Best of Days Interview

Below is an interview which Steve recently gave to pennyblackmusic.co.uk

Your new album, ’Best Of Days’ is out in September. Are they all recent recordings or have you been working on them for some time?

Mostly all newly recorded a few years ago in my Keyboard player & co Producers garage studio.It was sectioned off into two & measured about 10ft x 8ft.I Did the vocals in his front room but his Mrs wouldn`t stand for a Drum kit set up by the dining table so we used samples,not ideal but those were the circumstances presented.The live version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded at Fairfield Hall Croydon with Paul Weller & Steve Cradock a few years back.Paul gave me the master and said do what you want with it.It had been bootlegged on the Internet so I thought I would put it on as a Bonus Track and any monies accrued go to St.Marks Hospital in London where my son was an inpatient and gravely ill which is why the release was delayed for several years.The only other older track included is "Step Inside" which quite coincidentally also has Paul playing on it .We recorded this for The NSPCC childrens charity about ten years ago and released a 1000 copy Limited Edition which sold out so I thought as it had cost me a lot of money (and my best guitar/long story) I would slip it onto the album.It is very souly and some reviewers have indicated it sounds a bit Style Council but I can`t see it myself it is just music to me blame Mr.Weller he was in that band.

Apart from the obvious cover versions on the album how many of the songs did you write? (Our promo copy has no writing credits). The title song and ‘Little One’ for example could be autobiographical.

Probably about half of them some on my own and a couple with co-writers. Rex Brayley original Love Affair guitarist co-wrote "Step Inside" some years back .The title track "Best of Days" is indeed sort of autobiographical as you say and it originally had soundbytes on the fade of Mohamed Ali, Bruce Lee & kenneth Wolstenholme "They think its all over,it is now" but the record company thought we might get sued.As they were tributes I thought it unlikely but unfortunately it was pretty much non negotiable.A real shame."Little One" I wrote for my son many years ago with Darren Aldridge who is a very talented mate.

Paul Weller and Steve Cradock are on the live version of ‘Everlasting Love’ which closes ‘Best Of Days’ how did that come about?

Paul & I have been mates for twenty five years or so it was quite accidental if you like.Paul was touring "Wings of Speed" & had Steve "Slasher" Cradock on guitar with him.He phoned me and asked if I wanted to come to the gig ,I went up to Croydon and we did "Everlasting Love" & Pauls "Broken Stones" at sound check they sounded pretty good so he invited me to do them onstage at the gig.It was a good vibe that night the audience seemed to really love it.

Looking back a little now, when The Love Affair were at their most popular you were still in your teens, did you ever think that say nearly 40 years down the line you’d still be making records?

Absolutely not it was live for the day.You never think beyond the day when your a raging hormone full of teen spirit.

At the time of ‘Everlasting Love’ and ‘Rainbow Valley’ there was a lot in the papers about the band not playing on their records. It didn’t seem to damage your popularity did it?

We did the Janathan King show prime time Saturday night T.V. it was 1968 people only had two channels in the 60`s BBC & ATV.So half the nation were watching when King who was a clever bastard asked the Bass player if the group actually played on the record.He knew they hadn`t and that I had sang on it but utilised session musicians like the great Clem Cattini on Drums etc; anyway the Bass player stumbled his way through after being caught on the back foot.Jonathan King got himself and us headline news in the Sunday papers and the band got a bad reputation but we had been gigging at the allnighters such as The Flamingo The Marquee and mod clubs everywhere for two years prior to any success "we earnt our stripes" in that respect so we just carried on gigging it did not seem to bother supporters at concerts. I hate the word fans but they were great about it and people bought our next five chart records which were all recorded in the same way.As I have often said it was a bit of a paradox but we were a good live band I`m not bragging just telling you how it was we did the Royal Albert Hall supporting the Small Faces in 1966 before we had any success our drummer was fourteen & the rest of us were sixteen and we were better musicians than they were but we rehearsed every chance we had and would play anywhere for free in the beginning.Three of us had to go to the home office to get visas when we played abroad because we were under age and had to have an adult accompany us,bizarre or what?

The band played on all the songs on their first album (except those first singles), ‘The Everlasting Love Affair’, though, didn’t they?

