What a long strange trip the Grateful Dead has been on for six decades.
In 2025, the Dead will celebrate their 60th anniversary, a huge milestone in a career marked with both triumph and tragedy, highs and lows and a lot of tie dye in between. Even when the “real” Dead retired, they continued on as Dead & Company, delighting new generations of fans who were able to discover the powerful community that is Deadheads.
“We speak a language that nobody else speaks,” rhythm guitarist Bob Weir told Rolling Stone in 2025. “We communicate, we kick stuff back and forth, and then make our little statement in a more universal language.”
But how did the Grateful Dead even come to be? How did five young men find each other in San Francisco and start a legacy? That story begins with each individual musician.
Jerry Garcia
It’s best to start with Jerry Garcia, the guiding light of the Grateful Dead. In 1961, Garcia met a man named Robert Hunter, who would go on to be a long-time friend and lyricist for the Dead. Back then, they’d play local places in San Francisco, sometimes as a duo, sometimes with bands like the Wildwood Boys and the Hart Valley Drifters.
In 1962, Garcia met a volunteer radio engineer named Phil Lesh, his future Dead bandmate. But at that time, Lesh and Garcia focused their efforts on recording Garcia with Lesh’s tape recorder for a program on the Berkeley radio station KPFA. More on Lesh later…
In the meantime, Garcia busied himself with playing in local jug and bluegrass bands, including Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which is how he met a couple of other future bandmates.
“Since I always liked playing whether it was bluegrass music or not, I decided to put together a jug band,” Garcia recalled to Rolling Stone in 1972, “because you could have a jug band with guys that could hardly play at all or play very well or anything like that.”
Bob Weir
The good news was that several of those guys were actually quite excellent musicians. Weir was just 16 years old then, but already a very talented guitarist who even taught students. One day he and a friend were visiting Dana Morgan’s Music Store in Palo Alto in the Bay Area and overheard some intriguing banjo music. It was one of the store’s employees at the time, Garcia.
“He said he was waiting for his students and my friend and I apprised him that no one was likely to show up as it was New Year’s Eve,” Weir later recalled. “He said he had the key to the instrument room and asked if we wanted to jam. We played for hours and realized we had enough half-talent to start a jug band, which somehow became successful. A year later we had a rock and roll band, and the rest is pretty well documented.”
Weir was thus a part of Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, along with one other future founding Grateful Dead member…
Listen to Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan
That would be Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, who had also worked at Dana Morgan’s Music Store. McKernan, Garcia and Weir bonded over jug music, but it didn’t take very long for their sights to be set on something with a higher voltage.
“It was Pigpen’s idea,” Garcia explained in the aforementioned Rolling Stone interview. “He’d been pestering me for a while, he wanted me to start up an electric blues band. That was his trip…because in the jug band scene we used to do blues numbers like Jimmy Reed tunes and even played a couple of rock and roll tunes and it was just the next step. And the Beatles…and all of a sudden there were the Beatles, and that, wow, the Beatles, you know. Hard Day’s Night, the movie and everything. Hey great, that really looks like fun.”
Bill Kreutzmann
The electric blues iteration of the Dead was originally called the Warlocks, a name they had to ditch on account of there being another band already called that, and it included all of the people above plus a bassist named Dana Morgan Jr. and a drummer named Bill Kreutzmann
Kreutzmann had seen the Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions perform and knew there was something special about Garcia.
“He’s got the whole house in his hands, and everybody’s just listening and watching everything he does. He’s totally infectious,” Kreutzmann said to NPR in 2015. “That night, I just said to myself, I’m going to follow this guy everywhere. And wherever he’s playing, I’m going to go watch him play, you know. And probably within two weeks, I got a phone call and it’s Jerry and he said, ‘You want to be in a band?’ And I thought that was a very good idea. Turned out to be a pretty good idea, don’t you think?”
Phil Lesh
Don’t think we’ve forgotten about Lesh, the last person to join the Warlocks that became the founding lineup of the Grateful Dead. Interestingly, Lesh had a background in both classical and jazz music, but like Kreutzmann, he fell in love with Garcia’s spirit.
Lesh more or less got offered the job on the spot at one of the Warlocks’ gigs, despite the fact that Lesh had little to no experience with bass.
“Garcia takes me aside and puts a beer in my hand and says, ‘Listen man, you’re gonna play bass in my band.’ ‘But I…er…who me? Well, Jesus, that might be possible,'” Lesh later recalled of the interaction. “Actually, it excited the shit out of me because it was something to do. And the flash was, ‘Oh shit, you mean I can get paid for having fun!’ Of course, it was so ironic because before I’d gotten to the point where I just wanted to quit music entirely.”
Listen to the Warlocks
The Beginning of the Grateful Dead
With that, the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead and they played their first show under that billing in San Jose, California on December 4, 1965.
“Being in a band with Jerry was cosmic. It always felt like destiny,” Lesh said in 2000. “There was just an overwhelming sense of rightness for everybody involved. And, ultimately, I think we all reinforced each other. The heart was distributed between us.”
Not that the members of the Dead felt they were somehow a cut above everyone else.
“I never wanted people to think that we were better than them,” Kreutzmann said in 2015. “We were good musicians who were like-minded and who found each other in the right time and place. That’s all fortunate.”
In Garcia specifically, the Grateful Dead found a pioneering leader whose adventurous attitude spilled over into everything — the recordings, the concerts and, perhaps most importantly, the connection with fans.
“The Grateful Dead is always in the process of becoming something,” Garcia said to Spin in 1987. “It’s never that we arrive at this moment and we look around and say, ‘Oh, hey, too much, we’re the Grateful Dead now.’ It’s always being on the verge of breaking over into some new space.”
Listen to the Grateful Dead Performing in 1966
Grateful Dead Albums Ranked
Even the band’s most ardent supporters admit that making LPs wasn’t one of their strengths.
The statue of Jim Morrison that was stolen from his grave in 1988 has been found, French police confirmed.
The heavy marble bust, carved by artist Mladen Mikulin, was placed on the Doors frontman’s grave in the Père-Lachaise cemetery of Paris in 1981, marking the 10th anniversary of his death.
It was stolen seven years later, with some rumors suggesting two fans had taken the 128kg memorial away on a moped at night.
“During an investigation conducted by the Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade of the Directorate of Judicial Police of the Prefecture of Police, under the authority of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, this iconic symbol for the singer’s fans was recovered,” an official statement read, adding that it had been a “chance discovery.”
Its future has not yet been confirmed. While it’s been speculated that it could wind up on top of Morrison’s headstone as before, cemetery curator Benoît Gallot said: “The police haven’t contacted us, so I don’t know whether the bust will be returned to us.”
A Morrison family spokesperson told Rolling Stone: “Obviously it’s a piece of history, and one Jim’s family wanted there on his grave, so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered.”
Morrison’s grave has been a site of controversy since the singer was laid there in 1971, following his death in Paris at the age of 27. Fans soon began to make pilgrimages to the location, partying and writing slogans on the memorial.
In 1991 police had to disperse those who’d come to mark his 20th anniversary after a riot broke out, leading to a full-time guard being appointed to monitor the location.
Doors Fan Was Arrested for Trying to Replace Jim Morrison Statue
Three years later a pair of fans were arrested trying to replace the original bust with a bronze replacement they’d paid for. American Todd Mitchell had spent thousands of dollars and taken eight months to devise the scheme when he and his nephew were caught as they tried to bolt the new bust onto the headstone in the dead of night.
Mitchell told the Salt Lake Tribune that the noise of drilling the boltholes had alerted a guard with a dog. “I showed him, ‘Here’s Jim.’ I said, ‘I’ve got Jim, and I’’m going to put him here.’” he said. “He just looked dumbfounded. Most people are destroying stuff in that cemetery.”
A second guard arrived and a radio conversation took place before Mitchell was informed: “They don’t think it’s a good idea.” Less than half an hour later the pair found themselves in a Paris prison only to be released without charge the next day – and Mitchell confirmed his intention to return one day to finish the job.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJuPS2ponll/
Doors Albums Ranked
The Doors did more in a short period of time than almost any other classic rock band.
Ex-Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese made good on his word and shared a humorous list of 10 possible reasons he was dismissed from the band in a new Instagram post, which you can see below.
Freese announced his exit on Friday, saying “no reason was given” for the Foo Fighters’ decision “to go in a different direction with their drummer.” He replaced late drummer Taylor Hawkins and had been with the band for almost exactly two years at the time of his dismissal.
“In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry — just a bit shocked and disappointed,” added Freese, who’s worked with Devo, Guns N’ Roses, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails and many more. “But as most of you know, I’ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands, so I’m fine.”
Freese ended his statement with, “Stay tuned for my ‘Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters’ list.” And after taking the weekend to dwell on it, he’s got answers.
Josh Freese’s Reasons for Foo Fighters Dismissal: Whistling, Cowbell Sound Baths and Poodles
Granted, they might not be serious answers. According to Freese, he’s guilty of whistling “My Hero” for an entire week on tour. He’s apparently a real diva, too, demanding to start every rehearsal with a 20-minute cowbell sound bath and bailing on a studio session because Mercury was in retrograde. He even promised the Offspring guitarist Noodles that he could be the fourth axman in the band, to which Noodles responded on Instagram, “But you PROMISED!”
