Rick's first ever online interview - Interviewed via phone end of June 1997.
Keep an eye out for two exclusive sound bytes, from two tracks left off Sahara Snow!
 

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Rick was born Richard Springthorpe, in Sydney Australia in 1949.
His father was a career soldier, with Rick growing up on army bases around the country.
He received a guitar for his thirteenth birthday, and described his love of playing as 'as hard core as you get at sixteen'.
His first band 'The Jordy Boys' played regularly in the rough pubs of Melbourne, leading him to leave school and join his first full time rock band 'Rock House'.
They earned a reputation strong enough to be invited to play to troops in Vietnam, during the late 60's.
Back in Australia, Rick moved into the now legendary pioneering Australian rock act 'Zoot'. He joined with Beeb B, who went onto join Little River Band, and Daryl Cotton, who went onto form the also now legendary Sherbet.
Zoot soon became one of the biggest acts in Australia, and had a top 10 single with a cover of 'Eleanor Rigby', styled in the bands' unique relentless pop/rock style.
Rick subsequently won awards for the country's best guitarist and composer.

"I am about due for a trip back home. Matter of fact Daryl Cotton was over here from Zoot, the other day. He brought his family over for a vacation, and they came over to see us.
We talked out doing a Zoot reunion thing".

I still have this great picture of you in a pink jump suit with lovely bell-bottoms!
"Oh my God, scary!"

Rick's debut solo single Speak To The Sky, hit #1 in Australia in 1971, prompting record company interest from the States. He was subsequently signed to the Capitol label, which sent him to London to record his debut album 'Beginnings'. Originally released during 1971 in Australia, the album was released the following year in the United States, from which a remix of Speak To The Sky reached the top 15.

Rick said at the time, "I raced over there thinking this is it! But things didn't quite work out that way." He went on to describe the next few years as the worst of his life, mainly because he wasn't in control of his direction. The record label was trying to mold Rick into the next David Cassidy.

"Yeah, 'Speak to The Sky' was a hit over here, but it didn't really translate to the album. The album was a bit different, you know marketing me as a teen idol, when the stuff on the record was not what teen idols were doing at the time".

It was a little bit deeper than your average teen idol.
"Yeah, it was a different type of music too".

There was actually a lot more to Rick than your teen idol, as he was not exactly mainstream pop.

The 1973 album 'Comic Book Heroes' proved that. It was critically acclaimed, but commercially did not live up to expectations. The cover art to 'Comic Book Heroes' remains as legendary today as when it was first released. It featured Rick in a white 'Super Hero' outfit, with a gatefold sleeve that has comic book art for each song title. Where did the cover concept come from? "I had always loved comic book artwork. I saw something like that in a magazine and thought I would look good on the album. It was a little confusing for some people though, cause some people didn't quite get it".

Unfortunately there was also problems with immigration officials, and unhelpful management.
One of those questionable decisions made by management and the label was to take Rick's Comic Book Heroes cover concept and turn it into an animated TV series. Starring Springfield as himself, 'Mission Magic' featured him as a sort of crime fighting super hero, complete with musical soundtrack.

That subsequent soundtrack album 'Mission Magic' was released in 1974. In keeping with the times, the lead song was titled 'We're Gonna Have A Good Time'.

"Yeah, that was a mistake! Ha ha ha!
I don't know. They started out with all these great ideas of Yellow Submarine, and ended up a Xeroxed version of every other cartoon show on the air. So it was fairly unadventurous and a little disappointing. But it was an exercise for me as far as a writing exercise, a new song every week.
I played myself. It was a very bizarre concept".

I have ever seen it down here.
"It's was played down there actually, strangely enough!"

Was it really? Late night TV or something?!
"I don't know. I got residuals from it for quite a while. It was really strange".

This is where Rick decided he had to get off. Fighting for release from his record label and management contract took two years out of his career.

"Yeah, I took one of my infamous breaks. For about three or four years I was sorting out contractual problems, trying to get out of my contract. I signed everything away when I first came here. I was pretty green. I got taken advantage of in certain ways, signed my life away, then when I wanted to leave it was very difficult.
There was nothing I wanted to do, so I just took the time off.
I kind of made that a habit, a couple of years between albums".

It was a financially strained period, in which Rick was for the best part flat broke. He continued writing and recording and in 1976 released an album 'Wait For Night' for the Chelsea Records label.

In a bizarre twist, upon the release of the album the label promptly went bankrupt and prematurely closed down his musical career once again.
This time the gap between albums was not to be his own doing.

How did you feel about that whole situation?
"It was pretty traumatic, but I think I was already working on some new stuff, so as long as I am working on new stuff, I have a focus. There were certainly no tell tale signs of it going under, it was a like a complete surprise".

How did you survive during those hard years?
"Err, Girlfriends!"

Really?!
"Yeah, actually strangely enough, Mission Magic supported me for a decent amount of that time. Residuals from Australia, from the 'Mission Magic' show.
I remember being broke and getting a couple of checks every now and then. That saved my butt. So there is a reason for everything".

At this point Rick began to pursue acting, and was coached by people such as Vincent Chase and Malcolm McDowell.
With a friend he rented a tiny theater in Hollywood to present plays for friends and relatives and anyone else who was interested.
Springfield created sets, costumes and worked out lighting for the plays. A representative of Universal was convinced by one of these plays and singed the actor to a two year contract. What followed was an endless round of guest character appearances on shows like 'Six Million Dollar Man', 'Rockford Files', 'Incredible Hulk', 'Nancy Drew' and 'Wonder Woman'.
At this point Rick was actually faring better as an actor, than as a musician.

Another set of recordings led to further trauma in Rick's life. 'Beautiful Feelings' was originally recorded in 1978. It didn't see the light of day until 1982, when it was released without Rick's approval, or his involvement, excepting the vocals.

