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 Ya gotta love a job that has you driving through torrential rain to interview Rock Stars, writes Krissy Stixx. It was a dark and dreary Sunday night, Somerset to Swindon was an exercise in fording in an automatic car – all the roads were in flood, the rain still came down, the M4 was a lake.. and we were late. No. 1 son and I hung out at the front desk of the Oasis Leisure centre trying to look cool and un-harrassed while waiting for access to Mr. Phil Collen, lead vocals and guitar for Man Raze. You may also know him from his day job....
Eventually, with ticket in pocket ready for the extravaganze featuring not only Collen's band but Alice Cooper as headline, Ronan the very nice Irish sound guy led us on to the most unglamorous tour bus in the car park, so we could chat. A quick handshake with Paul Cook (drums) on the way in... and we were off!
Phil, I am totally loving the Surreal album in the car at the moment...
Phil: Thanks, thank you very much!
Not at all... oh look, I started preparing questions for you and then we had a game of Scrabble... [shows Scrabble scoring in notebook] so I had to start all over again! [Much laughter]
Bloody hell! [everyone collapses with mirth]
I'm not happy about this, here I am, sitting on a tour bus... one of our other interviewers and also your press guy said that you have a great propensity for taking your clothes off... it must be because I've got my boy here with me! [everyone laughs, and Collen keeps his shirt on] So, have you given up the getting the body out everywhere then?
No, no, I've not given it up! On the last [Def] Leppard tour I didn't even bother, it was just a pair of trousers...
Might that be to do with showing off the physique? Is it hard work, keeping the physique in shape?
Well, yeah it is... and it's age... You know, it's not rocket science! When you hit, like, 35, you have to make little adjustments...
Shut up! [looks at own 39 year old butt despairingly]
You have to make little adjustments and it's fine! I mean, I can do stuff at 51 that I couldn't do at 20, easy stuff I couldn't even dream of doing...
Like?
Some of the martial arts stuff... like the kicks. A cold kick, I can kick straight up in the air without warming up [much hand waving but no demonstration]. For a start off, I couldn't do that when I was 20...
It's years of training and taking care of yourself, I suppose?
And the other stuff, it's like, I don't drink, I don't smoke, don't take drugs, all of that stuff. That really makes a huge difference.
So it's about healthy eating, plenty of exercise, getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water...
It's exactly that!
I'll remember that next time I crack open another can of Red Bull or a beer then! I'm disappointed, I thought you might have had a magic formula!
I have, it is magic! Fuck, people say “Why do you do that, why do you work out 3 times a day?” and it's like, because I feel great! You feel like Superman! It's just amazing.
Yeah, it kind of blows the whole sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll thing out of the water. Options are, take care of yourself and end up like Phil Collen. Go the rock 'n' roll route and end up fat, middle aged and keep your shirt on! [Much nodding and laughter].On that note, a lot of old bands are reforming and hitting the road at the moment, bands who broke up years ago. Some of them might be better off staying at home, being grandparents etc. What's it doing to the Rock business, do you think?
Well, because there's no record industry any more, that's what really happened, everyone wanted to see live gigs... People go, “Oh! Shit! We can do this! We'll reform!” That's what really happened, you've got lots of these bands that shouldn't really... They knocked it on the head ages ago for different reasons, they should have stayed like that. You can actually tell which ones are kinda real...
I won't ask you to name and shame, we all know who they are really... [Phil nods]. It's interesting, Sam [no.1 son] and I interviewed Duff McKagan and Loaded a few weeks ago, it was a Wayne's World moment... I hope we don't see Alice in the car park or it will be a total “We are not worthy!” moment... But seriously, it's as if guys from these, if you like, Supergroups, are now in a position to do something more individual and creative. Do you get more freedom to do that when you know your main band has “made it”?
No! Not all! This is something we've been trying to do for, like, 5 years, trying to get the time to do this [Man Raze]. We've tried it in Def Leppard a million times, tried to write different songs, tried to experiment and things, but no-one really likes it! You put it out and people go, “Oh...” [pulls a face]. In fact you paint yourself into a corner. So you're really restricted, you can't just do anything you want. Like, say, Prince does anything he wants, pretty much... He's pretty diverse. But with Guns 'n' Roses, they can't... Def Leppard, they definitely can't...