Most damning of all, though? Freese, an avowed poodle enthusiast, suspected his love for the dog breed “was getting to be a bit much.”
Musicians Praise Josh Freese in Wake of Foo Fighters Dismissal
Freese’s departure announcement was met with sympathy and praise from several musicians, including ex-Foo Fighters drummer William Goldsmith, who quit the band during the making of The Colour and the Shape after he learned that Dave Grohl was re-recording his drum parts without his knowledge.
“Say what? Why, for playing everything not only perfectly but going above and beyond what most are remotely capable of?” Goldsmith commented on Freese’s post. “I apologize but respectfully this makes absolutely no sense to me.”
Top 10 Possible Reasons Freese Got Booted From the Foos
10. Once whistled “My Hero” for a week solid on tour. 9. Could only name one Fugazi song. 8. Two words: polyrhythms. 7. Metronome-like precision behind the kit deemed “soulless.” 6. Demanded starting every rehearsal with a 20 minute cowbell sound bath. 5. Never even once tried growing a beard. 4. Didn’t show up to studio because Mercury was in retrograde. 3. Promised Noodles he could be 4th guitarist. 2. Refused to perform unless he was guaranteed a Ouija board and nunchucks after every show. 1. The whole poodle thing was getting to be a bit much.
Foo Fighters Albums Ranked
From the one-man-band debut to their sprawling, chart-topping classics, a look at the studio releases by Dave Grohl and band.
Feature Photo: Arthur D’Amario III / Shutterstock.com
Complete List Of Songs From A to Z
Joan Jett launched her music career as a teenager, igniting a movement that challenged gender norms in rock and roll. She was raised in Pennsylvania and later relocated to Los Angeles, where her interest in music quickly turned serious. By age 15, she co-founded The Runaways, an all-female hard rock band that defied expectations in the mid-1970s. As rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist, Jett helped push the band into the spotlight with a fierce, no-compromise approach that broke through overseas—especially in Japan—while facing a dismissive American market that was reluctant to accept women in aggressive rock roles.
The Runaways released four studio albums during their short but impactful career, including The Runaways (1976) and Queens of Noise (1977). Their music was loud, defiant, and unapologetically raw, but internal tension and lack of U.S. commercial success led to their breakup in 1979. Jett was not finished. She moved to England and recorded a solo album with members of the Sex Pistols before returning to the U.S. and forming her next project from the ground up.
After being rejected by over twenty record labels, Jett and producer Kenny Laguna financed and released her solo debut Joan Jett independently. They later formed Blackheart Records, making Jett one of the first female artists to own a label outright. This decision gave her total control over her output and helped lay the groundwork for the DIY ethos that would influence punk, alternative, and indie scenes in the decades to come.
The 1981 re-release of her debut under the title Bad Reputation gained momentum through grassroots promotion. The title track—loud, rebellious, and punchy—became her mission statement and a defining anthem of her career. That same year, she assembled the Blackhearts and recorded I Love Rock ’n Roll, which turned her into a household name. The album’s title track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for seven weeks. Its success catapulted Jett into the top tier of rock artists in the early ’80s.
“I Love Rock ’n Roll” wasn’t her only hit. The album also featured charting singles like “Crimson and Clover” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” both cover songs reinvented with her signature sneer and driving guitar. In a music industry that often sidelined women or forced them into soft pop categories, Jett carved out a distinct lane. She wasn’t asking for space—she was taking it.
Throughout the 1980s, she released a string of albums including Album (1983), Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984), and Good Music (1986). These records kept her touring constantly and cemented her reputation as a relentless performer. In 1988, she scored another major hit with “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and later became the theme song for Sunday Night Football on NBC.
In the 1990s, Jett kept working, though commercial visibility dimmed. Albums like Notorious (1991) and Pure and Simple (1994) didn’t reach the charts but maintained a loyal fanbase. She made headlines with collaborations, appeared in films and television, and continued to influence the rising riot grrrl scene. Bands like Bikini Kill and L7 cited her as a direct influence, and her independent label Blackheart Records became a platform for young female-fronted bands who followed her lead.
In 2006, she returned with Sinner, her first U.S. release in over a decade, featuring politically charged tracks and updated versions of previous material. She continued to tour, including high-profile slots on the Warped Tour and festivals across Europe and North America. She remained a constant presence on the road, known for delivering loud, tight, high-energy sets whether in front of thousands or hundreds.
The 2010s saw a renewed spotlight. The 2010 biopic The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, introduced her story to a younger audience. In 2013, Jett released Unvarnished, which charted on the Billboard 200 and proved she had no interest in nostalgia-only tours—she was still writing new material, still pushing forward.
Joan Jett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 alongside the Blackhearts. Her induction wasn’t just overdue—it was a statement. The Hall had long been criticized for its gender imbalance, and Jett’s inclusion was a recognition of her impact not just as a performer, but as a music industry trailblazer who refused to let gatekeepers control her work or her legacy.
Outside of music, Jett has consistently aligned herself with causes she believes in. She has been a passionate animal rights advocate, appearing in PETA campaigns and maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle. She has also supported LGBTQ+ rights and broader feminist causes, often using interviews and public appearances to speak out for equality in entertainment and beyond.
Blackheart Records continues to operate today, signing and promoting artists outside the mainstream. It stands as a rare example of a woman-owned rock label that has lasted for decades, rooted in the same resilience and independence that defined Jett’s own rise. She remains involved in its operations, continuing to shape the careers of others the way she shaped her own.
Joan Jett’s discography includes more than a dozen studio albums, multiple live albums, and compilations. She has placed songs in film, television, and advertising without watering them down or reshaping them for commercial tastes. Her voice, both musically and socially, has remained constant: tough, clear, and unfiltered.
Her influence can be seen in punk, glam, hard rock, and pop. Artists across generations—from Kathleen Hanna to Miley Cyrus—credit her for showing that women can own the stage and the business behind it. Jett proved you don’t have to change who you are to succeed in rock and roll—you just have to play louder than the people trying to shut you out.
Complete List Of Joan Jett Songs From A to Z
A Hundred Feet Away – Album – 1983
A.C.D.C. – Sinner – 2006
Activity Grrrl – Pure and Simple – 1994
Androgynous – Naked – 2004
Any Weather – Unvarnished – 2013
As I Am – Pure and Simple – 1994
Ashes in the Wind – Notorious – 1991
Baby Blue – Naked – 2004
Back It Up – Up Your Alley – 1988
Backlash – Notorious – 1991
Bad as We Can Be – Unvarnished – 2013
Bad Reputation – Bad Reputation – 1980
Bad Time – Naked – 2004
Be Straight – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Before the Dawn – Mindsets – 2023
Bird Dog – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Bits and Pieces – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Black Leather – Good Music – 1986
Bombs Away – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Brighter Day – Pure and Simple – 1994
Call Me Lightning – Bad Reputation – 1980
Can’t Live Without You – Naked – 2004
Celluloid Heroes – The Hit List – 1990
Change the World – Sinner – 2006
Cherry Bomb – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Coney Island Whitefish – Album – 1983
Consumed – Pure and Simple – 1994
Contact – Good Music – 1986
Crimson and Clover – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Desire – Up Your Alley – 1988
Different – Unvarnished – 2013
Dirty Deeds – The Hit List – 1990
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) – Bad Reputation – 1980
Doing Alright with the Boys – Bad Reputation – 1980
Don’t Abuse Me – Bad Reputation – 1980
Don’t Surrender – Notorious – 1991
Everybody Needs a Hero – Unvarnished – 2013
Everyone Knows – Naked – 2004
Everyday People – Album – 1983
Eye to Eye – Pure and Simple – 1994
Fake Friends – Album – 1983
Fetish – Naked – 2004
Five – Naked – 2004
Fragile – Unvarnished – 2013
The French Song – Album – 1983
Frustrated – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Fun, Fun, Fun – Good Music – 1986
Go Home – Pure and Simple – 1994
Goodbye – Notorious – 1991
Good Music – Good Music – 1986
Had Enough – Album – 1983
Handyman – Album – 1983
Hanky Panky – Bad Reputation – 1980
Hard to Grow Up – Unvarnished – 2013
Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – The Hit List – 1990
Here to Stay – Pure and Simple – 1994
Hide and Seek – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Hold Me – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Hostility – Pure and Simple – 1994
I Can’t Control Myself – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
I Got No Answers – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
I Hate Myself for Loving You – Up Your Alley – 1988
I Know What I Know – Unvarnished – 2013
I Love Playing with Fire – Album – 1983
I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
I Love You Love Me Love – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
(I’m Gonna) Run Away – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