"That was an album we couldn't get a deal on. It was the manager I was with.
The next album I did was Working Class Dog then I separated from them and they put that out as kinda, 'Well, we've still got this!'
They took everything off, except for the vocals.
It was some old songs and they just added the horrible Hollywood studio crap".

Continuing with his acting, Rick landed his biggest acting break by becoming a regular on the hit daytime soapie General Hospital, as Dr. Noah Drake.

You were on there for a few years weren't you?
"No, about a year and a half, but it was at a time when it was a really successful show".

Never giving up on music, Rick wrote and recorded new songs, mainly for the reason he needed new material to play live and tour with.
A tape of those songs found it's way to RCA.

"Actually the boss at RCA had always like Comic Book Heroes, it was an album that he had liked. No one wanted to sign me at that point, and they kinda thought about it for a year. And said well, okay let's try it!
I had written a bunch of songs, cause I was getting ready to go out and play 'em, and those songs became the album".

The debut album for RCA, was Working Class Dog, released in 1981.
What was to follow was nothing short of stunning. That year saw Rick's first US number one single in Jessie's Girl, double platinum result for the album, a sold out US tour and a Grammy award for best male vocal.

On the eve of 'Working Class Dog', did you have any idea what was about to happen?
"No, I thought it would go in and out again like the all my other albums. That's why I signed on to Karol (Rick's manager). I was pretty much convinced that it would go on the charts for six weeks in the low one hundreds, and then drop out again, and I would go onto the next album. So it was a big surprise, when it all took off".

You had a quantum leap in the quality of song writing with Working Class Dog. "Yeah, I did take a leap, and I am not quite sure, I think it did take the pressure off having to write a hit song, that I had been putting myself under that pressure. At that point, I wrote that album so I could have some songs to go out and play in the clubs. You know, songs that I could just play the guitar on. We didn't have strings, or big gigantic arrangements, just stripped down pop songs, and I think that is when I began to find a direction that worked for me publicly. I have always been a catchy songwriter. I have always focused on a hook, but it hasn't always necessarily worked publicly".

To me, your songs have hooks galore. There have always been choruses, bridges and layers of melody. It keeps you coming back.
"A lot of my stuff is seen for the surface that it is, not really writing about it on a true level".

However 1981 was not without it's lows. For on the eve of Rick Springfield winning the Grammy for 'Jessie's Girl', Rick's father died back home in Australia.
Norman James Springthorpe gave Rick his first guitar and encouraged and supported Rick through out his career, helping him through the lows of the past few years. It was a blow that would and still does haunt Rick.

More hit singles and a sold out tour started a roller coaster ride that would last four years without a break.
The heavy workload was carried into the recording of the follow up album 'Success Hasn't Spoilt Me Yet'.

"It was a good pop album. It could have been a lot stronger, but I was doing a TV show and touring of a weekend, so I was doing that album at night by running into the studio.
I didn't have the control over that album that I wanted to have, but it had some good songs on it. I think the instrumental direction wasn't quite what I was going for, because I didn't have the input I had previously.
It was probably my least personally involved album, after I had written everything. I played the least amount of instruments on it and I was there for the least amount of time in mixing".

Despite this, the album maintained the high song quality of Working Class Dog, and again spawned more hit singles. 'Don't Talk To Strangers', 'I Get Excited' and 'How Do You Talk To Girls' were all over the radio. Keith Olsen, who had previously worked on 'Jessie's Girl', produced the album.
Because of Rick's heavy commitments, the album featured a couple of covers, a Chas Sandford track, the seventies hit 'Black Is Black' and a new tune written by the hit making machine of Steinberg-Kelly, who have written hits for Pat Benatar and Heart.
Kristina was an original rocker co-written by Rick and long time Bryan Adams writing partner Jim Vallance.
'Success Hasn't Spoilt Me Yet' was another double platinum selling record, and gave Rick a further Grammy nomination.

Always with a tongue in cheek, the record cover featured Rick's dog Ron, who made his debut in a shirt and tie on the 'Working Class Dog' cover. This time around, he sat in the back of a limousine, flanked by two French Poodles. "I had Ronnie my dog, I just found him. I would go for walks in the neighborhood and women loved him, so I thought I'd put him on the album cover". And did Ron have a good innings? "Yeah, he lived till he was thirteen. I miss him very much. I finally got another dog, but Ron is buried in the LA pet park, he has his own stone. I found it very hard to lose him. He was a spectacular dog".

I am glad to see you still use him on your letterheads!
"Ha ha, yeah, you know I have a corporation still named after him, my publishing is named after him and my touring corporation is named after him".

The legend of Ron the dog lives on!
"Yeah!"

With no rest for the wicked, 'Living In Oz' was released in 1983. The style took many by surprise, it was harder edged, more urgent and a more personal record. It was also a noticeably tougher looking Springfield, with the fresh-faced teen idol left behind for an unshaven rocker. Back to the production team of Springfield and Bill Drescher, the album again sold beyond double platinum mark, and gave Rick his fifth Grammy nomination in three years.

How was the style change received?
"I think a lot of the critics didn't get it because they weren't expecting it, but a lot of the audience did. I gained a lot of male fans because of the style of guitar playing on it. But none of my stuff has ever been particularly well received by critics. In fact the second one, 'Comic Book Heroes' is probably the best review I ever got.
So, you know its kinda no big deal to me now, but it hurt at the time.
A lot of musicians' say that was their favorite album, and to me now it still holds up".

I hear 'Living In Oz' used as a benchmark by a lot of people, for a great album of it's time.
"We had a point, where there were a lot of people involved in it. It was the right combination of people. Mitchell Froom played keyboards on it, Richard Page of Mr. Mister sang backing vocals on it.
Bill Drescher and I did the album completely ourselves. I looked at other producers, who I wanted for that album but I thought fuck it, I'll do it myself.
We had a lot riding on it. I was going to use Keith Olsen, but Bill and I had a vision and we went with it".

