1 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: Welcome, welcome, welcome back to the Bob Left That podcast. 2 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: My yesterday is fall care full. Good to happen here, Huck? 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: How good? So you have a new album one on one. 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: What inspires you to continue to write and record new 5 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: music in this crazy musical era? I'm not sure. I 6 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: do ask myself that same question every now and again. 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: I think there's a couple of things. Um A, I've 8 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: on a bit of a mission to have my own 9 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: body of work. Um you know, I've been in a 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: several bends, as you probably know, and I've had the 11 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: great pleasure and honor to play with some fantastic people 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: over the years, even song you know, lead vocal on 13 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: some you know, quite well known song and everything. But 14 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: I realized I came to the conclusion that I didn't 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: have um any rights to a lot of these things. 16 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: And also I just wanted to have my own, my 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: own body of work, my own catalog. Yeah, that's one reason. 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: Let's talk about body work. Especially about eighteen months ago, 19 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: you put out five live albums simultaneously. Tell me the 20 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: back story there. Well, the backstory is that for I 21 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: guess for the last twenty years of a of a 22 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: very long career. I started to release my solo stuff 23 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: on my own label. It's a very small time thing. Um. 24 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: But we also started to record um our live shows. 25 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: I mean I've done. I started touring constantly to established 26 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: myself because even back then, nobody knew to who the 27 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: hell Paul Carrot was. They may have known the songs 28 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: or the voice or what have you been, I didn't 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: know the name. So we started to record all the shows. 30 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: And my good friend, a guy called Peter Van Hook 31 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: is kind of I guess you would call him a manager. Um, 32 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,959 Speaker 1: he's my mate basically of thirty odd years. Okay, now, 33 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: he ultimately was a musician. Then he produced records with 34 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: Rod Origin. How do you know Peter van Hook? Well, 35 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: I first met Peter when at the beginning of the 36 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: Mike and the Mechanics project. Peter was the drummer, original 37 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: drummer in Mike and the Mechanics. He was a very 38 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: kind of busy session guys back in those days when 39 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: sessions were the thing, and he played I think for 40 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: about ten years with Van Morrison and I met him 41 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: at the photo session for the Mike and the Mechanics 42 00:02:53,840 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: album and I took an instant disliked okay, because he 43 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: was talking away in this he was talking to the 44 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: keyboard player Adrian Lee in this language. I didn't understand. 45 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: It was all about Middy and all that sort of stuff, 46 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: and I had not yet been introduced to Middy. I 47 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: was still very low tech. But anyway, that's when I 48 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: met Pete and but I got to know him and 49 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: really love him on as I got to know him, 50 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: and he's my biggest fan, is my biggest supporter. He 51 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: had the unenviable task of sifting through all these recordings 52 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: and and and put together this sort of compilation of 53 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: life stuff. I be honest with you, I've not heard 54 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: a lot of it because I understand that you understand good. 55 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: I mean, if I write something, I don't reread it. 56 00:03:54,120 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: It's too crazy, exactly exactly, okay, But I five albums simultaneously, 57 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: and what has been the reception there too, We had 58 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: a pretty good response to it. Actually, Um, why five albums? 59 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: I don't know, You'll have to ask him. I mean, 60 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: we've been, as I said, on a mission to establish 61 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: myself as a singer songwriter independently, and it's involved a 62 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: lot of gigs. So we've we've recorded a lot of shows. 63 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: There's been a lot of songs. I mean, I don't know. 64 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: Somebody told me it's something like seventeen or eighteen albums 65 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: we've released on my own label, so we have a 66 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: lot of songs. Well, I will say, on those five 67 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: live albums and I'm talking to I'm talking to you, 68 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: do sound like kype like I'm blowing smoke up your 69 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: rear around. They're phenomenal. I mean really the only problem 70 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: with those albums is people haven't heard of because I'm 71 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: surprised at the quality of the live performance, almost like 72 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: a studio performance. Well I'm surprised. Um, that's that's good 73 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: to know. Maybe I should give them a listen. But 74 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: as I say, we've made quite a few albums in 75 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,280 Speaker 1: the in the studio. But as you say, they're not 76 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: really that well known in the States, which is to 77 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,919 Speaker 1: my great regrets. Okay, let's go back to go twenty 78 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: years ago, going independent. Tell me that story. Well, Um, 79 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: you know, I I just meandered along there for many years. 80 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: As I said, got to play with a lot of 81 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: great people. I'd made one or two albums for several 82 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: record companies, and the case would usually be that would 83 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: make an album. They'd released a couple of singles and 84 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: then I'd move on or they dropped me. It's probably 85 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: the way it really was. And I got to the 86 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: point where I thought that I made it. I started 87 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: to make an album here at home. It's called Satisfy 88 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: My Soul. And I liked the way it sounded. I 89 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: just and I didn't like the thought of having to 90 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: go around to record companies trying to hawk it because 91 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: I knew what they would say, Well, it's fine, but 92 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: you know, maybe you need to do this, or maybe 93 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: you need to that or the other. And I liked 94 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: it the way it was. And this guy, Peter van Hook, 95 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: he said he had some experience, he had had a 96 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: little jazz label, and he said, well, why don't you 97 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: just do it yourself, just release it yourself. And at 98 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: the time it was a bit scary because people weren't 99 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: really doing that and I had no idea how you 100 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: released a record. Um, but we did it. We we 101 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: just started. It was, as I say, very small time. 102 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: We just got it an independent radio plugger to take 103 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: the record around and we got a a great airplay 104 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: on the mainstream radio here in the UK, and things 105 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: sort of you know grew from that. Okay, let's go 106 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: back to something you said earlier, the body of work. 107 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: I understand, But what was your motivation at this point 108 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: in your life to want to create a body of work? Well, 109 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: there were several things. I mean, as I said, I 110 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: realized that I had contributed to a lot of other 111 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: projects and other people's careers, and I was happy to 112 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: do that. I was just happy to be involved in 113 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: music and I loved it, every minute of it. Um. 114 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: But when I started this little label of mine, and 115 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: I wanted to release a compilation of stuff that I've 116 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: done over the years, and I was happy to license 117 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: it from and pay the royalties to the to the majors. 118 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 1: But then a couple of things happened. And when that 119 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: I wanted that there were a couple of tracks, significant 120 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: tracks that I've been involved with, and I wasn't allowed 121 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: to license them and put them on my And that's 122 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: that's kind of when the penny really dropped and I thought, 123 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: you know, I need to have my own stuff that 124 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: I control and then and that's mine. Okay, so twenty 125 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: years ago, you start your own label. Traditionally, musicians are 126 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: good musicians. They're not good business people. There's a lot 127 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,199 Speaker 1: of business involved in running your own label. Who does 128 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: that business? Well? As I said, it's it started on 129 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: a very small time level. Um, I didn't really have 130 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:45,199 Speaker 1: a clue how it worked, how they're not some bolts 131 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:50,839 Speaker 1: of it worked, but it was quite simple. We uh 132 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: just got a distribution kind of deal, you know, somebody 133 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: who was prepared to put this stuff out. And we 134 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: employ Lloyd, a couple of independent radio pluggers that we 135 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: had worked with in the in the other bands and 136 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: that we knew well. And we started from there. And 137 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: I'm was quite prepared to get my hands dirty. I'm 138 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: from a very kind of working class northern upbringing. My 139 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: folks actually were kind of independent inasmuch as my father 140 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: was what you call a painter and decorator, you know, 141 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: you would paint people's houses. And my mom ran a 142 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: small store where we sold paint and wallpaper. And we 143 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: lived in the back of the store in a in 144 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: a one room at the back with two bedrooms in 145 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: an attic at the outside, toilet and no bathroom and 146 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: all that sort of stuff. And I saw my folks, 147 00:09:56,280 --> 00:10:00,200 Speaker 1: you know, after kind of what they'd gone through, who 148 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: they've gone through, the Depression and then World War two, 149 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: and and they work their backsides off just to make things. 150 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: So I definitely saw how hard they worked, and and 151 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: it's kind of in my genes too. I was prepared to, 152 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: as I say, get my hands dirty and and and 153 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: and try and build something. Okay, So your first experience 154 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 1: with the first independent label, do you feel, in terms 155 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: of the effect of the independent as you put its 156 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: song pluggers, etcetera, that you got as good as shot 157 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: as you got when you were a label. Um, probably 158 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: got as good as shot as I did as a 159 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: solo artist, but I'm not as as with the bands. 160 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: I mean, for example, Mike and the Mechanics. Of course, 161 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: Mike is the guitar player in Genesis, and so they 162 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: had a lot of help from record companies. You know, 163 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: we had TV spots and the record were given a 164 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 1: real good chance, and we had great airplace. So no, 165 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: I wasn't getting that. I didn't have that kind of clout, 166 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: but I had a little bit of momentum from involvement 167 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: with this such as them, and and it grew, it 168 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,839 Speaker 1: really grew. I mean it wasn't my intention to Um, 169 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: I've never chased I never wanted to be famous or 170 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: anything like that. But I just wanted to uh survive 171 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: and make music and have a good band and do 172 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: my shows and make my albums, as simple as that. Okay, 173 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: so you're making your albums, you're paying for the whole thing. 