Bryan’s still rock solid
The enduring star is happy to be performing the perennial hits that span his three- decade career, writes James Wigney
You have completed touring for the 30th anniversary of Reckless, where you played that album in full. Will there be an element of that in your Australian shows?
There always will be – that’s one of my signature albums so it’s going to be hard to pull away from that. With my shows it’s all about playing the songs that people know and then throwing in a few songs from the new album. What does that album mean to you all these years later?
There were a lot of good things that happened on that record like singing with Tina Turner. Little did I know she was going to have a record out at the same time as mine – a little record called Private Dancer. It was an extraordinary time and there are a lot of songs on that record that stand the test of time – Summer of 69, Heaven, Run To You are songs we still play. Does it take more to drag you out on tour now that you are a father?
They are still youngsters – only 2 and 4. Time goes so quickly, but I am only going to miss a few cuddles and that’s about it. Has being a dad made you reassess a few things?
I had to change my will ( laughs). It’s a lovely thing and I am glad – even as an old fella – that I finally got around to doing it. Get Up is your first full album of original material in seven years. Was this a slow build or did it come in a sudden creative burst?
I have done lots of songs in between but the album is a return to ( long- time writing partner) Jim Vallance and I writing together for a whole album. It’s produced by Jeff Lynne, who has done a few good things – ( former) Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, ELO. You’re in the UK, Jeff’s in the US – how did you work together?
Jim and I would write a song and send a demo over to Jeff and he would take whatever he liked and then re- play the rest of it and send us back the track. So it was pretty much over the internet. You performed with your countryman Justin Bieber the other day – what did you make of him?
Our record company is Universal and they had a conference in Berlin. I said to him just before he went on: “Do you want to do a song together?” He said “Sure”. He seems great. He’s not a bad skateboarder either. He came up in a different environment to the one you did. How would you have handled that level of online judgment as a young guy?
I got it from the press anyway. But if you are going to be in the limelight you have to be a bit thickskinned. You’re going to get it, so just go with it, have a laugh, keep your chin up. You have been approached to do shows like The Voice. What do you make of them as a way into the industry?
I don’t think it’s going to launch a lot of great careers. It’s a way of getting publicity but you’re not going to get Coldplay out of that.