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TING CELEBRA NTAL E M U A MON IN ROCK CAREER ING TARR S
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APRIL 2015 issue 208
Features 32 The Real Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
Over the next 30 pages, we celebrate the artists who deserve the sort of accolades that mainstream institutions have either forgotten or refused to bestow on them…
cover story
32
Deep Purple
“There was never a single leader. Our career was decided by tantrums.” Ian Gillan and the DP cast look back on their trials and triumphs.
32 Deep Purple
Nearly 50 years after forming, they’re the greatest band not to be in the official Hall Of Fame.
44 Motörhead
They’re the band the doubters have spent the past 40 years writing off. But, four decades on, it’s Lemmy who’s having the last laugh.
46 Roxy Music
They came, they saw, they confused the hell out of America.
47 Free
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant on the blues rockers who burned out rather than faded away.
52 Kate Bush
Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel sings the praises of the earth mother of art-rock.
53 Chicago
The brass-handed American visionaries who pulled the 1960s into the 1970s, and the tragic story of Terry Kath.
60 Kyuss
Long before there was ‘stoner rock’, there was Kyuss. Singer John Garcia looks back on the band’s brief, brilliant existence.
61 The Cure
The British gloomsters who sold post-punk to America. Down singer Phil Anselmo was a huge fan.
62 New York Dolls
Punks, glam metallers – everyone who heard them went on to form a band. And more…
66 Thunder
Having weathered the worst storm of their career, after guitarist Ben Matthews was diagnosed with cancer, Thunder are ready to rock again with a new lease of life – literally.
74 Danko Jones
From underground hardcore punk to “raucous, modern rock’n’roll”, its been an eventful journey for the Canadian trio.
78 Shrapnel Records
They introduced the world to Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, Ritchie Kotzen and a lot more shredders too. This is the story of the fastest record label on the planet.
86 Chris Spedding
He discovered the Sex Pistols and turned down the Stones. While he’s the most well-connected man in British rock, he’s never had the dues his incredible career has deserved.
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APRIL 2015 issue 208
16 The Dirt
We ask Jimmy Page about those Chris Cornell rumours; drummer Chris Slade rejoins AC/DC to play at Grammys; Dream Theater, Saxon, Blue Öyster Cult and more added to Ramblin’ Man bill… say hello to Tax The Heat and The Wanton Bishops, welcome back Robin Trower, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth and Autograph; goodnight Kim Fowley, Edgar Froese, Demis Roussos…
23 Raw Power
Dali’s Rubicon speakers head for the sound barrier.
28 Q&A Steven Wilson
Prog’s man of the moment on isolation, dashed aspirations and the desire to create an enduring musical legacy.
32 Win! Top-of-the-range Orange Amps stack
Orange OR50 guitar amplifier and PPC212 speaker cabinet, worth more than £1,600, up for grabs.
93 Reviews
New albums from Steven Wilson, Robin Trower, Europe, The Scorpions, Swervedriver, Von Hertzen Brothers, Yes, The Answer… Reissues from Dr. Feelgood, Rick Wakeman, Nickelback, The Almighty, The Pretty Things, John Martyn, Damn Yankees… DVDs, films and books on Manic Street Preachers, Nirvana, Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, Motörhead, Can… Live reviews of Saxon, Nils Lofgren, Slipknot, Afghan Whigs, Phil Lewis…
108 Buyer’s Guide Night Ranger
Still going strong after more than 30 years, the AOR cult crew have sold millions on the back of some all-time classic songs.
112 Letters
Got something to say? Let us hear it – shout it out loud!
115 Lives previews
44
Gig previews from Black Star Riders, Night Ranger and King King, plus full listings – who’s playing where and when.
138 Heavy Load Steve Hackett
Motörhead
You can step on his blue suede shoes, you can do anything you wanna do, but don’t take away his cuppa.
