How did you get
into playing music and who were your heroes?
I started playing drums at school, when I was 15 I think at the
suggestion of my mum who thought it might keep me out of trouble.
My heroes at the time were, Slade, T.Rex, Bowie, Roxy Music, Alice
Cooper etc.
What sort of music were you into when you were younger and how did
you get into punk
I wanted to play drums after listening to the first Roxy Music
album. I liked the whole Glam-Rock era, I had long hair, baggy
trousers and platforms. I have to admit I also liked "Progressive
Rock" and "Jazz Fusion" drummers like Billy Cobham and Carl Palmer.
And then Punk
happened...
My friend Adrian Heath, who lived on my street, introduced me to
Punk. He was/is a fanatical record collector and was listening to
all these bands I'd never heard of. I also knew Ashie Radwan (Andy
Blade) he lived up the road from me and had a band. As I remember
it, I was with Adrian at Andy's house the first time I heard the
Ramones. At first thought they were dreadful, then amusing, then
brilliant. Soon after, I saw The Damned (at the Hope & Anchor -
Eater opened - with Dee on drums), The Clash (Their 3rd show I
think, opening for The Kursaal Flyers at the Roundhouse) and The Jam
at the Nashville.
What did
you know of the history of the band ? As I understand it Dee wasn't
the original drummer or Ian the original bassist?
I saw them rehearse at Andy’s mum's house a few times and Andy's
younger brother Lutfi was the drummer, I don't remember who played
bass. I don't remember them being very good either, but Andy was
highly entertaining and good at self promotion. They went up to
Manchester in 1976 and did a show at the Holdsworth Hall with the
Buzzcocks and were reviewed (poorly I think) in one of the music
papers, but getting mentioned in print was a big deal at the time.
They also did a show at Finchley Manorhill where my older brother
Pete, Andy Blade & Brian Chevette all went to school. They got a
record deal with the Label and were playing gigs around town.
How did
you come to join Eater?
I had been playing with some local bands in Finchley when Andy
invited me down to Dingwalls to see them and shortly afterwards
asked me if I wanted to audition. They were apparently unhappy with
Dee. I passed the audition and did my first gig at the Fulham
Greyhound in June of 77.
I
understand you auditioned for the Clashes vacant drum position. What
did you play and how did it go?
Yes, that was pre Eater. I got a phone call from someone claiming to
be Joe Strummer from the Clash, saying Andy Blade gave him my
number, I thought it was Andy winding me up. Joe had to put plenty
of change in the pay phone before he could convince me it was
actually him. The audition was to be at Rehearsal Rehearsals in
Camden Town using the Subway Sect's drums. When we got down there
the Clash were in the Railway Tavern across the street. The Subway
Sect were playing that night so there were no drums. Joe needed a
ride and my brother Pete had a car, we went to see the Heartbreakers
and the Only Ones at the Marquee - Joe got us all in for free. I
auditioned the next night using my own drums. I remember playing
"London's Burning" several times and maybe another song, I'm not
sure. As for how it went, I was too young and couldn't hit the drums
hard enough. But never the less an amazing memory. I saw them at the
Rainbow and a few other times on the White Riot tour and they were
amazing.
When did
you take over from Dee? And was it easy stepping into his shoes as
it were? Dee seems quite bitter about the whole band now.
I think I answered the first part already - June 1977. There were a
few people who were disappointed he'd gone, girls loved him, but the
band seemed to be happy with my playing. I wouldn't say it was hard,
I was having a great time, I lived to play drums and having the
opportunity to do it full time was amazing. I'm not sure exactly
what Dee's grievances with the band are so I can't comment on that.
How did
you come to record the Album Eater. Listening back to it now on the
headphones there are a lot of overdubs yet the Eater sound is quite
strange. Punky yet trebly guitars and trebly bass but still packing
a punch. Its so full of energy!!
We signed a deal with the Label - Dave Goodman & Caruso Fuller -
actually our parents signed the deal because we weren't old enough.
