Duane Eddy
The 1950s twang king plays three shows on a rare visit to the UK.
Sixty years after they were first released, in the hands of an 80-year-old man the loping grooves of hit instrumentals such as Peter Gunn and Rebel Rouser can still teleport Duane Eddy’s audience back to their lost youth of quiffs, hot rods and jukeboxes. And that’s what the 50s twang king tells us he’ll be doing at three UK shows in October.
Why do you tour outside the US so rarely? Well, nobody asks. I do accept invitations. Also, it’s quite expensive to fly over the ocean, put a group together, stay in hotels, all the logistics that go with it. I haven’t had hits for a while, so I sorta depend on people who know who I am to fill the seats. And I’m so old that I jokingly say that half of my fans have passed on. But thanks to the internet, a lot of younger kids have discovered the music.
Well, Peter Gunn speaks to everyone.
It does. That song was almost an accident, but it turned out one of my best hits.
Which songs are you most looking forward to playing?
Well, all of them. They were exciting when I recorded them, and when I get the whole band together and they’re rocking up there with me on stage they still hold that excitement. I have Richard Hawley’s band, and they’re among the best musicians I’ve come across. Like Richard says: “I hunted all over England for the best musicians – then I come home to Sheffield and I find them right here.”
Even with the logistics to sort out, are you looking forward to coming back to the UK?
Very much so. I love England so much. It’s the people. My ancestors were from Kent, back in the 1500s. One was a vicar. I’m sure he’d have been surprised that his descendant grew up to be a rock’n’ roller. You kinda have to ease into cultures as you go along. If he heard it all at once it’d probably hurt his ears.
How do you approach your songs live?
I put myself in the audience’s place. I figure they’re either hearing these songs for the first time, or these songs are old friends to them and they’ve heard them many times, so I try to do them just like the records. And the songs that are new, I try to put as much into them so they’ll like ’em as much.
Does it ever surprise you that you’ve sold a hundred million records?
No, because we sold them all around the world. I mean, we sold a potful in South America. We did very well in Japan and the Orient. I got tons of mail from behind the Iron Curtain, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. We sold records everywhere. But Elvis sold a billion records. I sold ten per cent as many as he did. I look at it that way, so it’s not such a big deal.
These shows are to celebrate your eightieth birthday year. Do you feel that old?
I can’t get my mind around it.
I just think to myself: “This is not me. I’m not eighty.” I was just running around, playing clubs, having hits, travelling around the world, playing concerts. I was a young man. I don’t know how this happened. I blame it on my wife. They say that when you’re having a good time, time passes quicker, and we’ve had nothing but for the past forty-five years. Suddenly I wake up and I’m eighty years old.
Will you keep on touring as long as you’re able? So far, so good. I’ve had a couple of medical issues that I overcame. I’d always avoided the medical community – I didn’t want to get in their system. There are bad things that happen on the road, like the promoter doesn’t come up with his end of the deal. But as I’ve grown older, that’s all changed. They treat me like they’d treat any old man – carefully and sweetly. It’s a great experience being on stage. I’ve had many moments when I can’t believe where I am. HY