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O
n April 18, Lou Reed, Green Day, Ringo Starr, Joan Jett and others will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, joining everyone from The Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Who to Kiss, Metallica, ZZ Top and, er, ABBA.
32 classicrockmagazine.com
institutions have either forgotten or refused to bestow on them. From 70s heavyweights such as Deep Purple, Free and Jethro Tull, to true pioneers like Roxy Music, New York Dolls and Chicago (and especially their visionary guitarist Terry Kath), up to such latter-day heroes as Soundgarden and Slayer, these are the ones who should make up the Real Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Let the celebrations begin right here…
A colourful career ahead: Deep Purple in 1969.
Nearly 50 years after forming, they’re the greatest band not to be in the official Hall Of Fame.
D
eep Purple are one of a diminishing handful of bands who formed in the late 60s who are still active today, who are not content to rest on their laurels
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But what about all the bands this US institution has overlooked, ignored or wilfully snubbed over the years? The giants and innovators of rock, prog, punk, blues and more who weren’t deemed important enough, cool enough or American enough to warrant entry through those hallowed portals. Thankfully we’re not about to overlook them. Over the next 30 pages, we celebrate those artists who deserve the sort of accolades that mainstream
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Words: Geoff Barton and who still exist in a meaningful and creative way. While many of their peers are content to play the chicken-in-a-basket circuit – their tour posters emblazoned with monochrome mug shots of how they looked back in their bushy-tailed heyday – Purple have matured like a fine, expensive wine (a Sweet Burgundy, as their former guitarist, the late, great Tommy Bolin, might have it). From 1968’s Shades Of Deep Purple to 2013’s
NOW What?!, Purple’s passage through time resembles a mountain range of breathtaking highs and turbid lows. On the next several pages, via a series of interviews with every key member past and present, we celebrate Purple’s extraordinary, multi-decade career. We highlight the radically different personalities of the musicians who have impacted on the band, and marvel at how these contradicting characters
were able to gel musically. We examine the mysterious – and occasionally devious – workings of this at times most volatile of bands. We analyse the contributions of alleged bit-part players including Nick Simper, Joe Lynn Turner and the aforementioned Bolin. Plus much more besides. This is Deep Purple dissected, deconstructed and laid bare. (Oh, and we only mention Smoke On The Water once.) ➻
➻ classicrockmagazine.com 33
54 classicrockmagazine.com
These were allegedly Chicago founder Terry Kath’s final words before he accidentally shot himself in 1978. His tragic death robbed the world of one of its greatest guitarists.
LEFT: ATLASICONS.COM / RIGHT: GETTY
I
t was never meant to end like this. A fatal gunshot wound. Blood on the walls. A dead body. Lee Loughnane, trumpet player with the US rock band Chicago, vividly recalls January 23, 1978. It was the day his friend, Chicago’s guitarist Terry Kath, shot himself dead after a game of Russian roulette went horribly wrong. “I took a call from our manager, who said: ‘Lee, are you sitting down?’” Loughnane says now. “He told me what happened. But I had to see for myself. They’d taken Terry’s body away, but there was blood everywhere.” Terry Kath was just a week shy of his 32nd birthday when he accidentally killed himself. A singer, songwriter and wildly adventurous guitar player, Kath was the bedrock of Chicago, the daredevil group who had been meshing rock, jazz and classical styles across 11 hit albums since 1969. Prior to his death, though, Kath’s love of booze and cocaine was impacting on his talent and his judgment. Kath’s accidental shooting was a tragic final act for a husband and father, and a musician once described by Jimi Hendrix as “better than me”. Chicago are still touring and making music. Their last album, Chicago XXXVI: Now, appeared in 2014. But the memory of Terry Kath is in danger of fading with each passing year, which is why in 2012, Kath’s daughter, Los Angeles club DJ Michelle Sinclair, decided to try to make a crowd-funded documentary about him. The result of her work, Searching For Terry: Discovering A Guitar Legend, is now
Words: Mark Blake
Terry Kath (foreground) with Chicago Transit Authority, 1970.
complete and will hopefully find distribution at some point later this year. “I wanted to discover more about my dad and preserve his legacy,” says Sinclair, who was just two years old when Kath died. “But also because whenever you see those lists of Top Ten guitarists, he’s never on them.”