174 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: So what kind of budget for one of these albums 175 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: is there? Well, um, for example, with the first one, 176 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 1: UH Satisfy my Soul, I made it here at home, 177 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: and I played more or less everything on the record, 178 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: and I engineered it myself. So it didn't cost a 179 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: whole lot to make the record, but as it doesn't 180 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: these days, if you kind of know what you're doing, 181 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: but you know, the problem is, or the difficulty is 182 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: to get it hurt. And so as an independent in 183 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: the UK, it wasn't too difficult because I had a 184 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: little bit of history and the UK is a small place, 185 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 1: so you know, we we had good support from the 186 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 1: mainstream radio, the BBC radio too, that's the big kind 187 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: of mainstream radio, and they liked what I did. It 188 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: worked for them, and subsequent albums also it really worked 189 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: very well for them. So but to try to expand 190 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 1: and internationally and and it's much more difficult. But I 191 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 1: had a thing going, you know, and now I was 192 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: getting support. I had a band that we're really into it. 193 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: We we love going to work. We toured up and 194 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: down the country, and I was I am happy. Okay, 195 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: a couple of things. You essentially put out an album 196 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: every other year. Most artists of the of your vintage 197 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: they don't put out new music at all. So what 198 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: keeps you writing and recording? Well, as I said, I'm 199 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: not exactly sure, but I think it's the fact that 200 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: although I've had, you know, little bits of success here 201 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: and there and a look inside the window, Um, I 202 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: never felt that I had that body of work that 203 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: I could point to, or that album that I could 204 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: say that is the quintessential album. So I think it's 205 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: it's purely just to keep self satisfaction. I still keep 206 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: thinking I could do better, you know. Okay, so this 207 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 1: lightest album, tell me about the making of that. First, 208 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: When do you decide you have a target when you 209 00:13:57,800 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: want to make a record, or you said or you 210 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: all probably write it off songs and saying it's time 211 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: to make a record. No, I just in this particular case, 212 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: I had no plan whatsoever to record last year. I mean, 213 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: I had a whole diary of life stuff. UM. I 214 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: had a UK too with my band. I was going 215 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: to go to Australia, Japan, Europe, and I also have 216 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: been involved quite a bit in the last nine years 217 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: or so playing keyboards and Eric Clapton's band and touring 218 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: around with him. So we had a whole year, um, 219 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: but thirty odd shows into the year. In the middle 220 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: of March, of course, the pandemic hit and venues were 221 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: closed down, and initially everybody thought, well, well, we'll be 222 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: back up there in a month or two, but that 223 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: pretty soon became obvious that that wasn't going to be 224 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: the case. And so having this little facility here I 225 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: have at home, which is fantastic, and I just started 226 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: coming in and playing with my toys and recording stuff 227 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: and it evolved into an album. Okay, So on these 228 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: albums to this day, you're the producer, you're the engineer. 229 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: To what degree are there outside musicians and what degree 230 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: you do everything yourself? On this particular album, it was 231 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: almost totally myself engineering, um, playing all the instruments, UM. 232 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: But towards the and and end of the thing. For 233 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: an example, I had written and recorded some horn parts, 234 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: but using samples in et cetera and didn't sound too 235 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: bad actually, But um, when it became possible to get 236 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: people in, I got in a horn section that i'd 237 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: worked before, include in the fantastic pee Wee Ellis, which 238 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: we can talk about at some point if you like. 239 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: And and I had one track that needed a real 240 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: good guitar solo solo on it, and I'm not a 241 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: great soloist. I got my friend Robbie macintosh to remotely 242 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: play a great solo on the guitar. But other than that, 243 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: it's pretty much me. Robbie McIntyre, average white beard right. 244 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: Uh No, Um, you're thinking of the drummer. His name 245 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: escapes me. But Robbie McIntosh. No, he was in the Pretenders, 246 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: he was with Paul McCartney and play people like Nora 247 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: Jones and Dire Straits. And he's a fabulous musician. Okay, 248 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: So tell me about pee Wee Ellis. Well, pee Wee 249 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: I got to know through Peter Van Hook and because 250 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: they worked together with Van Morrison for many years. Pee 251 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: Wee of course as a legend. He worked with James 252 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: Brown and did some of those incredible horn arrangements, and 253 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: Peter introduced me to Pee Wee on my previous album, 254 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: which is called These Days. It's about three years ago, 255 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 1: and Pee Wee wrote some great authentic horn arrangements for that, 256 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: and he did one horn arrangement on this new record, 257 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,199 Speaker 1: on a track called Lighten Up Your Mood. But it's 258 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: a beautiful guy. Unfortunately he passed away in September at 259 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: the age of eighty. Um. But he was a real 260 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,640 Speaker 1: he was a proper legend, and he was a authentic, 261 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: real deal and he lived it large. Just talking about 262 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: this album obviously class for low. You finished the record, 263 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 1: you eque it yourself and you go to an outside 264 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: mastering house. Well, for the first time ever. I mean, 265 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: I'd never even mixed my own albums before because I'm 266 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: I'm not a technical guy either as a musician or 267 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: an engineer. I kind of know how to work pro 268 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: tools in my own cack handed way, but I never 269 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: trusted myself two mix. To me, it was a you know, 270 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 1: a oh that's real. That's a technical person. He's got 271 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: to be somebody who knows what they're doing. And in 272 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: the past I've gotten things to the mixed stage and 273 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: then handed it over to a proper, proper mixing engineer, 274 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,640 Speaker 1: and they then bring the whole thing back to scratch 275 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: and build it back up again, and it never hangs 276 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: together in the way that I've heard it. So this 277 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: time again, this guy Peter van Hook said, I mean, no, 278 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: you have to mix this record, and I was like, 279 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 1: oh no, I can't me I don't know what I'm doing, 280 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: And but I did. I we went with my mixes 281 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:59,120 Speaker 1: that I've worked with as we went along, and then 282 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 1: there's this other age called the mastering situation, which is 283 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: like I never understood. It's like, you get your mixes, 284 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: they sound great, and then they go to this other 285 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: stage mastering, and then they do another process, which is 286 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,160 Speaker 1: they add EQ and compression and again it changes the thing. 287 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: So to be honest, we did hand it over to 288 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: a couple of mastering guys who had a shot at it, 289 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,680 Speaker 1: and when it came back I didn't like it because 290 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: it didn't sound how I wanted it to sound. I 291 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: like the way it sounds. It's engaging, it doesn't hit 292 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,399 Speaker 1: you in the face. But of course a lot of 293 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: these mastering guys now are trying to get it on 294 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 1: the radio and make it a kind of more aggressive 295 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:51,120 Speaker 1: and hi fi in order to get the radio attention. 296 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: But I didn't like it. I liked it the way 297 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: it was, and that's what we went with. Okay, there's 298 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: one thing to balance all the instruments, another thing to delay, echo, reverb, etcetera. 299 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: You just figured that out all by yourself. In the 300 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: mixing stage. Well, it's not like you record it and 301 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: then you mix it it. It's you're mixing it as 302 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: you go along, and that's what happens. You get used 303 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,919 Speaker 1: to that. I'm not an expert, as I say, but 304 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:23,960 Speaker 1: I have he is, and I know the kind of 305 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: reverbs and echoes and things I like to hear. I mean, 306 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: they might not be the ultimate, but when they are working, 307 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 1: you have to go with them, because then that's when 308 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 1: you start changing that stuff. The whole balance changes. And 309 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: so yeah, we went with my my ideas. What kind 310 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: of equipment do you have in your studio? Well, I 311 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: have a pro tools rig, right, and what kind of board. 312 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: It's just a control surface, really, it's a it's a 313 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: control twenty four. It's just a it's not a big 314 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: fancy knive or anything like that. I have some nice 315 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: pre amps, uh, some Nive pre amps and and the 316 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: like and the stuff is pretty much recorded organically, you know, 317 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: it's just I just plug it in and when it 318 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: sounds okay, that's when that's what I go with. You 319 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: record in the same room that the equipment is in. Yeah, 320 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: by and large, Yes. And what speakers do you listen to? Now? 321 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: What are these things called? They sound great PCMs? I 322 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: think they're called they're real nice speakers. But they're not flattering, 323 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: but they're not tiring. It just sound good. Okay. How 324 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: do you end up working with clapped? Well? I think 325 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: years ago, it must over ten years. I think I 326 00:21:52,800 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: played a few sort of charity type gigs where Gary, 327 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: you know from prop Gary it's very good at putting 328 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: these things together. He would put that together a house 329 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,439 Speaker 1: band kind of thing too, and he would get in 330 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:16,440 Speaker 1: some real stars like Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, people like that, 331 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,239 Speaker 1: and for various charity events. And then I played on 332 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: a few of Eric's albums, things like Pilgrim Um Reptile 333 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,679 Speaker 1: and a few other albums, just a few tracks. And 334 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 1: then one day, as I say, eight nine years ago, 335 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: he called me up and asked if I could come 336 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: on the road with him. And I was delighted to 337 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: say that. Yeah, dovetail beautifully into the what I had 338 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: going with my own band, and I guess I did 339 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: what was pretty much probably the last world tour inasmuch 340 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: as we did. We played in the States, we went 341 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 1: to Far East, we played it in Europe, Japan, and 342 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: it was just a marvelous experience. Well, he's on the 343 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: road now, needless to say, you're not in the band. No, 344 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: that's not true. We we I was in the Bend 345 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 1: the whole of September when we just did some shows. 346 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: Oh oh I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so 347 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: those goods. So they those dates were done. We we 348 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,880 Speaker 1: did eight nine shows I think in the Southern States. Yeah, 349 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: I didn't know you were in the band on those. Yeah. Okay. 350 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: One has to ask what do you think of his 351 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: viewpoints of vaccines for COVID. Well, I don't think I'm 352 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: gonna be drawn into that too much because I don't 353 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,400 Speaker 1: even know exactly where he stands on what he said 354 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 1: about it. But I know all I do know, and 355 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: I think I'm at liberty to say that, is that 356 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 1: he had the vaccine twice and he had a very 357 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: bad reaction, and he spoken about that personally. I've also 358 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:10,919 Speaker 1: had the vaccine, and so I don't precisely no or 359 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: agree or uh about where he stands on where where 360 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: he stands at the moment, but I must admit I 361 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: have my skeptical thoughts about what it's all about. And 362 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: it's a little skeptical about mandating people who don't wish 363 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,920 Speaker 1: to for whatever reason, have the vaccine. As I say, personally, 364 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 1: myself and my family we have had the vaccine, and 365 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: I don't think we've had a bad response to it. 366 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: But I think I think people are entitled to their 367 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 1: own opinion. Okay, so you go on on the road 368 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: with Eric. How much rehearsal is there if you're gonna 369 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: do nine dates? Well there was a couple of weeks. 370 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: But bear in mind most of the musicians, in fact, 371 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 1: all of the musicians involved played with Eric b Floor before, 372 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: and so when you rehearse with Eric, it's not so 373 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: much about you're not learning parts. You know, you're not 374 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: getting the parts tight and accurate and all that. It's 375 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: more about it it's more like getting to know everybody again. 376 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: And because you never play this stuff the same twice, 377 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: it's all on instinct and vibe, you know, so that 378 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: the I can't say that the rehearsals are that intense. 