Ian Anderson interviews

[maddogfagin]

www.theuncool.com/journalism/ian-anderson-l-a-times/

Ian Anderson – L.A. Times, December 22, 1974

Waves Over Oiled Waters

Ian Anderson, the esoteric mastermind behind rock’s ever-popular Jethro Tull, has never made it easy for his fans. Rock music has become very stylized, he grumbles. It’s too easy to make the kind of music an audience can unconsciously appreciate while they’re stoned or while they’re driving or eating or whatever. That’s using music as a tactical weapon to sell records. People should have to work, they should make an effort to enjoy music.

Visiting Los Angeles to supervise the marketing and promotion of War Child, Jethro Tull’s eighth album, Anderson, 26, is spending this warm afternoon sipping beer and shopping for motorcycles via a frostily air-conditioned limousine. True to his philosophy, the lush back-seat stereo is conspicuously silent. When I listen to a piece of music, I always give it my full attention. The only musical trickery I use when I play or write are those which try to entice the audience into wanting to make that effort. I admit to doing that. I even admit to making a lot of music that people could not have possibly enjoyed.

As opposed to walking out on stage and saying, ‘Hey! It’s great to be back in Tulsa!’ I get very worried if the people immediately freak out. Any one of a dozen groups can cause instant pandemonium. When that happens to us, I ruthlessly try to destroy that moment for the audience. Anderson spends a quiet moment staring out his window. I don’t want to be enjoyed on a ‘rock star’ level. It’s too easy. That’s why you find scuba divers and rabbits walking on stage during Tull concerts. That’s why some Tull albums have no individual songs. Those things are meant to disturb people. They’re meant to break up that predictable rock ‘n’ roll flow.

These are busy days for Jethro Tull. Having just completed a string of SRO concerts in the Far East, the band are spending the rest of this year visiting Europe’s largest halls and arenas. Some time in January, the world-wide jaunt will make its way to America for an extensive coast-to-coast tour. Ironically, this sudden burst of full-speed activity comes just one year after Tull manager Terry Ellis announced the group’s retirement. Ian had been hurt by the unanimously negative response to their Passion Play album, so the statement read, and in the future he would be devoting all his energies to writing, producing, directing and starring in a film called ‘War Child’. Today, all that remains is the album of the same name. Although Anderson insists the film will eventually see production, he now concedes that the well-publicized ‘retirement’ announcement was a bit of a hasty overstatement.

The astoundingly negative criticism we received definitely affected us, the composer icily explains. I’d be less than human if my blood didn’t boil when I read that some punk kid journalist – barely out of his nappies, no doubt – has written that our music is bad and unimaginative. That’s terribly destructive criticism . . . and certainly unjustified. It hurt all of us a great deal.

The ‘retirement’, though, was really just a pause we wanted to take. In six years, we had made seven albums and toured America alone something like 19 times. We had to switch off the motor. But we knew that nobody – managers, agents and record company people – would take us seriously if we didn’t put it in drastic terms. We were talking about doing a movie at the time, so it seemed like a good idea to use that as the excuse. At least we weren’t going to sit and vegetate or live in vast country estates with servants and carriages or whatever it is that people imagine English rock stars do. In the end, the period we actually stopped for was something ridiculous, like two days. After all the running around we’ve done, the band deserves a weekend off.

Jethro Tull, then a quartet featuring Anderson on flute, guitar and vocals, Mick Abrahms on guitar, Glenn Cornick on bass and Clive Bunker on drums, began in December of 1967 at the bottom level of the English club scene. Initially gathering attention through Anderson’s flamboyant, flute-twirling stage presence, Tull worked its way up to a residency at London’s prestigious Marquee club. By mid-’68, the group had been signed to Terry Ellis and Chris Wright’s Chrysalis Productions (now Chrysalis records) and was hard at work on its debut album, This Was.

I don’t think anybody had any real expectations from the band in those days, Anderson recalls. If anything, we figured we might become popular for a year or so, then we’d go back to playing the clubs. It’s a source of constant amazement for me to wake up in the morning and realize I’m in some exotic part of the world, in an expensive hotel and doing OK. It’s nice not to have any expectations. Even today, I live one hour at a time. If I had to worry about maintaining our current popularity, I would be very uncomfortable. I don’t worry about gold records or selling out the Forum three nights in a row. I just think about making records that appeal to me. So far there’s been a lucky coincidence that the songs I write are the songs people are listening to. I guess that just shows they have very good taste.

A mushy blend of jazz and blues, This Was sold surprisingly well for a first album. As a result, the band was brought over to America to open the show for a major Led Zeppelin tour. We lost a lot of money the first two times we toured in this country, Anderson remembers.

In the crucial year between Jethro Tull’s debut album and the enormously successful Stand Up, road-weary guitarist and co-composer Mick Abrahams suddenly left the band. It was during that difficult period that Anderson assumed complete musical control of Jethro Tull. I took over simply because I was the only other writer in the band. All of a sudden, it was down to me to arrange, compose and record all the material. Today it’s much more of a group (current line-up: Anderson, Martin Barre on guitars, John Evan on keyboards, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond on bass and Barriemore Barlow on drums). Even though I’m the only survivor from the original group, we all get paid the same money. I don’t like it too much when people think I’m Jethro Tull. I worry that the rest of the guys will start feeling that they’re some sort of back-up band. That’s just not the case anymore.