T
erry Kath is still the greatest guitarist most people have never heard of. Before Chicago’s sugar-coated 80s ballads, there was the freewheeling Chicago of the late 60s and 70s, best sampled on A Hit By Varese, Dialogue (Parts 1 & 2) and the massive hit 25 Or 6 To 4. Back then, Chicago albums featured wailing horns, grooving Hammond organ and head-spinning time signatures, all harnessed by Kath’s howling lead guitar. Terry Alan Kath was born in Chicago on January 31, 1946. His father, Ray, and his mother, Evelyn, loved music. “They ran a lodge and enjoyed entertaining people,” says Michelle. “That desire to bring people together and entertain them has been a generational link in our family.” Kath learned to play piano, accordion and banjo, and inspired by the instrumental combo The Ventures and jazz musician George Benson, took up the guitar. By the age of 19 he was playing bass in local act Jimmy Ford And The Executives, where he met two future Chicago members: sax player Walt Parazaider and drummer Danny Seraphine. “I was running with a gang and Terry pulled me off the streets,” Seraphine says now. “Once I got that gig, my life changed.” ➻ classicrockmagazine.com 55
School’s Out It’s been a 30-year rollercoaster ride for reunited rogues Thunder. But having dodged everything the record business threw at them, these perennial survivors found themselves facing their ultimate challenge when guitarist Ben Matthews was diagnosed with cancer.
O
n a cold and rainy morning, the five members of Thunder are gathered at the place in South London where it all began. The place where singer Danny Bowes and guitarist Luke Morley first met and became friends more than 40 years ago. Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College was a traditional grammar school in 1971, the year in which Bowes and Morley started their first term at the age of 11. It’s an appropriate place for a photo shoot, given the title track of Thunder’s new album,
66 classicrockmagazine.com
Words: Paul Elliott Photographs: Kevin Nixon
Wonder Days, is a hymn to their youth, its lyrics filled with memories of the school and the rites of passage in their formative years. As they walk around the college, there’s no dewy-eyed nostalgia. “I couldn’t wait to get out of this place when I was a kid,” says Bowes. But what developed here, the relationship between him and Morley, has defined much of their lives since, with the bands Nuthin’ Fancy and Terraplane in the 80s and then with Thunder for the best part of 26 years. Wonder Days is Thunder’s comeback album, their first since the band split for the second time,
in 2009. Bowes quit for an alternative career in the music industry and Morley formed a new group, The Union. But in the ensuing years, Thunder never disappeared completely. The band continued to operate on a part-time basis, playing annual Christmas gigs and occasional tours. But with this new album they’re making a statement. “We’re back,” Bowes says. “It’s that simple.” During the making of the album came the biggest crisis of the band’s career, as Ben Matthews, their second guitarist and keyboard player, underwent treatment for cancer. Thankfully,
Matthews has since made a full recovery. And it’s something he’s more than happy to talk about. Photo session over, drummer Harry James and bassist Chris Childs head home. Matthews, Bowes and Morley head to a restaurant where they eat together before being interviewed separately. Bowes chooses to go first. He likes to talk and has a businesslike air in keeping with his additional role as Thunder’s co-manager. In fact, it was the pressure of working double duty that led him to leave the band in 2009. But, as he will explain, things are a little different this time around.