379 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: You know, we play some music, we chat, we chat, 380 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: we have a cup of tea, we play a bit more, 381 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: we have lunch, we play a bit more, and then 382 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: that's it. So and it comes together. Okay, you're on 383 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: the road to what degree are the settlers and the 384 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: parts setting stone into what degree does that change every 385 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:58,199 Speaker 1: night and improvisation changing? Oh well, it's totally improvisation. I 386 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: mean we're not totally. I mean, there's a framework, there's 387 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: a set. It changes only a little predominantly. On this 388 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 1: last thing. The changes were in the acoustic section in 389 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: the middle, and he did some new things there, and 390 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:22,880 Speaker 1: he also only used he used microphones on the acoustic thing, 391 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: like on the guitars and stuff like that. And he 392 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,720 Speaker 1: didn't use pickups because I understand why, because the pickups, 393 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 1: even great as they're getting, they don't really sound like 394 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: an acoustic guitar sounds when it's played in the room. 395 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 1: And he was very much trying to get you know, 396 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: that real sound of the acoustic guitars. So we had 397 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: to play very very quietly in the acoustic section, and 398 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 1: that changed a little bit. But the set pretty much 399 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: stayed the same. Okay, So you have these endeavors, you're 400 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: making records, you're going on the road, going on the 401 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: road by yourself with Eric Clapton. Let's just say you 402 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,120 Speaker 1: never worked another day in your life. Have you made 403 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,159 Speaker 1: enough money in the music business to get to the 404 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: end where you gotta work for a living? M depends 405 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: what you mean. I think I probably I would probably 406 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,680 Speaker 1: be okay. I'm trying to help my kids. I have 407 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: four grown up kids. They're all basically have regular salaried 408 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: kind of jobs, which I'm quite happy about, or not jobs, 409 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 1: but careers. And I have one son who's a chip 410 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 1: off the old block who plays in my band. Um, 411 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: and the cost of living and the cost of you know, 412 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: real estate has just gone crazy, and they have small 413 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: apartments and stuff. I'm trying to help them as much 414 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: as I possibly can while I'm still here. We have 415 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: a nice life. We're okay, We're I think we're what 416 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: they called the comfortable poor. We're do we're do okay okay. 417 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 1: And then so forgetting COVID. Before COVID, how many dates 418 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:12,159 Speaker 1: a year were you on on the road? Uh, who's counting? 419 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: I mean, we would definitely with my own band. We 420 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: would play January February, March into April. We would play 421 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: three to four nights a week in theaters up and 422 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: down the UK, and then we would generally at that 423 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: point do some shows maybe in the Netherlands that's Holland, Germany, 424 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: and then I would uh if I you know, probably 425 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: play with Eric as I said, going to Japan or 426 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: US shows. I don't know. I'm not not counting, but 427 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: I'm busy. I've been very, very busy. It's crazy. Last 428 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: ten twenty years, when you know you should be winded down, 429 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: have been the busiest of my career. Now an email, 430 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: you say you're going to go work in Spain momentarily. 431 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: So I'm going on vacation. Oh yeah, I thought you 432 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: were playing gigs. No, we're doing I'm going away for 433 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks vacation with my wife to Spain. 434 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: We have a small apartment over there. Oh you know, 435 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 1: I don't need the address, but we're in Spain, his 436 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: son in the south on the costadel Soul. Okay, you 437 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: know that's big. You know Brits are really into that. 438 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,240 Speaker 1: Let's go back to the beginning. You're from Sheffield, what 439 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: was What was it like growing up in Sheffield. I 440 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: think it was pretty good. It was pretty good. It 441 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: was very by today standard. It was extremely austere, but 442 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: so is everywhere up in the north of England. You know, 443 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: I've come from a pretty poor, basic working class family. 444 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: My dad's family they were they went too bad. But 445 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: my my mom's family was very poor. Um my grand 446 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: and I never met either of my grandfather's They were 447 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: both deceased by the time I came along. But my 448 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: maternal grandfather was died around thirty six, left six kids. 449 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 1: He was from Ireland and he left six kids, so 450 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 1: they were very, very poor. Even when we grow grew 451 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: up as kids, we were We didn't think we were, 452 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 1: but we were poor. We didn't have a We had 453 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: a tin bath in the front of the fire once 454 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: a week. We had an outside toilet, but most people 455 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 1: did around where we lived, and but we had we 456 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: could go out and play. We could playing the open 457 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: air all day long. We're no worries, so I think 458 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: actually it was great. It was great way to live. Okay, well, 459 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: we know about Sheffield in America and we don't know much. 460 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: We know there was still there and Joe Cocker was 461 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: from there. Were you aware of Joke Parker? Oh yeah, 462 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: he was about two streets away from me, really, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 463 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 1: But he was a bit older. He was a bit older, 464 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: and he was he was a man. I was a 465 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: boy and he I was a little bit Oh this guy, 466 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 1: he's a bit little bit scary, this guy, you know. 467 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,080 Speaker 1: But he was a legend in England, of course, in 468 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,959 Speaker 1: Sheffield and he was playing. He could play any night 469 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 1: of the week in a pub or a club. And 470 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: I eventually got to see. I mean I was about 471 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: fifteen something like that and I snuck into a pub 472 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: and I saw Joe playing and it was amazing, absolutely amazing. 473 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: And Chris Stainton, who's plays in the in the Clapton band, 474 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,360 Speaker 1: was playing with him back in those days as well. 475 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: So I've been having hitting Chris for all the old 476 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: Cocker stories. Fantastic. Any other musicians who came from Sheffield 477 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: but back then, no, not really. There was a guy 478 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: called Dave Berry. He had a little bit of success, 479 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 1: but Joe really, honestly was the first one to to 480 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: come through and we were all so delighted, and little 481 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: help from my friends. It was so exciting because it's 482 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: such a great record, and then when he finally sort 483 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: of broke through, it was just great. Well, everybody loved it. 484 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: So you're growing up. How many kids in the family, 485 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: and it was just me and my brother, older brother. Okay, 486 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: you go to school, you good student, bad student? I 487 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: was just I was a good boy. I did what 488 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: I was told when I wasn't very academic at all. Um. 489 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: You know, unfortunately, my father had a fatal accident. I 490 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:46,520 Speaker 1: don't know if I if you knew that, but he 491 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: had a fatal accident when I was eleven, my brother 492 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: was fifteen, and that that was pretty uh profound experience. 493 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: But my brother grew up overnight. He he took charge 494 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:05,120 Speaker 1: of the shop where we lift the store, and while 495 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: my mom tried to recover from this incredible blow. And 496 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: I just kind of as long as I was going 497 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 1: to school and not being any trouble, it was fine. 498 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 1: But I had no interest in school at all. I 499 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,400 Speaker 1: didn't like it at all. I I like sports and 500 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: I like music. That was it. And were you an outsider? 501 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 1: We were a member of a a group, a lot of friends. 502 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: No friends, Oh no, I had a lot. I know, 503 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 1: I was I think I was a pretty popular kid. 504 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: I was, you know, as I said, it wasn't academic. 505 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: I was. Probably I was a bit of a clown, 506 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:44,080 Speaker 1: you know, if we had a soft teacher, I would 507 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,720 Speaker 1: be a clown. And no, I think I was pretty popular. 508 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: I think so. I had plenty of friends here. Okay, 509 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,800 Speaker 1: So you talk about the outdoor toilet, you talk about 510 00:33:54,880 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 1: the tin tub. At what point does that change? M Well, 511 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:10,320 Speaker 1: it got worse actually because I left home the comforts. Okay, 512 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:14,080 Speaker 1: when you left, when you left comforts, when you left 513 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: home there you were still using an outdoor toilet. No, 514 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:23,000 Speaker 1: we had at that point, not long after my father died. 515 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,759 Speaker 1: Maybe he had an insurance policy. I don't know what, 516 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:32,920 Speaker 1: but we we actually moved from living behind the shop 517 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: to a little semi detached a couple of streets away. 518 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:40,200 Speaker 1: Still kept the shop, but we had a little semi 519 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:45,760 Speaker 1: detached house which had a bathroom, which was luxury. Okay, 520 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: So what was your introduction in music? Your parents playing 521 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:52,800 Speaker 1: a lot of music. My father's side were musical, definitely. 522 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 1: My grandmother and my aunt both played the piano um, 523 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,719 Speaker 1: and my father dabbled in the drums. I think so. 524 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:09,920 Speaker 1: But even prior to his untimely death. But even most 525 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 1: so after we didn't have much contact with his side 526 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:14,680 Speaker 1: of the family, but we had a lot of contact 527 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,439 Speaker 1: with my mother's side of the family, who were very 528 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:25,000 Speaker 1: you know, lovely people. You know, it's tough and common, 529 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 1: you know, poor but great. They were such great support 530 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 1: for us in in emotionally after my father's passing. It 531 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 1: was unbelievable. Yeah. So, you know, from the East Coast, 532 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: I mean from the United States viewpoint, we had the 533 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 1: Beach Boys, we had the Four Seasons, we had a 534 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,360 Speaker 1: lot of crap, and then all of a sudden the 535 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:53,120 Speaker 1: Beatles hip. But the Beatles hitting sixty four in America 536 00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:56,960 Speaker 1: being sixty four where they actually hitting sixty two in 537 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 1: the UK. So what point did you become into popular music? Well, 538 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 1: I was into it. I was into it already. I 539 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,280 Speaker 1: liked all those bands, you know, I like the Ventures 540 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 1: and people like that. And as I say, my brother, 541 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: my older brother, he but then and there was an 542 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 1: instrumental band called the Shadows in the UK. They were 543 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,520 Speaker 1: the backing band for a guy called Cliff Richard. But 544 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 1: I love the But when the Beatles came, that was it. 545 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:29,239 Speaker 1: You know. In all the Liverpool bands and all that, 546 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:32,880 Speaker 1: all that stuff. I saw the Beatles a couple of 547 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,799 Speaker 1: times Sheffield City Hall. Everybody came through there, you know, 548 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:38,960 Speaker 1: everybody came through town. And you saw him at the 549 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: city Hall. So the Stones, Roy Orbison, Dylan, chuck Berry, 550 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:48,319 Speaker 1: you name it. So how what was it? Like? How 551 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 1: good were they? I don't know. I couldn't hear him, 552 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: but it was just electric, you know. And and to 553 00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 1: see them, and I saw, you know, see ringo Lane. 554 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 1: I was playing drums by this time in a little 555 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: band at school and when I saw a ringoing, you know, 556 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,120 Speaker 1: the high hacks going like this like, oh my god, 557 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,359 Speaker 1: you know I've been tickling these drums. I need to 558 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:19,239 Speaker 1: give him some stick, you know. So you know, I 559 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: only know the American experience where we all had transistor radios, 560 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 1: but we also had uh commercial radio. So did you 561 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,400 Speaker 1: have transistor radios? And was it just the BBC or 562 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:36,840 Speaker 1: radio Caroline pop radio? When? When? What was the listening experience? 