I Need Someone – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
I Still Dream About You – Up Your Alley – 1988
I Wanna Be Your Dog – Up Your Alley – 1988
I Want You – Notorious – 1991
If Ya Want My Luv – Good Music – 1986
If You’re Blue – Mindsets – 2023
Insecure – Pure and Simple – 1994
Jezebel – Bad Reputation – 1980
Just Like in the Movies – Up Your Alley – 1988
Just Lust – Good Music – 1986
Kiss on the Lips – Naked – 2004
Let It Bleed – The Hit List – 1990
Let Me Go – Bad Reputation – 1980
Lie to Me – Notorious – 1991
Light of Day – Changeup – 2022
Little Drummer Boy – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Little Liar – Up Your Alley – 1988
Locked Groove – Album – 1983
Long Time – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Louie Louie – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Love Hurts – The Hit List – 1990
Love Is Pain – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Love Like Mine – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Love Me Two Times – The Hit List – 1990
Machismo – Notorious – 1991
(Make the Music Go) Boom – Mindsets – 2023
Make Believe – Bad Reputation – 1980
Make It Back – Unvarnished – 2013
Misunderstood – Notorious – 1991
Nag – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Naked – Naked – 2004
New Orleans – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Nitetime – Album – 1983
Oh Woe Is Me – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
The Only Good Thing (You Ever Said Was Goodbye) – Notorious – 1991
Outlaw – Good Music – 1986
Play That Song Again – Up Your Alley – 1988
Pretty Vacant – The Hit List – 1990
Push and Stomp – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Reality Mentality – Unvarnished – 2013
Rear View Mirror – Mindsets – 2023
Riddles – Sinner – 2006
Ridin’ with James Dean – Up Your Alley – 1988
Right in the Middle – Naked – 2004
Roadrunner – Good Music – 1986
Roadrunner USA – The Hit List – 1990
Rubber & Glue – Pure and Simple – 1994
Scratch My Back – Album – 1983
Science Fiction/Double Feature – Naked – 2004
Season of the Witch – Naked – 2004
Secret Love – Album – 1983
Seriously – Unvarnished – 2013
Shooting Into Space – Mindsets – 2023
Shout – Bad Reputation – 1980
Someday – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
Soulmates to Strangers – Unvarnished – 2013
Spinster – Pure and Simple – 1994
Star Star – Album – 1983
Summertime Blues – Bad Reputation – 1980
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Baby – Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – 1984
This Means War – Good Music – 1986
Time Has Come Today – The Hit List – 1990
TMI – Unvarnished – 2013
Too Bad on Your Birthday – Bad Reputation – 1980
Torture – Pure and Simple – 1994
Tossin’ and Turnin’ – Album – 1983
Treadin’ Water – Notorious – 1991
Tube Talkin’ – Naked – 2004
Tulane – Up Your Alley – 1988
Turn It Around – Naked – 2004
Tush – The Hit List – 1990
Up from the Skies – The Hit List – 1990
Victim of Circumstance – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Wait for Me – Album – 1983
Wait for Me – Notorious – 1991
Watersign – Naked – 2004
What Can I Do for You? – Bad Reputation – 1980
Whiskey Goes Good – Mindsets – 2023
Who Can You Trust – Album – 1983
Why Can’t We Be Happy – Album – 1983
Wonderin’ – Pure and Simple – 1994
Wooly Bully – Bad Reputation – 1980
World of Denial – Pure and Simple – 1994
You Don’t Know What You Got – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
You Don’t Know What You’ve Got – Bad Reputation – 1980
You Don’t Own Me – Bad Reputation – 1980
You Got a Problem – Pure and Simple – 1994
You Got Me Floatin’ – Good Music – 1986
You Want In, I Want Out – Up Your Alley – 1988
You’re Too Possessive – I Love Rock ‘n Roll – 1981
Albums
Bad Reputation (1980): 16 songs
The Hit List (1990): 11 songs
I Love Rock ‘n Roll (1981): 13 songs
Album (1983): 17 songs
Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984): 16 songs
Good Music (1986): 10 songs
Up Your Alley (1988): 11 songs
Notorious (1991): 11 songs
Pure and Simple (1994): 15 songs
Naked (2004): 15 songs
Sinner (2006): 3 new songs
Unvarnished (2013): 12 songs
Changeup (2022): 1 new song
Mindsets (2023): 6 songs (12 total, but 6 are live versions)
Check out our fantastic and entertaining Joan Jett articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com
Feature Photo: Ismael Quintanilla III / Shutterstock.com
Annie Clark, professionally known as St. Vincent, has crafted one of the most distinctive and genre-blurring careers in contemporary music. Raised in Dallas, Texas, she studied at the Berklee College of Music before leaving to tour with her uncle’s jazz group and eventually joining the Polyphonic Spree. Her early musical education—both academic and practical—laid the groundwork for a solo career defined by experimental textures, fierce guitar work, and intricate songwriting.
Clark launched her solo career under the moniker St. Vincent with the release of her debut album Marry Me in 2007. The album garnered critical acclaim for its sophisticated arrangements and lyrical wit. It introduced Clark as a musical force—an artist who could seamlessly fuse chamber pop, jazz, and rock influences into a cohesive statement that didn’t sound like anyone else. From the beginning, she demonstrated a bold disregard for traditional pop formulas, using unconventional song structures and sonic palettes.
Her second album, Actor, released in 2009, marked a significant leap in both scope and confidence. Self-produced and layered with woodwinds, distorted guitars, and shifting dynamics, the record further established St. Vincent as a meticulous sound architect. Songs like “The Strangers” and “Marrow” pushed her sonic identity into even more unpredictable territory, receiving widespread praise from music publications and carving out a fanbase that valued both artistry and risk.
In 2011, she released Strange Mercy, which critics hailed as one of the year’s best albums. It was a more emotionally raw and thematically intense record, blending heavy guitar riffs with vulnerable, often intimate lyrics. The single “Cruel” became one of her first breakout songs, earning regular rotation on alternative radio and television appearances. The album expanded her audience significantly while also setting a new bar for her own work in terms of composition and production.
In 2012, she teamed up with David Byrne of Talking Heads to release Love This Giant, a collaborative album that showcased her horn arrangements, lyrical interplay, and willingness to match a legend step for step. The project included a co-headlining tour and highlighted her ability to navigate creative partnerships without compromising her individuality.
Her self-titled 2014 album St. Vincent pushed her into even wider recognition. Winning the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2015, it was her first major commercial breakthrough. The record featured hits like “Digital Witness” and “Birth in Reverse,” blending dystopian themes with robotic funk, razor-edged guitar tones, and bold visuals. The project received universal acclaim and placed her firmly in the mainstream without sacrificing her edge.
In 2017, she released Masseduction, a concept-driven work that dealt with fame, power, addiction, and emotional breakdown through a surreal and often provocative lens. The album was produced with Jack Antonoff and became one of her most commercially and critically successful works. It included standout tracks such as “Los Ageless” and “New York” and earned her another Grammy for Best Recording Package, in addition to nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Song. The album expanded her visual aesthetic as much as her sound, with bold colors, surreal videos, and a tightly choreographed live show that blurred the lines between performance art and concert.
The 2021 album Daddy’s Home was inspired by personal family history and the music of early 1970s New York. Drawing heavily from vintage soul, funk, and psychedelic rock, the record saw Clark take on a new persona—both musically and visually. The album received critical praise and another Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Songs like “Pay Your Way in Pain” and “Down” captured the retro-futurist aesthetic she was aiming for, supported by appearances on Saturday Night Live, multiple late-night talk shows, and a worldwide promotional campaign.
Outside of her studio albums, St. Vincent has contributed to a wide range of projects. She directed a segment of the 2017 horror anthology XX and co-wrote and starred in the 2020 film The Nowhere Inn, a metafictional take on celebrity and persona co-written with Carrie Brownstein. Her guitar work and production skills have also been featured on albums by artists like Taylor Swift, Sleater-Kinney, and Beck. She remains a respected collaborator in both the indie and mainstream worlds.
Her accolades include three Grammy Awards and multiple nominations across rock and alternative categories. Beyond the Grammys, she’s been recognized by the NME Awards, the Libera Awards, and other institutions that celebrate independent music. She has also been praised by critics from Pitchfork, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone for pushing sonic boundaries and defying genre classification.
St. Vincent is known not only for her music, but for her control over every aspect of her creative output—from directing music videos and designing album covers to engineering recordings and curating her stage performances. Her precision and attention to detail have elevated her to a level of artistic autonomy rare in modern music.
She is also a strong advocate for women’s visibility in rock and electronic music. As one of the few high-profile female guitarists recognized for technical mastery, she has used her platform to challenge outdated narratives about gender and musicianship. She even worked with Ernie Ball Music Man to design a signature guitar made specifically to suit a woman’s frame—breaking long-standing conventions in the instrument industry.
Whether bending genres, playing blistering solos, or reimagining her image from one album to the next, St. Vincent has built a career on reinvention and uncompromising vision. Her body of work is a testament to how experimental art and mainstream success don’t have to be mutually exclusive—and how one artist can constantly evolve without ever losing her voice.
