Phil originally formed In Cahoots in 1982-3 as a vehicle for his compositions and chose musicians with whom he had worked previously such as Pip Pyle and Richard Sinclair. When it came to inviting a keyboard player, Phil asked Pete Lemer to join the band. Pete was a musician that Phil had long held in great respect and to his delight Pete agreed.
All members of the and had different personalities and although they played together very well there were frictions in the band that came to light when touring because they were in each other’s company for such long periods. They all had their own ways. Pip had the biggest personality and was always the light and soul of the party. He and Elton were big drinkers and there was always a good deal of raving and hilarious, often outrageous behaviour when they were together, much of which was later related by Pip in his famous anecdotes of his time on the road.
He also had a very strong sex drive and somehow managed to pull everywhere the band played. It was really quite extraordinary. One time when Phil took me along on tour, the band were playing at a venue in a forest and we were all put up for the night there after the gig. Phil and I were in Pip’s room, where he was sitting up in bed, chatting with him. Suddenly, one of the waitresses came into the room. (The staff lived on the premises). She expressed surprise saying “what are you all doing here? This is my room.” Phil hurriedly apologised and he and I went for the door to leave but she turned to Pip, who was in her bed and said ” Not you, you can stay” and promptly started to get undressed! I think Pip must give off some kind of pheremones!
Pete Lemer on the other hand, couldn’t have been a more opposite type. He didn’t go in for raving of any kind. His interests were much more intellectual. He wasn’t a drinker, didn’t do any drugs and when he wanted to relax he used to amuse himself by playing himself at chess on a little hand-held gadget that he had. When we sat down for a meal all together he would produce a book and prop it up in front of him on the table and read. He didn’t concern himself with what Pip was up to but for some reason this innocent, somewhat solitary kind of behaviour absolutely infuriated Pip and he was constantly sniping at Pete accusing him of being badly behaved, unsociable and insulting to their hosts. The more Pete ignored him the more Pip kept picking on him and upbraiding him.
Eventually, one day, things came to a head and Pete turned on Pip and told him he’d had enough of being constantly picked on, that he had ignored it for long enough and that from now on there was going to be be “No More Mr Nice Guy”.
Phil was tickled pink by this reposte and on return from the tour wrote a new piece dedicated to Pete with No More Mr Nice Guy as the title.