You and Bill worked most of your albums in the 80's.
"Yeah, I have always been with Bill. He's actually doing the new record with me".

With the Human Touch single, you must have been one of the first guys to release an extended version of a song.
"Yeah, they were just starting to do that in England, and I was very focused on England at that point.
We did it the hard way, we actually did a long version of that song, and cut it down for the album. It was a fun thing to do".

1984 was a year for risks. 'Hard To Hold' was to be his next project, a movie and an accompanying soundtrack. It was Rick's first foray into acting since he left General Hospital in 1981, and his first solo full-length feature film.

The film starred Rick with Janet Eilber and Patti Hansen. It centered on a performer who was having trouble writing songs for his new album, and combined with personal problems, was creating conflict within the band. It was a plot that would later prove more true to life than anyone would have wanted to believe. The soundtrack featured 7 new Rick tracks, including one instrumental. The lead single 'Love Somebody' became a huge hit, and comprised a new and fuller rock sound. What made you decide you wanted to do a movie at that stage? "Probably ego! More than anything! I did like acting but I didn't like it as much as I do now. But I did like it and thought it was a vehicle, to do more. But a lot of it was ego The script was not as strong as it could have been. But I thought, I'll do some songs and make it right. But it was a lot harder than that.

A lot of people liked the album from it.

"It was fun to do, and I have good memories from it". 'Love Somebody' was a huge song. "For a lot of people, that was a real turning point in my writing". Not well received critically, 'Hard To Hold' the movie is now a hard to find video, while the soundtrack was deleted in 1986. Thanks to the US based cult re-issue label Razor and Tie, a digitally re-mastered 'Hard To Hold' debuted on CD in 1995.

The musical climate was changing, and so too did Rick Springfield.
With an album technically and sonically far beyond it's year, 'Tao' was unleashed on the world, late in 1985.
It was a stellar departure from anything Rick had ever tried before. The album was much more experimental and complex than many expected.
It featured a heavy mix of guitar, synthesizer, vocal effects, sampling and drum machines.

What made 'Tao' so outstanding in it's approach? "We just had a lot of new ideas. It is probably the one I experimented on the most. Whatever I thought of we tried it. It was just when sampling was just starting, we got really into the drum sampling. But we started on just a BMX. A little BMX drum machine, all the original drum tracks were laid down on that, and then we triggered other drum samples from that. It was built up track by track". Tao was layers deep in guitars, sampling and vocals. "There is a lot going on, you can really hear it. We covered it with a lot of guitar and bass. That is still my favorite album".

It is my favourite record also. Did the critics get it?
"No, they though I was trying to be meaningful, which to me was true, but at that point they were just looking for ways to invalidate what ever I did.
It was no big deal.
But people who hear it get it".

Lyrically, it was also a new Rick Springfield. Noticeably darker and more personal than ever before, the audience was given an insight to the personal battles Rick had been fighting.
One of those battles came to light on 'My Father's Chair'. As a heartfelt goodbye to his father, it was the second song about his father's death, ('April 24, 1981' being the first), and Rick said at the time 'I always wanted to write more, because I certainly felt more'.
The tour that supported 'Tao' featured video images on a big screen, of his father and homeland, displayed while Rick soloed on a grand piano.

Several times you have written about your father's death. That was obviously hard on you.
"Still is. My Father's Chair is probably the song that I have written that has gotten the most attention from individuals, as a really meaningful song.
In the end, that is what I write for, that connection with people".

What was to follow Tao, would be one of the toughest periods in Rick's career. Just as the momentum was beginning to build once again, his career came to a grinding halt. Rick fell into a period of writer's block.

When he did come out of it the album 'Rock Of Life' was the result. It was late in 1988.
Featuring the darkest material in his career, 'Rock Of Life' was a moody, introspective and very personal record.

The band had altered somewhat, although long time friend Tim Pierce was still present. Dann Huff and Alan Pasqua (of Giant) were also on board, as was Jeff Silverman. The title track was released as a single, and the video was the most expensive Rick had ever made. The sound of 'Rock Of Life' was much more stripped back than the 'Tao' record, although the high tech AOR sound, and the techniques learned while recording 'Tao' were used again. The album featured another departure from his established sound, with a dancier beat, and a less hard-edged guitar sound.

Three years between 'Tao' and 'Rock Of Life'. Writers block?
"Yeah, major. And then after Rock Of Life again".

The songs on Rock Of Life were amazingly dark.
"Yeah, very dark at that point. That's why I took some time off. It was a pretty dark time".

That is something I have always admired about your lyrics, you are very honest in them.
"Yeah I try to be. I don't really have any other choice. Otherwise I don't really have anything to write about! Ha ha.
I have to write about what is going on inside my head. I just have to start there or I just can't go on".

The demons that Rick fought off to write and record 'Rock Of Life' soon returned. Worse than ever, writer's block forced Rick to abandon any further recording. Instead he turned to his other love - Acting.
The next few years proved to be as busy as ever for Rick, with a full workload of acting projects.
In 1989 he filmed the movies 'Dead Reckoning' and 'Nick Knight'.
In Nick Knight, Rick played a cop with an unusual background. He was a vampire! Only capable of working night shift, he was on a quest to make himself mortal, with the help of a friend on the force.
The made for TV movie was a pilot for what they hoped would become a series.

"Nick Knight would have been good, if they had of continued. It was originally going to go into a series from that pilot, we were ready to go on with that series, but it got canceled at the last minute. They eventually picked that up. Indeed it did, but not until two years later, re-written and without Rick. It was a cheaper version of the movie, but not with the same style. They put a lot of money into the first one. Some other TV channels were bringing out shows about baby animals and Doctors living in Hawaii, and cowboys, and they found it a little offensive. They kicked it off air until it was, I guess they thought until it was a little more politically correct! It's all a crap chute".

