Live Previews
Three bands who each released a classic album 30 years ago head out on the road together, sharing headline status as well as stages.
Must-see gigs from Gun/Dan Reed Network/FM, Clutch, New Model Army, Cockney Rejects and Steeleye Span. Plus full gig listings – find out who’s playing where and when.
As the bands prepare to celebrate joint 30th anniversaries – of DRN’s Slam, Tough It Out by FM and Gun’s debut Taking On The World – with a bunch of UK dates, we set up a pow wow between the frontmen of each group.
Whose idea was this tour? Dante Gizzi (Gun): The proposal was put to us by the agent of all three bands, Martin Jarvis, and everybody considered it a stroke of genius. Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network): For me it feels like being part of a travelling mini-festival. The timing, which allows us to celebrate these three great records, is very fortuitous.
Given that FM have covered Dan Reed Network’s Long Way To Go, will there be some mutual appreciation going on? Steve Overland (FM): Without a doubt. When I went to New York for a meeting with Neil Kernon, who produced Tough It Out, Neil took me to the Cat Club, where the Network happened to be playing. They were just incredible, I was blown away. DG: I believe that the fans will definitely see a link between all three bands. DR: For each of us, melody is so important. And we stand for positivity, which is cool.
Have you all met socially? DG: We bump into each other everywhere. The last time with FM was at the Barcelona Rock Festival, and I’ve met Dan many, many times. DR: I shared a stage with the current line-up of Gun in Lisbon around eighteen months ago and they affected me deeply. I knew that I wanted to play with both of these bands.
Will each band play sets of equal length, and take turns to headline? DG: That’s it exactly. And which band goes on last won’t be revealed until the day of the show. DR: We are taking it in turns for one of the bands to perform naked – and you don’t know which one it is [everybody laughs]. SO: Really? DR: Did you not get that memo? I’ve been at the gym for six months getting ready for this. SO: Oh dear, I haven’t.
You are mates, but what about the good old spirit of competition? DG: Gun and the Network will be sharing a bus, so no, I don’t expect one-upmanship. SO: We’re a bit long in the tooth for that shit. It’s all about putting on a great night for the fans. DR: The other guys will know what it’s like to have any amazing support act you’ve never heard of. It makes you step up to raise your game. All three of us are top live bands, so the energy will just get higher and higher.
It’s amazing to consider that 1989 was the year in which Thatcher introduced the Poll Tax, the Hillsbrough disaster took place, and the world’s first commercial dial-up internet became available. SO: Thanks, you’ve just made me feel really, really old. But it’s interesting to revisit material you wrote three decades ago. There are four songs on Tough It Out that I only ever sang once in my life – when they were recorded. DR: For me, the toughest part is relating to lyrics that I wrote when I was twenty-six. I would not write a song like Tiger In A Dress now. DG: For me it’s harder still because I was the bassist
in Gun back then, not the singer.
In 1989 did you expect to be still making a living from music three decades later? DR: For sure, but I thought I’d be dead by the age of thirty-two. DG: It’s getting harder and harder now, but that’s why these [multiband] shows are so great. You sell more tickets, and continue doing something that you love. SO: Even from a young age I was always going to sing, whether or not I could make a living. I hope to keep on doing this until I keel over; there are no plans for retirement.
The first of the trio’s 10 British dates is in Bristol on December 9.