Stand Up, written and rehearsed almost entirely on their first American tour, was completed within a few weeks. An overwhelming artist, commercial and critical triumph, the album quickly divorced Jethro Tull from its image of being a not-quite serious blues band. The group began to taste mass acceptance. According to Anderson, the heady effects of stardom subsequently made their mark on Benefit.

The music on that album was a bit more sophisticated, but it was too much like what a rock group is supposed to be. We had reached the dangerous realization that we were a name group. We played it too safe with Benefit. We were concerned again about consolidating what success we had achieved, rather than being unafraid to move on. Aqualung, our next record, was a half-hearted attempt to move on. We mainly concentrated at what we were best at doing. There was no musical trail-blazing on Aqualung. I don’t dislike it. The technical sound and production were dismal, but it does have some good songs. We really ought to go in and record that album again.

Early in ’72, word began to leak out that the next Tull album would contain Ian Anderson’s opus, a lengthy acoustic piece called ‘Thick As A Brick’. By the time the LP was actually released, the song – and ambitious and cryptic musical collage – had consumed the entire album.

When we came to do the next album, we started recording separate songs again. We’d finished three sides of a double album before we realized the excitement of working that way wasn’t there anymore. So we scrapped it all and I expanded one little bit of the (aborted) album into Passion Play. I really enjoyed working that way. I’m very sad that it’s proven necessary to work in conventional song lengths again with War Child.

How so?

My attitude has always been that we’re a live concert group. Basically, the band sells records as souvenirs. The last couple of years, half our concerts have been taken up with a complete piece like Thick As A Brick or Passion Play. If we’d done another album like that we would have been in the absurd situation of performing it in its entirety and then having an hour left to play . . . what? There would be no room to do justice to any of the other extended pieces. It’s very painful to have to hack my work up into condensations. So we came back to working on a loose concept, but with individual songs in such a way that they would stand on their own. A year or two from now, we will be able to play parts of War Child and they’re going to sound whole in themselves. It’s important that our concerts are the best we can make them.

I love the idea that we’re back doing a lot of road work. I tremendously enjoy being on the road. Air-conditioned motorcars, nice airplanes and a Bloody Mary every morning. After all, the only place I can write is in a Holiday Inn. That’s a fact.

The limousine swishes up to a dusty motorcycle dealership alongside the Ontario Motor Speedway. Ian Anderson takes a loud gulp of beer. I don’t even know why I’m looking for a motorcycle, he laughs. I don’t foresee having the time to ride it for quite a while. I think we’re scheduled for a couple of days off in early 1977. Tull will be at the Inglewood Forum Feb 2, 3 and 8.

[Budding Stately Hero]

Feb 13, 2022 6:34:12 GMT maddogfagin said:

The Craziest Thing a Fan Ever Did To Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull - WOW!

Rock History Music
88.7K subscribers

I'd love to know what Ian did to provoke a fan(s) to telling him he was going to kill him. What first comes to mind is Ian treating the flute like it's another limb on his body during Hunting Girl and making eye contact with the man's wife in the first row. "That's it, Anderson! You make eyes at my wife one more time and I'm going to shove it up your bleep!"

[maddogfagin]

IAN ANDERSON - BEHIND THE SCENES [2012]
181 views Feb 11, 2022

ademar fagundes
762 subscribers
Ian Anderson - Iceland - Behind the Scenes 2012

[maddogfagin]

louderthanwar.com/ian-anderson-jethro-tull-the-john-robb-interview/



Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) : The John Robb interview
By johnrobb -February 14, 2022



Ian Anderson talks to John Robb about the acclaimed new top 5 Jethro Tull album, the art of songwriting, his lyrics, the power of language, the dreaded c-word, prog, growing up in Blackpool (the home town of John Robb and Ian Anderson – they both went to the same school – a few years apart), just where St Cleve is and much more…

[maddogfagin]

Ian Anderson- (Jethro Tull)
513 views Feb 23, 2022

SOAL Night Live- The Musical Talk Show
1.54K subscribers

For Episode #109 we have a whirlwind chat with Jethro Tull frontman, Ian Anderson. We had planned to chat for an hour, but Ian's day threw some roadblocks in our way that prevented that. Still, I'm honored to have him on the show, even briefly, and I hope you enjoy this quick chat. It's got a couple interesting bits of info.... We discuss the new Tull album, the first in 19 years, The Zealot Gene, what makes it Tull vs Ian solo, his flute collection and a bit more....

[bunkerfan]

I was watching ITV news last night and all of a sudden Ian Anderson appears. I've found this clip on youtube but, you'll have to turn the sound up.

I've found a better quality video

[adospencer]

Mar 10, 2022 6:49:38 GMT bunkerfan said:

I was watching ITV news last night and all of a sudden Ian Anderson appears. I've found this clip on youtube.

As much as we like to see IA  on TV, what a strange news item  . Though nothing the media does really surprises anymore. Human suffering covered patronisingly by airhead reporters more suited to  fashion and gossip,trying to look concerned as they thrust a mic at "Granny in a bandage" , and War reported generally like a football game.    

[maddogfagin]

Mar 10, 2022 6:49:38 GMT bunkerfan said:

I was watching ITV news last night and all of a sudden Ian Anderson appears. I've found this clip on youtube but, you'll have to turn the sound up.

I've found a better quality video

Thanks John

[maddogfagin]

ultimateclassicrock.com/ian-anderson-party-pooper/



Ian Anderson describes himself — and the rest of his long-running, ever-shifting band, Jethro Tull — as "cold fish," often more comfortable observing than participating.