563 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 1: Did you buy records? Did you have money to do that? 564 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:42,160 Speaker 1: There us hardly anything on the radio back in those days. 565 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,439 Speaker 1: There's so little I'm not like today where you can't 566 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,400 Speaker 1: get away from it. But yeah, we had the little 567 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:51,359 Speaker 1: transistor radio my brother under the bedclothes and we would 568 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,920 Speaker 1: try and tune into Radio Caroline and it would come 569 00:37:54,960 --> 00:38:01,439 Speaker 1: and go Radio Luxembourg. And but um, we didn't even 570 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 1: have a proper record player. We had we had a 571 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 1: wind up record I'm not kidding, I am. I find 572 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,560 Speaker 1: it hard to believe myself, but we did. But the 573 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:15,080 Speaker 1: girl at the end of our yard where we lived, um, 574 00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:18,560 Speaker 1: she had one. And then when she got a new model, 575 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,799 Speaker 1: she gave us her old electric record player and a 576 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:26,880 Speaker 1: lot of records like um Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson 577 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 1: and Dwayne Eddie and things like this. And it was like, wow, 578 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,840 Speaker 1: this was great. Why did she give you her records? 579 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: I don't know. I guess they got maybe they got 580 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:40,440 Speaker 1: tired of him, you know that back then, and it 581 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 1: was onto the next thing and the next thing, you know. 582 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 1: But yeah, we weren't asking. We weren't asking questions. How 583 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,759 Speaker 1: did you playing drobs? Well, as I said, we had 584 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,839 Speaker 1: an attic at this shop where we lived, and there 585 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:57,400 Speaker 1: were a couple of bits up there. There was a 586 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 1: snare drum. There was a thing it was like almost 587 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:06,320 Speaker 1: like a toy based drum, And I said about playing 588 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:12,240 Speaker 1: this kit I would play along to two records. And 589 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:19,799 Speaker 1: one year my father he one Christmas he got this thing. 590 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:22,759 Speaker 1: It was like the old you know when the like 591 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: from the twenties, this kit with like the wooden blocks, 592 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,920 Speaker 1: the skulls about five skulls and and I used to 593 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:34,920 Speaker 1: mess around on that, and I was in. I was 594 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: into it. But the year my when my my father 595 00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: passed away, and the Christmas after that, my mother bought 596 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,799 Speaker 1: with what the thing called hy purchase where you pay 597 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,840 Speaker 1: you know, installments very much. They actually bought me a 598 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:58,120 Speaker 1: proper kit of drums. I mean it was way too 599 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:01,120 Speaker 1: good for what was but I mean it was just 600 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:07,680 Speaker 1: spectacular kit of drums and tell tricks and tell star 601 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,640 Speaker 1: remember it well. And so that's when I really started 602 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,880 Speaker 1: getting into it. And then tell me about forming bands. 603 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 1: We had a little band at school played the school 604 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:24,719 Speaker 1: concert when I was twelve thirteen. It was fantastic. We 605 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:29,320 Speaker 1: did four Beatles songs and the girls through jelly Babies 606 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,840 Speaker 1: and asked and asked for my autograph, you know, the 607 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 1: same girls in in the in the class, you know. 608 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:40,840 Speaker 1: So that was fantastic. And I think just before I 609 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:45,080 Speaker 1: left school at fifteen or sixteen, I started to play 610 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:49,480 Speaker 1: in the local soul band. I sold those drums that 611 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: my mother works so hard to buy and put down 612 00:40:54,520 --> 00:41:00,640 Speaker 1: payments on an organ and started playing in this solan. 613 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:04,240 Speaker 1: How did you get involved in the Oregon? Yeah, good question, 614 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:08,319 Speaker 1: because they needed one, They needed an organist. And I 615 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:11,239 Speaker 1: had had a go on a on a Hammond organ 616 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 1: that was in a recording studio that my friend had 617 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,920 Speaker 1: a session there and great, and he sold me a 618 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:22,080 Speaker 1: couple of chords, and as I say, then I wanted 619 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:24,920 Speaker 1: to join this, this band, and I just started to 620 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:29,319 Speaker 1: teach myself, learned some cords and stood at the back 621 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:35,240 Speaker 1: and played quietly. Then what kind of Oregon did you buy? Well? 622 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:40,600 Speaker 1: I wanted to buy the Vox Continental, which you probably 623 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: remember with the of course the back to front black 624 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 1: and white keys. But I couldn't stretch to that, so 625 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 1: I bought this other thing. It was awful. Actually, it 626 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,640 Speaker 1: was made by Selma Selma Capri, and it was it 627 00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 1: was rubbish. But many years later again I got my 628 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,680 Speaker 1: mom to sign papers again and we bought the low, 629 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:03,160 Speaker 1: the low version of a Hammond organ. And then you 630 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,759 Speaker 1: were always buying the equipment. It's hard to slap you know. 631 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,759 Speaker 1: You got the drums you got them and to work again. 632 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,600 Speaker 1: I mean, get into the gig is a big deal. Yeah, 633 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:18,239 Speaker 1: that's that's a good point, one of my favorite things 634 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:20,800 Speaker 1: about But when I did the tour with the Ringo 635 00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 1: Star All Star Band, and he would he told a 636 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:26,800 Speaker 1: story about getting to the gigs. He said, it was 637 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:28,840 Speaker 1: always easy to get to the gig on the bus, 638 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:32,480 Speaker 1: you know, everybody give your hand, but getting home you'd 639 00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:34,520 Speaker 1: have to do it yourself, and you have to walk 640 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,360 Speaker 1: down the street five yards with two cases, then go 641 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:42,680 Speaker 1: back for the other two and walk down. Fortunately I 642 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:45,640 Speaker 1: had my uncle, and you know I mentioned my mother's 643 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:48,759 Speaker 1: family and how supportive they was. My my uncle used 644 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:52,680 Speaker 1: to used to take me in his car. That's right, 645 00:42:52,680 --> 00:43:02,560 Speaker 1: I remember now my uncle Percy. Bless him. So he 646 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:08,760 Speaker 1: finished with school. So how does your musical career unfold? Well, 647 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,560 Speaker 1: as I said, I was already playing in kind of 648 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:15,040 Speaker 1: semipro bands and I left school with no qualifications and 649 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:20,480 Speaker 1: I just wanted to gig with Abandon. That's what we did. 650 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:23,279 Speaker 1: I think. The next step was when I was about seventeen, 651 00:43:24,239 --> 00:43:27,920 Speaker 1: we did the thing where you go to Germany and 652 00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:31,759 Speaker 1: play the clubs over there. Of course, that was the 653 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:34,200 Speaker 1: way that the Beatles have done it years a few 654 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 1: years before. So we went over there. I played for 655 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,880 Speaker 1: a month at the Top ten club in Hamburg, for example, 656 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,480 Speaker 1: that kind of thing, and it was great. We loved it. 657 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,719 Speaker 1: I mean, we're we were we were very thin back 658 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:53,800 Speaker 1: in those days, but we were just having a great time. 659 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:58,840 Speaker 1: So you come back from Germany and um, well I 660 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,759 Speaker 1: remember now on this because we were playing covers. Yeah, 661 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,680 Speaker 1: we we We were playing with the two bands would alternate. 662 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:11,279 Speaker 1: You play forty fifty minutes, the turnaround, the other band 663 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:13,520 Speaker 1: would play fifty minutes, and that went on through the night. 664 00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:17,680 Speaker 1: And we met up with these other guys who were 665 00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:22,760 Speaker 1: doing you know, on with us, and we we started 666 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:24,880 Speaker 1: to get into music and we were listening to music 667 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:28,719 Speaker 1: and smoking pot and listening to the stuff that was 668 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:32,120 Speaker 1: happening in the sixties, and wow, this is happening. And 669 00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: we decided we were going to go progressive. So we 670 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:38,480 Speaker 1: we formed this band. I'm trying to keep it a secret, 671 00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:42,040 Speaker 1: but it seems to be coming out of it's pretty dreadful. 672 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:46,600 Speaker 1: Um we were. Our big heroes was Frank Zappa and 673 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:51,600 Speaker 1: the Mothers of Invention exact. Yeah, good heroes, but hard, 674 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:56,440 Speaker 1: hard act to follow. So yeah, we went through that 675 00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:02,920 Speaker 1: sort of phase and you know, live in hand to mouth, 676 00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:06,120 Speaker 1: but you know, and then it was playing in Germany 677 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:08,759 Speaker 1: and the college circuit and everybody wanted free music. And 678 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 1: that was that when you had the kids storm in 679 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:13,080 Speaker 1: the place, they wouldn't pay to come in and stuff, 680 00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:17,320 Speaker 1: and it all got a bit political and serious and crazy, 681 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,000 Speaker 1: and then everybody went, hang on a minute, now, this 682 00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:23,359 Speaker 1: is ridiculous. And that's when we started to go back 683 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,640 Speaker 1: to rock and roll, playing in pubs around London and 684 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:33,080 Speaker 1: this is called pub rock. Very original idea. But and 685 00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:37,400 Speaker 1: that's when we formed ACE, playing around the pubs in London. 686 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:42,680 Speaker 1: And so what point do you become a songwriter about? Then? 687 00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:47,400 Speaker 1: Prior to that, with this um sort of mothers of 688 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:50,960 Speaker 1: invention type band, we used to write these long pieces 689 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,000 Speaker 1: and that went on for twenty minutes or whatever, and 690 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:57,760 Speaker 1: then and then would go free form. But then we started. 691 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:01,120 Speaker 1: I start when with ACE, I started to write songs 692 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,720 Speaker 1: and one of the first songs I wrote was how long? Okay, 693 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,239 Speaker 1: how could you write such a good song right at 694 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:11,360 Speaker 1: the beginning of your career? I don't know it. I 695 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:13,879 Speaker 1: often think it's great that people say it's a great song. 696 00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 1: It's a very simple song. Don't tell anybody, but I 697 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: mean it's nothing much too. It's got a big old 698 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:25,920 Speaker 1: hook and a verse that repeats itself. Um. But I 699 00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:28,680 Speaker 1: think back then I was naive enough to think, you know, 700 00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:31,319 Speaker 1: that I was inventing this stuff. I'd learn a new 701 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,360 Speaker 1: chord and it'll be like, oh, I'd like the sound 702 00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:37,239 Speaker 1: of that and make a song from it. So I 703 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:42,600 Speaker 1: didn't have any trouble writing songs. Then, Okay, who owns 704 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:47,400 Speaker 1: that song today? God knows. It's changed hands a number 705 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:53,600 Speaker 1: of times. I think it's partly owned by Universal in 706 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:58,760 Speaker 1: America and in some of territories it's owned now by BMG, 707 00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:00,839 Speaker 1: a couple of people who've had it along the way 708 00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:05,239 Speaker 1: of rich iired and living in living in on a 709 00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:08,680 Speaker 1: desert island. But no, it was a pretty crappy deal. 710 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:12,600 Speaker 1: Then do you still get songwriter royalties? We get some, 711 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,560 Speaker 1: I get some, yeah, but nothing like I've tried to 712 00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:19,120 Speaker 1: shame them. I've tried to shame them into, you know, 713 00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:22,000 Speaker 1: making it more civilized kind of deal, but they won't 714 00:47:22,040 --> 00:47:27,040 Speaker 1: have it. And how about public performance? You know here 715 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:31,120 Speaker 1: it's called Aska b M. I yeah, yeah, thank goodness, 716 00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:33,800 Speaker 1: that that was the only money I saw for a while, 717 00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:37,080 Speaker 1: to be honest, from them, from that song. But I 718 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,759 Speaker 1: do it does trickle through. It's still been good, don't 719 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:43,840 Speaker 1: get me wrong. I mean if I get a half 720 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:46,120 Speaker 1: or a quarter of what I should have a song 721 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:48,960 Speaker 1: like that that hangs around for all those years, it's 722 00:47:49,160 --> 00:47:52,880 Speaker 1: it's pretty incredible really. So it goes on for a 723 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:59,279 Speaker 1: couple of years with Ace. How did that end? Uh? 724 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:03,320 Speaker 1: Not very dramatically. It fizzled out, really, is the truth. 725 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:10,560 Speaker 1: We had that one big hit and it was the 726 00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:15,120 Speaker 1: only song like that on the record. To be honest, um, 727 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,960 Speaker 1: the two of the other main writers, because I was 728 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,520 Speaker 1: the last one to join and to come in and 729 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:24,040 Speaker 1: write stuff that it was formed by two other writists, 730 00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:28,480 Speaker 1: Phil Harris and Bam King, and their stuff was a 731 00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:34,239 Speaker 1: little more guitar blues country kind of stuff, and there 732 00:48:34,280 --> 00:48:37,080 Speaker 1: was nothing else that really caught the eye. Caught a 733 00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:41,879 Speaker 1: year and we made another album that didn't really happen. 