Complete List Of St. Vincent Songs From A to Z
…At the Holiday Party – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Actor Out of Work – Actor – 2009
All Born Screaming – All Born Screaming – 2024
All My Stars Aligned – Marry Me – 2007
The Apocalypse Song – Marry Me – 2007
Bad Believer – St. Vincent – 2014
The Bed – Actor – 2009
Bicycle – Actor – 2009
Big Time Nothing – All Born Screaming – 2024
Birth in Reverse – St. Vincent – 2014
Black Rainbow – Actor – 2009
Bliss – Ratsliveonnoevilstar – 2003
Bring Me Your Loves – St. Vincent – 2014
Broken Man – All Born Screaming – 2024
Candy Darling – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Champagne Year – Strange Mercy – 2011
Cheerleader – Strange Mercy – 2011
Chloe in the Afternoon – Strange Mercy – 2011
Circle – Ratsliveonnoevilstar – 2003
Cissus – Brass Tactics – 2013
Count (Revisited) – Ratsliveonnoevilstar – 2003
Cruel – Strange Mercy – 2011
Daddy’s Home – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Dancing with a Ghost – Masseduction – 2017
Del Rio – St. Vincent – 2014
Digital Witness – St. Vincent – 2014
Dilettante – Strange Mercy – 2011
DOA – Death of a Unicorn (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – 2025
Down – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Down and Out Downtown – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Every Tear Disappears – St. Vincent – 2014
Fast Slow Disco – Non-album single – 2018
Fear the Future – Masseduction – 2017
Flea – All Born Screaming – 2024
Funkytown – Minions: The Rise of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – 2022
Hang on Me – Masseduction – 2017
Happy Birthday, Johnny – Masseduction – 2017
Hell Is Near – All Born Screaming – 2024
Huey Newton – St. Vincent – 2014
Human Racing – Marry Me – 2007
Humming (Interlude 1) – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Humming (Interlude 2) – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Humming (Interlude 3) – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Hysterical Strength – Strange Mercy – 2011
I Prefer Your Love – St. Vincent – 2014
I Should Watch TV – Love This Giant – 2012
Jesus Saves, I Spend – Marry Me – 2007
Just the Same but Brand New – Actor – 2009
Krokodil – Non-album single – 2012
Landmines – Marry Me – 2007
The Laughing Man – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Laughing with a Mouth of Blood – Actor – 2009
Live in the Dream – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Los Ageless – Masseduction – 2017
Marry Me – Marry Me – 2007
Marrow – Actor – 2009
Masseduction – Masseduction – 2017
The Melting of the Sun – Daddy’s Home – 2021
My Baby Wants a Baby – Daddy’s Home – 2021
The Neighbors – Actor – 2009
Neutered Fruit – Strange Mercy – 2011
New York – Masseduction – 2017
New York – Daddy’s Home – 2021
The Nowhere Inn – The Nowhere Inn – 2021
Northern Lights – Strange Mercy – 2011
Now, Now – Marry Me – 2007
Oh My God – Actor – 2009
Paris is Burning – Marry Me – 2007
The Party – Actor – 2009
Pay Your Way in Pain – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Pieta – St. Vincent – 2014
Piggy – Non-album single – 2020
Pills – Masseduction – 2017
政権腐敗 (Power Corrupts) – Masseduction – 2017
The Power’s Out – All Born Screaming – 2024
Prince Johnny – St. Vincent – 2014
Psychopath – St. Vincent – 2014
Rattlesnake – St. Vincent – 2014
Reckless – All Born Screaming – 2024
Regret – St. Vincent – 2014
Roslyn – The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack – 2009
Save Me from What I Want – Actor – 2009
Savior – Masseduction – 2017
The Sequel – Actor – 2009
Severed Crossed Fingers – St. Vincent – 2014
Slow Disco – Masseduction – 2017
Slow Slow Disco – MassEducation – 2018
Smoking Section – Masseduction – 2017
So Many Planets – All Born Screaming – 2024
Somebody Like Me – Daddy’s Home – 2021
Sparrow – St. Vincent – 2014
Strange Mercy – Strange Mercy – 2011
The Strangers – Actor – 2009
Sugarboy – Masseduction – 2017
Surgeon – Strange Mercy – 2011
Sweetest Fruit – All Born Screaming – 2024
Teenage Talk – Girls, Vol. 3 (Music from the HBO Original Series) – 2014
These Days – Marry Me – 2007
This Wave – Strange Mercy – 2011
Violent Times – All Born Screaming – 2024
We Put a Pearl in the Ground – Marry Me – 2007
What Me Worry? – Marry Me – 2007
Who – Love This Giant – 2012
Women and Wives – McCartney III Imagined – 2021
Year of the Tiger – Strange Mercy – 2011
Young Lover – Masseduction – 2017
Your Lips Are Red – Marry Me – 2007
Albums
Ratsliveonnoevilstar (2003): 3 songs
Paris is Burning EP (2006): 3 songs (all songs later included on Marry Me)
Marry Me (2007): 12 songs
Actor (2009): 13 songs
Strange Mercy (2011): 12 songs
Brass Tactics EP (2013): 1 new song
St. Vincent (2014): 15 songs
Masseduction (2017): 14 songs
Daddy’s Home (2021): 15 songs
All Born Screaming (2024): 10 songs
Singles/Non-album tracks: 12 songs
Check out our fantastic and entertaining St. Vincent articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com
In the ‘70s, while slaying the proverbial six-stringed dragon with Starz, Richie Ranno couldn’t have known that through songs like “Detroit Girls,” “Live Wire,” and “Boys in Action,” that he was setting the template for a slew of hair metal bands who took the world by storm in the ‘80s.
But it goes deeper than that. Ranno and Starz didn’t just influence ‘80s rock, they all but wrote the book. And yet, most people forget how great they were, and too few of those bands gave them credit at the time. “I have two theories on that,” Ranno tells ClassicRockHistory.com.
“First,” he says. “We weren’t big enough in the ‘70s for the average person in the ‘80s to know who they’d be talking about, even if they did credit us. Second, they’d be letting out a secret that people would realize, and say, ‘We need to go back and listen,’ and then, they’d know what band they took from.”
It’s a raw deal, as Starz was not only a cut above their ‘70s peers, but also the ‘80s bands that stole their thunder. “That’s okay,” Ranno says. “I’m not upset about it. None of us in the band is upset about it. But I do think that a lot of bands didn’t want people to know.”
Ranno says that the tide began to turn after Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx started outwardly championing Starz. “Nikki was the first one who came out of the closet,” the guitarist laughs. “He talked about us, which I liked. That was very nice of him.”
Since then, bands like Black N’ Blue, Poison, Warrant, Guns N’ Roses, and others that we’ll cover with Ranno in just a bit have jumped on the Starz bandwagon. Ranno laughs, saying that if they didn’t, “Everyone would have been wearing Kiss makeup in the ‘80s.”
“Kiss would have gotten all the credit,” he says. “All those bands woulda been dressed like Kiss in the ‘70s, except Kiss, obviously, because they took all that off in the ‘80s. [laughs]”
“But there’s no question about it,” Ranno insists. “Starz influenced so many bands. I’ve traveled around the country, and I’ve had people tell me as much. And why not? A lot of teenage kids who were just learning their instruments saw us as a great band. I have to say, Starz was a geat band, and out stage show was fantastic.”
During a break in the action, Starz founder and lead guitarist Richie Ranno dialed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to share anecdotal stories about the band’s influence on the heaviest of heavy hair metal hitters.
Van Halen
The first real influence from us was Van Halen. I know people are gonna pin me to the wall on that, but that’s a fact. I’m not saying Eddie played guitar like me; he played like Eddie. I’m just saying that Starz had an influence over Van Halen, for sure. If you think about Van Halen, I mean, there are a lot of similarities there.
But, I mean, Eddie Van Halen is Eddie Van Halen. That guy was a freak. He was doing things that nobody has seen since. A lot of people try, and they fail miserably. In my opinion, they should just play like they play, instead of trying to play like Eddie. Eddie had something so magical and so great. Every time I watch a video of him, I’m just blown away.
Motley Crue
I think Nikki Sixx really brought this to the forefront, and the other guys followed, you know, other bands followed suit, and mentioned us, too. And when I got to meet Nikki, he didn’t stop telling me that. We spoke for hours on the phone, and then, I went out to LA in ’91, when he invited me out to a rehearsal.
He said to me that Starz was important to them, and that he used to go see us in LA and just got so much from us. And I mean… you can hear it, you know? You can see it, and you can hear it with them, but I thought they had a couple of really fantastic albums. They were a great live band in their day.
Bon Jovi
It’s interesting, when Jon [Bon Jovi] met me, I had no idea that he was going to be tapping on my shoulder; it took me by surprise. I just went, “Oh, hi Jon…’ Then I said, ‘This is my son, he’s a big Bon Jovi fan.” And Jon started talking to my son, who was 11 at the time, and he basically said, “Hey, Starz is my favorite band.”
He told my son this. Now, I don’t know if this is true or not, but Jon said they painted a Starz logo on the bass drum at one point or another when they used to play in the basement and were practicing. I don’t know if the band was called Bon Jovi at that point, but that’s what he said they used to do. But Jon knew everything about Starz. He’s a diehard fan.