"It always amuses me to be standing off at the side," he tells UCR with a laugh. "People think I’m a party-pooper, and they are dead right."

But if you happen to catch him standing by the punch bowl, be prepared for a winding conversation: While discussing Jethro Tull's latest LP The Zealot Gene, a random question about a late bandmate spawned a lengthy thread touching on touring life, "lightweight porn" and why Anderson considers himself the "Clint Eastwood" of rock.

I wanted to ask you about the late John Glascock, Jethro Tull's former bassist. Before he joined, John played in the flamenco-rock band Carmen, who opened for Tull on tour. Do you remember much about how that connection happened?
It was a recommendation by our U.S. agent – Frank Barsalona or Barbara Skydel, one of the two – who mentioned Carmen as a possible opening act in the days when we used to have opening acts. They described them as “flamenco rock” — being a bit more interesting than just another pop or rock band. I don’t remember if I heard any of their music, but I said, “Yeah, OK.” They came out and did a tour with Jethro Tull. It was a little esoteric sometimes for the Jethro Tull audience because it involved a bit of dancing and flamenco rhythms, which were perhaps not quite rocky enough for some of our audience. So I wouldn’t say it was the most successful pairing of bands from the audience’s perspective, but we all were very struck by their musicality and their commitment to [doing] something different from other bands. David Allen and his sister Angela Allen were the main focus of the band, and John Glascock – I guess we met him, and he seemed like a nice guy. [Jethro Tull bassist] Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, at the end of that year, decided to finally go through with what he said he was going to do: “I’m going to do it for five years, and then I’m out.” We didn’t believe him; we thought he’d be here forever. He decided he really was gonna go, and we tried to persuade him to stay, but he was committed. He’d made enough money to stash and invest, and he thought he could survive on that, and he’s done so for the rest of his life. But John was the last guy, I suppose, we noticed as a bass player who seemed like he might be interested. We also had the definite feeling that Carmen were not going to continue as a band because they simply weren’t achieving any level of commercial success and were finding it very difficult to make a living as Carmen.

[Former Jethro Tull drummer] Barrie Barlow went on to work with David Allen on some other projects because those two got on very well. But sadly, [Carmen] was no more. I didn’t feel bad about asking John Glascock to try out for Jethro Tull because I thought, “Well, otherwise, he’s gonna be following one of his other pursuits: being an occasional porn actor.” At least, that’s what he told me. I think it was kind of lightweight porn, but John had a healthy sexual appetite, to say the least, and I suspect that he was telling the truth when he said he was in some porn movies.



Wow, I'd never heard that.
Gossip and tittle-tattle should be considered as such, but this is what he told me. I think of John in many different ways, with a mixture of awe and as an incredibly warm, passionate, loving, life-living human being. He wasn’t my kinda guy because he was a party guy, and I’m an insular, cold loner. I’m Clint Eastwood who plays a flute in a spaghetti western. I’m a guy who doesn’t like to particularly engage with other people, but that’s my deficiency. John was a very gregarious and fun-loving person. He just loved to be around other people and have a great time, which was, unfortunately, part of his demise — his inability to shake the social elements of his life, which were leading him rather astray. I for one did try to shake him up and frighten him to give up some of those forms of behavior following his major [heart] surgery and part recuperation because it wasn’t going very well. John just didn’t have that self-will. He just loved people too much. He just hated to be alone, whereas some of us really do love our own company. Many folks in the music industry go there because it is a 24-hour social event. They take the stage home with them via a few hours of clubbing back to the hotel room and get dragged down to the tour bus in the morning, sleep and wake up in time for soundcheck. I can think of nothing more horrific than living that kind of lifestyle. For me, it’s such a waste.

I wasn’t part of John’s clique or his social life, but [he was] a warm human being and a very good bass player – and a good singer. He never really told me he could sing until, sadly, it was a little too late to incorporate him into the albums he was on. John was an unschooled musician — like me, if you said “play E-flat there,” he’d have to sit and count the frets to work out where E-flat was. [Laughs.] He might not have been quite as bad as that, but both of us were untutored, natural musicians. He had a great ear for harmony and understanding how music worked. And he could learn to play stuff and would buckle down to learning things, and some of them were quite difficult bass lines. He was a great man and a great loss to his friends, his family and the music industry. I’m not sure he would have remained a part of Jethro Tull, because probably the culture of Jethro Tull is too removed from that party world and that idiosyncratic rock 'n' roll pastiche that we think we know from others. We are cold fish in Jethro Tull. We are northern European, impassive cold fish. We possess not an ounce of Mediterranean, Latin blood. We’re just not cut from that cloth at all – and I find it quite good fun being a cold fish. It always amuses me to be standing off at the side, and people think I’m a party pooper, and they are dead right. [Laughs.]

[maddogfagin]

www.grammy.com/


PHOTO: WILL IRELAND

Ian Anderson On The Historical Threads Of Fanaticism, Playing Ageless Instruments & Jethro Tull's New Album 'The Zealot Gene'
Ian Anderson never stopped recording and touring, but 'The Zealot Gene' is the first album by his long-running band, Jethro Tull, in 18 years. Here, Anderson opens up about why it took so long — and why he plumbed humanity's capacity for militancy.

Jethro Tull has spent more than 50 years pigeonholed as the classic rock band with the flute — and largely undervalued for their wit, intelligence and heart. But that doesn't stop bandleader Ian Anderson from marveling at the very physicality of his instrument.