In Dead Reckoning, Rick played a psychotic lover of a married woman, who kill's her husband, and even turns on her. It was the darkest role to date for him, and one that he enjoyed most.
"I liked Dead Reckoning, for the character was a lot different for what I had played at the time".

You were one bad dude! "Yeah, it was very different. The writing was quite good too, which hasn't been the case with some of the acting things I have done. Ha ha. I am a bit more of a whore with my acting than I am with my music! In fact I am not a whore with my music, but I am with my acting. I have kinda accepted that!" So your sacredness is saved for your music. "I think I am okay with my priorities on that". There were other movies over the next couple of years such as 'In The Shadows', 'Change Of Place' and 'Silent Motive'.

There was also a TV series. His first role since General Hospital that wasn't a movie, 'Human Target' was maybe the classiest show Rick has been involved in. In the style of 'Mission Impossible', it was Rick's character's job to come to the rescue of someone in trouble, and using disguises and high tech gadgetry, he had to save them from the threat. Despite the quality, the show unfortunately only lasted the single season.

"That was a lot of fun. It had a lot of promise. Once again the writing wasn't enough to carry it".

Back to movies, 'With Harmful Intent' featured Rick only in a secondary role. As a musician in a faltering marriage, the tension escalates after a car hits his son, and a plot to have his son killed is uncovered.
Rick also appeared in three episodes of the TV series 'Robin's Hoods', filling in for one of the regulars.

While always writing and recording at his home studio, the block had still not fully cleared. At the same time a new TV series was launched, with Rick at the helm. High Tide has become the longest running series that he has been involved in, now in it's third series. It is a murder/mystery series set on the beach, In what could be best described as 'Murder She Wrote' meets 'Baywatch'. Has 'High Tide' been a good experience? "It's pretty good. I like acting a lot".

Well you sure have been involved in a lot of projects. Even now, you have just finished doing a new movie?
"Yeah, Legion. It's a Sci-Fi thing".

Sci-Fi is a little bit different to what you have done in the past.
"Yeah, it was a different part".

High Tide is in its third season. Is that the most successful thing you have done with TV?
"No, I think General Hospital is still the best-known thing. That is what I am most remembered for as far as acting goes".

This whole time, Rick was fighting writer's block, but always recording demo's in his home studio.
During the early to mid 90's, Rick wrote and recorded an array of songs, but until now they have never seen the light of day.
There were sessions with Jeff Silverman, who helped out on the 'Rock Of Life' album, and long time friend Tim Pierce.
With Pierce, Springfield had the idea of forming a band project with a harder edge sound. Piece called in friend Bob Marlette, and a union was formed.
More than a dozen songs were written and recorded, but a release was never seriously considered until recently, when Sahara Snow was born.

The Sahara Snow record was conceived after Magnus Sodverkist, a long time contact of Rick, had formed a new label in Europe - MTM Music. He approached Rick at the prospect of releasing a collection of these demos as a record. Rick agreed, but not wanting to class it as a solo record, or a full studio album, it was agreed the project would be given a band name. "It was just sitting around and, Magnus from MTM wanted to put it out, so I said yeah".

How does it feel to have a new record coming out?
"Um, I don't know - it's not like it's a solo record though. It was fun putting it together. I had a lot of fun putting it together. I had to assemble it all again, remaster it, and re-mix a couple of things. It was fun doing that, cause I love that part of the process".

The album consists of two tracks from the Springfield/Silverman sessions, eight tracks from the original Springfield/Pierce/Marlette sessions, and two new songs. These new tracks come from two different sessions Rick has been involved in while recording a new solo record.
The track 'Stranger' is co-written with AOR heavy weight Mark Spiro, and is from solo sessions in 1996, while 'Lust' is from the latest 1997 sessions.

The label cut the album down to 12 tracks, from 14.
"Yes it is. What we have left off is 'Why Don't You Dance' and 'Love Receiver'.

Oh no, I thought 'Love Receiver' was hilarious!
"Ha ha ha".

That was a great tune! Lyrically very funny!
"I don't think the Germans got it! Ha ha".

Well I am glad I have a copy of it. Not politically correct?
"Yeah, maybe!"

It has been a busy 18 months for Rick. There have been a number of projects, including staring in the new movie 'Legion', the mixing and re-mastering of the Sahara Snow tapes, and recording the new solo record.
That above everything, is where all Rick's passion and energy has been focused.
With the block cleared, we have back the classic Rick Springfield of old.

Lyrically, how are the new songs? Dark again?
"Err, there is some darkness, but it is not from the same dark place. Ha ha.
It is from a lighter perspective now".

So you are happy with things then?
"Yes, I went through a pretty dark period".

You have had some great ups and downs during your career.
"Yeah I think that's what makes you. I want to be around for a long time, doing what I love to do. I have been through my share of valleys. I am waiting for the peaks!"

For the first time since his solo records in the seventies, the new record features Rick writing, producing, and playing all the instruments himself.
And the lyrics are back to their haunting personal best, with all the angst of the battles he has faced woven into every line.
A small hint of what is to come can be found on the final track of the Sahara Snow record, 'Lust'. It was one of the last tracks finished, just prior to the mastering of the Sahara Snow disc.
It is a new sound for fans to get used to, a stripped back guitar driven pop rock sound, back to the hard edged guitar of Working Class Dog and even Living In Oz.

"It will be out this year. Late this year or early next year.
I may be putting it out on my own label, I'm not sure yet".

The lyrical tone throughout the upcoming record tells the tale of Rick's journey through his career, of the high's and the lows. It is a life-spanning tale of personal glories and regrets, and will give fans an insight never before imagined, even more so, than the lyrics of 'Rock Of Life'.
It is something to truly look forward to.

Andrew….

John, how are you!
Andy baby!

How are you doing?
I am very well. Thank you. How are you?

Great! It is an honor to speak to you. Thank you for taking my call.
It's all right mate! How's Australia?

Good actually.
Where abouts are you?