734 00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:45,359 Speaker 1: So it kind of fizzled out, is what happened. How 735 00:48:45,360 --> 00:48:50,520 Speaker 1: do you get hooked up with Jake Rivieria? Well I 736 00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:53,680 Speaker 1: knew Jake back in those days, but he was a 737 00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:56,919 Speaker 1: roadie for a band called Chili Willie and the Red 738 00:48:56,920 --> 00:49:01,080 Speaker 1: Hot Peppers, not obviously not to be confused used with 739 00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:04,680 Speaker 1: a band of a similar name. But so, while I 740 00:49:04,719 --> 00:49:07,759 Speaker 1: was in in Ace and we lived for about a 741 00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:13,560 Speaker 1: year in the mid seventies nineties six, while I was 742 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:17,960 Speaker 1: living over there doing the Being all Californian and everything, 743 00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:23,279 Speaker 1: how does the Being relocate to the United States? It 744 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:25,600 Speaker 1: was our manager's idea. He thought that we, you know, 745 00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:29,920 Speaker 1: we'd had this huge radio hit in in the States 746 00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:33,480 Speaker 1: and that we should try and make a go of 747 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:36,920 Speaker 1: it in the States, which is what we did. So 748 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,319 Speaker 1: what was it like, boy from Sheffield is living in 749 00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:42,680 Speaker 1: sunny southern California. Well, it was a bit unreal really 750 00:49:42,719 --> 00:49:46,960 Speaker 1: because it was beautiful, it was fantastic, but we didn't 751 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:50,320 Speaker 1: get any work done. You know, we were messing around 752 00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:54,319 Speaker 1: and going to the beach and playing soccer and all 753 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:58,640 Speaker 1: the rest of it, but and not writing any good songs. 754 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:05,520 Speaker 1: So but meanwhile in the UK things had gone changed 755 00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:12,640 Speaker 1: completely and Jake, Jake Riveria had helped to found Stiff Records, 756 00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:15,800 Speaker 1: which was, you know, at the forefront of all the 757 00:50:15,840 --> 00:50:20,279 Speaker 1: punk and new wave stuff. They found Elvis Costello and 758 00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:23,919 Speaker 1: in fact, our good friend when we were living in California. 759 00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:28,200 Speaker 1: Down the road was our friend Pete Thomas, who had 760 00:50:28,239 --> 00:50:31,120 Speaker 1: played in this band Chili Willie and the Red Hot Peppers, 761 00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:35,000 Speaker 1: and he was living over in the States and playing 762 00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:38,440 Speaker 1: with some people like John Stewart and the Country People, 763 00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:41,600 Speaker 1: and he got the call from Jake to go and 764 00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:46,440 Speaker 1: play with this guy, Elvis Costello. So Pete went back 765 00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:49,719 Speaker 1: to UK and six months or sold later we went 766 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:52,640 Speaker 1: back and it was like, oh my goodness, it's all changed, 767 00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:55,600 Speaker 1: you know, it's all it's over. You know, we've got 768 00:50:55,600 --> 00:51:00,319 Speaker 1: beards and long hair and everything. They hate us so 769 00:51:02,239 --> 00:51:07,200 Speaker 1: but anyway, so I just started to work around London 770 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:11,399 Speaker 1: doing sessions. I worked with with Roxy Music, helped made 771 00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:14,400 Speaker 1: a couple of records with them and toured with them. 772 00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:19,239 Speaker 1: And then Jake had taken on Squeeze. He started to 773 00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:25,239 Speaker 1: manage Squeeze and the keyboard player Jules Holland had left 774 00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:29,440 Speaker 1: the band. They auditioned tons of people and Jake said, well, 775 00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:31,600 Speaker 1: why don't he try Paul Carrot. He's back in town. 776 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:34,120 Speaker 1: He's been playing with Roxy Music. He shaved his beard off. 777 00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:37,200 Speaker 1: You're getting me and I went down an audition with 778 00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:40,680 Speaker 1: them about a week before the recording of east Side 779 00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:43,279 Speaker 1: Story album and and the next thing I know, I 780 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:47,279 Speaker 1: was in the studio with him. Okay, how did you 781 00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:49,839 Speaker 1: end up playing You're a guy with one hit from 782 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:52,239 Speaker 1: a failed band, how do you end up working with 783 00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:58,680 Speaker 1: Roxy Music? Well, um, I don't know how interesting this is, 784 00:51:58,760 --> 00:52:01,960 Speaker 1: but now it's interesting to Okay, Well this is what happened. 785 00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:04,640 Speaker 1: Is that, Yes, I said, I went back to UK. 786 00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:07,840 Speaker 1: I thought I figured it was kind of over, but 787 00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:11,160 Speaker 1: I started to play a few sessions. I just wanted 788 00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:13,920 Speaker 1: to all the what I thought were the best players 789 00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:16,440 Speaker 1: in London that that's what they did. And I used 790 00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:19,279 Speaker 1: to hang out with this group of players who I 791 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:24,680 Speaker 1: really admired, and they had played on the Brian Ferry 792 00:52:24,719 --> 00:52:28,720 Speaker 1: solo records. And when Roxy reformed to make an album 793 00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:32,320 Speaker 1: called Manifesto and then Flesh and Blood, they got Brian 794 00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:36,440 Speaker 1: insisted on having these guys play on the records and 795 00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:38,239 Speaker 1: they said, well we got this other guy now and 796 00:52:38,640 --> 00:52:43,600 Speaker 1: he plays keyboards, let's bring him along. And that was me. Okay, 797 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:47,960 Speaker 1: so good experience, bad experience. Oh yeah, good experience, Yeah, 798 00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:51,279 Speaker 1: good experience. I mean it wasn't what I'm a bit 799 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:54,359 Speaker 1: of a soul guy, you know, I wasn't at all 800 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:59,120 Speaker 1: glam rock, you know, as the exact opposite, boring denim 801 00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:04,160 Speaker 1: plaid bloke. Um. But to go out on the road 802 00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:07,520 Speaker 1: with rock Shore. You know this was fun. You know 803 00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:09,719 Speaker 1: it's great. I enjoyed it. Yeah, there's a song on 804 00:53:09,800 --> 00:53:14,320 Speaker 1: Flesh and Blood. Oh yeah, I might well be playing 805 00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:18,399 Speaker 1: on it. How's it go? I just handed my mind 806 00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:22,279 Speaker 1: the song playing on there. I'm playing on that. I'm 807 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:26,280 Speaker 1: playing on that. Yet there's this song playing on the radio. 808 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:30,920 Speaker 1: I'm playing the strings in there. Okay, But you know 809 00:53:30,960 --> 00:53:33,680 Speaker 1: what made that record was the bass player, because that 810 00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:37,479 Speaker 1: song was not happening. It was like a do walk song. 811 00:53:37,760 --> 00:53:40,880 Speaker 1: And then we went down the pub, came back Alan Spinner, 812 00:53:41,239 --> 00:53:44,560 Speaker 1: great bass player, and he starts playing that Basseline doo 813 00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:49,520 Speaker 1: doo doo doo doo doo make actually made it? Yeah? Anyway, 814 00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:53,080 Speaker 1: going you're playing sessions. I know in Los Angeles, you know, 815 00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:55,799 Speaker 1: people call their friends in, but usually if they don't 816 00:53:55,880 --> 00:54:01,320 Speaker 1: read music, they're squeezed out. Did you re music? And 817 00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:05,680 Speaker 1: how extensive was your session career and how did that work? 818 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:09,399 Speaker 1: Not reading music? No, I didn't read music. I don't. 819 00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:14,640 Speaker 1: I don't think many of them in London did actually, 820 00:54:15,080 --> 00:54:21,600 Speaker 1: But no, I was always pretty scared that I'd get 821 00:54:21,680 --> 00:54:25,560 Speaker 1: found out. You know that. You know that I couldn't 822 00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:31,719 Speaker 1: really play that well, but you know, my musical instincts 823 00:54:32,680 --> 00:54:36,439 Speaker 1: got me through. My ear and the musical instincts got 824 00:54:36,480 --> 00:54:39,440 Speaker 1: me through, and I just saw it all as a 825 00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:42,920 Speaker 1: learning experience. But I was always terrified for the first 826 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:45,120 Speaker 1: half an hour or an hour that I get found out. 827 00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:48,359 Speaker 1: You know, it's very insecure about that. So how did 828 00:54:48,360 --> 00:54:52,680 Speaker 1: it end with Roxy? I think it was just that 829 00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:55,480 Speaker 1: I did a couple of tours of them and made 830 00:54:55,480 --> 00:54:59,040 Speaker 1: a couple of albums, and then the opportunity to do 831 00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:04,960 Speaker 1: the Squeeze the thing came up, and I just remember 832 00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:08,040 Speaker 1: calling up Roxy and they said they kind of done 833 00:55:08,040 --> 00:55:09,480 Speaker 1: what they were going to do, and they said, no, 834 00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:11,920 Speaker 1: go for it. And that's when I kind of got 835 00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,720 Speaker 1: involved with Squeeze. I didn't realize I was joining Squeeze. 836 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:19,040 Speaker 1: I thought I was just playing some sessions. But anyway, 837 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:22,719 Speaker 1: when did you realize you joined? I think when I 838 00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:27,160 Speaker 1: was on the plane going over to the States to 839 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:31,759 Speaker 1: to do the first tour with them, UM, which was 840 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:36,839 Speaker 1: a duel billing of Squeeze and Elvis Costello and the Attractions, 841 00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:43,319 Speaker 1: two bands on the same bush sixteen people. I think 842 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:44,960 Speaker 1: they were on that bus. There were two bands. There 843 00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:48,280 Speaker 1: was a security guy because Elvis had caused some controversy 844 00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:54,200 Speaker 1: to a manager. Sixteen people. Can you imagine? So how 845 00:55:54,239 --> 00:55:59,919 Speaker 1: did you end up singing Tempted? Okay? Well, as I said, 846 00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:04,239 Speaker 1: I was there to play keys, really, and we had 847 00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:09,440 Speaker 1: recorded pretty much the album. They had already recorded a 848 00:56:09,560 --> 00:56:14,440 Speaker 1: version of this song Tempted, which is completely different different 849 00:56:14,480 --> 00:56:19,239 Speaker 1: how it was just I've always think I only heard 850 00:56:19,239 --> 00:56:21,840 Speaker 1: it once or twice. It was produced by Dave Edmonds, 851 00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:25,600 Speaker 1: and it was more sort of almost like super Tramp 852 00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:31,200 Speaker 1: or something and a bad fruit of na um. And 853 00:56:31,239 --> 00:56:34,160 Speaker 1: then this one day we started messing around in the studio. 854 00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:37,640 Speaker 1: I'm playing Hammond organ and they're doing it in that 855 00:56:37,760 --> 00:56:43,280 Speaker 1: kind of soul vibe, and Elvis Costello was producing the record. 856 00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:46,480 Speaker 1: He came running in and said like, let's put this down. 857 00:56:46,600 --> 00:56:48,960 Speaker 1: Let's put this down and put the track down. Or 858 00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:51,680 Speaker 1: everybody's like, ah, this is great, this is great. He said, yeah, 859 00:56:51,719 --> 00:56:55,560 Speaker 1: but you know, Paul, you should sing it. So I 860 00:56:55,600 --> 00:56:59,200 Speaker 1: went in, why you You must have had a reason. 861 00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:05,000 Speaker 1: Perhaps he was just being nice. I don't know. I mean, 862 00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:07,879 Speaker 1: I was kind of thought of as a little bit 863 00:57:07,880 --> 00:57:12,560 Speaker 1: of you know, the blue eyed soul singer even you know, 864 00:57:13,120 --> 00:57:17,440 Speaker 1: and it was his his idea. And how did he 865 00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:21,400 Speaker 1: end up playing his response line there? I think he 866 00:57:21,440 --> 00:57:23,800 Speaker 1: was just very keen to get in on it because 867 00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:31,120 Speaker 1: it was a great song. And yeah, I don't blame him, 868 00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:35,600 Speaker 1: it's a great song. So at what point do you 869 00:57:35,640 --> 00:57:41,480 Speaker 1: realize you have this great unique voice? Well, I'm I 870 00:57:41,560 --> 00:57:44,320 Speaker 1: always fancied myself as a singer. You know, I'd sung 871 00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:47,680 Speaker 1: how long, and I'd sung all a lot of songs. 872 00:57:47,720 --> 00:57:50,440 Speaker 1: And I'm talking about before that or before that. Well, 873 00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:53,680 Speaker 1: as a kid, people remarked and they said, always got 874 00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:56,720 Speaker 1: a lovely voice, you know, at school and things like 875 00:57:56,760 --> 00:58:01,280 Speaker 1: that when I was little, little, you know. And but 876 00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:06,000 Speaker 1: other than that, um, I didn't really do anything else. 877 00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:08,520 Speaker 1: Even when I was in bands in the beginning, I 878 00:58:08,600 --> 00:58:11,360 Speaker 1: was only doing big backgrounds because usually there was a 879 00:58:11,400 --> 00:58:16,160 Speaker 1: one guy, a designated bloke at the front. And so 880 00:58:16,240 --> 00:58:20,280 Speaker 1: it wasn't until we we formed Ace and I started 881 00:58:20,320 --> 00:58:23,400 Speaker 1: singing lead. That's when I got the hang of it. 882 00:58:23,920 --> 00:58:26,920 Speaker 1: I started to get the hang of it. Well, from 883 00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:31,160 Speaker 1: an outside perspective, your voice has not changed as good 884 00:58:31,160 --> 00:58:33,840 Speaker 1: as it ever was. I mean he's just you know, 885 00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:36,440 Speaker 1: freak of DNA or there are certain things you do 886 00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:40,280 Speaker 1: to make sure you protect your vocal chords or what's 887 00:58:40,320 --> 00:58:43,080 Speaker 1: going on there. Yeah, I think it has changed a 888 00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:45,320 Speaker 1: little bit. I think, I like to think in in 889 00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:49,479 Speaker 1: a lot of in a lot of ways, it's got better, 890 00:58:49,760 --> 00:58:53,440 Speaker 1: it's stronger, it's got a bit more tumbra to it. 891 00:58:53,560 --> 00:58:57,240 Speaker 1: And I just try to stay healthy. I don't do 892 00:58:57,280 --> 00:59:03,280 Speaker 1: anything stupid like smoke or during hard liquor. Um, did 893 00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:06,360 Speaker 1: you used to smoke and drink hard liquor? I've done. Yeah, 894 00:59:06,560 --> 00:59:11,280 Speaker 1: obviously it's expected of you, you know, but I like 895 00:59:11,360 --> 00:59:15,160 Speaker 1: a glass of wine. But no, as I say, try 896 00:59:15,160 --> 00:59:18,360 Speaker 1: and stay healthy. I see all this stuff now and 897 00:59:18,760 --> 00:59:22,040 Speaker 1: YouTube and stuff like that. You can, you know, improve 898 00:59:22,120 --> 00:59:28,720 Speaker 1: your um, your voice and things like that. But blessed 899 00:59:28,760 --> 00:59:35,200 Speaker 1: with decent chords, you know, and and and the musicality. 900 00:59:35,920 --> 00:59:39,120 Speaker 1: And I've developed it and used it, you know, keep 901 00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:43,800 Speaker 1: using it. That's the thing. Okay, Then you make a 902 00:59:43,840 --> 00:59:48,560 Speaker 1: solo album good Experience not so good Experience? Which one 903 00:59:48,640 --> 00:59:51,240 Speaker 1: was that? Well, let's go back one chapter. How do 904 00:59:51,280 --> 00:59:56,480 Speaker 1: you end up leaving Squeeze? Well, I was there for 905 00:59:56,520 --> 01:00:01,880 Speaker 1: about a year and I loved it. I was happy 906 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:05,240 Speaker 1: playing keys, to be honest, because they didn't need a singer. 907 01:00:06,080 --> 01:00:10,040 Speaker 1: They already had two singers. They didn't need a songwriter, 908 01:00:10,640 --> 01:00:13,480 Speaker 1: particularly someone like me that wrote three or four chord 909 01:00:14,920 --> 01:00:19,800 Speaker 1: lovey dovey stuff. They had a thing now, had an identity. 