"Other than fine-tuning some of the mechanics and the intonation and scale of it, it's the instrument that is 175 years old now," Anderson tells GRAMMY.com, noting that Theobald Boehm perfected the Western concert flute a century before his birth. "I'm a fan of those 'forever' kind of aspects of music-making. They just go on and on and on."

This eternality doesn't just imbue Anderson's instruments of choice — he also plays the acoustic guitar, mandolin and Irish whistle — but informs what he writes and sings about. Sure, he's fascinated by modern technology — he named an album J-Tull Dot Com back in 1999, and any discussion with him is bound to be sprinkled with references to aircraft and artillery.

But these days, Anderson wants to know where our political discourse's wild-eyed fervor and immutable rhetoric flows from. And while nobody can pinpoint an ultimate origin for this psychological strain, the GRAMMY-winning progressive-rock giants' latest offering, The Zealot Gene — which arrives Jan. 28 — argues that it's millennia-old at this point. In fact, it's Biblical.

link

[maddogfagin]

www.blabbermouth.net/news/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-wont-perform-in-russia-as-long-as-putin-is-the-man-in-charge/

JETHRO TULL's IAN ANDERSON Won't Perform In Russia As Long As PUTIN Is 'The Man In Charge'
March 27, 2022



JETHRO TULL leader Ian Anderson spoke to Sofa King Cool about how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected his band's plans to return to both countries. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm supposed to be playing [in Russia] in September, but there's no way I'm gonna go if [Russian president Vladimir] Putin's still… He's become a pariah to the world, and as much as I feel embarrassed and I feel like I'm letting down our Russian fans, from an ethical point of view, it pains me to have to say I'm sorry I can't come to Russia. I'm supposed to be in Ukraine in just two or three weeks' time. I won't be there — for obvious reasons. It's the sad reality of where we are right now."

Asked if he would go ahead with his concerts in Russia if "things change" and "everything goes back to somewhat normal" in the coming weeks and months, Anderson said: "I don't think I could do that, if Vladimir Putin is still the man in charge; I don't think I could do that. And I don't think anybody else will either. He's not the kind of man to climb down and retreat and apologize; that's not in his soul," Ian explained. "He has a black heart. He will never, ever admit weakness. He thrives on an ever-increasing sense of his destiny and power. He's not gonna change. If he's deposed or assassinated or something like that happens, then, of course, I would… If at least I felt Russia was taking a new place on the world stage in a post-Putin era, then I'd be very happy to go there. But I'm afraid Russia has really done for itself. And it's very sad because roughly speaking, in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, I think you would find probably a bit of a majority of people who really didn't want Putin to be the man in charge. In some of the more rural towns and the more industrial towns further east, then Putin is very popular, because they believe what they see on state TV. That's all they get; that's their only access to news — state television. They don't read papers; they're not Internet savvy; all they see is what is on the few channels that they have of state television. That's what they see; that's what they believe. And they believe in Putin, the strongman. But the half of Russia that is not caught up in that ridiculous spell that he has cast upon the people, the other half of them are people like you and me. In fact, I've always felt in Russia, as I do in places like Poland and the Czech Republic, I've always felt there was an affinity between the British and those people. But it's very sad for me personally that we're in the situation that we are, that quite clearly people like me don't have any business in going there as long as Putin is carrying out such hideous acts in blatant contravention of any definition of legality and propriety when it comes to respecting neighbors. So, no, I don't think that's gonna be on the cards."

JETHRO TULL's first studio album of new material in over 18 years, "The Zealot Gene", as released on January 28 via InsideOut Music.

With more than 30 albums to its credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, JETHRO TULL is one of the most successful rock bands of all time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today.

[maddogfagin]

www.metalcastle.net/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-explains-why-he-wont-perform-in-russia/

Jethro Tulls Ian Anderson Explains Why He Wont Perform In Russia: “I Feel Like I’m Letting Down Our Russian Fans”
By Gorkem Erel- March 28, 2022

Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Henderson made a brand new interview with Sofa King Cool. Ian Henderson says he was saddened by the situation in Ukraine that they would not be able to perform in Russia and he felt like he was letting down the Russian fans.

Jethro Tull, who has performed many incredible performances in Russia until today, last met his Russian fans in 2020. On Jethro Tull‘s The Prog Years tour, the band had been to Russia for four days, in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and St Petersburg, respectively.

On the other hand, after the war declared by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine, Tull‘s frontman Ian Henderson regretted that they would not give a concert in Russia as long as this process continues. Jethro Tull had to cancel his Ukraine concert on April 8 due to the sad situation.

Ian Henderson ?

[JTull 007]

  David Robinson aka The Cold Heart Revue     A NIGHT OF THE BLUES 
   

[maddogfagin]

metalheadzone.com/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-says-putin-has-a-black-heart-who-will-never-admit-his-weakness/


JETHRO TULL’S IAN ANDERSON SAYS PUTIN HAS A ‘BLACK HEART’ WHO WILL NEVER ADMIT HIS WEAKNESS
By Su Yeniocak -March 31, 2022



Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson recently spoke about his band’s upcoming concert in Russia. He stated that he is sadly unwilling to perform in the country unless Vladimir Putin is not in charge anymore.