Yeah, you are expected to produce a song that sounds like a “successful Def Leppard” song!
Yeah, other wise people go, “Fuck!”. We done an album called Slang, everyone was like “Ooh, don't like this!” Jesus! But with a NEW band, like Man Raze, the whole idea of it is to be diverse. All the stuff that we couldn't do for years, we can do! It's got a whole new edge to it.
I'd agree. Erm... when did YOU notice that your vocals sound very much like a trademark Def Leppard vocal? [Much laughter].
It's because it's in every bloody song!
Yeah, when I first heard the album I thought that maybe you wouldn't be wanting it to sound so much like that – but it really bloody does!!
I know, I know.. [shakes head]. When it got too much, Paul and Simon would go, “Ooh, sounding a bit close!” [laughs]. A lot of the time we didn't do big backing vocals, we changed it for exactly that reason! Even when I tried to NOT do it, it still sounded a bit like it, ya know? [We all laugh again].
Well, I was quite surprised... I'd always thought that trademark vocal was down to Joe Elliott, but it's not, is it? It's YOUR fault! [Laughter]. I really couldn't believe it when I heard it! But it's interesting how easily you can see everyone's influences on Surreal... for example, the reggae feel on “Runnin' Me Up” is pure Police... I bet it made a refreshing change to be able to write like that. It's just sad it's taken so long to put the CD out, what with touring schedules and so forth.
Yeah we have been so busy...
You know I'm going to ask you about the Def Leppard US tour cancellation now, don't you? All the press releases cited “mental and physical exhaustion” as the reason for cancellation of the dates. Not wanting to be funny, but you're not 21 any more boys. Was it that simple?
No, no... You know we toured five years straight, we'd never done that before. Pyromania - we had four years in between before our next album, where we'd be recording, and it would be, like, years in between albums and stuff like that. Even with albums out we've been touring every year, so we were gonna take next year off anyway, which we are. We'll record, but that doesn't really count. We're not going to tour next year. We just done it early. It was a case of, we were gonna do another leg of the tour and it was... You know what? We need to have a break! We need to have a break from each other, everyone needs to have a break!
To be honest, I imagine you all have homes to go to, so family have to be considered! A lot of bands I've spoken to this year say that although life on the road is great, they simply miss being at home with their families. But touring really is in the centre of the frame for most bands.
Yeah, well, it's because there's no industry now!
OK so we can't sell CD's any more, it's about the live experience, merchandise and so forth. What can young bands learn from you – you're getting older, you were knackered, so you went home? What sort of message does that send to bands, what can they learn from you about pacing themselves
Well, they can do that but they gotta be in it for thirty years first, before you can really...[shrugs]. You know what I mean? We did work really hard, like non-stop, and grafting... I see some bands out there and they say “Oh, we had a gruelling two-week tour!” and..[we collapse laughing]. This is our 6th show in a row, we played up in Glasgow as well. Easy. It really is easy, as far as that goes. OK, this is a bit of a smaller tour... but my girlfriend actually travels with us on tour, so that really helps.
Even so, a bus is pretty small, everyone needs time out to do other stuff.
Yeah, you try and do that. My son, he's 19, he came out on the last Def Leppard tour, he was doing the lights and stuff so... yeah, that was cool.
Yeah I agree, it's really great when you can involve your kids, and they love it! [We both start pulling faces at poor Sam who pretty much dies of embarrassment on the spot].
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, it's great! [The poor child probably wants to hide under the table by now, we're at the stage of pulling out tongues and pointing at him]
Well, we could entertain ourselves for ages doing this, I guess I'd better do the decent thing and refer back to my questions... has anyone else in Def Leppard got any interesting side projects going on?
Yeah, Joe has, he's got this whole Mott The Hoople thing going on. He just went and opened up for them when they did this thing in Hammersmith, that was really cool, and he just gave some award or something, he's gonna do some recording with it as well so...
It's good to hear the all of you are making use of the time out to do something creative, especially as you mentioned the restrictions on you before.
Yeah, and Rick Allen's got his Raven Drum Foundation, he's busy with that all the time.
That's surely the difference between having a career in music and just being in a band, however successful.
Yeah, definitely.
So where do you think the band Man Raze is going to go, from a career point of view? What's the aim of the game with it for you really?