910 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:21,920 Speaker 1: It was the songs. It was the sound of Glenn 911 01:00:21,920 --> 01:00:25,320 Speaker 1: and Chris singing, and they didn't really need it. So 912 01:00:25,800 --> 01:00:30,280 Speaker 1: I was having a good time. But it was obvious that, 913 01:00:30,320 --> 01:00:35,040 Speaker 1: you know, if I was to develop as a singer 914 01:00:35,080 --> 01:00:37,240 Speaker 1: and a songwriter, I couldn't really do it within the 915 01:00:37,320 --> 01:00:40,840 Speaker 1: framework of that band, you know. And I wasn't going 916 01:00:40,880 --> 01:00:44,800 Speaker 1: to try and impose my style on on them. They 917 01:00:44,800 --> 01:00:48,800 Speaker 1: didn't need it. So that's kind of why I left. Well, 918 01:00:48,800 --> 01:00:52,320 Speaker 1: you're walking from a good gig into the wilderness. It 919 01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:54,600 Speaker 1: was a good gig and it was fun. Yeah it 920 01:00:54,640 --> 01:00:59,000 Speaker 1: was great. But yeah, I made a lot of strange 921 01:00:59,560 --> 01:01:02,760 Speaker 1: decision and in my career, you know, they're not not 922 01:01:02,800 --> 01:01:08,720 Speaker 1: always been career moves, but it I'm not in a 923 01:01:08,760 --> 01:01:11,200 Speaker 1: bad place now. I love where I am now, you know. 924 01:01:11,320 --> 01:01:13,439 Speaker 1: So if you have to do it all over again, 925 01:01:13,480 --> 01:01:17,200 Speaker 1: what would you have done differently? Mm hmmm. Probably had 926 01:01:17,240 --> 01:01:21,160 Speaker 1: a bit more faith in my own self and my 927 01:01:21,480 --> 01:01:24,920 Speaker 1: own ability. But that's easier said than done. You know, 928 01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:28,720 Speaker 1: it's tough to to make your way in in in 929 01:01:28,960 --> 01:01:32,320 Speaker 1: in in this music. It is tough. So and I've 930 01:01:32,360 --> 01:01:35,160 Speaker 1: also had to have a family, you know, to bear 931 01:01:35,200 --> 01:01:37,840 Speaker 1: in mind, and I wasn't prepared for them to suffer 932 01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:44,000 Speaker 1: for my art, you know, so I I probably wouldn't 933 01:01:44,040 --> 01:01:47,240 Speaker 1: change anything. I'll tell you why, because you know, people 934 01:01:47,240 --> 01:01:49,439 Speaker 1: will say, oh, you could have done this, you could 935 01:01:49,480 --> 01:01:52,000 Speaker 1: have done more. I could have done a whole lot less. 936 01:01:52,520 --> 01:01:57,520 Speaker 1: I have had a great, very career, made some great people. 937 01:01:57,600 --> 01:02:01,600 Speaker 1: I never expected to do this and get this far. 938 01:02:02,080 --> 01:02:07,360 Speaker 1: And my career is actually not in a bad place 939 01:02:07,440 --> 01:02:09,480 Speaker 1: at the moment. I haven't a lot of people like 940 01:02:09,600 --> 01:02:13,120 Speaker 1: what I do. I have a great band who you know, 941 01:02:13,240 --> 01:02:17,840 Speaker 1: support me, and I have a great family. I really 942 01:02:18,280 --> 01:02:23,680 Speaker 1: don't think I should ask for more. At what point 943 01:02:23,720 --> 01:02:28,600 Speaker 1: do you meet your wife in this journey? Well, a 944 01:02:28,640 --> 01:02:39,040 Speaker 1: long time ago pre Ace pre Ace nineteen seventy two, 945 01:02:40,480 --> 01:02:43,560 Speaker 1: I think, and I just I just met her. We've 946 01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:48,520 Speaker 1: we've been together since that day Clider met her and 947 01:02:48,680 --> 01:02:53,200 Speaker 1: she came her friend had designs on one of the 948 01:02:53,360 --> 01:02:55,760 Speaker 1: other guys in the band, and she came along to 949 01:02:56,240 --> 01:02:59,800 Speaker 1: a support and I met her. I'm I'm afraid it 950 01:02:59,880 --> 01:03:02,800 Speaker 1: was like that, and at what point to get married? 951 01:03:04,280 --> 01:03:06,560 Speaker 1: Where we were together for seven years and then we 952 01:03:06,640 --> 01:03:12,000 Speaker 1: got married and not long before our first son was 953 01:03:12,040 --> 01:03:18,840 Speaker 1: born and we have had four great kids and we 954 01:03:18,880 --> 01:03:24,080 Speaker 1: now have two and a half grandchildren one on the way. 955 01:03:24,120 --> 01:03:27,800 Speaker 1: So yeah, and she's been She is great. She's a 956 01:03:27,840 --> 01:03:32,240 Speaker 1: great person. She's honest. Being on the road good or 957 01:03:32,320 --> 01:03:37,360 Speaker 1: bad for the relationship, Well, it doesn't make life easy. 958 01:03:37,680 --> 01:03:41,000 Speaker 1: I mean, goodness knows how she got on with four 959 01:03:41,520 --> 01:03:49,400 Speaker 1: young kids, um while I was away, But you know, yes, so, 960 01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:54,000 Speaker 1: and she never gave me any grief about that. You know, 961 01:03:54,120 --> 01:03:57,040 Speaker 1: it was accepted. This was the only way I knew 962 01:03:57,720 --> 01:03:59,520 Speaker 1: to make a living and this is the way he's 963 01:03:59,560 --> 01:04:05,480 Speaker 1: going to have to be. And it's it's great now 964 01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:07,520 Speaker 1: that I've you know, had a little bit of success 965 01:04:07,560 --> 01:04:10,520 Speaker 1: here along the way and I can help them. But 966 01:04:10,640 --> 01:04:14,160 Speaker 1: it was tough, you know, being away for and that 967 01:04:14,240 --> 01:04:18,160 Speaker 1: was a sacrifice sometimes, you know, to be away with 968 01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:23,120 Speaker 1: a band that you're not fully part of, and yet 969 01:04:23,160 --> 01:04:25,680 Speaker 1: you I'm a team player. I am a team player, 970 01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:29,600 Speaker 1: and I would always do my best whatever the situation, 971 01:04:29,840 --> 01:04:34,880 Speaker 1: and feel obliged sometimes, but you know, my wife, God 972 01:04:34,880 --> 01:04:41,360 Speaker 1: bless her, gosh, I don't actually did it. So prior 973 01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:44,320 Speaker 1: to meeting your wife or maybe after, to what degree 974 01:04:44,400 --> 01:04:47,280 Speaker 1: were you enamored of the sex, drugs, and rock and 975 01:04:47,360 --> 01:04:53,680 Speaker 1: roll lifestyle. Well, I think I took my share. I 976 01:04:53,720 --> 01:04:56,000 Speaker 1: don't like to talk about it. I don't like to 977 01:04:56,040 --> 01:05:01,120 Speaker 1: talk about it with my kids, um because three of them, 978 01:05:01,120 --> 01:05:05,520 Speaker 1: for sure never really never to my knowledge, we're interested 979 01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:09,880 Speaker 1: in that one who's the chip of the old block. 980 01:05:10,000 --> 01:05:14,320 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure dabbled in various things. I'm hoping they're 981 01:05:14,320 --> 01:05:19,360 Speaker 1: not going to hear this, but I think that you're okay. 982 01:05:19,520 --> 01:05:23,160 Speaker 1: But no, I mean, you know I was expected of 983 01:05:23,240 --> 01:05:28,800 Speaker 1: you and and and no, I'm guilty has charged, but 984 01:05:28,920 --> 01:05:30,800 Speaker 1: not for a long time, not what not. As soon 985 01:05:30,840 --> 01:05:33,080 Speaker 1: as the family started coming along, it was obvious that 986 01:05:33,120 --> 01:05:36,320 Speaker 1: they didn't mix and I didn't. I didn't have a 987 01:05:36,440 --> 01:05:39,360 Speaker 1: rock and roll family. I didn't have rock and roll kids. 988 01:05:39,400 --> 01:05:44,240 Speaker 1: You know. I wanted a stable I didn't want any 989 01:05:44,240 --> 01:05:48,880 Speaker 1: of that in their life. So when we were talking 990 01:05:48,920 --> 01:05:52,600 Speaker 1: about the Doover thing, you were saying, if you had 991 01:05:52,720 --> 01:05:57,160 Speaker 1: more confidence in yourself and your talents, I mean, the 992 01:05:57,200 --> 01:06:00,320 Speaker 1: fear is just totally exterior. They don't really see what 993 01:06:00,400 --> 01:06:03,680 Speaker 1: goes on in the mind. Are you telling us that 994 01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:07,920 Speaker 1: you really didn't have enough confidence both to go out 995 01:06:08,280 --> 01:06:11,240 Speaker 1: on a business level and artistic level? You just saw 996 01:06:11,280 --> 01:06:16,800 Speaker 1: yourself as a band member. Yeah, I think I was 997 01:06:16,840 --> 01:06:23,959 Speaker 1: happy being in a banned environment, playing with people having 998 01:06:23,960 --> 01:06:26,600 Speaker 1: fun out. Just thought maybe it wasn't for me, you know, 999 01:06:26,680 --> 01:06:29,240 Speaker 1: to to have that. I didn't want it. I know. 1000 01:06:29,280 --> 01:06:31,760 Speaker 1: I know the people that want that, you know, they 1001 01:06:31,800 --> 01:06:34,920 Speaker 1: have to they have to want it. And I was 1002 01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:37,720 Speaker 1: never that pushy, you know. I'm, as I say, more 1003 01:06:37,760 --> 01:06:42,040 Speaker 1: of a team player. But I love singing, and so 1004 01:06:42,160 --> 01:06:47,200 Speaker 1: I've had to some extent make myself do that, you know, 1005 01:06:47,720 --> 01:06:53,600 Speaker 1: have a bit more confidence, and and I have, I have, 1006 01:06:53,960 --> 01:06:59,000 Speaker 1: I have now, But um, I just don't think you can. 1007 01:06:59,080 --> 01:07:00,760 Speaker 1: You can. You can't really say would I do it 1008 01:07:00,760 --> 01:07:02,360 Speaker 1: all again? Because you know, you've got to have the 1009 01:07:02,400 --> 01:07:04,320 Speaker 1: guts to do it, And maybe I didn't have the guts, 1010 01:07:04,400 --> 01:07:07,120 Speaker 1: you know or whatever. I don't know. We're where where 1011 01:07:07,120 --> 01:07:09,760 Speaker 1: we are now. What would the guts have looked like? 1012 01:07:12,840 --> 01:07:15,840 Speaker 1: I don't know what that means to be honest. Well, 1013 01:07:15,880 --> 01:07:20,080 Speaker 1: I mean you made it from Sheffield with the outdoor, toilet, 1014 01:07:20,880 --> 01:07:25,240 Speaker 1: to to you know, to the hit parade? What what? 1015 01:07:25,240 --> 01:07:31,120 Speaker 1: What kind of characteristic would it have taken? They let me. 1016 01:07:31,240 --> 01:07:34,120 Speaker 1: But is it such that this is your personality or 1017 01:07:34,160 --> 01:07:37,200 Speaker 1: the boy from Sheffield? He can't take the boy out 1018 01:07:37,200 --> 01:07:43,400 Speaker 1: of Sheffield? Or can people change or not change? It 1019 01:07:43,520 --> 01:07:48,160 Speaker 1: could be I mean Sheffield people generally speaking, they are 1020 01:07:48,400 --> 01:07:53,280 Speaker 1: kind of self effacing. They do get their self deprivation. 1021 01:07:53,600 --> 01:07:58,080 Speaker 1: What's the word um in? They don't like people that 1022 01:07:58,200 --> 01:08:03,080 Speaker 1: get to big for their boots. As I say, I'm 1023 01:08:03,120 --> 01:08:05,400 Speaker 1: a team player. I could make all the excuses in 1024 01:08:05,400 --> 01:08:07,320 Speaker 1: the world, but it boils down to the fact that 1025 01:08:07,360 --> 01:08:10,480 Speaker 1: you know, you've got to want want it, and you've 1026 01:08:10,480 --> 01:08:16,120 Speaker 1: got to be self orientated. I was. As I say, 1027 01:08:16,160 --> 01:08:19,720 Speaker 1: I'm not complaining. I think things are gone pretty good. 1028 01:08:26,760 --> 01:08:28,920 Speaker 1: So ultimately, you have a solo record, you have a 1029 01:08:29,000 --> 01:08:31,599 Speaker 1: hit in the United States, So do you think you're 1030 01:08:31,640 --> 01:08:34,200 Speaker 1: on your way? Then? What's going through your mind? Are 1031 01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:36,600 Speaker 1: we talking about don't shed a tear? Yeah no, no, 1032 01:08:36,720 --> 01:08:39,080 Speaker 1: we're talking about I need you, I need you before 1033 01:08:39,320 --> 01:08:41,280 Speaker 1: I need you? Yeah, I need you was just kind 1034 01:08:41,280 --> 01:08:45,800 Speaker 1: of top thirty. Yeah, that was stripped step in the 1035 01:08:45,880 --> 01:08:50,160 Speaker 1: right direction. Yeah, I thought things were moving. Well, there, 1036 01:08:50,280 --> 01:08:55,960 Speaker 1: I was in working a lot with Nick Lowe um 1037 01:08:55,960 --> 01:09:00,280 Speaker 1: back in those days, and yeah, I was and a 1038 01:09:00,280 --> 01:09:05,400 Speaker 1: bit more confident and cocky then. Um, I'm trying to 1039 01:09:05,439 --> 01:09:12,120 Speaker 1: think chronologically how things happened. I know that after Mike 1040 01:09:12,200 --> 01:09:15,240 Speaker 1: and the Mechanics, I got a solo contract and I 1041 01:09:15,280 --> 01:09:17,679 Speaker 1: had my first top ten hit, which is the song 1042 01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:24,559 Speaker 1: Don't Shed a Tear, and that was pretty exciting. Sadly, 1043 01:09:24,920 --> 01:09:27,719 Speaker 1: my wife got ill at this at this time, and 1044 01:09:29,800 --> 01:09:31,680 Speaker 1: we I was on tour in the States and I 1045 01:09:31,720 --> 01:09:37,000 Speaker 1: had to go home and we had to um, you know, 1046 01:09:37,200 --> 01:09:39,479 Speaker 1: take care of her for for for a little while. 1047 01:09:39,560 --> 01:09:42,640 Speaker 1: So we lost a little bit of momentum there. But 1048 01:09:44,160 --> 01:09:47,320 Speaker 1: as I say, I'm where I am now, I think 1049 01:09:47,479 --> 01:09:51,040 Speaker 1: is a pretty good place. So how do you end 1050 01:09:51,080 --> 01:09:57,640 Speaker 1: up working with Mike and the Mechanics? Um? Do you 1051 01:09:57,680 --> 01:10:04,400 Speaker 1: want the long story? Give us a lot? Sorry, okay, Um, well, 1052 01:10:05,040 --> 01:10:07,160 Speaker 1: I'm trying to think now. Okay, So I had a 1053 01:10:07,160 --> 01:10:10,280 Speaker 1: band with Nick low for several years, which, okay, let's 1054 01:10:10,280 --> 01:10:12,080 Speaker 1: start there. How do you end up thou falling in 1055 01:10:12,120 --> 01:10:14,560 Speaker 1: with Nickolo? You must have known him from the stiff years, 1056 01:10:14,600 --> 01:10:16,639 Speaker 1: but how do you reconnect? No, I knew him before 1057 01:10:16,640 --> 01:10:18,920 Speaker 1: then I knew him before the stiff years. How did 1058 01:10:18,960 --> 01:10:20,760 Speaker 1: you know? How did you know him? Well? Because we 1059 01:10:20,760 --> 01:10:23,920 Speaker 1: were on this pub rock circuit. I was in Ace. 1060 01:10:24,280 --> 01:10:27,720 Speaker 1: He had a band called Brinsley Sports, and they were 1061 01:10:27,760 --> 01:10:31,519 Speaker 1: probably the best band on that circuit, but we were 1062 01:10:31,520 --> 01:10:35,400 Speaker 1: the ones that had the lucky hit anyway, so we 1063 01:10:36,120 --> 01:10:39,080 Speaker 1: I didn't then see much of Nick for many years 1064 01:10:39,640 --> 01:10:45,720 Speaker 1: until he became this record new wave record producer, producing 1065 01:10:45,760 --> 01:10:50,519 Speaker 1: The Damned and Elvis Costello and these people, and and 1066 01:10:50,560 --> 01:10:53,280 Speaker 1: then we all ended up under the same roof, under 1067 01:10:53,560 --> 01:10:59,479 Speaker 1: the Jake Rivereia stable because Nick was always with Jake 1068 01:10:59,800 --> 01:11:06,880 Speaker 1: and he'd taken on Squeeze and Nick produced my first album, 1069 01:11:06,920 --> 01:11:11,280 Speaker 1: which is called Suburban Voodoo, which is a very fueled 1070 01:11:11,800 --> 01:11:17,160 Speaker 1: kind of record. Um, what does that mean? We were 1071 01:11:17,400 --> 01:11:23,160 Speaker 1: loaded basically, you know. It sounds like it though, but 1072 01:11:23,760 --> 01:11:28,479 Speaker 1: I bought it. I was happy, did you well? It 1073 01:11:28,560 --> 01:11:35,360 Speaker 1: was very exciting. Where did this start? Now? Mechanics? Okay, 1074 01:11:35,439 --> 01:11:38,320 Speaker 1: So one of the reasons I had left Squeeze actually 1075 01:11:38,360 --> 01:11:40,439 Speaker 1: was because I loved Nick and I wanted to work 1076 01:11:40,479 --> 01:11:44,200 Speaker 1: with him. Um. He but unfortunately at the time he 1077 01:11:44,280 --> 01:11:46,439 Speaker 1: wasn't having a great time. He was having a divorce 1078 01:11:46,520 --> 01:11:49,639 Speaker 1: and all this stuff was going on, so he wasn't 1079 01:11:49,680 --> 01:11:51,479 Speaker 1: a lot of fun a lot of the time. But 1080 01:11:53,080 --> 01:11:56,479 Speaker 1: we had this band, and if if I had a 1081 01:11:56,479 --> 01:11:58,720 Speaker 1: record out, we went out as Paul Carrott, and if 1082 01:11:59,040 --> 01:12:00,840 Speaker 1: Nick had a record out, it was Nick Lowe and 1083 01:12:00,840 --> 01:12:04,479 Speaker 1: the Cowboy Outfit or Noise to Go or what have you. 1084 01:12:04,680 --> 01:12:08,599 Speaker 1: And so that was great. We had it. We we 1085 01:12:08,600 --> 01:12:11,880 Speaker 1: were playing up and down the states, either playing in 1086 01:12:11,920 --> 01:12:16,120 Speaker 1: little dives or opening up for people like Tom Petty 1087 01:12:16,200 --> 01:12:20,439 Speaker 1: on these long tours, opening up in the arenas and 1088 01:12:20,439 --> 01:12:22,439 Speaker 1: what have you. Had a lot of fun. But then 1089 01:12:22,479 --> 01:12:27,000 Speaker 1: it started to get a bit old, and we we've 1090 01:12:27,040 --> 01:12:29,599 Speaker 1: all decided really that it's it's it's run its course. 1091 01:12:30,080 --> 01:12:33,280 Speaker 1: And coincidentally, I get a call from a guy called b. A. Robertson, 1092 01:12:34,080 --> 01:12:37,479 Speaker 1: who is um calls me up about the blue I 1093 01:12:37,520 --> 01:12:40,680 Speaker 1: don't know him from Adam and he he's written this 1094 01:12:40,720 --> 01:12:45,400 Speaker 1: song that he wants to pitch to a movie and 1095 01:12:45,479 --> 01:12:49,559 Speaker 1: he says, Um, we should get that guy who sang 1096 01:12:49,600 --> 01:12:51,920 Speaker 1: that song. How long? So he called me up and said, 1097 01:12:51,960 --> 01:12:54,479 Speaker 1: you're that guy that's saying that. Would you come and 1098 01:12:54,520 --> 01:12:57,920 Speaker 1: sing this demo for me? Because I'm pitching this. I said, okay, yeah, 1099 01:12:57,920 --> 01:13:00,960 Speaker 1: because you never know. So I just went and did it. 1100 01:13:01,040 --> 01:13:03,519 Speaker 1: I didn't get paid or anything like that. Sang this 1101 01:13:03,600 --> 01:13:05,720 Speaker 1: song for him and he said, oh, by the way, 1102 01:13:06,080 --> 01:13:11,200 Speaker 1: I'm writing songs with Mike Rutherford from Genesis. He's making 1103 01:13:11,240 --> 01:13:14,759 Speaker 1: a solo record and would you think you'd be interested 1104 01:13:14,800 --> 01:13:17,080 Speaker 1: in coming down and singing a couple of songs on that? 1105 01:13:17,160 --> 01:13:20,240 Speaker 1: And I said, sure, yeah, why not? And so I 1106 01:13:20,320 --> 01:13:23,240 Speaker 1: went down. I met Mike, went down to the Genesis 1107 01:13:23,240 --> 01:13:29,240 Speaker 1: studio there and they said, just going. You've got this 1108 01:13:29,280 --> 01:13:32,040 Speaker 1: little song. Here's just three chords, just going there, blues 1109 01:13:32,080 --> 01:13:35,920 Speaker 1: away and it was this song Silent Running or can 1110 01:13:36,000 --> 01:13:39,439 Speaker 1: you hear Me? So they only had the can you 1111 01:13:39,479 --> 01:13:41,479 Speaker 1: hear Me a bit at this point and then and 1112 01:13:41,520 --> 01:13:44,920 Speaker 1: I'm just riffing away and they said, oh, that sounds great, 1113 01:13:44,960 --> 01:13:47,160 Speaker 1: and b A went away and wrote this weird lyric 1114 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:52,960 Speaker 1: and I sang a couple of songs, a couple of 1115 01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:55,280 Speaker 1: three songs on that first album, and then thought no 1116 01:13:55,400 --> 01:13:57,280 Speaker 1: more about it. And then the record came out and 1117 01:13:57,280 --> 01:14:00,679 Speaker 1: it was well received, and Mike was in a position 1118 01:14:00,840 --> 01:14:06,439 Speaker 1: to assemble this kind of studio band into a touring band, 1119 01:14:06,479 --> 01:14:10,400 Speaker 1: and we became Mike and the Mechanics. Okay, then there's 1120 01:14:10,439 --> 01:14:14,519 Speaker 1: the second album with Living Years. Yes, so how is 1121 01:14:14,560 --> 01:14:16,679 Speaker 1: that album, ma, because you're a member of the group 1122 01:14:16,720 --> 01:14:20,640 Speaker 1: now the Mechanics and one of the Mechanics. Yeah, and 1123 01:14:20,760 --> 01:14:23,639 Speaker 1: not Mike though, as my news agent used to think. 1124 01:14:24,120 --> 01:14:28,840 Speaker 1: But yeah, well I was. I was really happy to 1125 01:14:28,880 --> 01:14:33,519 Speaker 1: get to sing that song. Um. Obviously I kind of 1126 01:14:33,520 --> 01:14:35,360 Speaker 1: felt it was a bit of a tribute to my dad, 1127 01:14:35,400 --> 01:14:40,040 Speaker 1: but it was. The song really was about BEA's relationship 1128 01:14:40,080 --> 01:14:42,320 Speaker 1: with his father and all the rest of it. But 1129 01:14:44,920 --> 01:14:48,080 Speaker 1: so that's a kind of a feather in the cap. 1130 01:14:48,120 --> 01:14:51,040 Speaker 1: We were nominated for Grammy Awards and all sorts. We 1131 01:14:51,080 --> 01:14:55,360 Speaker 1: didn't get it, but nevertheless we had some good success 1132 01:14:56,160 --> 01:14:58,760 Speaker 1: m for for a few albums, and it was good fun. 1133 01:14:58,840 --> 01:15:01,680 Speaker 1: But it was it was Mike's project, you know. So 1134 01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:05,719 Speaker 1: how does it feel when you're not writing the songs? Well, 1135 01:15:05,800 --> 01:15:09,360 Speaker 1: originally I didn't mind because it was it was different 1136 01:15:09,400 --> 01:15:13,880 Speaker 1: to anything I would have been involved with. You know, 1137 01:15:13,920 --> 01:15:17,360 Speaker 1: it still had that sort of genesis kind of connection. 