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I say, well, we have an
exclusive interview with a Friars legend. Steve Hackett played Friars
Aylesbury three times with the ever growing Genesis and played also with
Genesis at Friars gigs in Bedford, Watford and Dunstable. Steve
surprised fans when he quit Genesis, by then hugely successful, in 1977
two years after another Friars legend, Peter Gabriel, had left the band.
Steve's first big headlining tour as a solo artist was in 1978 and on
only a handful of gigs ensured that Aylesbury was one of them. Here,
Steve interrupted his current recording sessions to talk about Friars,
Genesis, the time when Peter Gabriel broke his leg at Friars, his
leaving the band, his own solo career and his thoughts on a 'classic'
Genesis reunion.
Steve releases a new album
"Out of The Tunnel's Mouth" very shortly - check out his website (at the
bottom) for more details!
Friars Aylesbury Website:
Steve, welcome to the Friars Aylesbury website!
It's safe to say that Friars holds a special place in your career?
Friars
was always a great gig to play for me and the rest of the Genesis guys.
It always felt like playing in front of friends, almost a family
atmosphere. Of course David Stopps was important in spearheading it.
Those shows were early victories for us all, affectionately remembered
early seventies memories.
It's clear from, not only generally speaking, but also from the Chapter
and Verse biography that Genesis held David Stopps in very high esteem.
What set Friars out amongst the other venues in the early days?
David
was such a character and really was part of the shows with his top hat
and white clothes. I remember Pete Gabriel breaking his leg there. He
always gave his all but perhaps that was a bridge too far. There was
warmth and enthusiasm from the crowd that acted as a morale booster for
the band when other hearts were harder to conquer.
You may not know that Genesis played the only ever Friars gig at Princes
Risborough in 1970 - do you remember Mike (Rutherford) getting booked
for having no tax on the van?!
If it
was 1970 I can’t confirm. That’s a year before I joined the band, so
sadly I can’t confirm the story about the tax running out on the van,
but it sounds plausible!
You mentioned Peter breaking his leg jumping off of the Friars stage in
1971. How did his flambuoyant stage persona sit with the rest of the
band as you were developing? This appeared to be the exact opposite of
your own unassumed sitting down position in the band?
Crowd
surfing became part of Pete’s act in later years but no-one was ready
for it in those early days and unfortunately the waters parted... Pete
did some gigs with us from a wheelchair after that, whilst waving his
crutches around wildly, which was admirably stoic! All of Genesis used
to sit down apart from Pete. It was a different time when several bands
did that, de rigueur for ‘serious’ guitarists to sit down in those days.
I still happily sit down when playing nylon!
I seem to recall that one idea he (Gabriel) had was for the band to
effectively play in front of the PA, obviously oblivious to the
horrendous feedback it would probably have caused! I don’t think this
got off the ground did it?
I have
no recollection of the suggestion to play in front of the PA but I did
see the Grateful Dead actually doing this.
Genesis had outgrown Friars Aylesbury by the end of 1972, how was this
time for the band with an ever increasing profile? It was certainly only
going to be up!
1973
saw a big difference in our presentation. By then we were carrying our
own lights, sound and stage set, which didn’t fit everywhere, plus we
were touring other places relentlessly.
What caused the tensions that led to Peter leaving? Was it the strong
front man presence or was it more, as Peter has alluded to, that as the
singer he should be writing all the lyrics and not singing someone
else's or writing "by committee" as I think he termed it.
Pete
had other projects he wanted to pursue and he also needed to spend more
time with family for a while. In the meantime the band was keen to keep
up visibility. Finances were tight. Family pressures for all of us were
difficult as many of us were becoming fathers. I sympathised with Pete’s
need to write all the lyrics he was going to sing. I loved him dearly
and still do. We all missed him when he left.
Whilst you all are friends of longstanding, what was the band's reaction
to (Gabriel's first solo single) Solsbury Hill which is widely held as a
swipe at his leaving the band?
I think
Solsbury Hill is a great tune and I played it live with Pete with my own
band at a charity concert in Guildford. It has a very nice and memorable
twelve string guitar part. Lyrically it’s both very honest and personal.
Obviously Pete was ready for change.
Whilst looking back, it was obvious that Phil (Collins) was the man,
but how near were you to employing a new singer in the band - there were
many auditions?
Phil
was perfectly capable of becoming the voice but initially he was not
sure he wanted the job, as he thought it might go with a pair of
batwings and a cloak! He had built his adult career up as a drummer. He
happened to have a great voice too, so one thing led to another...
Your departure from Genesis marked the end of an era, this was borne out
of frustration with many of your ideas not being incorporated? I have to
say that the Wind and Wuthering album was a fine swansong, but would
have benefitted from Inside and Out particularly being on there over say
something like Wot Gorilla? The Voyage of the Acolyte prior to Wind and
Wuthering must have shown you a different way of working which you
enjoyed more?
Wind
and Wuthering was a fine album. On the reissue it has the three extra
tracks recorded at the time, Inside and Out, Match of the Day and
Pigeons, plus we also rehearsed up what later became called
Please Don’t Touch. It was a very productive period, but not enough
to hold me back from pursuing my own muse.