Vladimir Putin’s fire attacks on Ukraine continue even over a month after its start. The cruel attacks have caused so many Ukrainians to lose their lives, leave their homes to hide in bunkers and ask for refugees to the neighboring countries.

The two countries are stuck in a loop where Putin demands difficult compromises, and Ukraine’s President Volodimir Zelenski is unwilling to accept them. Some sources state that World War III might be here, especially if the NATO member countries get physically involved.

While many celebrities have already used their high follower advantage to condemn Putin and stand by Ukraine, some are trying to take more action, like protesting against the president by not performing in the country. Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson recently stood his ground against Putin as well.

Although he has nothing against the citizens of Russia, especially those who don’t support Putin, he is not willing to go to the country as long as Putin is in charge. He stated that the president has a ‘black heart’ and will never admit ‘his weakness.’ He talked about how he would be more than happy to go to the country again if Putin had disappeared.

Here is Anderson’s lengthy explanation:

“I don’t think I could do that if Vladimir Putin is still the man in charge; I don’t think I could do that. And I don’t think anybody else will either. He’s not the kind of man to climb down and retreat and apologize; that’s not in his soul. He has a black heart. He will never, ever admit weakness. He thrives on an ever-increasing sense of his destiny and power. He’s not going to change.

If he’s deposed or assassinated or something like that happens, then, of course, I would. If at least I felt Russia was taking a new place on the world stage in a post-Putin era, then I’d be very happy to go there. But I’m afraid Russia has really done for itself. And it’s very sad because, roughly speaking, in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, I think you would find probably a bit of a majority of people who really didn’t want Putin to be the man in charge.”

He continued:

“In some of the more rural towns and the more industrial towns further east, then Putin is very popular because they believe what they see on state TV. That’s all they get; that’s their only access to news, state television. They don’t read papers; they’re not Internet savvy; all they see is what is on the few channels that they have on state television. That’s what they see; that’s what they believe. And they believe in Putin, the strongman.

But the half of Russia that is not caught up in that ridiculous spell that he has cast upon the people, the other half of them are people like you and me. In fact, I’ve always felt in Russia, as I do in places like Poland and the Czech Republic. I’ve always felt there was an affinity between the British and those people.

But it’s very sad for me personally that we’re in the situation that we are, that quite clearly people like me don’t have any business in going there as long as Putin is carrying out such hideous acts in blatant contravention of any definition of legality and propriety when it comes to respecting neighbors. So, no, I don’t think that’s going to be on the cards.”

[maddogfagin]

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Discusses 'The Zealot Gene'
8,531 views Premiered March 29, 2022
Sea of Tranquility
72.9K subscribers

[maddogfagin]

www.loudersound.com/features/watch-ian-anderson-offer-coldplay-some-career-advice-you-guys-need-more-flute

Watch Ian Anderson offer Coldplay some career advice: you guys need more flute
By Joe Daly ( Classic Rock ) published about 5 hours ago


(Image credit: Prog Magazine)

Jethro Tull’s 1968 debut made a convincing case for their emergence as Britain’s next $h1t hot blues band, behind soulful originals and the incendiary fretwork of original guitarist Mick Abrahams.

It would however, be Tull’s only fully-committed blues album; they soon course corrected to a more experimental outlook that fused the emerging style of progressive rock with traditional English folk. Foreshadowing this imminent evolution was Ian Anderson’s baroque flute play, which figures prominently throughout their debut, most notably in the smouldering jazz vapours of Serenade To A Cuckoo.

Throughout the years, other rock artists would summon the august power of the flute to add texture to their works, including Peter Gabriel, Manfred Mann’s Mick Vickers, Clay Cook of the Marshall Tucker Band and, of course, Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues. But none would ever contest Anderson’s dominance as the preeminent flautist in rock'n'roll.

In this 2006 interview (below), Anderson suggests that at least in his mind, the distinction is a dubious one. He opens the clip by saying, “I’ve always been a bit embarrassed as being thought of as the person who introduced the flute to rock music and I’m always quick to point out there were others doing it before I got there.”

Anderson took up the flute shortly after Jethro Tull formed after realising that even on his best day, he would never rival the likes of Eric Clapton as a lead guitarist. Discussing the decision, he says “I mean, [Clapton] was so far from everybody else, it seemed, that struggling along trying to play the bluesy guitar stuff I was doing...it just seemed better to find something else to play.”

Unable to fathom why more rock flautists have not since emerged, he muses, “there must be a lot of people out there who think, ‘That Ian Anderson bloke must have made a pile of dosh playing the flute, maybe I ought to give that a try.’”

He suggests that the instrument offers a creative refuge to those unable to master other instruments, “perhaps [for] not dissimilar reasons to why I started playing; that they weren’t very good guitar players or keyboard players or they couldn't work out how to work out that shiny new Apple Mac and the computer programs to do that sort of dinky donkey music.”

Undaunted by this seeming lack of interest, Anderson doggedly advocates for a more prominent role for the flute in contemporary rock, pointing out that, “it would work beautifully well in Coldplay’s music, you know? It’s a perfect sort of choice for so many bands. And I guess if Coldplay had a flute player, they would stand out in the crowds in a bigger way than they already do.”

Underscoring the immovable weight of Anderson’s rock flute dominance, the video ends with a couple of stitched-in interludes with Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward. Their principal flautist, the late Ray Thomas, left the band in 2002 due to illness. Hayward explains, “...when you’re replacing a flute player, where do you find a rock'n'roll flute player? There’s one.”

