked and lived with Larry for a year in LA and no one from the film has interviewed me... no one from your paper has either... i saw and heard first hand many things but none as outrageous as what is being written... it is clear that the Norman family has much to say and needs the process to do so... there are many that had the same positive experience with Larry as i... i am so completely ashamed to have been formerly featured by this same "christian" paper and would have hoped for a more rounded and well investigated news release... this is utterly disgraceful... you should be ashamed... its is tragic! Brander "Standing Bear" McDonald

It is really difficult to listen to these people who had good experiences with Larry Norman think that there needs to be some sort of balancing act done here with this movie. The guy actively neglected his own child.

DONE... OVER... case closed. He KNEW that this kid was his. He named the kid in the will. And he set himself against the kid for no apparent reason.

That you played tennis with Larry Norman one afternoon and had a wonderful time sipping mint juleps... who cares?!!

A man that knowingly neglects his child while standing up on stage singing about the Christian life... are you out of your minds?

Facts, Evidence , Proof, none of which you supply. Lets hope your judgement at Gods throne doesnt consist of DONE ,OVER ,CASE CLOSED. No mercy ,depart from me. And all this doesnt change the fact that this Rag has sunk to the depths.

Since I am not a native speaker, I guess I´d better apologize in advance for some funny English which might appear in this e-mail of mine.
Nevertheless - I hope not all of what I am trying to bring across is going to get lost in translation.

Born in 1963 I grew up in the North of Germany, a typical 70th teenager trying to get out of this narrow-minded, piously lifestyle I knew since I was born.
Though my parents always have been trying "to live what they believed", I could not stand this limitedness of my local church anymore.

I bought myself a guitar, practiced hard and wanted to become a rockstar ( Some of you might find some similarities on this CV... ).

It had been Larry´s music which brought be back into believing. At that very point in time not that much back into church, but into an honest relationship with my creator and redeemer.
I truly believe that God has been using Larry´s music to draw me back to him !

All I´m trying to say: I never had the idea that a servant of God has to be perfect, before he can be used by HIM. If this would be the case I am personally absolutely useless for God.

I do understand since one is a public figure you gotta be careful in your acting and statements. And one shouldn´t be surprised if you´ll get judged by the masses.

And it comes without a doubt that there are some cases in this story which need be sorted out, clearly and honest by the people involved.

But I still want to follow the principal of grace, since grace is what kept me alive until today. And I do mean this literally also physically!

The way this deplorable affair get´s treated by some of our brothers and sisters brings me back to a statement of mine I used to quote pretty often in former years:
"Although there are Christians I do believe in a gracious God!"
I know my abysses and therefore I KNOW that I need his GRACE.
Anyone around who doesn´t ?
I am not willing to throw the first stone.

Hasn´t it always been either money, sex or power which human race is struggling with ?!
As far as I understand my bible God wants to establish a personal relationship; actually a Friendship with HIM. Not with some religious idols. Neither rockstars, prophets or preachers.

I hope and pray that this sad story will encourage us to slip back on God´s lap, so we might share our worries about his church with HIM - and especially our very own wrongs.

Listen, truth be told, Larry had a number of children out of wedlock. That song that he wrote is true.

It wouldn't have been a big deal, but the family was strange. They thought they needed to lie about all this stuff because Larry had to be seen as prim and perfect. That is what he thought the audience wants. THats what he was gonna give them.

Too bad. Because he lived in fear of being exposed. I loved him, but he had some hangups becasue of his family situation.

People aren't going to like that this stuff gets exposed, but it ain't no different than anything in the good Book. Stop getting your panties in a twist. Larry's fans were a bit naive. He used to complain about them a lot to me. He could serioulsy be nasty.

Made good music, though. Talented. But messed up too. That is part of the story. Just like any other rock star I know. Good tunes, bad livin'. Par for the course I'd say. But just because you do some hard living doesn't mean God doesn't travel by your side. That is the good news.