I thought it was really funny, and it was kind of cute, you know? To hear this from John Bon Jovi at his peak, you know, in 1989, I was like, “Wow…” I thought he was very humble, and when he got up on stage, he even talked about meeting me, but not by name. He said, “Tonight, I got to meet with on of my idols,” or something like that.
Then he said, “It doesn’t matter how old you get, always reach for the stars.” I was like, “How cool was that?” It made me feel good. I was going through a divorce, and it was not a great time in my life, so that was a really nice boost.
Skid Row
Another band was Skid Row, who I met back then, too. I’d go to the show, and go backstage, and I’d always bring photos to the bands and have the guys in the bands sign them for my song. I’d just say, “Hi, my name’s Rich,” and have them sign. And one time, I was in this giant backstage area, washing my hands, and getting ready to leave, and some guy with long hair comes running in.
The guy goes, “Hey, are you Richie Ranno?” I go, “Yeah…” And he goes, “My name’s Sebastian Bach. I’m in a new group called Skid Row.” I said, “Oh, yeah… I’ve heard about you guys.” He said, “Man, Starz was one of my favorite groups…” He said, “When I was 11, Starz was playing a show, and you signed a piece of paper for me.” I thought, “Wow, how funny is that?”
Warrant
At that same show, as I was walking out, Jani Lane from Warrant came in because Sebastian Bach told him I was there. Sebastian said to Jani, “Hey, that’s Richie Ranno from Starz.” I was leaving, and Jani yelled to me, “Wait! You have to come back, you have no idea the influence you had on Warrant.” I said, “No, I do. I’ve seen you.” We both laughed.
Metallica
I was in a VIP room in a nightclub on Long Island, and I was sitting on a couch, again, with Sebastian Bach, who I’d become friends with. Sebastian goes, “Hey, are you gonna be here for a while?” I said, “Yeah…” Sebastian goes, “Okay, wait a second,” and he comes back with Lars Ulrich from Metallica. [Laughs] And Lars gets down on his knees, grabs my calf, and starts kissing my knee, saying, “You can’t imagine the influence Starz had on us.” I said, “Wow… I guess so,” and started laughing.
I was really shocked, and I said, “I don’t hear any of Starz in Metallica, but thank you. That’s really nice of you to say.” I said, “That’s cool, but I don’t really hear it.” He’s said that if you listen to Coliseum Rock in particular, if you think about that, there’s some stuff in there that’s very similar to what Metallica did later on.
Poison
I love “Talk Dirty to Me,” I think that song’s fucking great by the way. I’ve hung out with them so many times, and I’m telling you, they’re fantastic. Bret Michaels is the number one frontman from that time period based on what he is; nobody from that time period was as good as he was. And the guys in Poison are really nice people, and they still sound and perform great.
Kiss
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley think they created all things in life, that they are the creators of everything. Kiss is all. Kiss is God. [Laughs] But listen, I love Kiss, and I’m not putting Kiss down, but they hate Starz’s guts. Gene and Paul, I don’t care if you print it or not; they just hate our guts.
And that’s fine. But Starz influenced them. You can hear it in their ‘80s records. But I don’t think of music in terms of who is stealing my riffs, or who is borrowing my style, you know what I mean? I don’t think about that when I listen to other people’s music.
Black N’ Blue
Funny thing is, the same week that I flew out to see Nikki Sixx, that same week, I went to a bar with my buddy, and two guys in Kiss outfits and makeup walked in. They saw me, and they came running over, and started talking to me, and, of course, it’s Tommy Thayer, and Jamie St. James. They’d put a Kiss tribute band together called Cold Gin, and we got to talking and became friendly.
I ended up having Jamie as a guest at a Kiss expo, and he’s a very nice guy. Tommy is a very nice guy, too. And yeah, there’s that famous photo of Black N’ Blue, where Tommy is wearing a Starz shirt, so we definitely influenced them. They were definitely fans. So, I was happy to meet them, and they were just really nice guys.
Guns N’ Roses
Steven Adler told me that he and Slash used to sneak into Starz’s Starwood shows. They were like 15, or something, and they loved us. And I think Guns N’ Roses was fantastic. Their album Appetite for Destruction is one of the greatest rock albums ever. The guitar playing on it is great, and I always noticed that those guys had a lot of similarities to Starz’s music, especially with the guitar playing.
And I just wonder… I guess it was a coincidence, is what I’m saying. But I’m not trying… I’m not full of myself, believe me. I am as distanced as I can from success. I don’t mean by not being successful, I’m just saying that I don’t even live that life. That’s not my life, you know? I have a nice family, and I’m happy just playing guitar locally.
That’s all good. No complaints, no bitterness, nothing. But the list goes on and on. That’s the whole point, you know? To give awareness to the fans that everybody has influences, and everyone takes influence from others who came before them. Starz definitely influenced a lot of bands, which makes me happy. I’m proud of it.
Check out similar articles on ClassicRockHistory.com Just click on any of the links below……
“He got up, smashed the table and said, ‘I’ve got the power and I’m never gonna give it up!’ I prayed for sales to bomb. I was happy to see the thing die”: The turbulent story of Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, the 80s metal classic that tore the band apart
(Image credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Twisted Sister cornered the market in the larger-than-life 80s metal thanks to 1984’s breakthrough Stay Hungry album and hit singles We’re Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock – but behind the scenes, things were falling apart. In 2004, as the reunited band prepared to release a re-recorded version of the record, singer Dee Snider and guitarist Jay Jay French looked back on an album that marked the beginning of the end for Twisted Sister.
Dee Snider’s neck veins bulge as he emits an evil chuckle. The ringlet-haired Twisted Sister frontman is trying to regale fans at the Rock & Blues Custom Show in Derbyshire with the story behind one of Twisted Sister’s biggest hits, but he’s hit a memory block.
“What was the name of that fucking asshole?” he enquires of nearby Jay Jay French. Fortunately, the grinning guitarist recalls the tale’s protagonist only too well. “Rob Dickins… that’s heavy on the ‘dick’,” glares Snider with theatrical venom. Given his colourful garb and painted face, not to mention the crowd’s cheering of every exaggerated syllable, the singer’s malevolence could be pantomime-like. However, something in the tone of Dee’s voice is just a little too disturbing.
Snider tells the crowd: “When we first played We’re Not Gonna Take It to Rob Dickins, the boss of our record company at the time, he didn’t think it would be successful. What a fucking asshole – it was a Top Ten hit all over the world. Maybe it didn’t sound enough like Kajagoogoo?”
We’re Not Gonna Take It turned Twisted Sister into megastars in their United States homeland. The Stay Hungry album from which it was lifted eventually sold six million copies worldwide, fuelled by the group’s charismatic videos. However, as you’ll have gathered, their relationship with Atlantic Records was often strained, Snider slamming the US company’s refusal to make the previous album’s I Am (I’m Me) a single as “another brilliant record company decision”; it was the band’s biggest UK single, reaching number 18 in the charts.
It was Atlantic that put forward the name of long-time Cheap Trick/Ted Nugent/Blue Öyster Cult/Molly Hatchet collaborator Tom Werman to produce Stay Hungry. The band maintain that the idea backfired, alleging that Werman told them its songs weren’t good enough and even tried to persuade them to record cover versions instead.
Though they hid the scars extremely well, Twisted Sister were in the process of unravelling at the time of the birth of Stay Hungry. Vanity on the part of Snider and jealously from French, guitarist Eddie ‘Fingers’ Ojeda, bassist Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza and drummer AJ Pero were eating away at their very foundations. The group would manage just two further studio albums – Come Out And Play (1985) and Love Is For Suckers (1987) – plus a solitary five-date UK tour in-between.Twisted Sister went their separate ways shortly afterward, bitter acrimony keeping Snider and French apart until a misdirected gold disc for You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll, the preceding album to Stay Hungry, accidentally got them talking again in 1996. Indeed, during a VH1 Behind The Music special on the band, Mendoza admitted that he’d actually wanted to see Snider dead.
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Twisted Sister in 1983: (from left) Dee Snider, Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza, A.J. Pero, Eddie ‘Fingers’ Ojeda, Jay Jay French (Image credit: Chris Walter/WireImage)
Twisted Sister had their work cut out, following the success of their first major label album, 1983’s You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll (an independent debut called Under The Blade, on Secret Records, had introduced them to the world 12 months earlier). After a decade’s worth of gigs on the East Coast’s Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the band’s critically acclaimed raids upon the UK snagged them a deal with Atlantic, despite American label boss Doug Morris calling the band “the worst fucking piece of shit in the world”.
A self-financed appearance on British TV show The Tube had sealed the deal, a modest $60,000 being allocated for them to make …Rock ’N’ Roll. However, when the recordings came in at $4,500 over budget, Atlantic vowed to sit on record in the States till the group generated the shortfall themselves.
In the UK it was far different, I Am (I’m Me),The Kids Are Back and the title track all became hit singles, and the band made a triumphant appearance at Monsters Of Rock in 1983. So ’til the thumbs-down from Dickins for We’re Not Gonna Take It, hopes had been high that this run would continue. Everyone agreed that the sessions for the next album, which took place on the East and West Coasts of America during February and March 1984, were crucial to the band’s future.At the time, Dee Snider admitted that Tom Werman hadn’t topped the band’s wish list of producers, despite his reputation for working on Mötley Crüe’s Shout At The Devil. (He would also guide Dokken, Poison, Lita Ford and Stryper, among others.