---

Hailing from San Diego, California, Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist with over thirty years experience. Since 2010, Joe has been a regular contributor for Metal Hammer, penning cover features, news stories, album reviews and other content. Joe also writes for Classic Rock, Bass Player, Men’s Health and Outburn magazines. He has served as Music Editor for several online outlets and he has been a contributor for SPIN, the BBC and a frequent guest on several podcasts. When he’s not serenading his neighbours with black metal, Joe enjoys playing hockey, beating on his bass and fawning over his dogs.

[maddogfagin]

rockcelebrities.net/


Ian Anderson Reveals Alice Cooper’s Opinion On Jethro Tull-Metallica Grammy Incident, ‘It Was Just The Worst Moment Of My Life’
Melek Nur Pervan April 16, 2021




Jethro Tull lead vocalist Ian Anderson opened up about the infamous Grammy moment with Metallica during an interview with BBC Radio, in addition to revealing what the legendary musician Alice Cooper thought while presenting the winner.

As many of you know, a Hard Rock/Metal Performance category for the Grammy Awards was first added in 1988, having first nominees including ‘Blow Up Your Video’ by AC/DC, ‘Cold Metal’ by Iggy Pop, ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ by Jane’s Addiction, and ‘…And Justice for All’ by Metallica. In addition to those nominees, there was also ‘Crest of a Knave’ by Jethro Tull which was surprising even for the band’s frontman Ian Anderson who thought they cannot be considered a heavy metal band.

Since Metallica was expected to win the award, Jethro Tull members were told by their record label to not even bother attending the 31st Grammy Awards. Following these discussions, the band members decided not to attend the ceremony.

However, while the nomination itself was shocking enough, when the presenters Alice Cooper and Lita Ford announced the result, booing could be heard from the crowd as Metallica wasn’t the winner, it was Jethro Tull that actually won the first Hard Rock/Metal Performance award. The result was considered an embarrassment for the Academy, according to many, and caused controversy even months after the ceremony.

During a recent interview, Ian Anderson opened up about the notorious moment by stating that it was embarrassing since it was both unexpected and wrong according to countless people. In addition to this, Anderson revealed how the presenter Alice Cooper felt at the time, and apparently, it was the worst moment of his life since he was the person to blame after receiving the award in the name of Jethro Tull.

Here is what Anderson said:

“Well, it’s an embarrassing thing because the record company had along with probably every act on the label had pushed us forward to be in the nominations for a Grammy that year, and I think people were just so shocked and surprised. Nobody really said anything on the Grammys that, ‘Oh, well, don’t worry, they’re not going to win.’ And the fact is – if I’d been there to a crazed full house of booze and hisses and ‘how dare they,’ it would have been interesting.

I have no idea what I would have said when I walked up there but I did subsequently meet Alice Cooper, who was the guy who was pushed on to accept on our behalf the Grammy, that we shouldn’t have won. And I said, ‘What did it feel like?’ Alice said, ‘It was just the worst moment of my life. As if it was my fault you won the Grammy!’“

[rredmond]

I do not know what to feel about that response. :/

[jackinthegreen]

Apr 15, 2022 21:22:41 GMT rredmond said:

I do not know what to feel about that response. :/

Alice Cooper....say no more...he couldn't lace Ian's boots

[jackinthegreen]

But can Ian play golf........

[maddogfagin]

Ian Anderson Artists On Record With ADIKA
43 views Premiered 3 hours ago

Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!

[maddogfagin]

Apr 24, 2022 5:31:09 GMT maddogfagin said:

Ian Anderson Artists On Record With ADIKA
43 views Premiered 3 hours ago

Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!

Anyone know the make of IA's new electric axe ?

[nonrabbit]

An Anderson interview: the beginning, middle and end of Jethro Tull

By Paul Elliott ( Classic Rock ) published April 02, 2020



www.loudersound.com/features/ian-anderson-interview-the-beginning-middle-and-end-of-jethro-tull

[rredmond]

May 8, 2022 10:34:59 GMT nonrabbit said:

An Anderson interview: the beginning, middle and end of Jethro Tull

By Paul Elliott ( Classic Rock ) published April 02, 2020



www.loudersound.com/features/ian-anderson-interview-the-beginning-middle-and-end-of-jethro-tull

Hey Patti!! I feel like it's been a bit.
Hope you are feeling better, and thanks for the link!!

[steelmonkey]

Ron is right. Seeing recent words from Patti almost as good as new words from Tull.*


* ALMOST

[nonrabbit]

Hi Ron <waves>

Hi Bernie <waves>


Bernie,
Ron's far too polite to say, but I never shut up on other social media sites.....

[rredmond]

[maddogfagin]

www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2019/09/04/ian-anderson-years-jethro-tull-tinny-garden-acoustics-and-never-being-too-old-rock-and-roll/EUImP0yYSsegpuKqaf5KVI/story.html

Ian Anderson on 50 years of Jethro Tull, tinny Garden acoustics, and never being too old to rock and roll
By Steve Morse Globe correspondent,Updated September 5, 2019, 12:00 a.m.


Ian Anderson of Jethro TullNICK HARRISON

Ian Anderson, the longtime mastermind behind English rockers Jethro Tull, has a reputation of being tough and prickly in interviews, sometimes bordering on intimidating.

Yet, Anderson came across as rather upbeat and funny during our recent phone chat from his sprawling, 400-acre home in Wiltshire. He even admitted that every morning he gets up and has “a glass of chilled vodka,” though that’s about it for his alcohol consumption. “I’m one of those people who never drink after mid-morning,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not a big drinker.”