With this new album, does it feel like a new beginning for Thunder? Well, having announced in 2009 that we wouldn’t make another record, I’m not massively into making predictions any more. But we’re not intending to put the record out, tour and then split up again. This had to be proper commitment. And we needed to make sure we weren’t going to make the same mistakes as before. Meaning what? I still manage the band, but I’ve got help. Plus we’re
signed to a label now, instead of running our own. For seven years I was managing the band, running the label, taking care of all our business. Be careful what you wish for. You want to be in charge of your own destiny, but it was a hard job – too hard. And that’s why you quit the band in 2009? I was burnt out. I’d been working seventeen, eighteen hours a day, and I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I was nearly fifty and thinking, “Can I go on like this without having a heart attack?” I was genuinely concerned about that. ➻ classicrockmagazine.com 67
In the 1980s, Shrapnel Records was home to the most outrageous, speediest and occasionally ludicrous guitarists the world has ever seen. This is the story of the fastest record label on the planet. Words: Jon Weiderhorn
n early 1981, aspiring musician Mike anyone who heard their 1,000 notes-per-second Varney released a compilation album on approach. Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, his newly formed label, Shrapnel Records. Paul Gilbert… names recognisable to students of The record was titled U.S. Metal Guitar Heroes, 80s guitar history, along with countless others who and its absurd cover depicted a brutal battle have slipped down the back of the sofa of history. scene in which long-haired soldiers in green army “Mike really had his finger on the pulse, with uniforms used Fenders and Gibsons to stab, beat all the players of the day,” says Tony MacAlpine, and crush enemy soldiers – ones without guitars. a guitarist and keyboard player who made his The music on the record was no less lurid. It name on the label during its heyday. “He was able featured a range of unknown American bands, to connect different players together quite easily.” including Chumbi, a group Viewed from the vantage notable for a vocalist whose point of today, Shrapnel’s falsetto could strip paint; success is slightly surreal. the NWOBHM-inspired But for a few years, it was Exxe; and New Yorkers The the fastest label on earth. Rods, whose bluesy, bluster ike Varney started ensured they were the sole playing music as a band on the album to have teenager in the late a career beyond it. Mike Varney 70s, first as bassist in punk Even the most skilled rock band The Nuns and fortune teller would later as guitarist in The Rocky Sullivan Band. When have been hard-pushed to predict that within the latter supported Budgie at the Whisky A Go Go five years, Shrapnel would become one of the in 1978, the 20-year-old Varney impressed most influential labels around, ushering in a watching Jefferson Starship vocalist Marty Balin. new breed of guitar hero and helping to redefine Within days, Balin’s people contacted Varney to ask the sound of rock in the 1980s. The men – and if he wanted to co-write a musical, Rock Justice. The occasionally women – that Varney discovered were show was well received, but the subsequent single-minded in their dedication to their chosen soundtrack album tanked – although the healthy instrument, taking the art of guitar-playing to ever advance he’d bagged as co-producer would help higher and sometimes more ludicrous levels. They fund a new label, Shrapnel. were dubbed ‘shredders’, a sobriquet evident to
“I figured: ‘I play guitar WELL. I’ll find TEN guys who can wipe the floor with me.’”
78 classicrockmagazine.com
Mike Varney: I wanted to get married and I thought, “If I get a record deal, I have to leave this woman that I love for six months out of the year. How can I do what I like and stay here?” I figured, “I play guitar pretty well. I’m going to find ten guys that can wipe the floor with me and see what happens.” I took the money from Rock Justice and got a loan from my father and started Shrapnel. Tom Wheeler (editor-in-chief, Guitar Player magazine): At that time, there was not a great deal of enthusiasm for heavy metal on the staff of Guitar Player at the start of the 80s. So Mike started doing his Spotlight column, where he reviewed unknown guitarists. We were aware that this was an opportunity for him to solicit artists for Shrapnel. That was the biggest sticking point. But I felt that if there were any disadvantages, they were outweighed by the advantages. Mike Varney: I wanted to put out records of great unsung guitarists. Back then most places had a local music magazine. I’d get the editor on the phone: “Hey, I’m looking for the greatest guitar players in the US. Think you have somebody in your part of Texas?” These magazines started ➻
Dressed to shred: Racer X’s John Alderete, Paul Gilbert and Bruce Bouillet.
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