Well, it's an alternative band really. Everyone kind of lumps us into this classic rock thing, and as much as people like it, it would sound more in line with bands like the Chilli Peppers, Green Day, Foo Fighters, stuff like that. Sublime. On radio stations, in the States, it fits more into that kind of genre. I don't think we've had that yet, people go, it's got someone from Def Leppard in it, and someone from the Pistols!
It's quite difficult from a press point of view to step away from that, and when we talk to fans they seem to be struggling a bit too, to be honest.
Yeah, I understand that.
But if, as you stress, Man Raze is a proper band, in its own right, then can we assume the sky is the limit? Where do you ultimately want to go with it?
Yeah, it absolutely is a band. We've just got a video out [for new single, Turn It Up], and we've got 20 songs. They're not all finished, but some of them are, for the next album.
So is that the task for next year? Def Leppard have a break, and you're gonna go off and sort this new album?
Yeah, yeah, that's what we're gonna do.
When you were talking about the different styles, and experimentation within the band... one thing I did want to ask you about. Recently Mike Elliott from Komodo [editor] played a Rock 'n' Rave DJ set at a crossover event run by Antiworld in London, which has live Rock and Dance acts on the bill...
Wow! That's very cool!
Yeah, there was a Psy-Trance band there playing to an audience of around 700, and elsewhere outside the UK they play to stadiums and festivals. Mike played a set full of Rock remixes like AC/DC and Metallica and a London rock band did a full live show...
Really? That sounds amazing!It sounds brilliant actually.
Do you think events like that might be the answer now, to bring in different styles and mix them up?
Well, it always was really. It's just the “tastemakers”, whoever's doing that, saying it's gotta be this or that way, then they just churn them out. When a new idea comes in, it's usually a combination of things. Take Linkin Park, when they came out... Depeche Mode meets Rage Against the Machine! With a bit of Metallica. No-one had done that before, you'd had all these separate things, then all of a sudden there were a million bands that sounded like them, from Evanescence to whatever, that was the Nu-Metal thing. So I think that happens quite a bit. But when it gets into the mainstream, they narrow it down, it becomes narrow-minded, they don't really understand the parameters but they go with it. The ingredient works so they go with it over and over. It's like, fucking Leona Lewis, Jesus Christ! First time I heard her, I thought, hang on, I've heard this before! This is a bit Whitney [Houston], a bit Mariah Carey, it's a bit Alicia Keyes. Hmmm, it's that. The music industry is very close. The artistry's great, but the stuff that controls it, the labels etc, they're not really on it. You get some amazing stuff that just slips by because it's too advanced or whatever.
Everyone seems to hate labels at the minute!
Well, we always did really.
It's about control, and no-one likes to be controlled when they're trying to be creative.
That's exactly it. And money!
Could we see Man Raze playing at some sort of crossover event like Rock 'n' Rave, in the near future?
Yeah, yeah, absolute shit, I mean, dial it in! We'd love to!
Are you ever gonna stop doing this, Phil?
No, not really. I remember when I turned 30, we'd just released Hysteria. I was thinking – this is the God's honest truth – ooh, I'm a bit old for this! [and of course there's peals of laughter all round].And then the album went BOOM! [big arm movements] and it was like, well, maybe not right now... maybe a little bit more... ooh, this is really cool, this is bigger than the last one! But it took ages for it to get there, then I really started enjoying it again. As long as you're being creative, that's the thing, it's not just a matter of still being able to play a guitar or sing. As long as you're still coming up with ideas you need somewhere to be able to let them out, and again, the Man Raze thing was a perfect example of that. All the stuff we couldn't do came out in a totally different forum [to Def Leppard]. And it is a band, not just some side project.
It sounds like a band, especially when you consider the diversity of influences that can be heard on the album.
Absolutely.
So – you gonna get your shirt off for me tonight then?
Yes, yes, I will certainly do that for you! [we all laugh again].
That'll do nicely! Thanks Phil, it's been great talking to you.
Perfect!
Thanks also to Paul (who we met outside the bus) and Ronan the sound guy who was fab and extremely patient while we hung around for tickets at the box office. I also promised a special mention to all the staff at the Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, who took such great care of me as I hobbled around. And especially the door staff who were complete;y mad. Thanks guys!
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