Quireboys
Back in the mid-80s, an energised rock'n'roll band quite provocatively named the Queerboys provided a shot in the arm for a London heavy rock scene bloated with ropy leftover glam bands and grateful-for-a-gig pub rockers. The Queerboys had something. Some might say they had the X factor. Most would say they simply had fun. And therein lay their true appeal; it was the essence of swaggering good time, 70s rock given a sussed 80s recharge. And the club kids fuckin' loved it! As The Queerboys bec.... Leggi ancora
Back in the mid-80s, an energised rock'n'roll band quite provocatively named the Queerboys provided a shot in the arm for a London heavy rock scene bloated with ropy leftover glam bands and grateful-for-a-gig pub rockers. The Queerboys had something. Some might say they had the X factor. Most would say they simply had fun. And therein lay their true appeal; it was the essence of swaggering good time, 70s rock given a sussed 80s recharge. And the club kids fuckin' loved it! As The Queerboys became London's primary buzz band, a name change became increasingly inevitable, mainly due to the indie labels who were sniffing around, making it clear that their, err, suspicious handle might hamper the bands professional progress. No probs, mate. The Quireboys it is, then. Thus, by 87, the revolving door took a rest, and the QBs settled on the snug lil' line-up of Spike (vocals), Guy Bailey (lead guitar), Ginger (guitar), Nigel Mogg (bass), Chris Johnstone (keyboards) and Cosy (drums). A lot of roadwork ensued, as did a spell of regular Friday night headliners at the legendary London Marquee. Nigel : "In June 87, 'cos they were billed for the Saturday and Sunday, this band called Guns N Roses came down to check out the club, and we were playing. So we ended up hanging out with ''em and seeing them play the next day. When they came back in October, they asked us to open for them and Faster Pussycat at Hammersmith Odeon..." In 1988, a singles deal with Survival Records, plus the added incentive of being nurtured for possible signing to EMI, resulted in the Mayfair and There She Goes Again singles. Come 89, the aforementioned major label swooped in to obtain their collective signatures and the high-powered Sharon Osbourne (Black Sabbath) took over as manager. That all-important debut album was looming and the band were set to record in LA, with producer and former Rod Stewart/Cockney Rebel guitarist, Jim Cregan. Nigel: "Us poor young lads from London, Stoke and Newcastle flew on the big jet plane to LA .We were like little kids in a candy store." It was an excitable and decisive time for the Quireboys (to say the least...!) and neither Cosy nor Ginger (who went on to form The Widhearts) made it to the albums recording process. Thus, Guy Griff Griffin (from aspiring London act Feline Groove) eagerly stepped in as second guitarist, while respected pro Ian Wallace handled the drums. Released to rave reviews in 1990, The Quireboys A Bit Of What You Fancy smashed into the British album charts at Number 2 and spawned four chart singles (alongside BBC TV Top Of The Pops appearances) with Seven O'Clock, Hey You, I Don't Love You Anymore and There She Goes Again. Achieving gold status in Britain, A Bit Of What You Fancy also scored as high as platinum in other territories. With ex-Lone Justice drummer Rudy Richman on board, the band promoted the album with extensive global touring which saw them headline their own shows as well as open for such acts as Aerosmith, Whitesnake and the Rolling Stones. A live album from this period, Alive Around The World, was also released later the same year. Bob Rock produced the Quireboys second studio opus, Bitter Sweet & Twisted, in 1993 (which was suitably time-consuming and expensive, having been recorded in London, Hawaii and Vancouver). Sadly, the grunge epidemic had spread and good time rock'n'roll was a definite no-no. Nigel: "The climate had changed. A lot of bands disappeared overnight." Bitter Sweet & Twisted did decent business, reaching the top twenty, complete with two top thirty singles in Tramps And Thieves and Brother Louie, but it was the wrong album at the wrong time. Despite the prestige of supporting their old mates Guns N Roses on the Use Your Illusion tour, things were grinding to a halt in the Quireboys camp. Spike: "We never made the split official, we just... put it on hold." Nigel and Griff teamed up for Blood From A Stone, before Nigel went on to form Nancy Boy and release two albums, while Griff formed the LA-based Glimmer. Spike, in the meantime, toured and recorded with both his Gods Hotel outfit and his solo soul project. 2000. A lot of water had gone under the bridge, whiskey been poured and trends come and gone. Then, in this new millennium, Spike collaborated on some songs with Griff. A blown away Nigel got to hear them... Nigel: "I thought they were great! This is what we should have sounded like, seven years ago! I said, why don't we do a show? So we did, in LA, utilising Griffs band Glimmer. I flew in from New York and ha! Spike flew in from Newcastle. We rehearsed for two days and played a place called Goldfingers. It was brilliant. We thought, maybe were on to something." Sanctuary Records listened to both the new tunes and heard about the ecstatic response the reformed Quireboys received at the LA shows. The lads duly got the green light for a new album in under 24 hours. Glimmer guitarist Luke Bosendorfer and drummer Martin Henderson were now fully-fledged band members and old pal and former Rod Stewart keyboardist and songwriter Kevin Savigor was recruited to tickle the ivories. Managing themselves and with no producer, the new record This Is Rock'n'Roll took a mere month to record in LA with engineer CJ at a friends studio. From the raucous Come On to the easy sway of Seven Days to the voodoo shadows of Taken For A Ride to the reggae flavourings of Cold Harbour Lane, This Is rock'n'roll is straight from the heart and a welcome relief from a lot of today's moaning rock stars peddling their designer angst and stylised misery. Flu rock it isn't! And even during the song writing and the actual recording, the band marvelled at the ease of working without the interference of outside influences. Nigel: "We were in charge for once and we've made our best album ever. It was so easy. Too easy. The songs were pouring out." Spike: "You don't need a producer if you've got a good engineer. We used to spend so much money recording albums, but the demos for the albums were always better. With This Is Rock'n'Roll, the initial passion and essence is intact. Its just a band playing fucking live!" Despite having penned some forty songs, Spike is pleased they went for a varied collection, as opposed to a full-on hard rock album which they could have easily opted for. Inspiration from such classic bands as Free, AC/DC, Humble Pie and the Kinks are proudly on display. While on the subject of the stories behind the songs, the singer reasons, I'm not going to say which songs are about my Dad, religion or whatever. People should take their own meanings. And the albums seemingly brazen title song makes perfect sense: Spike has never started a show without the igniting cry of, Good evening, were the Quireboys and this is rock n roll. Were not that pompous that we actually believe we are rock'n'roll. Its about our dads an stuff. Mods against Rockers in Brighton and all that. The true spirit of where rock'n'roll comes from as opposed to someone pretending to be a heroin addict for a week. And of Spikes vocals, which have launched courtesy of awe-struck journalists a thousand metaphors of the likes of honey on broken glass. Are they time ravaged? Have they lost their edge? Nigel: "In rehearsals and in the studio, its just a pleasure to stand there and listen to him. Every time I play To Be from the new album, I get chills. He's one of the best singers in the world... and he's in MY BAND!" Spike: "I'm singing better than ever. I'm like a fine wine. Heh-heh." Which only leaves the promise of future live shows and the question of do the Quireboys still have that spark? Nigel: "Yeah, we'll go back and play some clubs. Its how we started and how it always worked best. Its gonna fly." Spike: "We're looking good, man. Really. Its like... fuck. Its a great live band. And there's not many bands out there who can play like us buggers." Hey you, the Quireboys are back! Let the good times roll...
