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Hi
Exploders, this is a great interview with the voice
of rock John Lawton. After the italian gigs The Rock
Explosion reached John to ask some questions about past,
present and future times. John was Lucifer's Friend
and Uriah Heep singer and now he's return with his own
band and a new album titled "Sting In The Tale"
to rock again, again and again!
First of all, congratulations
for your new CD, it's really great! How is going with
your new record company? I think they really didn't
make so big an effort to publicise your new release
all over the world: for example here in Italy it is
very difficult to find...
Thank you…The new album "Sting In The
Tale", is released by Classic Rock Productions.
They are not really a record company like EMI or others.
They are basically a company that puts out re-mastered
products etc.…As well as DVD's. The DVD "Shakin
The Tale" will be released by them…
Why did you decide to produce
it by yourself and gave up with the idea to call an
outside producer?
I have been in the business for many years and now I
find it easier to put my ideas across, rather than let
someone else doing it. Plus we had a budget and name
producers do not come cheap (laughs)...
Your career like a soloist has
been quite discontinuous. Do you reckon 'The John Lawton
Band' is the your right dimension?
At the moment, it feels good. I have some great musicians
in the band and we work well together plus, the music
is good. Who knows were we will go from here (laughs)...
Can you tell us something about
your new band? How did you find the musicians?
Well, Steve Dunning (bass) and I have worked
together fore the last couple of years…Erol (guitar)
came to one of our gigs, which was cool, as we were
looking for a guitar player at the time. He gave me
a demo and bang he got the job J) Benjy (drums) I have
known about for quite a while, I asked him to do some
shows and he stayed. Leon (keys) came via Erol, Leon
is also a great guitar/bass player…
What made you decide not to include
any of Uriah Heep songs in your concerts bills? To say
the truth, they are not playing songs like 'Free me'
or 'Free n' easy' for ages, and I think your fans will
appreciate them…
Well it's difficult, I have been playing Uriah
Heep songs in the live set since 92' and now that we
have a CD out with all new material on it, I think it's
better not to include Heep songs. There are times when
I might decide to throw in something J but it's nice
to be able to play the new CD….
Let's make a step backwards to
35 years ago. Would you like to tell us something about
your first period with Stonewall? Which kind of music
did you play the most? Is there any of your unreleased
material around?
Stonewall was a band put together from some of
the musicians in South Shields (Newcastle) to try and
get a record deal. We had some great guys in there and
we played the Top Ten Club in Hamburg a couple of times.
We had a record deal on the table, but I met my future
wife while I was in Hamburg and decided to stay. Unfortunately,
there are no recordings of Stonewall, good band though…..
How did you meet the German band
Asterix (then Lucifer's Friend)? How was the market
in music field at the beginning of the '70s in Germany?
You were pretty heavy but there were that progressive
and 'kracutrock' sounds which ruled, wasn't it?
Pretty bad J too many pop songs etc…Lucifers Friend
went a little heavier and krautrock was born (laughs).
With 'I'm just a rock n' roll
singer' your sound turned a little to prog-jazz. I don't
mean to minimise your homonymous masterpiece in 1970,
but I think is with this work and with songs like 'Banquet'
and 'Mind Explosion' that Lucifer's Friend did reach
the top. Do you agree with me?
I agree, Mind Explosion is a good album, but Banquet
is my absolute favourite…
What do you remember about a
project called 'Butterfly Ball' with Roger Glover, David
Coverdale, Glen Hughes, Ronnie James Dio, John Gustavson
and all the others? An awesome 'all star' team…
Ah great night, standing on the same mike as David Coverdale
and Glen Hughes, performing with some of my idols...
Great memories…
But let's speak now about your
entry in 'Uriah Heep'. Was it difficult to go from a
'cult band' to one so well known as Uriah Heep?
In the beginning, it was a bit difficult. Not the music,
but having to fill the shoes of David Byron. He was
great frontman and singer, but after a while I think
the fans came to accept me. They are still a good band….
How is Ken Hensley? Someone dared
to describe him like an egocentric?
Ken is a great musician and songwriter, he has his moments,
the same as we all do.
Why your experience in Uriah
Heep lasted just for 3 albums and not more?
I think after Fallen Angel, our musical tastes had changed.
Ken was writing more songs like "Free Me"
and really we should have gone back to the kind of music,
which made the band great. It's a pity, but it happens
a lot these days.
A naughty question! When you
came back with Lucifer's Friend (1981), you recorded
'Mean Machine', a powerful album but, in my opinion,
not so well done as the others. Did you mean to get
closer to the newborn Heavy Metal trend?
Well we tried (laughs), it was the first time we had
recorded outside of Germany. I think some of the songs
on that album, were excellent. Maybe not so well produced
as other albums , but never the less I like it.
Do you still hear from Hesslein,
Horns and the other guys? Do you think it will be possible
a re-union with 'Lucifer's Friend'?
Yeah we speak a lot and we see each other, everytime
we are in Hamburg. Re-union (laughs), watch this space…
What was not working in your
project 'Rebel'? Why did it end up so early? The album
seemed to be good…
Hey I was only supposed to be there to produce the 1st
album and only finished up singing with them because
the original singer could not get it together in the
studio. I had other things to do and didn't really have
the time to carry on with them…
Between 1984 and 1990 you took
a break. What did you really did during that period?
I took time off for my family, did lots of session work
and the occasional gigs, I needed a rest.
In the past 90's you recorded
some albums with the Gunhill. Can you talk about this
band; they were mostly like a band just for fun, am
I wrong?
It started out as just for fun. We only recorded 2 albums
"One Over The Eight" and "Nighheat"
After all the original guys had left, there didn't seem
much point in keeping the name…Nice memories.
In 2000 you recorded a live with
Ken Hensley. Why didn't you take the decision to go
on and record a studio album?
Well, that was the plan, but it didn't last that long.
We parted before we got that far (laughs)...
Amongst all your albums, which
is the one you feel closer to? And which one do you
think is the best?
Closest to is probably "Firefly"... It was
the first album with Heep and meant a big change in
my life. Favourite, is definitely "Banquet"
just because I love the songs and it was so good to
sing…
Amongst all the groups of these
days, is there anyone you particularly like?
There are not many new bands I like these days, I still
go for Glen Hughes, Purple, Aerosmith, ZZ Top etc..
Your opinion on Napster and all
the downloading programs in the Internet…
For some musicians it's a problem, but hey its gonna
happen anyway…
In 35 years being interviewed,
is there something you wished to be asked but no one
did really ask you!
No, you have asked them all (laughs).
Final words...
I really hope that the John Lawton Band (JLB) can come
and o so more concerts in Italy. It's a great live band
and should be seen…Take care see you soon.
Intervista realizzata da Andrea
Zazzarini.
Traduzione di Laura
Delnevo e Francesco
Montalto.
Supervisione di Margherita
Realmonte.
Photos 1-2 by Renate Fischer.
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