Yeah sure, stuff like "Hush" "Tobacco Road" "Handbags & Gladrags" by Mike D`Abo and songs I wrote with Morgan Fisher that we were doing live.When we were told the record company wanted an album we put those tracks for the album down in literally about two days and mixed them.We were playing pretty much every night sometimes twice we never had the chance to sit down write an album and then promote it.Things were different then we were worked like dogs and unfortunately what I would call a proper Love Affair album was never recorded as such.Maybe if we had been given the opportunity we would have been taken more seriously by the media at the time and perhaps stayed together longer who knows? Such is life I am afraid we were branded Teenybopper and it was a bitter pill for the band because we kicked arse live ask anybody who saw us play then.

Apart from a few originals on that album it had its fair share of covers. Songs that were heavily covered by many bands in those days. Rarely did covers of songs like ‘Handbags And Gladrags’, ‘First Cut Is The Deepest’ and ‘Please Stay’ come up to the standard of the ‘hit’ versions. But the Love Affair’s versions were different, mainly, it has to be said, because of your vocals. Did you personally have any say in the songs the band recorded for that album?

Pretty much as above as I said we were already playing those tracks live every night of the week.They were just good songs we enjoyed playing on stage.

I always felt that the Love Affair, because of those hit singles, were never given the recognition they deserved as a ‘serious’ band. If ‘Everlasting Love Affair’ had sold more and been promoted more then I think people would have realised that there was so much more than those hit singles to the band. Do you think the band would have lasted longer if you’d sold more albums?

Again see above.I think we would probably have lasted a lot longer if we had made a decent band album but as I said the opportunity never presented itself unfortunately.

You recorded songs for the film ‘Loot’ after you left the Love Affair. How did that come about?

Keith Mansfield had arranged most of the Love Affair Hits and I got on really well with him so after I left the band he phoned me and asked me to do the Loot soundtrack.It was a great time for me I was about twenty and I had all the top session players of the day and people like Sue and Sunny, Doris Troy And Madeline Bell on backing vocals.I thought I had died and gone to f*****g heaven.

Then came Ellis (the band) and Widowmaker both of which met with some success. Suddenly you were being taken more seriously with those bands. Did you ever resent the fact that the Love Affair initially appealed to a young audience? You must have played quite a few shows in those days where it didn’t matter what you played. It would have been drowned out by the screaming of girl fans!

When Love Affair had the big hit with Everlasting Love live shows went crazy. Girls would tear our clothes off we couldn`t go out anywhere for fear of being chased which at first was quite novel but after a while it was a nightmare.Once in Belfast we got torn to shreds at a record shop and all ended up in just our under pants and we would have scratches all over and chunks of hair missing it was pretty weird.No you could not hear to much music some nights but we soldiered on until it just got in the way of the music and that was why we started playing in the first place.Things got a little out of kilter and I just thought the best thing to do would be to call it a day write some songs and perhaps get another band together.After Loot I met up with the legendary Zoot Money again as we had become good mates through the years.We formed Ellis (record company did not like KIN which is what we called ourselves initially) with great musicians and cut a good album which Roger Daltrey produced & a second produced by Mike Vernon of Blue Horizon fame. We toured for two years but record company politics pulled the rug from underneath us and we were forced to fold.Absolute tragedy for me as the band was so good musically we could pretty well cover all types of music blues jazz funk folk rock.People still love El Doomo so I re-recorded it in an updated style for "Best of Days".I loved that band Repertoire Records are going to re-issue it as a two album set later this year I believe.Widowmaker was the biggest bunch of misfits put together,a great live band but as personalities it was the biggest mismatch ever .We toured the U.K. and tore up America and I truly believe we would have broken it so to speak but I think we would probably have killed each other in the process.Don Arden was our manager add that to the equasion and it was a recipe for disaster.I left the band as I did not want to end up being a caricature of a 70`s rock star ,I mean it really was Spinal Tap most of the time.On stage great, off the stage it was insanity.We played to half a million people in Nelson Ledges in Ohio, unbelievable.I try and remember the good bits if asked it helps me forget the chaos of it all.I am still good pals with Huw Lloyd Langton and speak to Luther (Ariel Bender) now and again but I would never be in a band with Luther again much as I love him now.We had a fight in New York after one particularly tiresome argument and I hurt him really badly we had to cancel some dates mind you he did stab me in the back three times.To be honest we were always going to implode it was pretty much written on the wall from the beginning.

