MARSEILLE
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 18th June 2009.
Marseille were there right at the start of the NWOBHM and were considered one of the better examples of the genre. They disbanded in the 80's, but have now got back together with a new lease of life and a new EP.
New lead singer Nige Roberts (also singer from the band Wolfpack) and original guitarist Neil Buchanan talk about what life is like in the band after all these years.
Hi guys, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions for Rock. Hope you are well?
Neil: Yeah, looking good, feeling good, but could do with losing a few years!!
Nige: I am a bit rough round the edges today as I was mixing beer and wine last night, not big and not clever but it seemed a good idea at the time.
Neil, going back to the beginning, how did you get into music? Liverpool must have been a very musical place to grow up!
Neil: Actually it was quite weird when I was a kid as it was all footy, footy, footy, as both Liverpool FC and Everton were riding high and winning everything that moved. There was also a sort of backlash to the Beatles' world domination and everyone had become a bit musically jaded, believe it or not. But that didn't stop me and the lads forming a band (to get chicks you understand) and practicing three nights a week in our parents' front rooms and on Saturdays in the local church hall. The problem with that was we had to go and get the key for that church hall off the VERY dodgy vicar!! The things we had to do for rock' n 'roll.
How about you, Nige, how did you start?
Nige: I ended up as a singer purely because I started singing along out loud when I was head banging at rock discos. People heard me and told me I was good.
Who were your early inspirations?
Neil: My life changed the day Mott The Hoople came to town. Man they were awesome live. We also saw early Sabbath, Purple, AC/DC (our first name actually until they came over). I was also a big Queen and Lizzy fan.
Nige: Rob Halford, Sammy Hagar and Phil Mogg were the earliest ones and the ones that I tried to emulate. Many people who come to see the Wolfpack gigs often say the songs I sing by those artists are like listening to the original. You can’t get a better compliment than that. I can do a pretty good Bruce Dickinson chameleon as well, but you won’t hear that in anything I do with Marseille. You are more likely to pick out the Mogg and Hagar influences in my work with Marseille, but it’s nice when people mention the other people they think you sound like.
How did Marseille get together?
Neil: After the first Mott gig me, Keith and Andy threw away our footy kits and grew our hair. We saved up madly for gear and Keith was the first to get a job so he was the only one who could afford a drum kit from the local junk store. It was awful and it cost a fortune - well, a tenner actually! We then put an ad in the local music store saying bassist required for heavy rock band - must have own gear, be dedicated and be prepared to move round on stage and dress up! - Well, it was the era of KISS, The New York Dolls and Alice Cooper. All great image bands - very camp but there is NO WAY you would have messed with those bad boys. ............ Actually, the dodgy vicar would have!!!!
What was the vibe like in the band when you won the battle of the bands competition, and then played Europe and America? Did you feel like you were going to conquer the world, or were you all pretty grounded?
Neil: Grounded? Are you joking?! This was it. We were high as kites. We were gonna conquer the world . The problem was - and you hear of lots of these type of stories - we signed a record and management deal almost straight out of school and we were SO ripped-off. We were too young. We took no legal advice as we were so hyped about "making it". We went on to do loads of tours with the likes of UFO, Judas Priest, Whitesnake, etc. and ended up touring the big stadiums in the states. It was wild! We lived the dream . . . . . . but then it crashed.
Marseille broke up in the mid 80’s. How did you feel at the time – were you up for carrying on in music or did you feel it was time for a change?
Neil: It felt like hell. One minute we were living the dream and the next we were living a nightmare. We were rock stars in America, sunning ourselves in LA, traveling in planes, limos, fancy hotels. But then we woke up and we were back on the dole in Liverpool. It was real bad. We desperately tried to keep it going but we went into a legal battle that took us out for 2 years and we even lost all our gear and guitars. By the time we got our shit together it was too late. Our other NWOBHM mates were well outta sight - Leppard, Maiden, Saxon and the whole of the UK had gone punk mad. We were left on the scrap heap to rot like some once-upon-a-time super fast hot rod. It was grim.
Any jealously/regrets about the other NWOBHM bands who made it big and are still going today?
Neil: None what so ever. Good on them. They all deserve it. I take my hat off to anyone who can make it and keep going for all that time just 'cos the music is good. They have climbed to the top and stayed there in spite of all the trends and changes in fashion all over the years. It shows one thing - ROCK SURVIVES!
Neil, since the break-up, you’ve forged a successful career on UK TV. Have you played in other bands behind the scenes over the years, or is this reunion your first foray back into gigging and recording?
Neil: Yeah I was really lucky. I believe EVERYONE has at least one good idea in them and Art Attack was mine. It took me a while to get it off the ground but thanks to a few great people it did. It won a BAFTA and then went through the roof worldwide. It took off so suddenly i didn't have time to play in other bands. Anyway, our bitter experience with the record company sort of scared me off as it really messed with my head. Rock was my life and being in the band my dream. But it had been torn away from me in a way that really hurt. So even though it was still raging through my veins, I put my guitar in the attic and forgot all about it. This reunion is the first time - and it feels so good.