The Album was recorded at Sound Developments studio in Chalk Farm.
Generation X were around the corner at Utopia at the same time.
There are a lot of over dubs, we sounded pretty raw live but
everything sounded so dead in the studio, Dave Goodman made us sound
more proficient than we actually were. Brian's guitar sound was a
bit of a problem, Ian would have to change the settings on Brian's
amp to get a decent sound out of it. But Brian would get back on it
and it would sound all trebly again
Who wrote
the songs in the band? Did you have any input?
Andy wrote a few by himself and the rest with either Brian or Ian,
all the lyrics were Andy's. I had some input with arrangements and
Love & Peace was credited to all of us as it was written in the
studio.
Is there
any unreleased stuff and surely there must be a live album out there
somewhere to release?
If there are any live tapes, Dave Goodman would have them. There may
be some tracks left over from Dingwalls when Get Your Yo Yos out was
recorded. My guess is that if there was anything worthwhile, it
would have come out by now.
Just how
important was Dave Goodman to the band and why do you think he took
such an interest in the band giving you such a good deal? Dave seemed
to be omnipresent? What was his role?
Dave and Caruso were both important to the band. They both really
believed in the band, particularly in Andy. They wanted to take a
band from it's totally raw beginning and see what it could turn
into. Dave was certainly omnipresent, he was our producer, half of
our record label, our driver and soundman and sometimes the voice of
reason. I'm not sure what the "good deal" was. Being young and clue
less we put ourselves in a bad situation our managers were also our
label, we had no bargaining power. To this day I have never received
any royalties.
Which of your songs do you rate and why?
I always liked Typewriter Babies, by then Andy was beginning to
write stuff that was beyond the narrow confines of Punk and we were
getting better at our instruments. Point of View is quite good. Of
the old stuff, I like Outside View, Room For One, Anne, USA and No
Brains. Listening to it now I have to say I love the sound of
Outside View , which I didn't play on, it sounds primitive like it
was recorded in the garage.
I think
people don't give Eater's music and lyrics the credit they deserve.
Andy was a good singer and wrote some good lyrics. Do you agree?
We did get a lot of stick from the press, some of it deserved and
some not. I think our age worked against us. The music press at the
time liked certain bands who were cooler than us. For the most part
they didn't like us. I always liked Andy's writing he had some good
ideas and a great sense of humour.
Did it feel weird being sort of minor stars at your age or did you
feel you missed out on normal life getting into rock'n'roll so
early.
Our fame was really minor! Punk rockers and teenage girls knew who
we were, but that was about it. It was great to play in other cities
and have kids show up & know the songs. If I missed out on anything
it was probably worth it. Some of my friends with regular jobs
bought houses and travelled around the world while I was a starving
musician. I had some ups & downs - most of it I wouldn't change.
What
bands did you rate and why? Was the punk scene cliquey? Who did you
get on with and who not?
Mostly the obvious ones - the Clash, the Pistols, the Damned, the
Jam, the Ramones, Television, the Only Ones (not a punk band, but
one of my favourite bands of all time) All of the above sound good to
me today. I also liked the Members and Eddie & the Hot Rods - both
great live bands. I don't know if it was cliquey, it seemed to me
that most bands didn't really trust each other, it was quite
competitive, maybe that's just my recollection. I had a couple of
friends in bands, I knew Mark Laff from Generation X, he was from
Finchley. But it wasn't like all the bands were hanging out
together. I don't remember us not getting on with anyone in
particular.
You
weren't photographed like Andy and Brian. Did you hang out in clubs
or keep to yourself? How did you get on with the rest of the band?
I think most of the pictures of Andy & Brian were taken in19 76 when
they were hanging out in the clubs. I would only go out if there was
a band I particularly wanted to see, I saw the Clash half a dozen
times and the Jam close to 20 but just hanging out in a club bored
me to death.
I got on well with all of them, especially Ian. We had a few rows
but overall we got on well.