He is, though, a big talker. Get him started on a subject and he’ll set sail, but the core truth is that he’s having fun these days and is still a committed optimist at 72 when it comes to performing. He’ll bring his “50 Years of Jethro Tull” show to the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on Wednesday.

“I always like to feel you carry an optimism with you every time you walk out on stage, that this is going to be one of the best shows you’ve played,” he said. “Even if it’s in the upper 10 percent, that’s a good goal to aim for — and that in itself is energizing.”

Astonishingly, 36 different musicians have been in Jethro Tull through the years (including Tony Iommi, later of Black Sabbath), but Anderson has remained the anchor since they broke through in the ’70s with progressive rock albums “Aqualung,” “Thick As a Brick” and “A Passion Play.”

Jethro Tull — the name actually refers to an 18th-century agriculturist — toured as an opening act for Led Zeppelin, then exploded and became a frequent headliner at the old Boston Garden, which is where we’ll pick up our edited conversation:

Q. I saw a number of your Boston Garden shows. What was it like to play there? The acoustics were rough, and I remember Billy Joel once said, “Even hockey sounds bad there.”

A. It wasn’t an easy place to play. But people had no point of comparison and very often had very unrealistic memories of concerts back then. They recall with such apparent clarity how wonderful this was, but the reality was there was a thin, weedy sound and there were these little matchstick figures on the stage. It was an age when people look back on it with memories that are altogether too kind.

Q. Weren’t you also on the forefront of concert video back then?

A. Yes, in 1973 we did it with “A Passion Play.” Not all the way through the show, but there were three big segments of projected video on a screen. Then in ’75 and ’76 we did it again. And we’ve been working with video again in the last 10 years or so. There are times when we stick with videos that have become almost as classic as the song itself. And sometimes that’s OK, but otherwise you have to keep coming up with new stuff and ideas. A lot of time, effort and money go into making it.

Q. I’ve read you’ve played 3,000 concerts in the last 50 years, and you still do 100 a year. That seems phenomenal. What keeps you out there?

A. Typically, it’s been 75 to 100 shows a year. It certainly adds up. I might do three or four shows a week assuming they’re not too far away and I can hop a plane to Europe. So that seems OK and means three nights a week I get to sleep in my own bed and play with the cats and have some form of a life, even if I’m working at home, which sometimes of course I am. But being in my own home is very precious. And next year is filling up fast. There is a harsh reality that I’m not going to do this forever, so why quit when you’re having fun?

Q. I remember your song years ago, “Too Old to Rock ’n’ Roll, Too Young to Die.” Was it a bit prophetic?

A. Yeah, but that’s fine because it’s a kind of anthemic cheering-on of people who stick to their cultural roots. It’s not political. It was written to describe a person who is an old rocker (or biker) and he was wed to that way when I suppose he was an aspiring teenager and a young adult on a motorcycle and in a black leather jacket and he dreamed of being Marlon Brando and James Dean. It was about a culture, about people who have their clothes, their music, and their way of celebrating life on the open road. It’s kind of triumphal in the sense that you have someone who says, “Yeah, what the hell. I know what I like. This is me.”

Q. I want to applaud you for your lyrics through the years. They’re consistently high quality and thought-provoking. Are they something you work extremely hard on?

A. There’s a very easy answer to that. I write very quickly and I record very quickly, too. My band on the other hand, they want to keep every take, and I hate doing that. I’m a destructive editor. I record something, and when I re-record it, it automatically deletes what I don’t want. I’m making very quick judgments about my own performance. I can’t be bothered with too much editing. That’s the way I work. Life is too short.

Q. What’s your feeling about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? It seems incredible that Jethro Tull is not in there yet.

A. I really do believe it’s an American institution about celebrating, glorifying, and recording the history of Americana in terms of music. It should be about American acts. To me that’s what it’s there for. There is a whole bunch of American artists who need to be recognized long before you start thinking about a bunch of rich Brits who have made far too much money out of the US!

Q. There seems to be a prejudice against the English acts sometimes. I remember David Gilmour of Pink Floyd saying they were eligible three or four years before they got in. And that’s Pink Floyd!

A. I really don’t feel any engagement there. American music brought me into music through big band music when I was a child and then the earliest rock ’n’ roll and then blues. So American music got me going, but by the time I was 17 or 18, I couldn’t walk past a mirror without thinking, “Well, I’m not black. I don’t live on the South Side of Chicago, and I never had the experience of being a black in contemporary America.” I was imitating something that wasn’t really mine. I just found that to be very disingenuous. which is why the first Jethro Tull album was called ”This Was,” because it was essentially the time when we were trying to open the door by being a little middle-class white blues band in London, and that was just a means to an end.

Q. Then you changed your style, right?

A. Yes, and about a year or so later the advent of rock became progressive rock in 1969. That term was first coined by the British music press for bands like us and King Crimson, Yes, and the bands that came along a year or two later like Genesis. We were off and running after that new banner. Arguably, Britain did more of that and did it better than anybody else. So that made me feel better. And of course progressive rock these days is still a very real force in music.