The rest of the band must have been shocked at your leaving? Do you
think the collaborative way the band wrote subsequently would have
suited your style?
We
often wrote collaboratively refining jams that became songs but once I
had the taste of a solo career I wanted to follow it through. It was
difficult to fully express my own ideas within the band, subsuming my
own musical identity when I had songs that were crying out to be done. I
felt the need to be my own boss and to be free to make my own mistakes
like all musos in order to be able to write and play in every style in
the book.
You presumably felt unshackled from band restraints and obvious
compromises?
It was
good to be free to be myself in so many styles, including Blues and
Bach, which have inspired jazzers for years. Music is a constantly
inspiring challenge.
It was a testimony to Friars reputation and its place in your career
that you insisted on one of your dates on your first solo tour (Please
Don't Touch) be at Friars in 1978. And it was the biggest stage
production ever seen at Friars till that point. What are your memories
of that first tour? Presumably the reactions were good and you didn't
feel pressured to do Genesis favourites synonymous with you such as
Firth of Fifth or the like?
I
didn’t start playing Firth of Fifth in its entirety until
recently as it was so well known and I wanted to carve out my own niche.
These days I welcome my old faves particularly if they have a great
guitar melody. I want to help everyone to feel they are a kid again. In
any band there’s compromise, but whilst I’ve enjoyed my solo projects,
I’ve also felt nostalgia for the past.
I also think it’s obvious to anyone listening to that first post Genesis
album, Please Don’t Touch, that Genesis were going to miss something
special. That album is so good and arguably more ‘accessible’ than it’s
predecessor Voyage of the Acoylte. Then again How Can I is your Solsbury
Hill isn’t it?
Please Don’t Touch told everyone that I
wasn’t going to stick to format. It was always going to be a trip around
the world, particularly by Spectral Mornings, from Hong Kong
Harbour to Brighton Pier, as Armando Gallo put it. How Can I was
a song that Ritchie Havens made possible because he worked so quickly –
a singer’s singer and a lovely guy to work with.
Did the more commercial direction Genesis eventually went in surprise or
disappoint you?
I still
liked a lot of what Genesis did, particularly in production terms. Who
wouldn’t thrill to Phil’s drum sound?
When you co-founded GTR, did you have set parameters to avoid some of
the problems that had befell you in Genesis? You must have enjoyed the
success though?
GTR was
tremendously enjoyable, but hard work too. Steve Howe (Yes) was and
still is a great player. We had some considerable success with Arista
Records led by Clive Davis pulling out all the stops.
I have (and still play) the Genesis Revisited album you made with some
fine musicians including Genesis drummer Chester Thompson - what
prompted you to make this album twenty years after you left the band? Do
you feel that your interpretations are what could have been? You appear
to feel that way with say especially Los Endos? Or was this approach to
Los Endos based on some of the work you did in the early 1980s on albums
like Cured and Highly Strung?
I
approached the Genesis Revisited album in a slightly different way to
the approach I would have now, as current technology would make it
simpler. Of course live Los Endos is still a great tour de force. I
still get a kick out of it. I felt it would be good to both celebrate
and add something to the tracks.
Do you still feel that your best work solo and Genesis wise is Spectral
Mornings and Lamb Lies Down On Broadway?
Spectral Mornings remains a favourite. Lamb
has its high points, but Selling England By The Pound is still my
fave Genesis guitar album. It’s such a rich history that it’s hard to
know where to begin.
Those who have seen the Genesis Songbook DVD will have seen you
showcasing some of your astonishing classical guitar talents - do you
feel at home best with the classical side or the rock side, or both?
Your Tribute album also showcases some incredible musicianship on the
classical acoustic side. I really would recommend anyone to check that
album out.
I’m
glad you like Tribute. I feel that’s a personal triumph and it
was a labour of love. I always wanted to pay homage to the great J. S.
Bach. Those are my musical roots, where I realised the unaccompanied
guitar was capable of great intricacy. Both the classical and the
electric fire me up in different ways. I always like to embrace the full
spectrum.
With regards the 2007 Genesis reunion, you put a brave face on it, but
you must have been frustrated that the intended five piece reunion to do
The Lamb didn't come off? There are still persistent rumours this will
happen. What's your take? Do you feel this will happen? You playing the
encore at The Six Of The Best reunion in Milton Keynes in 1982 remains
still the only time you've all performed together since 1975. Out of
curiosity, what were the legal reasons that prevented that gig being
billed as Genesis with Peter Gabriel? Oh, and course you re-recorded the
Carpet Crawlers in 1999 with the band for a best of.
Milton Keynes was a very happy memory
for me. You can see everyone’s obvious joy on stage in the photos. I’ve
no idea about the billing, but I flew 3000 miles to be part of the
encore. It was great to join them all. I’m sure it’ll happen again
sometime if they ask me and everyone else is up for it. In the meantime
I’ve got a great band that I’m very happy playing with.
Thanks
for the interview. Must scramble... guitars are calling!
Steve, thanks for your time.
Official Steve Hackett website
This interview and its
content are © 2009 Mike O'Connor/www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk and may not
be used in whole or in part without permission.
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