The band
really was young. How did audiences treat you? I heard that Andy /
the band projected a tough aggressive image to kind of make up for
their youth. Is that a fair comment?
We had two different audiences - Punks and teenage girls who saw us
in Oh Boy! and Mates magazines. If we acted tough I don't think
anyone was convinced. We always went down well except for a couple
of instances up north when we were booked into working mans clubs
where they hated punk rockers.
Did you
get any violence directed to you? Spitting
The spitting was constant, although I definitely got gobbed on more
with Slaughter & the Dogs than with Eater. There was some violence,
Andy & Brian were chased offstage one night in Norfolk and our
roadie Speedy Steve got badly beaten up. When I was touring with
Slaughter & the Dogs my roadie would clean my cymbals and chisel the
dried phlegm off my drums every couple of days. The worst was when
you got it in the eye or in the mouth. Difficult to wipe it off when
you're drumming
Were the
majors ever interested in you?
No. Although I believe we were on Polydor in Japan.
Where did you see Eater going and how did the rest of the band view
it?
There was no plan, we just wanted to play and hopefully make a
living, I think we all would have been happy with that.
Just how many records did the band sell on average? Were you on a
wage?
I have no idea, I'd be interested to know. We got 20 quid a week for
a year or so.
Were you
and the band bitter towards the music press and people like Mark P
who viewed you because of your ages as a gimmick?
I think we were, it was a little disappointing, we would have liked
them to take us more seriously. But having said that we were having
too good a time to let it really bother us.
What are
your memories of playing the famous Roxy and places like the Vortex.
Atmosphere , audience ?
The band had played there when it was happening, but by the time I
played there, the Roxy was pretty much over. Different ownership and
a weird vibe. I have some good memories of the Vortex, usually
packed and really hot.
How did
crowds in London differ from say up North?
The crowds out of London were definitely more enthusiastic
especially in the more obscure places where it was a real event when
a punk band came to town. The downside was they also had more than
their share of rednecks who liked to beat the punks up. I saw a few
kids get the shit kicked out of them.
Did it
feel strange playing smaller gigs than when you had started out?
I don't remember that being the case. We started off playing small
places and ended playing small places.
Why did
Brian Haddock leave the band and was the writing on the wall for
finishing the band already there? How did the band end?
We all liked Brian but we needed a better guitar player and Brian
didn't seem that interested in improving. I brought Gary Steadman
in, he had a better sound but was more suited to his next band
Classix Nouveaux. I don’t remember clearly how it ended, we were all
fed up for one reason or another & I had plans to go up to
Manchester with Mick Rossi to form a new band.
How did
you see punk changing as 1977 rolled on and turned into 1978?
I don't remember to be honest. I know by that time the phrase "New
Wave" had been coined which may have been the beginning of the end.
What were
the best and worst of times on the road?
The tour of Holland was great, we saw the Pistols in Arnhem on our
day off. I think I've blotted out all of the bad parts.
Whatever
happened to the rest of the band? Did/do you keep in touch?
I just got back in touch with Andy Blade after 20 odd years, we've
been corresponding by email. I haven't heard or seen anything of
Brian or Ian since 1978.
And so to the present day. What have you been up to?
After Slaughter & The Dogs I was in several bands with Mick Rossi,
who I always thought was a great guitar player but we were never
able to really get anything going. I also did some session work with
Glen Matlock. Being broke was getting really old and my lifestyle
was not too healthy so I stopped playing drums for a few years. I
made a complete break. Then for some unknown reason I was getting
offers to play again. I went to Italy for a couple of days with a
Rockabilly singer and then I came out to LA in 1988 with the London
Cowboys. We were signed to MCA records. After two years of
rehearsing and playing clubs in Hollywood, we were unceremoniously
dropped. Since then I've played with a couple of LA bands. I still
like to play drums. but I'm pretty much over being in a band now.
I live happily in Los Angeles with my 8 year old daughter and work
as a production manager for an advertising agency.
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