How does life as a TV presenter compare to the life of a rock musician? Do you prefer one over the other, or do you love having those two sides to your life?
Neil: I really loved life as a rock star. It really was the ultimate high. TV on the other hand takes itself too seriously and is full of showbiz types and people too far up themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are some great people, but the two don't compare. Asking which I prefer - rock star or TV star is like asking "who would you sooner date for ten years - Cat Deeley or ...erm ..... that dodgy vicar. Gimme rock any day.
Are you still carrying on with the TV work too, or are you focused on the music at present?
Neil: No more TV. I made 500 Art Attacks and they will keep playing all over the world for a lot longer than I will be around. So I am fully focused on the band now and have produced our latest stuff. There has also been a lot of work putting together our live set so now I am on it full time.
Have you always been a rocker at heart? Who would you list as your favourite bands?
Neil: Always have been and always will be. In fact even on Art Attack there is a lot of background rock music in the earlier shows - and that was me. I always approached making Art Attack as a raunchy kick ass show. My favourite bands were Mott The Hoople, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, Kiss,. Mostly Brit rock bands or bands who sounded Brit rock. AC/DC also of course. I also like Def Leppard. My fave guitarists were Michael Schenker, Brian May, the Lizzy guitarists and Leslie West from Mountain. And Angus. I like guitarists who play from their balls as opposed to their brains.
Nige: I have always been a massive Maiden fan and that will never change. I have always loved Journey too, mainly because of the amazing vocals. Who would have thought someone could better Steve Perry and then they find Arnel Pineda on the internet. At least he and I have something in common! I am going to be gutted to see Thunder split his summer but they have left a terrific legacy and they are an inspiration for me because they have proven that there is still a thriving market for traditional hard rock in the UK. Of the newer bands I love Alter Bridge, Heavens Basement are going to be huge and they are also my mates and they deserve it so much.
Neil, do you ever try to sneak a bit of Marseille into your TV programmes?
Neil: Not Marseille as such - but I have sneaked into the background music knocking out riffs behind the Big Art Attacks! I didn't really want to involve the band as they had all gone off to do other stuff. But it was a great outlet for me to keep my hand in. In fact that's were I learnt to produce - doing all that music stuff for TV.
You have just released an EP of new songs – Fourplay. How long did it take all of you to get back into the groove of being in the band, and what was the recording process like?
Neil: It was like riding a bike really. Once we were on it and up and running, we soon remembered the basics and in no time at all were doing stunts and wheelies. We recorded the EP in my studio and I produced it. We really set out to create a recording that we could be proud of and which we liked ourselves. Our previous stuff makes me shudder in that they really suffered from bad record company decisions and penny pinching. As a result, we felt we took after many of the classic rock bands who were great live but didn't come over on record. Well, this time we did it ourselves and got it right - at last.
Nige: For me it was actually quite easy because the guys had put the backing tracks down already. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was going to be released at first. It was more of a tool to learn the songs with and we were so happy with the outcome we said "Why not put it out?"
Nige, you aren’t one of the original members of Marseille. How did you end up in the band?
Nige: I sing for a North West classic rock covers band called Wolfpack and we play everything from Maiden to Nickelback so it’s a real broad mix. I knew Steve (Dinwoodie) through his Radio PR work as Steve also works with bands like Whitesnake, Saxon etc promoting them to radio in the UK. Steve was aware that I sang in a band and, unbeknown to me, had told the other guys to check me out on the Wolfpack website as Paul had decided he didn’t want to take things further. I then got a call from Steve in February asking me if I fancied coming down to Neil’s place for a jam with a view to taking on the role of Marseille’s new singer. It was a no brainer for me as I was a fan of the band anyway.
I went down and met up with Neil, Steve and Keith (Andy lives in the US so I didn’t meet Andy until the day before our first gig together) and it went amazingly well, to the extent that they got me in Neil’s studio ’The Gas Station’ the day after and I put my voice down on the four songs that are what you hear on the Fourplay EP. The funny thing was that no one actually told me I had got the gig and I thought it was all part of the audition process, so before I headed back up North I actually had to ask if the gig was mine!
How do you compare with the original vocalist Paul Dale? Would you say you have a similar style?
Nige: He’s better looking than me and I never looked as good as Paul did in spandex! To be honest I think we have totally contrasting styles. I have been brought in to the band more with a view to future recordings and I have been allowed to interpret the old material my own way which has gone down well so far. I don’t know if you were aware of Sav Pearce who sang on the bands third album? Well I am more of a Sav type singer than a Paul type. Of all the old songs that we do in the live set I would say the only one I sing just as the original is ‘Live Now Pay Later’ which is a song Sav sang on the ‘Touch The Night’ album.
I remember seeing Paul live and thought he was a superb Jagger-esque type of front man and suited Marseille’s style and image superbly. Unfortunately the dynamics of those live shows never carried across to the albums, any original member of the band will tell you that they weren’t happy with the production of those albums they put out on Mountain Records. I would love to meet Paul though, as I want him to sign my copies of the albums he sang on - then I can sell them on ebay because his is the one signature that is missing! If you read this Paul “can I have your autograph mate?”
