JEFF SLATE

Earl Slick collaborator on his latest, star-studded set

Tell us about your collaboration with Dave Stewart, Duff Mckagan, et al.

It was born in the early days of the pandemic, and I corralled some musician friends.

Is there anything still unissued? Mindless Thinkers’ album of ’85, and when I recorded an EP under the auspices of Pete Townshend in the 90s, there’s was an album’s worth of material.

Where were you when you first heard one of your songs on vinyl? Mindless Thinkers, age 18. I wasn’t happy with the recordings!

What record was most influential on your style?

Small Faces There Are But Four.

Have you kept studio notebooks or the like?

I keep everything!

Have you ever collected anyone? I’m an avid collector: The Who, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Jam, The Clash, The Kinks, Small Faces, to name but a few!

What’s your most prized music item?

Paul Simonon’s cap, from the

Combat Rock tour.

Which album, on first-listen, is the most startling that you ever heard? Bob Dylan Time Out Of Mind.

If you had a record-listening party, what’d you play, and who’d you invite?

Otis Redding’s Otis Blue, with Paul Weller.

With whom would you most like to record?

Pete Townshend. We’ve talked about it before. And Paul Weller, who offered to contribute to this album, but it didn’t happen. He’s asked me and

Earl to come to record, so I’m hoping he’ll be around.

What’s your favourite songwriter’s best lyric?

John Lennon: “God is a concept, by which we measure our pain.

I’ll say it again.”

Dying peacefully on your deathbed, what’d you like to hear?

George Harrison, The Answer’s

At The End.

Jeff Slate The Last Day Of Summer is on Schnitzel, 17 May.