Confides French: “I think our first choice for Stay Hungry had been Bob Ezrin [Alice Cooper/Kiss/Pink Floyd] but he was unavailable. Failing that we wanted Mack or Roy Thomas Baker [Queen]. The idea of using Tom came from Doug Morris. We were finally starting to get some respect from Atlantic after we sold 100,000 copies of You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll, and in the Christmas week of 1983 Doug told me he had been mistaken about us. He said: ‘Next year I’m gonna make you one of the biggest bands in the world‘.So he wanted us to go with the hot guy.”
Snider is adamant that not only was Tom Werman the wrong guy, but that the album would have exploded no matter who had been behind the console. “We’d have been as huge as we became, no matter what,” he believes. “Using some pop producer was not the key to having a hit record. Tom told me that he worked with us for the money. At least he was honest. The sickening part is that the guy still gets royalties from us.”
When Werman heard that the band were re-recording Stay Hungry, he got his retaliation in early, instigating a bitter internet squabble with the comment: ‘It’s harder to make a hit record with a band like Twisted Sister than with a band like the Eagles, because the Eagles know what they’re doing‘. In a web posting, Snider retaliated: ‘Werman should shut the fuck up before I fuck him up.’
Only marginally more diplomatically, French responds: “I say it’s harder to have an album produced by Tom Werman that’s successful than one that’s not. You may not believe this, but Tom and I are still friends. He’s trying to discredit our talent, but great songs will always be great songs, and that’s what we had. Truth be told, he wasn’t even at the sessions for most of the time. He constantly fought with Dee, and it was the engineer [Geoff Workman] who essentially produced the album.”
‘Animal’ Mendoza was another notable absentee. Snider: “On You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll, Mark was in the studio so much that he was credited with assisting [producer] Stuart Epps. He’d sat side by side with Pete Way [the UFO bassist who produced Under The Blade]. He’d have sat side by side with someone of Max Norman’s stature, but when he heard we were using Tom Werman he was mortified, and refused to be around beyond playing the bass and doing his job.”
Werman accuses the band of revising history, claiming that they were perfectly happy at the time with his work. This theory is given credence by Snider’s 1984 proclamation that the album was “a classic Twisted Sister effort, hard and fast, and full of anthemic power”. Jay Jay objects, however.
“We never liked the way that Stay Hungry sounded,” he insists. “It was so anaemic. In fact, none of our records sounded all that great to me. They had to be thinner than we’d have liked in order to get on the airwaves. It worked for radio, but just wasn’t representative of the band we were.”
Being native New Yorkers, the quintet had begun work contentedly at the Record Plant, but while they were laying down the framework of the song Burn In Hell there was a fire (according to French; Werman insists the story is untrue). Switching to Cherokee Studios on the other side of the country, they felt less comfortable, despite the hotter weather. Indeed, Snider later told an interviewer that sandbags were piled up behind the door to exclude “all that wimpy LA nonsense”. But city culture was the least of their problems.
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider in 1984 (Image credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images))
“There was huge friction between us and Tom,” relates Jay Jay. “He drank, we didn’t. He was the rock star, we weren’t. We would show up to work at noon and he’d roll in whenever he felt like it. And the fact that this producer nixed pretty much everything we had – including We’reNot Gonna Take It, I Wanna Rock and The Price – to bring in covers says everything about his ability to chose a hit song.”
Snider picks up the theme, the anger growing as he speaks: “I spent my days in the studio fighting with Werman, trying to keep some semblance of who we were. I had to beg him to include those songs. On the first day he brought in Saxon’s Strong Arm Of The Law and Princess Of The Night and told us we should record them instead. I replied: ‘Yeah, they’re great songs – I heard them last week when we did a show with Saxon‘. He thought that because nobody in America knew them, we could get away with recording them.”
Finishing touches were added to the record at a studio owned by Quincy Jones. “Michael Jackson’s Thriller was recorded there and was still on the charts, and the engineers gave us all sorts of fascinating stories about Michael,” grins French – but his overriding recollection of the record’s completion is a final playback session. “When we heard the finished versions of I Wanna Rock and We’re Not Gonna Take It, Geoff Workman said he’d stake his reputation that Stay Hungry would sell at least two million copies.”
Climate-wise, with Van Halen (1984), Iron Maiden (Powerslave), The Scorpions (Love At First Sting), ZZ Top (Eliminator) and the reunited Deep Purple (Perfect Strangers) all scoring huge hits that year, there would never be a better window of opportunity for an album like StayHungry.
“We knew that,” nods Jay Jay. “But when the record was finished I didn’t think to myself: ‘Wow, that’s 20 steps ahead of what we’ve done’. I still believe that You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’Roll was the better record of the two. But I knew that the force of the movement would make it happen. Every record label seemed to have their own hair-metal band lined up like jets on the runway. Every month a different jet would head off and strike its target. We were in the right place at the right time, with the most dynamic frontman around. There were so much hairspray above Los Angeles in 1984 it was pretty intoxicating.”
So given the fact that the band’s big breakthrough had come in the UK, there was much shock that Stay Hungry failed to match the British sales of You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll.
“The biggest record of the band’s career flopped in England,” confirms Jay Jay. “The single [We’re Not Gonna Take It] was nowhere near as big as I Am (I’m Me) [numbers 58 and 18 respectively]. It went double platinum in the States, and we sold so many records in Sweden that we received a plaque that had previously been awarded to Michael Jackson and ABBA. After our previous year’s appearance at Donington, you’d have expected Twisted Sister to have played Wembley Arena on that tour, but the sales didn’t warrant it, so we decided to play Hammersmith Odeon instead.”
According to Snider, Rob Dickins’s vehement opposition to We’re Not Gonna Take It extended to vetoing an advance mail-out of the new single to journalists and radio stations.
“The envelopes were addressed and stuffed when the postage bill landed on his desk,” he relates. “It was probably about £10,000, but pound for pound he’d have got his money back. When the record came out, nobody here [in the UK] knew about it. I was doing interviews and being told the band’s time had passed, but all over the world it was a hit. In Sweden on a promotional tour I was picked up by a limo and taken to the presidential suite of the best hotel.
“The record was exploding; I was signing autographs for Björn Borg and the King and Queen of Sweden. The next day in England, there’s a cab to the bed and breakfast I’m staying in, I did a depressing series of interviews and then had the weekend off. So I called Sweden to ask if they’d have me back. When I got back over there, I was a god again.”
Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French and Dee Snider onstage in 1984 (Image credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Another important factor to consider was the growing tension between Dee Snider and the rest of the group. Twisted Sister had existed for three hard years before the singer joined them in 1976. Speaking to Classic Rock in 2003, Snider acknowledged that his appointment was unusual, stating: “Jay Jay never [even] told me I was in the band. He just said we’d give it a try, and that I should remember he owned the band’s name. To a certain extent, I was alienated.”
Nevertheless, Dee gradually took over the group, becoming their focal point, songwriter and main spokesperson.
“It caused problems,” Snider stated in the same article. “I’d taken my cue from Alice Cooper: if they [the other band members] ran around, I ran around more. The guys were solid musicians, but none of them was Eddie Van Halen, and I was the creative force. Jay Jay even accused me of calling every magazine in the world and telling them to print pictures of me, not the band. I looked at him in disbelief – I couldn’t have done that, even if I’d wanted to.”
By the group’s final days, Eddie Ojeda had been ousted with French, claiming “Dee wanted a supergroup of Yngwie Malmsteens”. When it came, the ending was ugly in the extreme. “Dee even tried to fire me,” added Jay Jay. “He then got up, smashed the table and said: ‘I fought for the power, I’ve got the power and I’m never gonna give it up‘. I prayed for ticket sales to bomb – and they did, everywhere. I was happy to see the fucking thing die.”
Twenty years later, when asked to reappraise the contents of Stay Hungry track- by-track, Dee and Jay Jay respond very differently indeed. French gazes for a while at my vinyl copy of the record, lost in thought.
“You know what?” he says finally, for once almost lost for words. “The band was starting to disintegrate – the rot set in and it never got better. So I don’t feel particularly comfortable trying to talk you through those songs.”
For Snider, the memories that the album conjures up are equally mixed. Snider once told me: “With We’re Not Gonna Take It, I was singing about my father and schooldays, but it was also about Jay Jay. Certain things that had gone on had made him into another authority figure.”
He now adds: “At this point I was starting to spend a lot of time on my own. I had a vision, and I pursued it so ruthlessly that I didn’t see the cracks. I just didn’t notice that Mendoza wasn’t rooming with me any more. Some of the guys liked to party and I never did, so we didn’t hang out as much. As my celebrity started to take off, the band were relegated to sideman status – though you must believe that wasn’t my intention. There are a lot of things that I wish I’d done differently. I admit that I was pretty maniacal.”