I am in Hobart, Tasmania. Almost at the bottom of the earth.
Wow!

It's about 6am and it's fairly cold. How's New York?
Stinking hot – we are right in the middle of summer, so it's stinking hot.

How are you these days?
Great, boiling also! I have just finished a record, and it is about another 3 weeks until the single comes out so I am watching a lot of videos and going for long walks.

Relaxing before the storm?
Yeah, kinda I guess. It's New York. I am used to it, so I try and keep busy.

How is the new label for you?
Well it's been great. It is a major label. It is like being back on Epic, but it's hipper, because they have got more adventurous acts. I think Mercury is a great company and it is interesting, it is good to be with a major label.
My last record was on a smaller label, 'Temple Bar'. And that was difficult because as soon as I started to have a hit – because I had a major hit with that record in America - but as soon as it went to the top of the charts the record company folded.
It was very difficult.

You sure had some problems with the label.
Yeah, it was a bit hard to take.
But hey, I survived it and at least I got to make a really good record. I love that record, it was a good record.

I love that record too.
Thank you. Thanks very much.
It's great to be back with a fresh start, I am very happy at the moment.

You have some great guys with you on this record.
Yeah, it's the exact same band as last time, only this time around I am producing.
And I used the same engineer as the last record, Tony Phillips.
Tony engineered the whole thing and mixed it for me.
It was very easy to work with these guys, cause three of them are English and two of them worked in Rod Stewart's band for 10 years.
It is like everybody has basically got on foot in Blighty, you know!

With producing the record yourself, did that give you more control over everything?
Well, I controlled the last one. It's just that this time around I was going for a clearer sound. I decided to do what the Beatles did with 'Get Back' and take all the fur of it and lets see it in very black and white terms, and keep everything live. We didn't want any effects on any of the instruments and, all the vocals are dry, and for the most part it is very live indeed.
And there is a slight country influence because I was going for something that was really roots that wasn't going to be rock so much, like blazing guitar solo's and that wall of sound thing. I wanted to get back to something like a cross between Hank Williams and Jimi Hendrix. I am not really sure what I am trying to get at, but I wanted the songs to speak more than the performance. The songs were more important than the ego's involved in making them.

You covered a Hank Williams tune on the last record.
Yeah, well I have had a strong interest in that kind of music for a while now, that song that followed 'Missing You' on the 'No Brakes' album…

'Restless Heart'…
Yeah, its just returning to those kind of roots. It is not such an extension, it's just cutting back the dead wood again.

The lyric quality on Temple Bar was unbelievable, but I will get back to that in a minute. How about on the new album? What style have you been writing in?
I have tried to get away from the first person a bit, but I found myself…..it's very much that still. I think 'Temple Bar' was about arriving at an older age and being sort of trying to coexist with all these past lives I have had - being in New York City, being divorced and trying to make a life for myself. And now I think these songs are about arriving at that place and continuing my life. The last album was the beginning of a new life for me. This album has a sense of an autobiographical twist to it, but I did go outside myself and try and write songs about other people.
Which is an interesting also slightly country twist.

Can I ask you about a couple of the titles on 'When You Were Mine'.
Yeah, sure.

'Suicide Life' stands out as an interesting tune.
Is that a necessarily bleak track?
Ha ha ha. It has a double meaning, because the album was originally titled 'Suicide Life', but my manager talked me out of it. And now it is called 'When You Were Mine', which is the single also.

A little more marketable?
Yeah, ha ha. I still would like 'Suicide Life', but I can see his point.
When I was with Bad English I was staying in a Holiday Inn on Highland in Los Angeles.

Yeah, know it well! (One of my favorite LA areas!)
Yeah, just by Hollywood Boulevard. I had been up all night, and I was looking out the window at this bleak smog skyline and the blazing heat outside, and I always have this strange feeling about that end of Hollywood.
I used to go for Martini's at night at this restaurant down there, and pass all these people that arrived in Hollywood and got lost. Even when the Baby's first arrived in Hollywood, there was this guy I kept seeing – a burnt out guy about 33, big beard, straggly hair, obviously schizophrenic, on the streets with no shoes, and I used to buy food for him every now and again. And I used to see him every three or four years. And you begin to wonder where these people exist and how they got where they got to.
Because they were just a baby at one point, you wonder what they felt, how did they get on this strange trip. A lot of it has to do with drugs, and a lot of it is just about being plain fucked up. But that 'Suicide Life' is about people that took the trip and never came back.

'Bluebird Café' – after the reference to the Temple Bar - is that where you hung out during the recording of this album?!!
Pubs that I know kinda thing?! No, Bluebird Café is a small café in Nashville where young hopefuls go play their songs on this stage their, they sort of audition for the rest of Nashville, and it's like where you get your big start.
It is sorta like completely made up, but about some young girls' trip from waiting on tables to getting to the big time.

It sounds like the songs have a real story telling quality to them.
Yeah, I tried to get back to that. I felt the most interesting parts of 'Temple Bar' were the songs that actually told stories. It seems a very 80's rock thing to be just singing cliques and about the same thing all the time.

Even on Bad English there are a few songs like that.
Yeah, I was trying to get that into the writing with Bad English. Actually I was pretty successful with that. I managed to get them to go for that.

How about the cover of the Dylan song 'Just Like A Woman'?
Are you a fan of Bob Dylan?
Yeah, big time! I think one of the albums that I was trying in some way align the sound of this album to was 'Blonde On Blonde', and the Beatles' 'White Album'. 'Just like a Woman' is from the 'Blonde On Blonde' album.
I used to listen to in the morning to see if I could put myself in that head space before we carried off the first song.

Your covers on the last album fitted in well, within the same sound. You know? They didn't sound like they were out of place.
I guess it is the same this time around….
Well it is hard to do a Dylan song. It is just such an enormous challenge. It is normally a train wreck!
You know, I have heard people do Dylan songs and Bob Marley songs and it's just horrendous. I think it is a genuine challenge to any singer to pull off a Bob Dylan song.
I was looking for that kind of challenge.