Was there ever a time when you thought you would give up music for good? You had a horrific accident after which you didn’t record or tour for ten years or so. But that happened during a period when you weren’t working in the music business. So had you already given up music at that point? If so what made you return to it?

The only reason I got out of it initially was because Don Arden did not pay my tax bill as promised when we were away touring the States for nearly four months.When I got back to England it was to late I was Bankrupt and I will never forgive that because I had a young family they should not have had to pay the price.I moved to Brighton recorded a great album and it got shelved again due to record company politics,unbelievable.I threw in the towel I had a family to support and I wanted to get fit again so I took a job as a Docker physically hard work but I met and worked with a great bunch of characters.I was athlete fit according to my G.P. so I thought perfect now I can get back to maybe making some music again but somebody dropped a Ryder Forklift Truck blade across my feet and basically broke/chopped them both in half.That put me in and out of hospital for many years pins in my feet bone grafts and so on.I took up Wado Ryu Karate during these years to restore my mobility and got fit again eventually.About that time an agent phoned and said do you fancy touring again as Steve Ellis` Love Affair I already had the nucleus of a band so we gigged right up until 2000/1 playing festivals concerts & clubs with the occasional corporate thrown in to keep the band playing tight.We had a lot of fun and played to a lot of people but sadly Mike Mann our keyboard player(& resident off stage comedian) died of cancer and the band vibe sort of went as well.Mike was a real character he told us he didn`t have long but wanted to keep playing until he died.At his funeral hundreds of people stood solemnly in the church waiting for the coffin to come down the aisle.What he had kept a secret was the fact that he had had a coffin especially made in the shape of a keyboard flight case and people were howling with laughter instead of tears.That was Mike for you he even made you laugh at his own funeral bless him.After that I decided it was an album that was needed this morphed eventually into the new one "Best of Days".

You’ve ‘hung out’ with some of the best and well-known musicians of the late sixties / early seventies and have been / are great friends with many of them and toured with them. Keith Moon, for example was a good friend of yours I read. Have you ever thought of writing a book about your experiences? It would make a great read!

Yes it is written I wrote it after the Band split .I was writing a book and new songs as well ,very arty eh?Seriously it stops at the end of 2000 and needs editing and some further work done to finish it.It is linear but not entirely about the music business.I have had talks with a few people including Paolo Hewitt and he seems to be up for finishing it with me.Maybe an interview bit in it as well after each chapter I really cannot say yet it is early days.

How do you feel that through musicians like Paul Weller your name and music is being kept in the public eye? It must be satisfying to know that younger musicians recognise the work you did all those years ago and are trying to bring your music to a new audience.

First and foremost Paul is my mate as I said I have known him for a long time he is a very talented man.For me it has always been about the music I never made records for money that is the soft option that leads to a short career.I always say if asked this sort of question that anybody who picks up a guitar or drumsticks or whatever and gets a real band together they have my respect no matter how bad they are to start with.If young bands can nick something from me and the music I make or have made I am delighted and flattered because we are all doing the same thing in my book. I learnt from the old soul and blues & r`n`r singers when I was a kid so it is the same thing really in that respect.

Your voice, on ‘Best Of Days’, is still strong ; you can obviously still hold a tune and still have that distinctive vocal sound. You’re also looking pretty well on the album sleeve! What’s the secret of holding onto that voice after all these years?

I Just keep singing and try to keep my glass half full not half empty no matter what fate throws at me.The voice is a muscle it needs exercising but you have to sing with emotion and feeling you have got to mean it otherwise people will know your just going through the motions.I am back gigging with New Amen Corner after an enforced lay off at present and loving it. As long as I enjoy it I will do it as soon as it feels like a chore I`ll move along.Great guys and good players but the geography is a bit crap because they live in Birmingham so rehearsals are a bit awkward as I live in Brighton.Hope that answers the question .

 

It’s so good, Steve, to have you back not only making records but making great records after all this time. What are your plans for the immediate future?

To record a new album hopefully in a proper studio this time so we can use a real drum kit for starters.To get the Book out get time write some more songs and to keep playing live as long as people want me to. I am 58 but some mornings I feel 108 but I am still a kid at heart and when I hear a great record I still get the same buzz.My weapon of choice is my voice and music is my occupation.............Thanks for the Interview...........Keep the faith.