And, Neil, what are your thoughts on your new vocalist? :)
Neil: Great guy, awesome voice and a fab missus. What more could we ask for? He fitted in really quickly and made the old songs his own. His range is fantastic and his voice is huge. We are now writing specifically with his voice in mind. He also kicks it up big time on stage and I feel proud to be riding this rock beast once more with him at my side and out front. Apart from that he's shit.
Nige, is Wolfpack still going or are they on hold at the moment?
Nige: Yes Wolfpack is still going strong and we’re working with Marseille to make sure Wolfpack don’t have to cancel too many gigs. The lads in Wolfpack are mates that I have known for over 25 years. I can’t see the day where I wouldn’t be a part of The Pack because it’s pure fun and it keeps my vocal chords in shape. Most of Wolfpack’s gigs are free entry too so have a look at http://www.wolfpackbolton.co.uk/ and if you are in the North West then come down and check us out.
When do you think a full length Marseille album might appear?
Neil: Working on new stuff now. Demos in September. Recording in October and November. Mixing in December. No fuckin' Xmas for me. Early 2010.
Nige: It will be done in stages though as we have Andy living over in the US so he will come across for the gigs and nip in to the studio when he is over here and add his bits. We’re very lucky as Neil owns ‘The Gasworks Studio’ so we don’t have to wait for a label to do this. We have a couple of labels interested anyway but we’re just going to do it and then let the interested parties hear it and we’ll take it from there... but the important thing is that it is happening.
Neil, are you going to do the artwork on it? It would be a shame to waste those skills!
Neil: Bollocks! I have had enough drawing to last me a lifetime.
Are you looking forward to taking the new and old songs on the road and doing some more live dates? How did the few gigs you’ve already done go down?
Neil: Yeah, we love being out on the road. Check out our website for the gig news but we have just been added to the Hard Rock Hell festival in December so the band will be really frying by then. The gigs we did were fantastic and it was great to see a real mix of fans from the first time round together with the new breed of rockers. There were also some Art Attack fans mixed in and on one gig a bunch of them turned up in red sweat shirts like I had on the show. So we got them up on stage to do backing vocals in one of the songs. It was a riot, man!
Nige: Yes absolutely! We did three low key shows to bed me in during April and they were a blast. It was a shame there couldn’t have been more at that time. We’ve got more planned for July and then we’re out for a few dates every month from September through to the end of the year and we are trying to get to a different part of the UK every time. It’s difficult with Andy having to fly over from the US every time but he is so committed to this, as we all are, and we’re doing these shows at a financial loss every time. But we don’t care as it’s our passion and we’re starting out again right from the bottom and you know what? It’s bloody fantastic!
Should EVERYONE wear baggy bright red jumpers to the gigs in honour of ART ATTACK, or would you throw things at us? :)
Neil: The only thing I will be throwing at ya is riffs! But yeah, it's great to see so many people turn up to see the guy off the telly in a rock band. I was a bit worried as to how that would go down but there seems to be so much respect for Art Attack - and the audience are now all in their late teens/early twenties - that I needn't have been concerned. They love the band! How cool is that? We are pulling in a crowd of people who come in through the door just to see the performing TV freak - and they leave at the end of the night as die-hard ROCKERS. Sweet.
Nige: Dead right! As Neil said we dragged a couple of Art Attack t-shirt wearing lads up to sing ‘Do It The French Way’ with us and it made a real party atmosphere with the original band fans mixed in with the Art attack fans. We would like every night to be like that as the band’s music perfectly lends itself to that kind of environment.
What are your thoughts on the present state of the record industry, and the comparison between now and 25 years ago?
Neil: I think the industry is dying by the day, Everyone is making their own records and selling them themselves on the Internet. It's sad but a fact of life. Technology moves on and things have to change. The one up side is that the live scene is getting healthier and that is great for us rockers. But people like you are doing a great job in keeping the rock side of things healthy. Thanks dude.
Neil, do you have a good collection of guitars? If so, any favourites?
Neil: Yeah I do have a healthy collection of about twenty. I have a few Fenders but I tend to be a Gibson man . My pride and joy is my 1955 Les Paul Junior with a four figure serial number. I wouldn't take that on the road though so I use a couple of new re-issue Les Paul Juniors on stage. They sound great and are a real no-nonsense rock'n'roll work horse. I don't do frills.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Neil: Gonna put the bloody bins out for the recycling - now what's THAT all about?!!
Nige: I am working on a couple of new songs that Neil has sent mp3’s of. The riffs are as catchy as hell and I have the perfect vocal line for them so I am really excited about working on those. I actually have a Wolfpack rehearsal tonight as we’ve decided to add Maiden’s ‘Fear Of The Dark’ to the set so we’re in working on that tonight.
Cheers guys!
Nige: Thanks for the interview Jon, your website totally rocks dude and if Marseille can help you spread the word about the terrific work you are doing then we will help in any way we can! We will have a drink with you at a show soon and we’re really into our Horlicks nowadays, but I add a shot of Jack in mine!
The new Marseille EP is out now. Check out the review on Rock Realms here for further details...
http://www.marseilleonline.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/marseillerocks