I must ask you about the last track. A Christmas song?
There is this benefit every Christmas down at the Bottom Line, that Glen Burtnik puts together, and all his friends turn up and they all play. I wrote the song for that.
It has been such a success. It's a country waltz you know.
It is my favorite song actually!

Oh yeah? Well, you have worked a bit with Glen, live and on 'Temple Bar'.
When I talked to him a while back, he had nothing but high praise.
Oh that's very nice of him, he's a great guy.

Did you enjoy working with him?
Yeah, we wrote 'Downtown' together.

That's my favorite song off 'Temple Bar'.
That is mine too. That was as good as 'Missing You' I thought. That was an extremely high note to hit, and there is only a few people that can go into that place and come out with something, and Glen's one of them.

You did some acoustic gigs with him.
Yeah, we used to go out and just play sets of music to people.

Speaking of which, did you record any of those shows?
No, we just didn't have the presence of mind for that. It was a lot looser than you might think. We would just think of something and start playing it.
We used to do a lovely version of Downtown on acoustic guitar, but nope, we didn't record any.

Shame, I would have loved to have head at least one of the gigs!
Well we played this strip club once. We were doing a radio promotion and they put us on the runway of this strip club. It was pretty funny! I would kill for a tape of that! There were some memorable gigs, it was a good time.

'Temple Bar' was a very mellow record, what is the tempo of the new one?
I think there is more, er, rock if you like, there is a song called I-95 that is like completely over the top, very fast.
I am trying to move into a different area, I have played straight ahead rock n roll nearly all my life, and mixed ballads into it.
And played them in a certain way also, and after a while, it's like if something works some bands keep doing the same thing over and over again and hope it makes the same success.
I just feel that I owe the public something else, you know.
If you like the older records, you've already got them. This album and the last album were written in the same style as the first Baby's record as far as song writing goes. But I don't choose to go into certain areas that I have investigated pretty strongly, but again, if you played all this stuff live, it would probably be about 10 notches up.

After the second Bad English album, 'Backlash', it seemed an eternity until 'Temple Bar'. You had record company problems and a long time to fill in.
The lyrics on 'Temple Bar' seemed to reflect where you were at mentally.
Was it a hard slog getting back?
Well with Bad English I finished the record and did a bit of promotion for it and I said goodbye. I said I was going to leave.
There was a big bust up in the middle of the second record about where we were going to go, and I just wasn't going to go into arena rock, I just wasn't.
And it was a very bad time, almost impossible.
We had to start from scratch. We went into the studio with hardly any songs, which was a major mistake, and was hit by the truth. We just didn't have any songs. I was working like 18 hours a day on songs. Being in the studio you know, it was just an impossible situation. I really burnt myself out. I said I would finish the record and I said I would honor all the contracts. I felt compelled to stay through that situation, but when I did leave, I think it colored me in a very bad light, because I walked away from a very successful thing, even though it was shaky, it was me who broke the chain.
But there was no amount of money that would have persuaded me to stay. I took it all very personally, and I was very angry at the situation, but I honored the contracts and I left.
It made me into a black sheep. Businessmen that run the music business don't want to hear about artistic integrity when you are talking about millions of dollars.
They really don't. They think that is like a token fantasy to them, they don't know what you are talking about, when you talk about art. They think art is short for Arthur.
I think I had a hard time getting back on the beam, because it was hard to find a company that would believe in me. You know if you are not going to make them a million dollars and do the expected thing, what god are you to them?
But the guy that was running Imago records gave me a shot and gave me Carte Blanch really. I was really grateful to him for letting me back in the ring, and I the album I made 'Temple Bar', was probably the best album I've made to date.
But that is what was wrong.
I was very aware during the second Bad English record, of what was going on in Seattle. I had a big poster of Iggy Pop tacked up in my vocal booth and stuff, and a big Union Jack. It wasn't like I was on this big trip to become….like, I didn't want it to be arena rock. I wanted to bring something more threatening and dark into that picture, because we had the world's attention and we could have done a lot more to change the mainstream of American music. We had the balls and it was up to the people to have balls to do something, or just go along just like everybody else is going.
Which is something I couldn't and just wouldn't do.

A dark record I think would have been extraordinary!!
It would have been wonderful. There are moments on 'Backlash' that would get there. But it wasn't what they were doing, and I think it says a lot about them that we tried going to some of those areas. But at the end of the day given their choices, they would go straight back to the Journey stuff, and they did.

You always said you would like to do a Bad English live record, as you thought you had a great band. Did you record any of those shows?
No. Yeah that was unfortunate. It was just one of those things that never happened. I though that was going to be our crowning glory, go out on a high note. Even though we only did two records, I thought we would really put out a great live album with like, some new songs on it, but we could never agree on anything. We never shared the vision of where we were going or why. It was hard to do things like that.

So not much chance of working with the guys again?
I don't think that is ever going to happen, no.

What was harder – the period up to and recording 'Temple Bar', or the collapse of the label and the time after that?
Well, that was interesting. No, it was the two years of just sitting there. Cause I had been on tour for a couple of years, I had made two albums and hadn't stopped running. And then I had 2 years of…
I went back into Italy and spent about two months drifting around then I went all over Britain, then I went back to America.
But I was just basically trying to disappear. I didn't want to be making any more records at that point anyway. I think I went Italy for so long because I couldn't speak any of the jargon, it was hard to get hold of me, and it was hard to have a conversation with anybody there.
I just had everybody leaving me alone.

And that was good, eh?
Yeah, yes it was!

Was it hard to find the willpower to get back up and start again?
No, I was always writing poetry and lyrics and stuff, but the music end of it – I was waiting for something to come that was more honest.
I mean the idea of 'Temple Bar' was a very subtle idea, it wasn't grab a bunch of commercial rock songs and put them out, and shake your ass and jump up and down, it was a pretty grown up record.

