STEVE WINWOOD
After a few years away, The Spencer Davis Group/Traffic/Blind Faith and solo star is back. But what’s he been up to?
As the Glastonbury crowds found their way home, further up the Avon near Cheltenham Steve Winwood had enjoyed surfing the BBC’s broadcast coverage. BadBadNotGood stood out for him and “Chic were good, though with more showboating than I would have thought. I saw through that and enjoyed the songs and musicianship.” This essentialist take has been his stance since he scored his first Number 1 with Keep On Running in 1965, as the 17-year-old singer/keyboardist with The Spencer Davis Group. Legendary stints in Traffic, Blind Faith and as a mega-selling solo star followed. In September the Brit-rock elder statesman breaks a decade’s silence with an archival set, Greatest Hits Live. “Playing music is not a holiday,” he says. “Work is work.”
On Winwood: Greatest Hits Live, your music is drivin ga ndgroov yy etyou mostly play to sedentary audiences. Ever miss playing to a club packed with dancing Mods?
I constantly battle with agents telling me my audiences are of an age to want to sit down. I like playing shows with standing areas. When the jam band scene was happening in America, I was identified as one of the founding figures and a younger demographic started coming to my shows. For the first time in a very long time I’d see scuffles between young people at the front dancing and older ones sat behind who couldn’t see.
What is your touring routine today?
I never used to like opening for people but now I realise it’s quite good. I have opened for Tom Petty, Santana, The Allman Brothers, Steely Dan and even Rod Stewart. So I play to bigger audiences and often come on to do a few songs with the main act. My
routine is I travel on the bus, then when I get to the show I have toast and coffee and drink the pressé orange and grapefruit juice I’ve made the night before. I might have a walk if it’s
not too hot, and Uber has opened up a whole new world so I can do a bit of shopping. My main meal is at 3pm and then back for the soundcheck around 4.30, going on around 8.30 or 9.
What is the hardest thing about recruiting and leading a band?
Personalities – and everybody’s different. You need people skills. You keep morale up by not separating yourself from the band – we soundcheck and listen to stuff together on the bus. We generally have a young crew and when they start to think they’re on holiday, James [Towler, Winwood’s soundman and tour manager] runs a tight ship and they realise it isn’t at all, haha.
As a songwriter, have you hung up your boots?
I have been looking hard at Electronic Dance Music from Brazil, Cuba and Europe. EDM covers 100 tribes; to