Interview with "The Kid" Himself, John Howard ....

 

 

Well John, it has certainly been quite a year for you, what with the release of a second RPM Records CD, 'Technicolour Biography', your first live dates in many years, and a new studio recording, 'The Dangerous Hours', in the New Year. Did you have any expectations 12 months ago of how 2004 would treat you?>br>

No, I'd no idea at all of how 2004 would go ... everything that has happened this last year has been so unexpected, but I must say that it has been an amazing 12 months! I guess that the most I hoped for was that the RPM CD reissue of 'Kid In A Big World' would appeal to people who remembered it from the first time around (in 1975). What I didn't realise was that it would in fact open up a whole new market for me. There are people who have bought the album who weren't even born when it was first released! I know that because I've met people after my concerts who are only in their late 'teens but who now have 'Kid In A Big World' in their CD collection.

What have been the highlights of 2004 for you then?

The Uncut magazine feature in the March 2004 issue, when 'Kid In A Big World' was given a five star review, was a great boost - sales really leapt after that. Then in June 'Goodbye Suzie' was included on an Uncut cover-mounted CD and I was in some rather good company ... names like Franz Ferdinand, Earth Wind & Fire, The Waterboys and Todd Rundgren. In August, RPM released 'Technicolour Biography', featuring the recordings I'd made as the follow-up to 'Kid In A Big World' but which were then shelved for almost thirty years, and that became RPM's second best seller of the summer.
My showcase gig at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London last April was another big moment. It was my first 'proper' stage gig for quite a few years and there was a great reaction from those there, including a to-die-for review in The Guardian! Young musicians like Anthony Reynolds from the indie band Jack, Darren Hayman from Hefner, and Lawrence Hayward from Felt turned up. I was shocked to find that they were fans of mine!
I did a two-hour show at Cecil Sharp House in August, with a great band comprising Andre Barreau, Phil King and Paul Aitken. The response from the audience was wonderful. It feels like my music has been a well-kept secret, which I've just been let into! For an album that I thought was dead thirty years ago, 'Kid In A Big World' has really turned up trumps - it has allowed me to come back and do what I love doing most ... creating and performing music.

So you must be really pleased with RPM Records' efforts on your behalf?

Oh yes. God bless them, without the faith of label boss Mark Stratford and Cherry Red's Iain McNay, none of this would have happened. Mark's belief and personal encouragement, not just with regards to my back catalogue but with the new material as well, has just been phenomenal.

Can you tell us about the new album, 'The Dangerous Hours', due in February on the Bad Pressings label? This is your first album of completely new material to be released in thirty years.

Mark introduced me to Robert Cochrane, who is a well-known and established poet living in Manchester. Rob apparently had been a fan of 'Kid In A Big World' for some time, and had even bought some of the singles that I released during the 'Eighties. When we talked on the 'phone the first time, we got on straight away. Rob gave me some of his poetry to read and I just fell in love with it, then he sent me a set of lyrics he had written specifically for me. I sat at the piano with his words in front of me, and songs poured out. He kept on sending stuff through and, before I knew it, I had enough material for an album.
Working with Rob is really the first time that I have collaborated with somebody else ... it's something I've never done before. I'm usually happier doing everything myself, it's a sort of organic process. But Rob was great. He told me to feel free to change any lyrics that I wasn't happy with, alter the order of the words and even add any lyrical lines into his. He was completely open to everything.
Rob's experience of life obviously came into the lyrics and I think that 'The Dangerous Hours' has a certain mood that will surprise some listeners who are familiar with my earlier recordings. It's quite a deep album with a lot of layers to it. I recorded it at Dreamworld Studios, which is quite close to my home in South West Wales, and it was all done in three days - I exhausted the studio engineer! I've worked with him before and he knows that I can be rather relentless, but that's because I know what I want. The recording process with me is usually quite fast, I've always worked like that - not too many coffee breaks though!

And you're planning a 'live' studio album this year too?

It makes sense to work in the studios with the fantastic musicians I have performed on stage with during the last year. Bassist Phil King, guitarist Andre Barreau, drummer Paul Aitken and cellist Pete Crowther have been amazing, learning and performing my songs so quickly and so well! So Mark Stratford and I are discussing the possibilities of recording an album of new material with the guys for release this year. I love the idea of recording it 'live'. The energy we get on stage captured in the studio will be great fun.

What will that album be called?

'These Fifty Years'.

Sounds autobiographical!

Kinda. My mother, who died thirty years ago, inspired a lot of the songs. Somehow she's come into my mind a lot lately, probably because I would have loved her to have enjoyed what has happened to me this last 12 months. She'd've had a ball.

And there's going to be yet another new album, 'Same Bed, Different Dreams'.

Yes, I know. Songs just keep pouring out! 'Same Bed...' is an album I am working on with Kevin Coral of The Witch Hazel Sound. Kevin is Ohio-based and does a lot of production work for the Eurovisions label, which is releasing 'Same Bed...' probably in the autumn. It's made up of mostly new songs I've written, plus a collaborative track with Rob Cochrane (a tribute to Jobriath) and one with Kevin, which we're writing together at the moment.

Are you glad to be back doing live performances?

Definitely. The more I am singing, whether onstage or in the studio, I am stretching my voice again. I'm reaching musical notes now that I used to hit thirty years ago and which I thought I'd never get again. 2004 has been remarkable because it's the first time since the '70s that I have spent a whole year writing, recording and performing. It has also been remarkable because of the belief in my music that I have discovered among fans and musical colleagues. My confidence has grown, and I think that my voice reflects that.

And what are your plans for 2005, John?

I'm certainly looking to do more live work, and I've been booked to do three gigs in Manchester in January, February and March at The Britons Protection. Bad Pressings are promoting them. Each gig will have a different musical theme: Past; (songs from 'Kid...' and 'Technicolour...'), Present; ('Dangerous Hours') and Future; (material from 'Same Bed, Different Dreams' and 'These Fifty Years').
I'm also hoping to do more London shows but it's all down to how the albums perform, really. With the new material coming out, as well as another album from the 1970s due in March on RPM - 'Can You Hear Me OK?', an album recorded with Biddu in 1975 which was never released - there are certainly more opportunities for my music to be heard extensively than ever before.

You seem to be a very happy and positive person at the moment ...

Well, who wouldn't be? Uncut magazine recently voted 'Kid...' one of the Top 20 Reissues of 2004. There were brilliant reviews of 'Technicolour Biography' in Uncut by Max Bell and by Steve Rippon in Record Collector. New material about to be released; new albums being recorded! Life ain't bad at all!>br>

And I hear that Japan has also been beckoning for your attentions!

There's been quite a bit of international attention, and I've had e-mails from Australia, Germany, Los Angeles and Japan, and other parts of the world. Strange Days, a Japanese rock magazine, did a four-page feature on me, and HMV in Tokyo made 'Kid...' one of their 'recommended albums of the week'.

Who has been the biggest personal supporter in your remarkable comeback story?

Neil, my partner. He has given me so much emotional and professional support throughout the 18 years that we have been together. He has been my rock, and shown total belief in me throughout. It was Neil who heard the 'Technicolour Biography' songs and said 'You've got to do something with these - they're too good not to be heard'.

Thanks John. It's been great talking with you, and I'm sure that 2005 will be equally successful and creative for you!

And a big thank you to everybody out there who has supported my music and me during the last 12 months!

Chris White 2005