The entire Stay Hungry album had actually been written during the You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’Roll sessions at Sol Studios in Reading, Berkshire, owned by Jimmy Page. Being away from loved ones placed everyone under an extra degree of pressure, though it enabled Twisted Sister to pursue their goal.
“It was a great time for the band, but sometimes a very lonely one,” explains Dee now. “I didn’t have the money to fly my wife and child in to be with me, so I wrote The Price about the way I was feeling. It came to me in the bathroom at Jimmy Page’s studio; it was the only place that Satan wouldn’t be hanging out. Did you have enough pentagrams on the wall there, Jimmy?”
Snider had written the chorus of We’re Not Gonna Take It in 1980, during the band’s club-band days. He’d also been opposed to including Horror-Teria (The Beginning) on the album as it had been intended for a rock-opera he was working on (“Don’t worry, it’ll never see the light of day,” he now grins). Werman also persuaded the band to record Don’t Let Me Down, having earmarked it as the album’s first single. Dee also chuckles heartily at the recollection that Atlantic preferred Burn In Hell.
It was only the intervention of Marty Callner, who’d directed videos for The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Pat Benatar among others, that swung things for We’re Not Gonna Take It.
“Marty sent Doug Morris a telegram,” explains Snider. “It said: ‘Working on the first single, We’re Not Gonna Take It. Stop. This one’s going straight to the top. Stop. Marty’. When the company saw that money was being spent, they had no choice but to do things our way.”
The record’s title track was dedicated to and inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1976 movie of the same name. Indeed, Twisted later sent Arnie a platinum disc for Stay Hungry, and performed at a political rally on his behalf in 2003. “I’ve admired Arnold since his bodybuilding days,” comments Dee. “He said he wanted to become the world’s greatest bodybuilder, a famous Hollywood actor, a millionaire businessman and always planned on going into politics. He made these goals a reality.” Arnie also adopted We’re Not Gonna Take It as his official song when he campaigned – successfully – to become governor of California.
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider with Ronnie James Dio (Image credit: Fin Costello/Redferns))
S.M.F. was, of course, an acronym for ‘Sick Motherfucker’, which Snider penned as a tribute to the loyalty of the fans. “I should’ve written it years earlier,” he says. “It was about them, and for them.”
It’s a little-known fact that during the early 1980s MTV was owned by American Express and Time-Warner, the latter the parent company of Atlantic Records. So Twisted Sister’s videos received saturation coverage. It also helped that the promos for We’re Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock were masterclasses in kitsch. The idea of casting Mark Metcalf as his National Lampoon’s Animal House character Douglas C Neidermeyer was nothing less than inspired.
Who could forget the militaristic father bullying his son (“Whaddya wanna do with your life?”), or the way said teenager blasts his oppressor clean through the window with a simple guitar strum and a snarl of: “I wanna rock”? The notion of the fat kid getting his revenge on Neidermeyer, who transforms himself into a schoolmaster, was the perfect vehicle for the band’s message of personal freedom, effortlessly tapping into the youthful angst and confusion that every adolescent has felt. French is happy to give all the credit to Snider.
“Dee is a visionary,” says the guitarist. “For several years his ideas were totally in tune with the masses. He and Marty Callner pretty much wrote the storyboards.”
Neither French nor Snider will admit to a shred of embarrassment at the cheese factor of Neidermeyer blowing himself up with grenades, falling through the floor and being covered in cement.
“Ratt had a floor collapsing in their Round And Round video,” shrugs Jay Jay, “so if you think about it, everything silly was up for grabs. There were a lot of lame-ass videos in the 80s, but ours were pretty sophisticated. They’ve stood the test of time; the only real problem with their silliness being that Twisted Sister was a heavy band. That’s a misconception that we still sometimes have to overcome.
“I’m still incredibly proud of the videos, but by the time they went on to heavy rotation at MTV the band had stopped talking to each other,” adds French sadly. “We were operating on auto-pilot. And it only got worse. So it was important for us to go back and re-record the album as friends.”
Twisted Sister – Burn In Hell – Live In London, At The Astoria – 2004 – YouTube
As well as a sonic facelift, Stay Hungry has received a visual overhaul. As French explains, the original artwork of a lone Snider gnawing at a bone only inflamed the politics of a group already frustrated by the attention the singer was receiving.
“The photo that appears on the back of the record – the band without make-up – was supposed to be used on the front,” he states. “The idea, which came from Mark Mendoza, was that behind each of us, there would be a ghosted image of that guy in make-up. We were in this dilapidated warehouse, with no food to eat and dreaming of becoming rock stars. But at the shoot a lightbulb got in the way, and this was in the days before Photoshop.
“That was just issue one,” he adds. “So Dee and [photographer] Mark Weiss did the famous bone shot, and that got used instead. In Dee’s mind he had become the sole image of what the band was. It became symbolic of the beginning and the end of the band.”
Twisted Sister’s decision to disassemble their biggest-selling album and piece it together again, Frankenstein-like, is a bold one.
“When we got back together, we had 20 years of perspective,” French reflects. “We thought: ‘God, this record sounds terrible. It would be so great to re-record it’. Our initial plan was to slap a new version of Stay Hungry on to the back of a DVD, but once we got into the project it became more and more important.”
So what would Twisted Sister say to those who accuse them of messing with history; tampering unnecessarily with a product that’s already legendary in its sphere? Not a lot after one has removed the expletives, it would seem.
“We’re the artists – we want to reinterpret it. The original’s still out there to be bought,” responds French, seemingly taken off guard by the question. “A lot of people criticised Let ItBe… Naked [a 2003 edition of The Beatles’ farewell from 1969 stripped of producer Phil Spector’s orchestrations and choirs]. This is Twisted Sister’s Let It Be… Fuller, or even our Let It Be… Less Nauseating. To me, the original Stay Hungry is just unlistenable.”
“We didn’t do this for anybody but ourselves,” agrees Snider. “We don’t think it’ll sell millions of copies or reactivate our career. The songs and arrangements are also pretty much the same; what’s different about Still Hungry is the attack.”
The accompanying DVD attempts to explain the decision to return in 1999, over 10 years after they split up. “You think it was easy to reunite this band? It was not,” Snider told a rapt Astoria during the band’s summer visit. “How tense was the first rehearsal? ‘Animal’ was carrying a gun, I swear to God.” In fact, the first Twisted Sister performance in 13 years was a spontaneous, three-song affair at a party to honour A&R man Jason Flom, just about the only person at Atlantic in the US to have taken the group seriously at the start.
The reunited Twisted Sister in 2003 (Image credit: Mark Weiss/WireImage))
“In the year 2001 the five of us still hadn’t been in a room together again,” relates French. “We agreed to play for Jason, but in usual Twisted Sister fashion a band member didn’t make it to our only rehearsal. So we ran things through in a kitchen half-an-hour beforehand – if you’d told me it would work out like that, I’d have said you were out of your mind.”
Just 150 people witnessed this event, but although the band wore jeans and T- shirts they still brought the house down. Scenes of them jamming I Wanna Rock with Kid Rock, ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray are included on the DVD, plus footage from a higher-profile spot at the Hammerstein Ballroom show of 2001 that raised funds for dependants of New York fire-fighters lost in the Twin Towers terror strikes. Clearing out the vaults, the DVD also shows TS playing before US troops in Korea. As French quite rightly points out, the fact that the quintet are performing better than ever before validates the re- ploughing of old furrows.
“We’re going to great pains to freeze a moment in time,” he stresses. “Twisted Sister is iconic for a specific era, it’s something we’re very proud of. Maybe it’s good that we imploded when we did, because we didn’t get burnt out and tired like so many other bands. You’ll hear that on these heavier new versions of the songs.”
Originally published in Classic Rock issue 73, November 2004
Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.
Texan psych-Americana band Lord Buffalo forced to cancel European tour after Mexican drummer Yamal Said is “forcibly removed” from flight by US Customs and Border Protection officers
(Image credit: Lord Buffalo Facebook)
Austin, Texas psych rock/Americana band Lord Buffalo have been forced to cancel their scheduled European tour at the 11th hour after their drummer was “forcibly removed” from their flight to Holland, and taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection officers.
The band were set to begin their first-ever run through Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Finland this week with Swedish psych, kraut, post-rock and doom rockers Orsak:Oslo, beginning on May 15 at the Oefen Bunker club in Landgraaf, Holland, but have now had to abort the tour due to their drummer’s shock detention.
In a statement posted on social media today May 14, the band say: “We are heartbroken to announce we have to cancel our upcoming European tour. Our drummer, Yamal Said, who is a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States (green card holder) was forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border Patrol at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday May 12. He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him.
“We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release. We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom. We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future “
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has introduced a number of immigration-related executive orders, to the alarm of civil liberties organisations and human rights lawyers. Last month, in a post on his website titled ‘Coming Back To America‘, Neil Young expressed his own concerns that freedoms are already being curtailed under Trump’s presidency.
Concluding their social media announcement, Lord Buffalo write: “In our absence, our touring partners Orsak:Oslo will continue to perform the tour. We urge everyone to go see this amazing band and support them over the next couple weeks.”