1138 01:15:17,400 --> 01:15:19,679 Speaker 1: I was felt I was more of a root Sie 1139 01:15:19,880 --> 01:15:22,479 Speaker 1: kind of guy, but it was something different. But I 1140 01:15:22,560 --> 01:15:27,479 Speaker 1: was happy to be involved. And but then I started 1141 01:15:27,479 --> 01:15:30,120 Speaker 1: to think, well, you know, it's the songwriters back in 1142 01:15:30,160 --> 01:15:33,240 Speaker 1: those days that were making any of the money. So 1143 01:15:34,000 --> 01:15:38,680 Speaker 1: and I also felt that I could contribute to the songwriting, 1144 01:15:39,640 --> 01:15:44,360 Speaker 1: and fortunately Mike had already had this thought and started 1145 01:15:44,360 --> 01:15:47,040 Speaker 1: to include me more in the songwriting. And how did 1146 01:15:47,040 --> 01:15:53,559 Speaker 1: you write Over my Shoulder? Very quickly? Pretty quickly anyway, 1147 01:15:53,600 --> 01:15:57,400 Speaker 1: I mean I went down to Mike's house and he said, okay, well, 1148 01:15:57,400 --> 01:15:59,600 Speaker 1: I've got this little idea, and he started strumming the 1149 01:15:59,680 --> 01:16:05,040 Speaker 1: open chords as you're probably familiar with, and I started, 1150 01:16:05,120 --> 01:16:08,000 Speaker 1: and we put the cassette player on and I started 1151 01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:13,960 Speaker 1: to riff away. And after twenty minutes of riffing on 1152 01:16:14,000 --> 01:16:18,400 Speaker 1: this on these chords, the tape ran out. And I 1153 01:16:18,800 --> 01:16:22,840 Speaker 1: had been thinking, I don't think he's digging this because 1154 01:16:22,840 --> 01:16:24,880 Speaker 1: it's it's too pop for him. You know, he's not 1155 01:16:24,880 --> 01:16:28,040 Speaker 1: gonna like this anyway, and then he said, actually, you 1156 01:16:28,120 --> 01:16:31,040 Speaker 1: did something at the very beginning of the thing. And 1157 01:16:31,040 --> 01:16:33,280 Speaker 1: we were around the tape right to the top and 1158 01:16:33,320 --> 01:16:36,920 Speaker 1: there I'm singing for whatever and it reason looking back 1159 01:16:37,160 --> 01:16:45,840 Speaker 1: over my Shoulder Lady ballad, and he he loved it. 1160 01:16:45,880 --> 01:16:49,080 Speaker 1: So I was great. It was a whole shape was 1161 01:16:49,120 --> 01:16:51,680 Speaker 1: there from the get go. And then I took it 1162 01:16:51,720 --> 01:16:53,760 Speaker 1: away and wrote some lyrics to it and that was it. 1163 01:16:55,080 --> 01:16:57,320 Speaker 1: But that was a big song in Europe and the UK. 1164 01:16:57,439 --> 01:16:59,400 Speaker 1: But I don't think it ever took off in the 1165 01:17:00,000 --> 01:17:02,320 Speaker 1: of that album though. And I certainly know that song. 1166 01:17:02,400 --> 01:17:06,920 Speaker 1: That was my favorite song on the record. Uh, but 1167 01:17:06,960 --> 01:17:10,400 Speaker 1: how do you normally write a song? I don't know, Bob. 1168 01:17:10,439 --> 01:17:12,960 Speaker 1: I was hoping you weren't gonna ask me that one. 1169 01:17:15,720 --> 01:17:18,200 Speaker 1: You know, some people sit down there with a pad 1170 01:17:18,240 --> 01:17:21,000 Speaker 1: of paper and they write and they scratch. Other people 1171 01:17:21,040 --> 01:17:24,160 Speaker 1: are taking a shower. They get an idea. Some people 1172 01:17:24,280 --> 01:17:26,639 Speaker 1: all comes all together, some people working for a year. 1173 01:17:28,280 --> 01:17:31,360 Speaker 1: Usually it's it's a musical idea that would just come 1174 01:17:31,400 --> 01:17:36,559 Speaker 1: from jamming away and a phrase. You take that phrase 1175 01:17:36,640 --> 01:17:40,320 Speaker 1: and doing and then and you add to it. I 1176 01:17:40,520 --> 01:17:42,840 Speaker 1: very rarely have a plan. I very rarely have an 1177 01:17:42,880 --> 01:17:50,000 Speaker 1: idea of a concept or even a title. Um that 1178 01:17:50,080 --> 01:17:53,320 Speaker 1: all seems to come later. If if I'm lucky, something 1179 01:17:53,520 --> 01:17:56,599 Speaker 1: comes off the top of my head that sings good 1180 01:17:57,400 --> 01:18:02,080 Speaker 1: and that I can do velop and make into something. 1181 01:18:02,400 --> 01:18:05,320 Speaker 1: Once I get a start on it, I now have 1182 01:18:05,400 --> 01:18:13,320 Speaker 1: the confidence that I can make reasonably decent lyric. It's 1183 01:18:13,360 --> 01:18:18,000 Speaker 1: not going to be that original I'm not intellectual, as 1184 01:18:18,000 --> 01:18:21,960 Speaker 1: you probably guess by now, I should think. But and 1185 01:18:22,000 --> 01:18:26,679 Speaker 1: I'm not a reader. I'm not. I don't read books 1186 01:18:26,680 --> 01:18:30,160 Speaker 1: so much. I read news and articles and stuff like that. 1187 01:18:30,680 --> 01:18:35,280 Speaker 1: But I like to think I can make something it 1188 01:18:35,400 --> 01:18:38,960 Speaker 1: it's probably borderline cliche, but I can make it sound 1189 01:18:39,000 --> 01:18:42,559 Speaker 1: not too cliche, and it can sound good. It will 1190 01:18:42,680 --> 01:18:48,000 Speaker 1: sing good, because that's important as well. So the kids 1191 01:18:48,000 --> 01:18:51,679 Speaker 1: are out of the house, you can't play music seven, 1192 01:18:51,680 --> 01:18:54,760 Speaker 1: you're not reading books? What do you what takes your 1193 01:18:54,800 --> 01:18:58,599 Speaker 1: time up all day? What do you do? I don't 1194 01:18:58,640 --> 01:19:02,479 Speaker 1: have any problem filling in my time. I've got this 1195 01:19:02,520 --> 01:19:06,160 Speaker 1: little studio at home, and if I'm not on the road, 1196 01:19:06,240 --> 01:19:12,240 Speaker 1: I'm in here messing about um. Yeah, I think that's 1197 01:19:12,240 --> 01:19:15,920 Speaker 1: where most of my time goes. I still like soccer, 1198 01:19:16,320 --> 01:19:20,599 Speaker 1: but my team is really awful and terrible. But what's 1199 01:19:20,600 --> 01:19:24,559 Speaker 1: your team? My team Sheffield Wednesday. We're now in the 1200 01:19:24,760 --> 01:19:28,679 Speaker 1: third division. They've been in the Premier League and back 1201 01:19:28,720 --> 01:19:30,800 Speaker 1: in how long ago were they in the Premier League? 1202 01:19:30,800 --> 01:19:33,400 Speaker 1: About twenty years guys? Sorry, when I was growing up, 1203 01:19:33,439 --> 01:19:38,400 Speaker 1: they were real good. Who owns it now? Oh, it's 1204 01:19:38,439 --> 01:19:43,360 Speaker 1: owned by a Taiwanese Is there any is there any hope. No, 1205 01:19:44,600 --> 01:19:48,360 Speaker 1: there's hope that we will survive, which was looking a 1206 01:19:48,360 --> 01:19:52,559 Speaker 1: bit scary at the beginning of this year because this 1207 01:19:52,600 --> 01:19:54,720 Speaker 1: guy spent a whole lot of money, which are not 1208 01:19:54,800 --> 01:19:57,680 Speaker 1: allowed to do in the lower divisions, and we were 1209 01:19:57,680 --> 01:20:01,840 Speaker 1: in all kinds of trouble and we're getting points deducted 1210 01:20:01,920 --> 01:20:06,760 Speaker 1: for the financial stuff, and he'd blown a load of 1211 01:20:06,800 --> 01:20:09,840 Speaker 1: money on the wrong players and he didn't know what 1212 01:20:09,880 --> 01:20:14,720 Speaker 1: he was doing, but he insisted he did. So I 1213 01:20:14,760 --> 01:20:18,280 Speaker 1: thought we were going out of business completely. But there's 1214 01:20:18,280 --> 01:20:20,120 Speaker 1: hope they will survive. But to be back in the 1215 01:20:20,120 --> 01:20:25,040 Speaker 1: Premier League, it's a different planet now. The money up 1216 01:20:25,080 --> 01:20:30,479 Speaker 1: there is just crazy. And then you work with Elton 1217 01:20:30,560 --> 01:20:33,080 Speaker 1: John as a keyboard player himself. How do you end 1218 01:20:33,120 --> 01:20:35,920 Speaker 1: up working with Elton John. Yeah, he's a great piano player, 1219 01:20:35,960 --> 01:20:40,080 Speaker 1: but he doesn't play organ, and organ is different thing. 1220 01:20:40,800 --> 01:20:42,880 Speaker 1: It's just different. I mean, he probably could if he 1221 01:20:42,920 --> 01:20:47,040 Speaker 1: could be bothered to figure it out. But actually I'm 1222 01:20:47,080 --> 01:20:52,000 Speaker 1: a better organ player than piano player. It's just because 1223 01:20:52,320 --> 01:20:54,200 Speaker 1: you can get away with murder on the on the 1224 01:20:54,320 --> 01:20:56,760 Speaker 1: organ if you know how to coax the sound out 1225 01:20:56,760 --> 01:21:02,840 Speaker 1: of it. And I seemed to have a reputation for 1226 01:21:03,040 --> 01:21:08,720 Speaker 1: playing the Hammond organ. So he actually he here's a 1227 01:21:08,800 --> 01:21:10,600 Speaker 1: story for you. Are you're not getting fed up with 1228 01:21:10,640 --> 01:21:16,879 Speaker 1: these stories for the best parts. So Elton was friendly 1229 01:21:16,920 --> 01:21:19,720 Speaker 1: with Chris, different from Squeeze. I think it was to 1230 01:21:19,800 --> 01:21:25,920 Speaker 1: do with the the program, you know, And I think 1231 01:21:26,520 --> 01:21:32,040 Speaker 1: Elton was at one time sponsoring Chris. And one night 1232 01:21:32,439 --> 01:21:35,759 Speaker 1: Elton turned up at a Squeeze show in a concert 1233 01:21:35,800 --> 01:21:39,439 Speaker 1: in the in the UK and got up and sang 1234 01:21:40,040 --> 01:21:44,600 Speaker 1: a couple of songs and the place just went crazy. 1235 01:21:44,920 --> 01:21:46,720 Speaker 1: And of course I've been playing organ that night, and 1236 01:21:46,760 --> 01:21:48,400 Speaker 1: he must have thought, oh, well, we'll get him in. 1237 01:21:49,080 --> 01:21:53,479 Speaker 1: And I played on a couple of tracks, one of 1238 01:21:53,520 --> 01:21:57,360 Speaker 1: which was apparently the B side or the extra track 1239 01:21:57,800 --> 01:22:01,599 Speaker 1: on the famous Candle in the Wind, which at one 1240 01:22:01,640 --> 01:22:04,160 Speaker 1: point was the best selling record of all times. So 1241 01:22:04,240 --> 01:22:07,680 Speaker 1: my tenuous link to that is that I played on 1242 01:22:07,720 --> 01:22:10,439 Speaker 1: the other track, which is called something in the Way 1243 01:22:10,479 --> 01:22:13,519 Speaker 1: You Look Tonight. Yeah, that that track is a known 1244 01:22:13,560 --> 01:22:17,160 Speaker 1: track to Okay, so you play the keyboard, you also 1245 01:22:17,200 --> 01:22:20,840 Speaker 1: play the guitar. Can you just basically play anything you 1246 01:22:20,920 --> 01:22:25,519 Speaker 1: have that facility? Yeah. I don't play any of the 1247 01:22:25,520 --> 01:22:30,559 Speaker 1: wind instruments, but yeah, I'm not great, you know. But 1248 01:22:30,680 --> 01:22:33,680 Speaker 1: I it's I've got the musical instincts and I have 1249 01:22:33,720 --> 01:22:36,360 Speaker 1: a feel a natural field. You know, it's leaving. My 1250 01:22:36,400 --> 01:22:38,160 Speaker 1: son is the same. You know, he picks up, he 1251 01:22:38,200 --> 01:22:39,960 Speaker 1: picks up the guitar. He doesn't know what he's doing, 1252 01:22:40,000 --> 01:22:44,760 Speaker 1: but he looks like he's played it all his life. Um. 1253 01:22:44,800 --> 01:22:47,640 Speaker 1: So I have a feel, I have a groove, and 1254 01:22:47,720 --> 01:22:54,200 Speaker 1: that gets me a long way. Okay, So at this 1255 01:22:54,320 --> 01:22:59,679 Speaker 1: point you have a desire to leave a body of work. 1256 01:23:00,400 --> 01:23:04,600 Speaker 1: Isn't that sort of equivalent to having the hunger that 1257 01:23:04,720 --> 01:23:13,519 Speaker 1: we spoke of earlier? Possibly? Possibly? I mean, I don't know. 1258 01:23:13,680 --> 01:23:17,200 Speaker 1: I mean, I I it's tempting to say I've given 1259 01:23:17,200 --> 01:23:19,640 Speaker 1: it a good shot. I've had a great time. We 1260 01:23:19,760 --> 01:23:27,000 Speaker 1: could probably I could take it easy. Um, I don't know. 1261 01:23:27,160 --> 01:23:30,400 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's in the genes or what 1262 01:23:30,439 --> 01:23:32,800 Speaker 1: it is, or I just think I could have done 1263 01:23:33,200 --> 01:23:37,400 Speaker 1: so much better. Not commercially, but you know, musically I 1264 01:23:37,400 --> 01:23:39,200 Speaker 1: could have done better things. And maybe I had a 1265 01:23:39,200 --> 01:23:44,000 Speaker 1: bit of recognition. Um that don't worried me too much. 1266 01:23:44,720 --> 01:23:49,240 Speaker 1: Probably scares me more than anything. But why does it scary? Well, 1267 01:23:49,439 --> 01:23:52,760 Speaker 1: only because I don't like attention. Really, you know, if 1268 01:23:52,800 --> 01:23:54,559 Speaker 1: I go to the soccer game. I don't want people 1269 01:23:54,600 --> 01:23:59,360 Speaker 1: looking at me Paul character. I don't want that. I 1270 01:23:59,360 --> 01:24:06,320 Speaker 1: don't I just like to live normal life, albeit you know, comfortably. 1271 01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:13,519 Speaker 1: Are you ever recognized? Occasionally? But not much? Okay, So 1272 01:24:13,680 --> 01:24:16,439 Speaker 1: we go through this history. Unlike someone who starts in 1273 01:24:16,479 --> 01:24:19,960 Speaker 1: the band stays in that band their whole career, you're 1274 01:24:20,000 --> 01:24:26,600 Speaker 1: constantly making new connections. Now people say, oh, it just happened. 1275 01:24:26,680 --> 01:24:29,479 Speaker 1: I've been around too long to know it doesn't happen 1276 01:24:29,560 --> 01:24:35,000 Speaker 1: that way. What was that. I'm not a networker, so 1277 01:24:35,040 --> 01:24:37,439 Speaker 1: how did it happen? I'm not a networker, and I 1278 01:24:37,479 --> 01:24:41,880 Speaker 1: don't know. I don't hang out with Eric you know. Yeah, 1279 01:24:41,920 --> 01:24:45,759 Speaker 1: well you know you're established. But over forty or fifty years, 1280 01:24:46,280 --> 01:24:50,759 Speaker 1: opportunities have come up. Yeah, well they have just happened. 1281 01:24:51,439 --> 01:24:53,599 Speaker 1: They have just happened. I haven't been out there beating 1282 01:24:53,680 --> 01:24:59,240 Speaker 1: the bushes looking for this stuff. It has just happened. Okay. 1283 01:24:59,280 --> 01:25:01,719 Speaker 1: But you know, there were no times to talk about 1284 01:25:01,800 --> 01:25:03,880 Speaker 1: be getting married, having kids, or no times you're sitting 1285 01:25:03,880 --> 01:25:05,800 Speaker 1: at home saying, man, I need a gig. I gotta 1286 01:25:05,840 --> 01:25:10,360 Speaker 1: start calling people up. See what's going on. No, well, fortunately, 1287 01:25:10,720 --> 01:25:16,760 Speaker 1: there for for whatever reason, um, I things have come 1288 01:25:16,840 --> 01:25:20,040 Speaker 1: up at the right time when I mean, don't get 1289 01:25:20,080 --> 01:25:22,880 Speaker 1: me wrong, I was when I'm when when I'm in 1290 01:25:22,920 --> 01:25:26,679 Speaker 1: my mid thirties and my early forties and I've got 1291 01:25:26,680 --> 01:25:31,000 Speaker 1: no hair and I've got four kids. Yeah, I was thinking, 1292 01:25:31,000 --> 01:25:33,599 Speaker 1: oh my god, what am I gonna do? But thinks 1293 01:25:33,680 --> 01:25:37,560 Speaker 1: always something always turned up. But I wasn't out there 1294 01:25:37,600 --> 01:25:42,040 Speaker 1: on the phone hustling. Honestly, I'm not like that. So 1295 01:25:43,600 --> 01:25:46,000 Speaker 1: you do a couple of songs. You write a couple 1296 01:25:46,040 --> 01:25:49,120 Speaker 1: songs that end up being done by the Eagles, one 1297 01:25:49,160 --> 01:25:52,080 Speaker 1: on their Health Reasons Over album, another one I'm a 1298 01:25:52,080 --> 01:25:58,639 Speaker 1: long run out of Eden album? How did that happen? Again? 1299 01:25:58,720 --> 01:26:03,840 Speaker 1: With the long sto Worice, It's a long story. I 1300 01:26:04,760 --> 01:26:06,639 Speaker 1: want a long story. That's the best I've been going 1301 01:26:06,640 --> 01:26:15,760 Speaker 1: to an hour and a half already. Um Well. I 1302 01:26:15,880 --> 01:26:22,080 Speaker 1: first met Timothy B. Schmidt on our first tour, ass 1303 01:26:22,160 --> 01:26:25,000 Speaker 1: first tour of America, when we were riding high with 1304 01:26:25,040 --> 01:26:27,920 Speaker 1: our big radio hit and Timothy is in the band 1305 01:26:27,960 --> 01:26:31,280 Speaker 1: called Pocole. We're both on the same record label. I 1306 01:26:31,320 --> 01:26:35,720 Speaker 1: met him, seemed like a real nice guy, and I 1307 01:26:35,840 --> 01:26:40,240 Speaker 1: didn't really meet him again until later when I think 1308 01:26:40,280 --> 01:26:44,400 Speaker 1: I was probably on either doing my gigs with Nick 1309 01:26:44,960 --> 01:26:49,720 Speaker 1: or in Nick's band, Nick Lowell's band, and Timothy came 1310 01:26:49,760 --> 01:26:53,280 Speaker 1: down a few times with Don Henley, and I found 1311 01:26:53,320 --> 01:26:56,720 Speaker 1: out that Don like what I did. He like that 1312 01:26:56,960 --> 01:27:03,240 Speaker 1: Suburban Voodoo album, and um, so he came down to 1313 01:27:03,280 --> 01:27:06,599 Speaker 1: a few gigs. And then must be skipping a good 1314 01:27:06,600 --> 01:27:11,599 Speaker 1: few years here. But about in the mid nineties, when 1315 01:27:11,640 --> 01:27:15,519 Speaker 1: the Eagles hadn't weren't together, you know, for whatever reason, 1316 01:27:15,600 --> 01:27:20,200 Speaker 1: I have no idea, none of my business. Um but 1317 01:27:20,439 --> 01:27:25,519 Speaker 1: I got a call from Don Felder who was keen 1318 01:27:25,680 --> 01:27:30,080 Speaker 1: to do something that he and Timothy and at that point, 1319 01:27:30,080 --> 01:27:33,800 Speaker 1: I believe Joe Walsh also they would wanted to do. So, 1320 01:27:33,960 --> 01:27:36,040 Speaker 1: they wanted to work, They wanted to do a project, 1321 01:27:36,160 --> 01:27:40,559 Speaker 1: make a record, maybe do some gigs. And they called 1322 01:27:40,600 --> 01:27:42,280 Speaker 1: me up out of the blue and said, do you 1323 01:27:42,320 --> 01:27:48,879 Speaker 1: fancy coming over to California? And you know, see what happens? 1324 01:27:49,280 --> 01:27:52,120 Speaker 1: And I did just like that, just got on a 1325 01:27:52,160 --> 01:27:55,640 Speaker 1: plane and went over there, stayed at Don's place, and 1326 01:27:57,000 --> 01:27:59,080 Speaker 1: I think it Joe at this point that bailed and 1327 01:27:59,200 --> 01:28:03,840 Speaker 1: he'd gone to get himself sorted out. And so there 1328 01:28:03,920 --> 01:28:07,200 Speaker 1: was done. There was Timothy and another guy called Max Carl, 1329 01:28:08,280 --> 01:28:10,920 Speaker 1: a great guy. He was in a band called thirty 1330 01:28:10,920 --> 01:28:18,400 Speaker 1: eight Special, great singer, very funny guy, and we spent 1331 01:28:18,520 --> 01:28:23,400 Speaker 1: some time writing songs, making some recordings, and everybody was 1332 01:28:23,479 --> 01:28:25,920 Speaker 1: getting out, oh this is interesting, this could be good, 1333 01:28:25,920 --> 01:28:30,759 Speaker 1: you know, blah blah blah. And one of the songs 1334 01:28:30,920 --> 01:28:34,960 Speaker 1: I took over there was this song level Keepers Alive, 1335 01:28:35,560 --> 01:28:40,120 Speaker 1: which was i'd co written with Peter Vale Jim Capaldi 1336 01:28:41,600 --> 01:28:45,040 Speaker 1: and with a view to taking it over for this project. 1337 01:28:45,280 --> 01:28:49,799 Speaker 1: And so we took it over there. I was singing 1338 01:28:49,800 --> 01:28:53,160 Speaker 1: it and we were making these recordings, everybody getting cited. 1339 01:28:53,800 --> 01:28:59,120 Speaker 1: But obviously, to cut this long story short, now the 1340 01:28:59,120 --> 01:29:02,720 Speaker 1: Eagles this I had to get back together. So that 1341 01:29:02,800 --> 01:29:05,759 Speaker 1: was the end of that project. It never it didn't happen. 