Can I ask who you are Benny?

Just that I drew a blank when I Googled you.

Both you and Darryl Proffer sound suspiciously like a certain Mr DDS to me... ;-)

It is ABSOLUTELY good news that our God is a God of forgiveness... otherwise which one of us could stand?

So, anyone that disagrees with what you believe is DDS?

Wow... how paranoid are you?

It's simply that DDS has quite a distinctive writing
style and tends to reiterate
certain themes.

He has also admitted
to, "being there," when
another person was writing
taunting messages which
presumably reflected
his (David Di Sabatino's)
views.

He's an interesting character
is our Mr David Di Sabatino...

Mind you, we're all, "interesting characters." That's why I, for one, am so grateful for our God's totally amazing grace.

Hey! Take a look at this regarding Mr DiSabbatino: http://kevinwaynesongs.com/FallenAngel.htm ;-)

These issues have long been known, they are not new. It is now in one format/film for people to see.
I'm a LN fan, but after a few concerts in the 90's I had some concerns.
I grew most disillusioned by the Daniel Robinson issue. That the family refuses a paternity test and lawyered up is about all you need to know. Why? A DNA test would clearly show the allegation as true or false. Yet, they refuse. There is solid evidence that demonstrates LN believed Daniel was his son. Which means he had to know he had sexual relations with the woman, etc. Or he could have simply stated, I have never been "with" this woman.
And finally, as has been pointed out- people sin. The bible is full of people making bad choices and sinning. Yet, God continues to use and restore. I think this is the case with LN. A man deeply sinful like me, yet still used greatly by God.

What started out as a Q stone youtube moment escalated into an evening of link after link to this point. I don't feel like there's much more one can add to this debate but there is still room for another. I first came across LN music back in 79 when as an impressionable school leaver i had some money in my pocket to explore music ( in another land/ upon this rock). two years later i saw LN for the only time in concert ( friends on tour, may 1981, Newcastle upon tyne, UK). I remember it was nothing like i had seen before as there were other bands but no where near setting themselves up with so such controversy. It was a big moment years later when the record company released the back catalogue of banned recordings. I collected the weaker recordings during the 80s and felt by the time' home at last' came out, culture and christian music had moved on a little bit. Later "stranded" tried to shatter that theory and although it was good and felt like the good old days, i had also now matured and even though i bought "tourniquet" & back catalogued a few more bits and pieces, life had moved on.
Whats all this got to do with this page you ask? Firstly, respect to Dougie Adam, i must have read all his reviews in Cross rhythms even in the times when i was'nt that interested, he is "the anorak that is". Mr Sabatino seems to be hitting a man when he's gone (both physically, possibly musically but it's not up to individuals to decide on the other things, that's Gods issue) . It saddens me to think that a man with such controversy in his life (albeit some of his own doing) should continue to have that done when he's gone. The best way to deal with it is the way Randy Stonehill dealt with it (see other links) . I'm sure we all know of well known christians who have followed similar routes to examples in the Bible:- David/Bathsheba/restoration,... King Saul or Annaias/Sapphira ( remember that it was God that was the judge as you read this article & the rather odd kevinwaynesongs.com page ).
The world and the devil are always looking for an excuse to point the finger at the christian church and all the better if it is a leading figure when lets face it the youth of today (both christian and non christian) no longer see LN as a leading light of contemporary culture.

"The world and the devil are always looking for an excuse to point the finger at the christian church"

Do you know James, David’s film has had the paradoxical effect of freeing me to get out there and go for God, as Larry did.

It has set me free from worrying which of my past sins people might drag up; what allegations they might make; what motives they might misinterpret and what character flaws they might magnify... because, in the final analysis, it’s between me and God.
It never was between me and them anyway!

These quotes from Kent Keith and Mother Teresa say it all:

”People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.”

© 1968, 2001 Kent M. Keith

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. - Mother Teresa

…and that’s the truth!