tqontq
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 576
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Post by tqontq on Oct 22, 2019 4:11:57 GMT
Found this online by chance. A VERY telling interview with Alan during the EOTR tour. The interviewer asks some direct and insightful questions - ones that many a fan would have wanted to ask at that time.
In hindsight now it actually comes across as a very sad interview. Alan is clearly talking the marketing talk when pressed on why the band are stopping touring. He had no choice but it certainly sounds like he is in pain telling it, without any hint of conviction as to why. Also re the music direction and the single choices off BTB. Clearly he hated what was going on with the band musically and held no love for BTB. We all know that but hearing it form the horses mouth 35 years later still resonates.
Poor guy. Poor us.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 13:01:57 GMT
Surprisingly honest about tensions on tour and in the studio. For a member of a band to be so negative about their own album shows precisely why he and Francis couldn't continue to work together.
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Post by americanquo on Oct 22, 2019 16:17:22 GMT
Found this online by chance. A VERY telling interview with Alan during the EOTR tour. The interviewer asks some direct and insightful questions - ones that many a fan would have wanted to ask at that time. In hindsight now it actually comes across as a very sad interview. Alan is clearly talking the marketing talk when pressed on why the band are stopping touring. He had no choice but it certainly sounds like he is in pain telling it, without any hint of conviction as to why. Also re the music direction and the single choices off BTB. Clearly he hated what was going on with the band musically and held no love for BTB. We all know that but hearing it form the horses mouth 35 years later still resonates. Poor guy. Poor us. The heart of Status Quo. |
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Post by cammythemortonfan on Oct 22, 2019 19:03:12 GMT
Then trouble was that Alan probably peaked in 74-76 with Backwater amd Is There a Better Way .
Thereafter his compositions weren’t up to scratch, High Flyer apart.
His vision of a Quo song wad actually what he used to complain about, ironically.
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Post by Quoincidence on Oct 22, 2019 20:03:51 GMT
I bet Alan Crux started to twitch whenever Alan mentioned monetary issues within the band, as Lancaster knew full well what Mr. Crux was up to at that point!
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Post by philpayola on Oct 23, 2019 0:03:11 GMT
A very interesting listen - incredible to hear them talk about the expense/non necessity of touring and how the real money was in record sales. Oh how the tables have turned!! They would never have envisaged how much classic acts can now get away with charging for tickets though.
Not surprising that he's so down on the BTB album - though one would have thought he'd at least have appreciated having a big hit with one of his own tunes for once....and I still love Ol' Rag Blues, a really strong single. Always liked Your Kind of Love too in fact.....and can't agree entirely with Cammy about Alan's songs post '76, what about The Wild Ones & Mountain Lady?!
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OzPaul
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 157
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Post by OzPaul on Oct 23, 2019 2:19:05 GMT
Very evident that it's all over at that stage. Musically Alan and Francis were world's apart.
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Post by cammythemortonfan on Oct 23, 2019 19:40:14 GMT
A very interesting listen - incredible to hear them talk about the expense/non necessity of touring and how the real money was in record sales. Oh how the tables have turned!! They would never have envisaged how much classic acts can now get away with charging for tickets though. Not surprising that he's so down on the BTB album - though one would have thought he'd at least have appreciated having a big hit with one of his own tunes for once....and I still love Ol' Rag Blues, a really strong single. Always liked Your Kind of Love too in fact.....and can't agree entirely with Cammy about Alan's songs post '76, what about The Wild Ones & Mountain Lady?! I think the likes of Mountain Lady, whilst a decent song, kind of flies in the face of what Alan keeps saying what Status Quo is about for him, if that makes sense. |
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Post by dontthinkitmatters on Oct 24, 2019 11:08:11 GMT
First time I have listened to that. No money in touring its all in records. Easy for a known band to make a commercial single and sell it. 4 hit singles on Back to Back, an album he didnt like. Soft poppy songs. Previously sold on the back of gigs but not doing that anymore.Band a financial disaster. Easy to see how Bad management screwed this band , resulting in tensions between them.
The other thing I picked out was changing the set list, it was like an open wound between them.
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steveh
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 106
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Post by steveh on Nov 1, 2019 3:46:49 GMT
Good interview, he sounds very relaxed, like he's had a spliff or 3  |
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Post by freewilly on Nov 1, 2019 11:00:59 GMT
A very interesting listen - incredible to hear them talk about the expense/non necessity of touring and how the real money was in record sales. Oh how the tables have turned!! They would never have envisaged how much classic acts can now get away with charging for tickets though. Not surprising that he's so down on the BTB album - though one would have thought he'd at least have appreciated having a big hit with one of his own tunes for once....and I still love Ol' Rag Blues, a really strong single. Always liked Your Kind of Love too in fact.....and can't agree entirely with Cammy about Alan's songs post '76, what about The Wild Ones & Mountain Lady?! I think the likes of Mountain Lady, whilst a decent song, kind of flies in the face of what Alan keeps saying what Status Quo is about for him, if that makes sense. Not that I speak for Alan but, I often got the impression he knew what the fans wanted. Songs like A Year, Lonely Man, Unspoken Words, And It's Better Now, Living On An Island, Who Am I...Whilst they're more pop, slow and emotive, they're not twee! They're meaningful and have an emotion and feeling. Where as Win Or Lose, MT, Tommy, Address Book, 1000 Years, Speechless are genuinely appalling and unless you are in that market, you don't go down that road. You can even hear that Francis was forcefully trying to write those certain songs, instead of letting the songs write themselves* *Alan is just as guilty of that...Big Man ffs. Actrocious stuff! |
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gav
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,152
Favourite Quo Album: On The Level
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Post by gav on Nov 1, 2019 18:42:26 GMT
I think the likes of Mountain Lady, whilst a decent song, kind of flies in the face of what Alan keeps saying what Status Quo is about for him, if that makes sense. Not that I speak for Alan but, I often got the impression he knew what the fans wanted. Songs like A Year, Lonely Man, Unspoken Words, And It's Better Now, Living On An Island, Who Am I...Whilst they're more pop, slow and emotive, they're not twee! They're meaningful and have an emotion and feeling. Where as Win Or Lose, MT, Tommy, Address Book, 1000 Years, Speechless are genuinely appalling and unless you are in that market, you don't go down that road. You can even hear that Francis was forcefully trying to write those certain songs, instead of letting the songs write themselves* *Alan is just as guilty of that...Big Man ffs. Actrocious stuff! When you suddenly stop developing ideas as a group, you lose the feel literally overnight i guess. They lost the 4-way chemistry. Alan began writing on his own a lot more in Australia, Francis went off with Bernie, and Rick started doing more with Bob as a result. Rick was the one who hung on to the magic ingredient....Bob! For a while, at least. Francis certainly lost the feeling. He literally numbed himself, with drugs, and it shows in the music i think. He never really got it back i don't think. He altered himself. Went beyond the point of no return. From what i read in his book, he is essentially very, very insecure. The band's enormous success almost destroyed him to the point of when he worked the self destruction out of his system, he was a changed guy. For many years i think he hid behind the persona of a nice-melody-factory, less feeling, more pop. Which is why when he produces a passionate or ferocious solo these days, it really makes you stand up and be attentive. He hides behind a lot of stuff. Anyway, totally digressed there. Sorry Francis! |
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