I think the style caught a lot of people off guard.
It took me a few listens for me. I was like wow – what's this?
Ha ha ha ha.
Wait till you hear the new one!

Yeah, sorry to describe it like that, but after a few listens I was hooked and I love it. It does sound like maybe your most consistent record.
Thank you.

Did you get a good response from it?
Um, yeah. I got like A+ reviews. I got the best reviews of my career. But it being on a smaller record it was difficult.
We got to number 2 on AC (Adult Contemporary) and that is when the bottom fell out. Right near the top of the charts and Imago just dropped the ball, and lost momentum.
That was hard. It was kinda weird to watch that happen. At least I got to make the record.

What is the status of it now? Imago is sort of semi-going aren't they?
Yeah, I don't know what they are doing. They sold the record to another record company who put it out. I was in London last week and you could buy it at Tower in Picadilly for 19 pounds.

Oh dear!
Yeah! But I managed to take three tracks and put them on a greatest hits album I have just released, about four or so months ago. So the best tracks went on the album and you can get that.

I will ask you about a couple of songs on the 'Temple Bar' album.
'Price Of My Tears'….
Yeah, that was about living in an apartment building in New York, just hating the world really.

It sounded like it!
Well you know, you turn on the TV and see these fucking God-awful confessional talk shows, with men wearing dresses and jumping out of windows.
Fucking hell! I would wake up in the morning and then I would go down the corner to an Irish bar called Kennedy's about 12 o'clock, have a couple of pints of Guinness, get some food, go to the movies. I lived a very solitary life.
'Price Of My Tears' was about living in this apartment looking out on this city, sort of in this vacuum.

The other track I love is 'More'.
Oh great, yeah. That is a beautiful song. That is about spiritual yearning. It is about a similar thing. About being caught in this vacuum and it is just all there is kinda thing. I do like that song.

I have heard of a couple of things, but is there many John Waite archive recordings sitting in a vault somewhere.
I have got 14 songs that I recorded before 'Missing You'. When I had got away from Chrysalis, I went into the studio and cut all these sides, and they are 24 track masters. I would like to release them. Possibly I will do another Greatest Hits record for EMI England, and I might include some of that stuff on it.

Were some of those songs featuring Eddie Van Halen?
Oh no, that is on a live track, when Eddie gets up and plays.
Oh, was that the Van Halen rumor?
Somebody told me that in Australia there was a rumor that I had joined Van Halen. Ha ha ha ha.

Yeah that was probably me! Not that I started it, but I heard something to that effect, and passed it along to Gold Mountain.

Okay, how about a comment on each of your solo records.
'Ignition'?
It's a good album that. It goes back to a period, just a wonderful time for me. I had just got to New York, and I felt like I was on fresh ground and had enormous energy. It reflects New York to me. When I think of it, I think 1980-81, and all the songs were written about New York so I has a tremendous sentimental effect on me. I was living right opposite where John Lennon was shot – Central Park West and 72nd St.

A very live sounding record.
Yeah, recorded at the Power Station.

'No Brakes'?
Great, because I had just come back from England. I had actually gone home and quit the business and gone home and got married.
I came back to work with Gary Myrick, the guitar player. We put a whole thing together in LA and ran with it. We were writing like, a song a day and recording it at night.
So that was like a watershed album, it was great time for me. Also 'Missing You' happened at that time. It all came right. For once it all came completely right.

'Mask of Smiles'?
That was a bit sadder. I had been on the road for year and a half, I had come off…….I think a lot of those songs were kind of, not so much sad – because it was a great time, it was a really good time, but I was nackered.
I was trying to find some sort of time away. I had this tremendous involvement with this really beautiful girl I had been seeing for 6 months, and I was in love with her. I remember being in the Westwood marquee, living in there writing songs, it was a great period. It's a lovely album, but I think at the end of that period, I was just beat.
I had just bought a new house in Westchester, come back from a world tour, trying to keep the band together, cause the band was falling apart.
It was just business as usual really, there is some lovely songs on there. 'Just Like Lovers' is a great song and 'The Choice'.

I also like the track 'No Brakes'. Was that a left over from the album of that name?
Yeah, that was actually written back with those songs that haven't been released yet. It was one of those songs from that period. I had the title in my head, it was a great title for that record, but it just wasn't appropriate to be on it.

And my favorite album of yours, 'Rovers Return'.
Great, yeah. That was just a full out great record actually. I said after that record I wouldn't do another solo record. I didn't think I could better it.
There were just some great songs on that record, and it was done well.
Frank Fillipetti engineered it, and he was co-producer on some of the stuff on it, it was just really great.
But when I came out of that I had no intention of ever going back and recording a solo album. That's why I put together a band, cause Bad English came after that. I just wanted to be in a band. I didn't think I could make another solo record.

Favorite album?
Mine?

Yeah, out of everything ever!
I think all of them have a place in my heart somewhere. I think 'Head First', the third Baby's album. It is surprisingly good. I heard it again the other day, and I really thought My God! There is a confidence there and a clarity in the writing that is way ahead of its time, for my age. And I think it was strong record.
But I think 'Temple Bar' and this album 'When You Were Mine', these last two I think are the most revealing. But then again, as you get older you try and define your writing and not try and bullshit and use cliques to actually say what is going on. Even if you try and say it in a way that is still not so revealing that it is embarrassing, it's still art. I think I have really cut to the heart of the matter with these last two records. Really cut to the bone.

Yeah, it was a different perspective listening to a John Waite record with such personal lyrics.
Well that is what I am trying to get to. I am trying to get away from the Rock N Roll singer bullshit, and still have the rock n roll heart. But no use the devices given to you by other people. It is a wonderful art form, is rock n roll.
You have to try and treat it with some kind if respect.