1342 01:29:06,240 --> 01:29:12,040 Speaker 1: But a few weeks later, um, I got a call 1343 01:29:12,080 --> 01:29:14,680 Speaker 1: from Timothy and said, look, I need a song to 1344 01:29:14,840 --> 01:29:19,080 Speaker 1: do on the Eagles album. How about I do love 1345 01:29:19,120 --> 01:29:23,560 Speaker 1: Will Keepers Alive? And of course we said, well, big, yeah, absolutely, 1346 01:29:24,320 --> 01:29:28,439 Speaker 1: So he did that one and it was a big 1347 01:29:28,560 --> 01:29:31,920 Speaker 1: radio record. It was part of the Unplugged thing and 1348 01:29:31,960 --> 01:29:39,320 Speaker 1: all that. And likewise on the Health Freezers over Sorry 1349 01:29:39,720 --> 01:29:42,800 Speaker 1: Long Road Out of Eden album, Timothy rang me up 1350 01:29:42,840 --> 01:29:45,400 Speaker 1: and there's a there's another long story here, but basically 1351 01:29:45,439 --> 01:29:47,000 Speaker 1: I wrote the song no No No, No, no No. I 1352 01:29:47,000 --> 01:29:50,839 Speaker 1: want to hear that story. Just telling that story. Timothy 1353 01:29:50,920 --> 01:29:52,760 Speaker 1: called me up and said, I need a song. We're 1354 01:29:52,800 --> 01:29:56,920 Speaker 1: making an album. I need a song. Nothing that he'd 1355 01:29:57,320 --> 01:30:00,080 Speaker 1: you know, presented to the band had been accept it. 1356 01:30:00,840 --> 01:30:03,519 Speaker 1: And I put the phone. He said, have you got anything? 1357 01:30:03,560 --> 01:30:06,519 Speaker 1: I said, well, I don't, but I'll try and write something, 1358 01:30:06,880 --> 01:30:08,920 Speaker 1: which I don't usually do. I'm not one of those 1359 01:30:08,960 --> 01:30:12,080 Speaker 1: guys that does that. But I put the phone down 1360 01:30:12,120 --> 01:30:14,479 Speaker 1: and literally came up with the chorus for the song 1361 01:30:14,520 --> 01:30:17,920 Speaker 1: as I could hear the Eagles singing in three part 1362 01:30:18,080 --> 01:30:21,519 Speaker 1: harmony sort of thing. And I made a little demo 1363 01:30:21,560 --> 01:30:25,040 Speaker 1: and I sent it to Timothy and I didn't hear 1364 01:30:25,160 --> 01:30:28,200 Speaker 1: much from him. But then he said, oh, we're coming 1365 01:30:28,240 --> 01:30:29,880 Speaker 1: over to England. We're going to play in London. You 1366 01:30:30,040 --> 01:30:31,920 Speaker 1: come on down, come to the show. And I did, 1367 01:30:32,800 --> 01:30:34,599 Speaker 1: and he said by when I went to the show, 1368 01:30:34,600 --> 01:30:37,040 Speaker 1: he said, have you got anything? And I said, well, 1369 01:30:37,240 --> 01:30:40,559 Speaker 1: there was that song I sent you. He said, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, 1370 01:30:41,160 --> 01:30:45,240 Speaker 1: send me that again. So I said, I sent it again. 1371 01:30:46,560 --> 01:30:50,800 Speaker 1: And then there were weeks and months probably went by 1372 01:30:50,880 --> 01:30:52,960 Speaker 1: and I didn't I wasn't hearing anything, and I sort 1373 01:30:52,960 --> 01:30:55,200 Speaker 1: of got in touch with him and I said, oh, 1374 01:30:55,280 --> 01:30:58,120 Speaker 1: that song, I don't want to hear anymore. I said, 1375 01:30:58,560 --> 01:30:59,840 Speaker 1: if you if you're not going to do it, you 1376 01:30:59,840 --> 01:31:02,000 Speaker 1: know I'm going to do it. So I think he's 1377 01:31:02,280 --> 01:31:05,720 Speaker 1: he said, no, we were, Actually, I just you know, 1378 01:31:05,880 --> 01:31:08,000 Speaker 1: they he put it to the bend and they were 1379 01:31:08,120 --> 01:31:12,160 Speaker 1: interested in doing it, and and they and the and 1380 01:31:12,280 --> 01:31:14,679 Speaker 1: they recorded it and it went on a long road 1381 01:31:14,680 --> 01:31:17,280 Speaker 1: out of it. I think it's a good song. Actually, 1382 01:31:18,479 --> 01:31:27,840 Speaker 1: I don't want to hear anymore. How do you know 1383 01:31:27,960 --> 01:31:32,439 Speaker 1: wading with Jim Capaldi, I didn't really know Jim. I 1384 01:31:32,520 --> 01:31:36,400 Speaker 1: think at one point he was possibly going to be 1385 01:31:36,560 --> 01:31:42,120 Speaker 1: part of this project. To be honest with you, I 1386 01:31:42,240 --> 01:31:45,960 Speaker 1: think they changed their mind about that, but at that 1387 01:31:46,120 --> 01:31:49,080 Speaker 1: early stage it was possible he might be involved in this, 1388 01:31:50,200 --> 01:31:54,040 Speaker 1: in this Eagles offshoot thing. And so I met him 1389 01:31:54,080 --> 01:31:57,559 Speaker 1: and we got together with this guy Pete Vail, who 1390 01:31:58,960 --> 01:32:02,120 Speaker 1: there's a good song writer. Yeah, and that's what we 1391 01:32:02,160 --> 01:32:05,439 Speaker 1: got together and wrote that song. Okay, So how many 1392 01:32:05,479 --> 01:32:07,760 Speaker 1: people went today? When you go out on the road, 1393 01:32:07,800 --> 01:32:09,800 Speaker 1: how many people do you take? How many people are 1394 01:32:09,840 --> 01:32:16,080 Speaker 1: in your band? There's there are there six or seven. 1395 01:32:16,120 --> 01:32:20,080 Speaker 1: We are We're seven. We have two drummers, one of 1396 01:32:20,080 --> 01:32:23,639 Speaker 1: which is my son Jack. He's been with us about 1397 01:32:23,680 --> 01:32:30,280 Speaker 1: ten years. They are bass, guitar, keyboards, sacks, and myself 1398 01:32:30,400 --> 01:32:33,560 Speaker 1: playing keys and guitar alternating. How many is that that? 1399 01:32:33,640 --> 01:32:38,760 Speaker 1: Six or seven? I wasn't. Okay Um, yes, so it's 1400 01:32:38,840 --> 01:32:43,840 Speaker 1: it's it's quite a big bend, but it's great. The 1401 01:32:43,880 --> 01:32:46,960 Speaker 1: guys have been with me for twenty odd years. They're 1402 01:32:47,000 --> 01:32:51,800 Speaker 1: all from Sheffield, so they're all they're all proper, down 1403 01:32:51,800 --> 01:32:56,600 Speaker 1: to earth guys than none of these hustling kind of 1404 01:32:56,600 --> 01:32:59,680 Speaker 1: I know that's I don't want to disrespect anybody here, 1405 01:32:59,680 --> 01:33:02,960 Speaker 1: but you know they're not hustling for gigs like you 1406 01:33:03,040 --> 01:33:05,519 Speaker 1: have to do in London or l A or New York. 1407 01:33:05,560 --> 01:33:08,600 Speaker 1: You've got to be busy. They're not. They're up in 1408 01:33:09,360 --> 01:33:11,760 Speaker 1: in Sheffield and they're not working with me. They play 1409 01:33:11,800 --> 01:33:14,599 Speaker 1: with their other things. There are other little projects and 1410 01:33:14,640 --> 01:33:18,479 Speaker 1: it's like a proper band, except I'm the boss. And 1411 01:33:18,520 --> 01:33:22,880 Speaker 1: how did you meet the guys from Sheffield? Okay? Um, 1412 01:33:24,720 --> 01:33:30,280 Speaker 1: when I started doing this solo thing, nobody knew really 1413 01:33:30,320 --> 01:33:32,760 Speaker 1: the name Paul Carrock. It's probably like it is in 1414 01:33:32,800 --> 01:33:35,840 Speaker 1: the States. You go how long? Oh yeah, I know, 1415 01:33:35,960 --> 01:33:39,720 Speaker 1: how long? Live here? I love that song. It's all 1416 01:33:39,720 --> 01:33:43,439 Speaker 1: that Paul character. I've never heard of him. So I 1417 01:33:43,479 --> 01:33:49,759 Speaker 1: started doing these small gigs and I was using guys 1418 01:33:49,840 --> 01:33:54,920 Speaker 1: from London who were, you know, proper session guys used 1419 01:33:54,960 --> 01:33:59,800 Speaker 1: to a high standard of not just wages but all 1420 01:33:59,840 --> 01:34:02,479 Speaker 1: the rest of it, the nice hotels, the nice travel 1421 01:34:02,560 --> 01:34:04,760 Speaker 1: and I couldn't give it to them. But they were 1422 01:34:04,800 --> 01:34:07,160 Speaker 1: trying to help me. But I felt it was a 1423 01:34:07,200 --> 01:34:09,479 Speaker 1: burden because I felt I'm not giving them what they 1424 01:34:09,720 --> 01:34:13,200 Speaker 1: do and what they used to. Anyway, I met I 1425 01:34:13,280 --> 01:34:16,479 Speaker 1: met this guy at the football but the Sheffield Wednesday game, 1426 01:34:17,800 --> 01:34:21,560 Speaker 1: and he was like this small time agent up in Sheffield, 1427 01:34:22,360 --> 01:34:24,479 Speaker 1: and I tried to explain to him, oh, yeah, I'm 1428 01:34:24,560 --> 01:34:26,519 Speaker 1: doing some gigs, but I no, I don't make any money. 1429 01:34:26,560 --> 01:34:29,760 Speaker 1: No I don't mean yeah, I'm driving the van. And 1430 01:34:30,640 --> 01:34:34,600 Speaker 1: he couldn't get his head around this anyway. Eventually he 1431 01:34:34,680 --> 01:34:37,920 Speaker 1: said to me, well, listen, I've got this band. They're 1432 01:34:37,960 --> 01:34:41,639 Speaker 1: really good. Um they got a lead singer but where 1433 01:34:41,680 --> 01:34:44,840 Speaker 1: he can play the keyboards and he could they could 1434 01:34:44,880 --> 01:34:47,519 Speaker 1: do your gigs. And I went and I went and 1435 01:34:47,560 --> 01:34:50,360 Speaker 1: met these guys and they were like oh yeah, great. 1436 01:34:50,720 --> 01:34:57,800 Speaker 1: So they I bolted myself onto this northern club bend 1437 01:34:58,960 --> 01:35:02,840 Speaker 1: and it was initially a lot of people thought, what's 1438 01:35:02,880 --> 01:35:05,479 Speaker 1: Paul doing. He's playing with these guys up north, and 1439 01:35:07,000 --> 01:35:09,280 Speaker 1: but it was worked great because these were these are 1440 01:35:09,320 --> 01:35:12,880 Speaker 1: great guys. They loved the opportunity to play with me, 1441 01:35:13,760 --> 01:35:17,000 Speaker 1: and they could all play good. But they didn't have 1442 01:35:17,160 --> 01:35:20,439 Speaker 1: reputations or big names or anything like that. So and 1443 01:35:20,479 --> 01:35:24,240 Speaker 1: that's it. And from twenty years we've grown to a 1444 01:35:24,320 --> 01:35:28,760 Speaker 1: really good a really good band. Many people on the 1445 01:35:28,800 --> 01:35:31,559 Speaker 1: business side would say, you take it out seven people. 1446 01:35:31,560 --> 01:35:34,840 Speaker 1: Are you supposed to make any money? Well, I don't 1447 01:35:34,880 --> 01:35:40,639 Speaker 1: pay him much, you know, Well that's that we are. 1448 01:35:40,760 --> 01:35:42,920 Speaker 1: We are doing okay, because we know what we're doing. 1449 01:35:43,320 --> 01:35:46,960 Speaker 1: It's easy to waste money. It's easy to waste money 1450 01:35:47,040 --> 01:35:49,120 Speaker 1: making a record or going out on the road if 1451 01:35:49,120 --> 01:35:50,800 Speaker 1: you don't know what you're doing. But if you do 1452 01:35:50,920 --> 01:35:53,439 Speaker 1: know what you're doing, and you you spend the money 1453 01:35:53,479 --> 01:35:57,040 Speaker 1: in the right places, but you don't waste money, then 1454 01:35:57,240 --> 01:35:59,640 Speaker 1: you know you can make it workinly Okay. We know 1455 01:35:59,680 --> 01:36:02,040 Speaker 1: there's studio side, What are the dig a little bit 1456 01:36:02,120 --> 01:36:03,960 Speaker 1: deeper on the road side, what are the key things 1457 01:36:04,000 --> 01:36:08,960 Speaker 1: you must do or not doo. Um, you must be 1458 01:36:09,000 --> 01:36:11,240 Speaker 1: good every night. You must be good every night. It's 1459 01:36:11,280 --> 01:36:14,599 Speaker 1: not good being on fire for three nights and then 1460 01:36:15,840 --> 01:36:18,200 Speaker 1: burnt out for the rest of the tour. You know 1461 01:36:18,240 --> 01:36:24,400 Speaker 1: you that's one thing, um or are you talking sort 1462 01:36:24,400 --> 01:36:26,840 Speaker 1: of financially again? I like both of them. It wasn't 1463 01:36:26,840 --> 01:36:32,880 Speaker 1: asked the other question. Yeah. Well, initially we weren't making 1464 01:36:32,920 --> 01:36:37,639 Speaker 1: any money, um, but I didn't have to lose money 1465 01:36:37,680 --> 01:36:43,680 Speaker 1: because they took reasonable wages. We didn't over extend ourselves. 1466 01:36:43,680 --> 01:36:47,120 Speaker 1: We did things very basically, and we've built up a 1467 01:36:47,360 --> 01:36:51,439 Speaker 1: following from digging and gigging and gigging, and each year 1468 01:36:51,600 --> 01:36:55,479 Speaker 1: our standard has gone up. A standard of sound system, 1469 01:36:55,479 --> 01:37:01,880 Speaker 1: I standard of production, lighting venues, it goes up each year. 1470 01:37:02,320 --> 01:37:06,000 Speaker 1: So now we play nice theaters here in the in 1471 01:37:06,040 --> 01:37:09,920 Speaker 1: the UK and people keep coming back, you know. So 1472 01:37:10,040 --> 01:37:13,080 Speaker 1: it's I think that's how you do it, and how 1473 01:37:13,080 --> 01:37:15,120 Speaker 1: do you grow the audience you're talking about you have 1474 01:37:15,200 --> 01:37:19,640 Speaker 1: to be good every night? What are the other keys? Well, 1475 01:37:20,360 --> 01:37:24,120 Speaker 1: I don't know the secrets to uh, you know, social 1476 01:37:24,160 --> 01:37:27,120 Speaker 1: media and all that. I'm not a very not really 1477 01:37:27,120 --> 01:37:30,880 Speaker 1: a social media animal, but I guess you can make 1478 01:37:31,160 --> 01:37:33,599 Speaker 1: that work for you. But in our case, it's been 1479 01:37:33,640 --> 01:37:39,000 Speaker 1: a case of you know, winning people over. We're we 1480 01:37:39,000 --> 01:37:42,360 Speaker 1: we we we we take them. We take it seriously, 1481 01:37:43,080 --> 01:37:47,759 Speaker 1: our responsibility to two people. You might think that people 1482 01:37:48,200 --> 01:37:50,960 Speaker 1: that's obvious, but it isn't. In a lot of cases. 1483 01:37:51,000 --> 01:37:54,040 Speaker 1: You know, some people kind of take their audience for 1484 01:37:54,040 --> 01:37:56,439 Speaker 1: granted a little bit. I don't know. I shouldn't be 1485 01:37:56,479 --> 01:38:00,880 Speaker 1: saying that, but we don't. I know that. So to 1486 01:38:01,040 --> 01:38:03,759 Speaker 1: what degree does the audience know the material? You're putting 1487 01:38:03,760 --> 01:38:07,720 Speaker 1: out new records constantly, So when the audience comes, do 1488 01:38:07,800 --> 01:38:11,800 Speaker 1: they know this music? How much of it can you play? Yeah? Well, 1489 01:38:11,800 --> 01:38:17,559 Speaker 1: it's a mixture because obviously we always include six or 1490 01:38:17,600 --> 01:38:22,920 Speaker 1: seven songs there that are pretty substantial hits, Living Years, 1491 01:38:23,200 --> 01:38:28,160 Speaker 1: how long Tempted? Uh, you know, Love will Keepers Alive. 1492 01:38:28,479 --> 01:38:31,280 Speaker 1: These these are pretty big songs. So we're always going 1493 01:38:31,360 --> 01:38:34,240 Speaker 1: to do them. We love doing them, we love the response. 1494 01:38:34,800 --> 01:38:40,439 Speaker 1: So we've got people who know everything we've done, and 1495 01:38:40,479 --> 01:38:43,160 Speaker 1: there's other people who may have heard a couple of things, 1496 01:38:45,920 --> 01:38:50,200 Speaker 1: and then they're often surprised, Oh I know, right, you know, 1497 01:38:50,280 --> 01:38:53,160 Speaker 1: they know that they don't realize until they get there 1498 01:38:53,160 --> 01:38:56,679 Speaker 1: that they know more of the material than they thought. 1499 01:38:56,720 --> 01:39:02,439 Speaker 1: But we've got some pretty pretty uh great fans. And 1500 01:39:02,520 --> 01:39:04,640 Speaker 1: do you personally go out to the merch table and 1501 01:39:04,760 --> 01:39:07,519 Speaker 1: sign and meet people? Actually, you know, I used to. 1502 01:39:07,920 --> 01:39:10,040 Speaker 1: I used to do that just to prove what a 1503 01:39:10,120 --> 01:39:13,240 Speaker 1: nice guy I am. But I did I realized we're 1504 01:39:13,280 --> 01:39:16,160 Speaker 1: touring in the middle of winter. People are coming up 1505 01:39:16,160 --> 01:39:19,920 Speaker 1: to you, going nice to meet your paul. Um. So 1506 01:39:20,120 --> 01:39:24,760 Speaker 1: we stopped doing that for hygiene reasons. And you say, 1507 01:39:24,840 --> 01:39:27,519 Speaker 1: you you play the first couple of months in the year, 1508 01:39:28,479 --> 01:39:30,760 Speaker 1: can you go back to the same markets every year? 1509 01:39:31,120 --> 01:39:35,640 Speaker 1: It seems so wow, that's really great. Okay, So if 1510 01:39:35,680 --> 01:39:37,840 Speaker 1: you're looking at what we are always changing, we all 1511 01:39:38,000 --> 01:39:40,080 Speaker 1: we usually have a new album out and we include 1512 01:39:40,120 --> 01:39:45,840 Speaker 1: new new stuff from that. Look, you're on stage the legends, 1513 01:39:46,240 --> 01:39:48,960 Speaker 1: they play new music. It's a cliche. Everybody goes to 1514 01:39:48,960 --> 01:39:52,760 Speaker 1: the bathroom. Yeah, how do you decide how much new 1515 01:39:52,840 --> 01:39:55,519 Speaker 1: music to play and how do you keep the audience interested? 1516 01:39:55,920 --> 01:39:58,880 Speaker 1: That's a good point. I mean, well, we're not we're 1517 01:39:58,880 --> 01:40:03,439 Speaker 1: not a greatest hits act. Um. I don't think the 1518 01:40:03,520 --> 01:40:10,600 Speaker 1: music is the music is not inaccessible, if that's a word. Um, 1519 01:40:10,640 --> 01:40:13,800 Speaker 1: you know you usually get this music or you don't, 1520 01:40:13,800 --> 01:40:18,160 Speaker 1: you know, it's not that demanding in that sense, I 1521 01:40:18,200 --> 01:40:23,040 Speaker 1: don't think, um, but I don't know. Obviously, it's uh, 1522 01:40:23,160 --> 01:40:27,360 Speaker 1: it's something we have to think about. But I think 1523 01:40:27,720 --> 01:40:30,120 Speaker 1: generally speaking, they like the need, they like to hear 1524 01:40:30,160 --> 01:40:33,840 Speaker 1: new stuff. Okay, if you look back at the landscape, 1525 01:40:33,880 --> 01:40:36,360 Speaker 1: what are a couple of records not your own, not 1526 01:40:36,479 --> 01:40:38,479 Speaker 1: once you've worked on that are important to you, that 1527 01:40:38,640 --> 01:40:41,960 Speaker 1: really motivated you or stick with you or you still play. 1528 01:40:43,800 --> 01:40:48,240 Speaker 1: I love Talking Book, Oh yeah, especially at the time. 1529 01:40:48,280 --> 01:40:51,920 Speaker 1: I thought it was a groundbreaking, revolutionary and it was 1530 01:40:52,000 --> 01:40:54,880 Speaker 1: one guy as well, a lot of it, you know, 1531 01:40:54,960 --> 01:40:58,240 Speaker 1: playing the stuff, and it had this own personality and 1532 01:40:58,320 --> 01:41:01,800 Speaker 1: it wasn't even quantire back in those early days. It 1533 01:41:01,840 --> 01:41:08,439 Speaker 1: would just hung together beautifully. And I love Moon Dance 1534 01:41:09,720 --> 01:41:13,640 Speaker 1: Van Morrison two great records. Just think it's a beautiful 1535 01:41:14,560 --> 01:41:17,680 Speaker 1: organic record. I love the sound of it, I love 1536 01:41:17,720 --> 01:41:21,160 Speaker 1: the band on it, and of course Vans great. Um. 1537 01:41:21,960 --> 01:41:29,200 Speaker 1: I think it's a very honest album. I love that album. Yeah, um, 1538 01:41:29,360 --> 01:41:33,400 Speaker 1: what else is there an Aretha record? I play a lot, 1539 01:41:33,439 --> 01:41:35,280 Speaker 1: but it's it's a compilation. I guess. I think it's 1540 01:41:35,280 --> 01:41:38,040 Speaker 1: the greatest hits type thing. But again, it has that 1541 01:41:38,160 --> 01:41:43,760 Speaker 1: great band feel to it. Life feel to it. I've 1542 01:41:43,760 --> 01:41:48,639 Speaker 1: got a pretty mixed mixed taste in music. And are 1543 01:41:48,680 --> 01:41:51,360 Speaker 1: you generally just playing your own music or are you 1544 01:41:51,479 --> 01:41:53,760 Speaker 1: listening to other people's music. Do you keep up on 1545 01:41:53,880 --> 01:41:57,160 Speaker 1: new music? Where do you fall on that to continue? 1546 01:41:57,280 --> 01:41:59,559 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't really keep up with what's going on. 1547 01:41:59,600 --> 01:42:03,320 Speaker 1: I haven't a clue what's going on. Um, I don't 1548 01:42:03,479 --> 01:42:05,879 Speaker 1: listen to my own stuff other than when I'm working 1549 01:42:06,280 --> 01:42:10,400 Speaker 1: at it, which I mean on the last year it's 1550 01:42:10,439 --> 01:42:13,519 Speaker 1: been a lot because I've been doing it by herself. 1551 01:42:14,479 --> 01:42:19,840 Speaker 1: It does mean you're playing it a lot, you know, 1552 01:42:20,520 --> 01:42:23,000 Speaker 1: because you're getting the parts right and all the rest 1553 01:42:23,040 --> 01:42:29,519 Speaker 1: of it. But no, I don't listen to much new stuff. UM. 1554 01:42:29,640 --> 01:42:31,920 Speaker 1: I listened to a lot of old stuff. I listened 1555 01:42:31,960 --> 01:42:38,160 Speaker 1: to like Amos Milbourne and Little Junior Parker and Mose 1556 01:42:38,240 --> 01:42:44,840 Speaker 1: Allison and Donnie Hathaway, things like that. Some classical, some 1557 01:42:44,960 --> 01:42:51,599 Speaker 1: English classical music which I find quite relaxing. And yeah, okay, Paul, 1558 01:42:51,720 --> 01:42:54,320 Speaker 1: thanks for filling us in all this. Why you have 1559 01:42:54,439 --> 01:42:58,000 Speaker 1: good vacation down there on the coast of Spain. Thank you, Bob, 1560 01:42:58,320 --> 01:43:02,000 Speaker 1: so thanks so much for with this. You're very welcome, 1561 01:43:02,040 --> 01:43:05,880 Speaker 1: and thank you for your patience listening to us, no listen, 1562 01:43:06,000 --> 01:43:08,519 Speaker 1: is a little deep that it's good until next time. 1563 01:43:08,720 --> 01:43:31,880 Speaker 1: This is Bob left six h