CATtales

For 25 years, Alan Lancaster was bassist with one of the most successful rock bands of all time. A band he founded with school friend Francis Rossi and one which enjoyed multi-platinum album sales and stadium gigs. But an acrimonious split after Status Quo opened the stage at Live Aid in 1985 left Alan alone in the wilderness, trying to navigate his way through the music business jungle.

Alan tells me about how he survived rejection, playing with the Bombers and the Party Boys, and what it was like to be part of the biggest musical event the world has ever witnessed.

Track: Is This The Way To Say Goodbye (Bombers)

As a young boy growing up listening to The Sex Pistols and The Damned, Steve Straughan could only dream of being a member of his favourite band the UK Subs, but fast forward a few decades and Steve found that dreams really do come true. Now the newest addition to one of the most respected bands on the punk scene, as well as being a member of Hi-Fi Spitfires and Loaded 44, Steve tells me about his challenges of learning the UK Subs songs on-stage, his solo project The Last Gang, and why he doesn’t like to make his lyrics too obvious.

#UKSubs #Hi-fiSpitfire #Loaded44 # TheLastGang #Punk #Interview 

July 2020: In this second tale of a two-part series, I chat more to founding member of Motörhead and current Pink Fairy, Lucas Fox. 

We chat about how Lucas cheated death and why he has no fear of the afterlife, how Warsaw Pakt paved the way for Jack White and ended up in the Guinness Book of Records, and how Lucas worked with Ray Charles.  We also talk the early years of Motörhead, what it was like to leave the band and what it was really like to work with Lemmy. There’s no doubt that, after hearing Lucas’ tales, you will be queueing up to read his autobiography!

#LucasFox #Motorhead #WarsawPakt #PinkFairies 

When Enuff Z’Nuff finally did say enough’s enough to lead singer Donnie Vie, it looked like it was all over for the man who had spent 25 years crafting melodic power pop and rock songs for the band that had been the darlings of the critics with their debut release.  The band’s history has been punctuated by drug-induced self-sabotage, inglorious failure, premature death and bankruptcy, so the acrimonious dissolution of the brotherhood between Donnie and Chip Z’Nuff should have marked the end. But Enuff Z’Nuff have continued on their way without Donnie who, like the proverbial phoenix, has risen from the ashes to release Beautiful Things, arguably, the best album of his career to date. We chat about life after the band, why he’s had more downs than ups, and the day he woke up in a morgue.

Track featured: I Could Save The World, Donnie Vie
Donnie's website: www.donnievie.com

 

July 2020: I call Paris and spend a very entertaining evening in the delightful company of Lucas Fox, co-founder of Motörhead, drummer with Warsaw Pakt and now member of Pink Fairies. He recounts lots of fascinating stories, divulges a few secrets and reveals all about some risky, as well as risqué, moments in his life. In this first tale in a two-part series, Lucas tells me about his early days, his big break into the music industry, a chance encounter with Keith Moon, Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts, and how his band, the WH Pierce band, were recorded by Roger Waters. And, of course, we chat about his first meeting with Lemmy and how Motörhead was born, but also about his obsession with ladies lingerie and why he is spilling the beans of all the sex and drugs in his forthcoming autobiography.

#LucasFox #Motorhead #WarsawPakt #PinkFairies 

July 2020: In this show, I call France to chat with one of punk’s true originals. He’s the bassist who toured with Iggy Pop, played in Cheap & Nasty, has been a member of UK Subs on and off for over forty years and has recently released his first solo album, Your Disobedient Servant, with a who’s who of punk royalty guesting on it. Alvin Gibbs chats with me about the highs and lows of being in the UK Subs, what he got up to in between, all about his new autobiography, Diminished Responsibility, and gives me the scoop on who would like to be one of his Disobedient Servants on his second album.

In this series of revealing interviews, journalist Cat tells tales about influential musicians who have been at the heart of the industry for many years and have moulded and inspired others to follow in their footsteps.

Taking a friendly and informal approach, these fresh and relaxed conversations are the sort of chat overheard in the backstage bar about life and music...and occasionally even an expose of a few secrets.

Sit back, enjoy, and subscribe.

June 2020: Two-time World Superbike Champion and former MotoGP rider, James Toseland, admits that it’s a long was to the top if you want to rock ‘n’ roll but is enjoying every moment of his second career as a successful musician and songwriter. Collaborating with Little Angels legend Toby Jepson he has written two albums packed with classic rock and power ballads, toured with Deep Purple and Status Quo, and had Toseland’s We’ll Stop At Nothing adopted as the Special Olympics anthem in 2017. Now, he gives us the inside scoop on the music industry and tells how going on stage is just as much of an adrenaline rush as motorcycle racing.

#JamesToseland #Rock #Toseland #WorldSuperbike #Champion #MotoGP #Interview 

June 2020: Ricky Warwick is the ‘lad’ from Northern Ireland who got to walk in his hero’s shoes, even though he refuses to admit he wears them. The now lead singer with Thin Lizzy, Ricky plays songs written by Phil Lynott and performs with Scott Gorham to bring them to life again. But, more than that, he is also the frontman of Black Star Riders, who have made four of the finest hard rock albums of modern times, and was also the frontman for the hard rock band The Almighty, who achieved chart success in the UK throughout the 90s.  It’s a while since Ricky and I last saw each other but he is every bit as humble as he was  then and we chat about stepping into those famous shoes, Ricky’s solo albums, performing virtually and shaking your bahookie.

#RickyWarwick #ThinLizzy #BlackStarRiders #The Almighty #TheFightingHearts #Rock 

June 2020: In 1977 when singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke signed to Elton John’s Rocket label, she couldn’t imagine that over 40 years later she would still be performing. Her biggest success came a couple of years later with album Welcome to the Cruise with her single Stay With Me Till Dawn reaching number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.  Since then, she has released a series of quality albums, and lent her talents to albums by artists such as Tom Baxter and Morcheeba. Judie’s music has also been sampled by the likes of Mylo, and her cover of Lives in the Balance was featured in a popular TV series by order of the Peaky Blinders.

We chat about Judie surviving #cancer and #COVID19, how being ill has affected her outlook on life and how her fans have helped her conquer her nerves onstage.

#JudieTzuke #Pop #Music #Interview #Covid #MentalHealth