And for the future?
I am going to go and throw this baby out, and see if it's a hit.
I think it is going to go quite well.
Yeah, I am going to do a tour and take it as far as I can. I would like to put a large band together, a touring band, very spontaneous, and get out there and play some gigs. Play as long as I can.

Obviously with the new album and bigger label, there is going to be a lot more promotion. Are there any plans yet?
Well, there will be a tour. I will definitely tour. And we are doing 20 dates in about three weeks when the single comes out.
We are going to some unplugged gigs in tiny clubs across America. Just me and a guitar player.
But should the single show any signs of being a hit, I will be out on a full-scale tour.

How about an Australian tour?
You know, that is the one thing I have not done. If I can get down there I'll come. And I think with Mercury at the wheel, they will let me come if I insist.
If we get any kind of response down there, I always said I would come, and there has always been something that has gone wrong.

Well John, thanks for your time today. I will get this interview on line as soon as possible.
What do you think of the whole net thing?
It's interesting, I was talking to some fans in Chicago yesterday, and it is really cool. I try and write back to people who write to me. I sit down and write letters. I usually get about 10 letters out a week, I mean I really do write back. But with the Internet, you can say I am going to talk to so and so, and you can find the number and get hold of them, it's pretty cool.

Have you got an e-mail address?
No, just the management company. I can't type and I haven't got a computer! So I just sit here with the guy and type things out and send them!
But I try and avoid the technology thing here. I am still learning to restring a guitar.
Ha ha ha
I am not kidding either!!

Okay John, thanks again!
Okay, well stay in touch, and let us know what you do with it, we will be very curious to see how it all comes out.

Good luck John.
God bless.

And that was that! Many thanks to Toon for her help. Make sure you are a regular visitor to her great JW web page for more news updates.
Also thanks to JD and the management co. at Gold Mountain New York, for their co-operation.




c.1997 Andrew J McNeice

James Christian has been going at it for over twenty years now, but it's been in the last several years that he has proved himself one of the best hard rock vocalists in the business, with three classic House Of Lords albums and a debut solo album from a couple of years ago.
James also sang with Eyes and LA Roxx back in the early eighties, and has just had a compilation album from his first band with other AOR singer/songwriter Jeff Cannata, Jasper Wrath, released to the unsuspecting public. But where is that House Of Lords Re-union?

So James, last thing I heard fom you, was the House Of Lords re-union. What happened to that?
There still might be a House Of Lords re-union soon. We have already written three songs. It all comes down to timing. The timing must be right.

Okay. I had heard on the rumour mill, that was you had submitted tracks to the label, and they didn't like it.
No it is not true. We never submitted any new tracks to the label at the time. But when we do, it will be on our terms. Why elso do a record after so many years, if you don't do it for yourself.

Right, so it's still possible then?
Yeah, as I said before, we have three tracks recorded, and depending what everyone else is doing, a re-union could definately happen.

I noticed that missing from the re-union was one Mr Guiffria! It is no secret that he is an interesting guy to work with!
Yes, Greg Guiffria was quite a guy, but time heals all wounds.

So what are the other guys up to now?
Ken Mary and Lanny Cordola are both producing, and Chuck Wright is writing songs and producing.

And I heard Greg is writing songs for pin ball machines in Las Vegas......
I don't know about Greg Guiffria!

What else have you been doing James?
I'm still writing and recording. Working on putting together another record. So many wonderful changes in my life are happening. My girlfriend, Robin Beck, is having a baby, and low and behold I'm the Dad, and I am very excited.

Tell us something about the Jasper Wrath compilation. (Featuring yourself, and other AOR notable Jeff Cannata).
I heard that you and Jeff were writing together. The Jasper Wrath record is something I did 20 years ago, My God!! Jeff Cannata is a fabulous producer and good friend, but we are not working on anything at the moment.

Do you know when any of these projects might see the light of day?
I really don't know when any of these projects will come out. Time will tell.

Looking back on 'Rude Awakening', are you happy with the result?
I was very happy with Rude Awakening. I got a chance to wear all the hats, and be responsible for it all.

You had some great songs on the album, it's one of my favourites.
I'm very proud of Rude Awakening , I agree, I thought there were some great songs on that CD.

Both House Of Lords and your solo record have that big, even huge, stadium rock sound. Does that take some doing, or does it come naturally?
It's very natural, that's the school of music I came from - 'Big And Natural'!

How about the decision to play a lot of the instruments yourself?
I decided on this project to play all the instruments because a lot of what is on the CD was created as it went down. I liked what I was hearing at the time.

Demons Down is one of my all time favourite CDS. What is your favourite House Of Lords record, and song?
Demons Down was one of my favorite Cds also. But Can't Find My Way Home was my all time favourite song to sing.

Before all this you were in a couple of very notable L.A hard rock bands in L.A Roxx and Eyes. Any comments on being in either?
I have no real thoughts on LA Roxx or Eyes, one must just look at those times as 'Paying Your Dues'.

Something I have noticed in your songwriting, tracks like 'Oh Father', 'Demons Down' and 'The Warden' have a distinct similarity in their theme. Is there an ongoing battle happening there?
The Battle is an ongoing struggle to understand life. Do we ever really understand why things turn out the way they do? So many questions, so little answers.

So is songwriting a good way off letting out these emotions?
Songwriting is great for the soul, even if you suck at it! When you put something down on paper or on tape, it lives forever. I like that.

Are you involved in anything else at the moment James?
I'm involved with working with my girlfriend Robin Beck, and doing some tracks with her. I also love working with computers and I'm getting ready to be a dad. 'Lord Have Mercy'!!

Do you at all see Marcie (Mark) Free these days?
I don't talk to Mark Free. The last time I saw him was at a party given by Judith And Robin Randall.

Okay James, thanks for the time, and good luck with becoming a Dad!!
Okay Andrew, thanks for the interest in what I'm doing.