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
Sleep Token are on course to score their first number one album on the UK and US charts with Even In Arcadia, out-selling Arcade Fire and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke
(Image credit: Andy Ford)
Sleep Token look set to land their first number one album in the UK and US, with Even In Arcadia currently the biggest-selling new release on the mid-week charts in both territories.
The band’s fourth album, their first record for major label RCA. has received positive reviews across the media landscape, with Metal Hammer noting, “It might divide longtime fans, but it will almost certainly expose metal to its biggest audience yet.”
This sentiment appears to be borne out by early sales of the album, which was released last week, on May 9.
In the UK, the Official Charts Company reports that that sales of Even In Arcadia look set to out-strip sales of 2023’s Take Me Back To Eden: Sleep Token are out-selling all their competitors this week, with PinkPantheress at number two with Fancy That, The Kooks currently at number three with Never/Know, and media darlings Arcade Fire currently at number five on the chart with Pink Elephant. Tall Tales, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke’s collaboration with electronic musician Mark Pritchard also looks set to debut in the Top 10.
In the US, Hits Daily reports that the enigmatic English metallers are at number one mid-week on the Billboard 200 chart, with Kali Uchis’ Sincerely expected to debut at number 2, and SZA’s SOS retaining its number three spot on the chart.
Sleep Token are currently gracing the cover of Metal Hammer‘s 400th issue. In fact, they’re gracing two covers, one representing House Veridian, and one House Feathered Host.
The cover story lays bare their secret origin story, via those who were there. From their first producer, to publicists and promoters, we discover what Vessel was really like, and how his vision developed.
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“The starting point was removing this idea of the music you listen to being related to the person making it,” says George Lever, Sleep Token’s producer from 2016 to 2021. “By being anonymous, the listener is forced to relate to what they’re actually hearing.”
At first, people didn’t know what to make of this mysterious masked band, who defied categorisation.
“In its simplest terms, we described it as ‘Sam Smith meets Meshuggah’,” says Nathan Barley Philips, co-founder of Basick Records, which released Sleep Token’s first songs. “Those were the layman’s terms we used to describe it to people who might not get it. Believe me, there were people in those early days who didn’t!”
A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
“I’d have been up for having Slash on the album – but I’d have insisted he played the xylophone!” Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri pushed each other hard on their first album Not the Weapon But The Hand
(Image credit: Jill Furmanovsky)
In 2012 Marillion’s Steve Hogarth and Porcupine Tree’s Richard Barbieri finally delivered an album they’d been hoping to make for years. Not the Weapon But The Handpushed them both out of their comfort zones, and paved the way for 2023’s Waiting To Be Born. Ahead of their debut release they told Prog how it had come together at long last.
Marillion vocalist Steve ‘H’ Hogarth is reclining in an executive chair with his feet up on the desk. So is Richard Barbieri, better known as Porcupine Tree keyboardist, No-Man collaborator and former member of the groundbreaking band Japan. Hogarth grins apologetically: “Sorry, we were just comparing shoes!”
We’re at the London headquarters of their label KScope to talk about the duo’s first album together, Not The Weapon But The Hand. It’s quite clear they’re absolutely delighted with it. “This is the first copy we’ve seen,” the vocalist explains, pushing the finished product towards for closer inspection. “It’s completely knocked me out. I’m so proud of it… We’ve done a really good job, we really have!”
Let’s get one thing straight: this isn’t a Porcupine Tree instrumental with a guest singer. It’s a collaborative effort between two very talented musicians. Recorded over several years, this haunting eight-tracker refuses to conform to any expectations or rules – and it’s packed with so many Barbierian nuances that it’s hard to forget his electronic roots. Such aural tinkering has given Hogarth the perfect opportunity to get seriously creative in the vocal department; this is experimental progressive music in its truest sense.
The pair’s friendship dates back to 1996 when Porcupine Tree supported Marillion in London, and Hogarth – a huge Japan fan – asked Barbieri if he would perform on his solo album Ice Cream Genius. Although they kept in touch through subsequent shows and via Steven Wilson’s own involvement on Marillion’s Marbles album, it was an unexpected email from Barbieri that got the ball rolling again.
Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri – Naked (from Not The Weapon But The Hand) – YouTube
Hogarth recalls: “I was in Leeds on tour with Marillion, sitting in Starbucks with a coffee, and the email came through asking how I’d feel about making a record together. It didn’t take long for me to reply ‘absolutely’ and ‘how?’ Back in the 80s, I was in a band called The Europeans, and Tin Drum by Japan was one of the albums we used to listen to when we were on tour… if someone had told me then I’d end up working with Richard, I would have done a backflip and squealed with joy!”
Their hectic schedules meant that ‘working together’ was a little less straight-forward than the phrase implies. They sent files back and forth in their own time, and didn’t share the same space until their promotional photo shoot in Amsterdam.
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The songs were based around a collection of haunting instrumentals that Barbieri had begun composing as far back as 2009. “I thought, ‘I want this kind of vocal on my music – I want to know what it sounds like,’” he explains. “I started writing and gradually fed him pieces of music and saw how it went from there. It’s kind of untampered-with in the sense that, once I’d passed the music on, what came back was almost a vocal production. There would be whispered voices and layered harmonies, a story going on over here and then a narrative, without any, ‘Could you change this, could you change that?’ The whole thing just came together and worked naturally.”
Barbieri wrote over the course of several winters – a season in which he feels most creative. Conversely, Hogarth wrote most of his vocals during the summer. “It hadn’t occurred to me until now that we were working at opposite times of the year,” he says. “There are quite a few examples of very dark instrumentals with light poured all over them – Only Love Will Make You Free is one. It has a very dark spine, but it’s completely enveloped in light. That’s what I was trying to do with the choruses and harmonies; make it all about light and wrap it around this dark, spooky spine. It was a happy accident.”
Hogarth recalls he listened to the emailed soundscapes in his car and allow them to provide the soundtrack for magical mystery tours around rural and urban landscapes. “The first thing Richard sent is now Red Kite. It’s about a feral creature that’s completely at odds with civilisation. While we’re driving up motorways at 100mph, this thing that’s part of nature hovers above us. It’s the double meaning of roadkill – commuting can kill you spiritually as well as physically.
“I wrote Naked like that as well; but then Crack is about being so obsessively in love with someone that you’re making them want to leave – I’d had that dark, almost nasty little lyric kicking about for ages and I wondered whether I could get it to work. Lifting The Lid was also something I’d had floating around for years. It was just three or four lines.”
I thought it would be quite nice to have Steve singing over drum’n’bass – it’s not the sort of thing he’d normally get to do!
Richard Barbieri
Barbieri interrupts: “That’s my favourite track on the album, actually – I didn’t really want a vocal on that. I was very precious about it and he knew that!”
Hogarth: “Yeah, when I was singing on it, I was conscious that I had to stay out of the way of the song because I knew he’d reject it. I just had a vision that I could make something special of it. I had to allow the music to live.”
Barbieri shines through on A Cat With Seven Souls and Crack – songs that feature elements of trip-hop and drum’n’ bass respectively. “I work from a lot of different musical areas and it feels right,” he says. “I like contemporary electronic music, and I always have done, so I tend to veer towards more trancy, hypnotic rhythms, often quite electronic and programmed.
(Image credit: Jill Furmanovsky)
“It’s the way I grew up in the 80s – everything was to a click or a track, so I suppose that’s a hangover. But they’re flavours; it’s not extreme. It’s not Aphex Twin, but the kind of music I listen to a lot works its way into my subconscious.” He adds with a grin: “And I thought it would be quite nice to have Steve singing over drum’n’bass – it’s not the sort of thing he’d normally get to do!”
Although Hogarth and Barbieri are the focus, contributors include double bassist Danny Thompson, XTC/Tin Spirits guitarist Dave Gregory, percussionist Arran Ahmun (ex-John Martyn band) and drummer Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree and No-Man). “We didn’t want to stop our characters from coming through,” Barbieri explains.
There’s always a danger that when you hear something that appeals to you immediately, you’ll tire of it quickly
Steve Hogarth
“The work had already been formed – certain moods and themes had already been set in stone and we didn’t want to veer too far away from that and bring in someone out of the blue, like Slash, for example.”
Hogarth lets out a snort of laughter: “I’d have been up for that. Although I would have insisted he played the xylophone!”
With Marillion due to begin work on their next album, to be followed by a lengthy tour, and Porcupine Tree currently on a break before regrouping to work on new material, it seems unlikely the pair will get the chance to take their collaboration out on the road.
Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri – Red Kite..wmv – YouTube
“We’d like to,” Barbieri says, “but it’s a complicated process. Because the tracks weren’t constructed in a normal way, it’s not as if you can break it down and strum an acoustic guitar or sit down in front of a piano. There are ways of working it out, but it involves sitting down with loads of other people, probably.”
Only time and schedules will tell. “I’m really falling in love with the album now,” Hogarth grins. “There’s always a danger that when you hear something that appeals to you immediately, you’ll tire of it quickly. I hope this takes a few listens for people to get into.”
Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.