[maddogfagin]

From September 2019

www.theday.com/article/20190915/ENT10/190919867

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson speaks freely before Sun concert


Travis Latam

Published September 15. 2019 12:01AM | Updated September 15. 2019 8:43AM
By Rick Koster Day staff writer

Who knows how many interviews Ian Anderson has done over the course of his half-century career? As the flute-brandishing front man, hyper-literate poet-in-residence and deftly complex structural architect of Jethro Tull, Anderson oversaw the creation of such genre-spanning and -spawning (and hugely-selling) progressive rock records like "Aqualung," "Thick as a Brick," "A Passion Play," "Heavy Horses," "Songs from the Wood," "A Minstrel in the Gallery," "Crest of a Knave" and many more.

What question(s) could a journalist possibly ask that Anderson hasn't heard before? Particularly since multiple press phoners have been ongoing with the artist in preparation for the multi-date "Jethro Tull the 50th Anniversary Tour by Ian Anderson," which lands tonight in the Mohegan Sun Arena?

Well, as one of rock's wittiest and most eloquent stars, Anderson has anticipated this problem. Publicists provide prospective interviewers with a comprehensive list of questions/answers that Anderson has already dealt with myriad times. This is indeed helpful and gives the writer advance opportunity to think of at least a few unharvested topics prior to the conversation. The current lineup, for example, includes guitarist Florian Opahle, drummer Scott Hammond, bassist David Goodier and keyboardist John O'Hara.

On the appointed date in late August, the phone rings and, yes, that mellifluous baritone voice — far more John Barrymore than any Cockney Rock Dude — says, "Hi, this is Ian Anderson. Apologies for being (five minutes) late, but you're the last one of the day's schedule, so we have a few minutes ..."

The problem is, as the writer finds out, Anderson doesn't really require questions anymore. He just starts ... talking. He speaks fast but in a pleasant tone of voice, and the filibuster begins in response to the journalist's polite "How are you doing, Ian?"

"I'm fine," he assures. The journalist is hoping to immediately ask about the difficulty in choosing an anniversary tour setlist that representatively reflects the many stages of Tull's history — but Anderson is already expounding on health and, in general, the process of aging in society. He says, "I hate this idea that people are pushed, through cultural and economic pressure, to retire at 65. Older people have appreciably more to give in terms of productivity, and there's the issue of their dignity, as well. I'm 72 years old and still working and fortunate to be in a line of work that enables me to do that. If I was a British Airways pilot, I'd have been given my notice. It's strange. I think we can provide quite a bit of guidance and advice to younger people ..."

Anderson has the well-reasoned logic of a veteran debater, as well as the inclination to pounce on a topic and wrestle it to the ground. The reporter is hopefully wondering how and if this line of thought might suddenly hopscotch into an explanation of Jethro Tull's incredibly creative and innovative approach to arena show staging.

"Mr. Anderson," it would be fun to say, "what about the time you had a silent telephone on a footstool at the lip of the stage for the entire 'Passion Play' concert — something audience members couldn't ever quite NOT notice, which was of course the whole idea — and only, as you'd finished the encore and the house lights went up and people were getting up to leave, only THEN did the phone ring! Loudly over the PA. We were all frozen in shock. And you picked up the reciever, nodded your head and, leaning into the still-live vocal mic, extended the phone towards the crowd and said, 'It's for you!' Who came up with that?"

Unfortunately, Anderson is now expressing hope that the younger generation will "manage our resources — planetary and food supply but also the forces of government because we have so many extremes today. There's Trumpism, of course, and now we have something equally calculated over here (with Boris Johnson): pushy, braggy and devoted to the creation of unnecessary divisions as a means to an end ... well, I have to be careful what I say about Trump or I won't get the visa for that leg of the tour. Same with Putin for when we tour Russia next year ..."

With that, in much the same fashion that, onstage and performing complex compositions like "Velvet Green" or "Living in the Past," Anderson deftly segues between delivering polysyllabic lyrics and blasting into rabid-hare flute runes, the musician smoothly downshifts without a moment's break.

"There IS one Republican I'd have liked to see as President; unfortunately, he died," Anderson says. "His name was Tony Snow. He was a press guy for both Bush administrations and much loved on both sides of the aisle, back when that was still possible. He was a dear friend and, like me, a flute player. That's how we met. He was a dyed-in-the-wool ideological Republican, which has become a very different thing, and he was utterly genuine and a humanitarian ... We argued a lot about a lot of things, but it was in a good spirited way with mutual respect and the sense that we both might learn something ..."

The fact of the matter is that, while there have been no great truths or revelations about Jethro Tull in the "conversation," Anderson IS damned entertaining and intriguing to listen to. It occurs to the reporter than Anderson would have been an excellent teacher or even a politician, which, if just a few musical questions could be dispensed with, might be a fun avenue to pursue —

— but while that thought is percolating, Anderson has somehow managed to seque onto the topic of religion and spirituality. Now, this is in fact something significantly related to many of the themes of both "A Passion Play" and "Aqualung" and other Tull recordings. Anderson is explaining that, while he adheres to the ethical and moral teachings of Christianity, he himself is not a quote/unquote believer.

"I like the idea of not being sure — the mystery, if you will — and there's something very intriguing about not having the total faith but rather a fascination with the possibilty," Anderson says. "I might be a three or even a six in terms of belief — NOT a zero or ten, based on rather pragmatic signs and reality and research into spiritually, and speaking intelligently with people committed one way or another. In a lot of ways, (Jethro Tull's music) is a conduit to people who might not go into the doors of a church but are curious and want to consider the spiritual."

Ah, that IS a bit of a musical allusion, and Anderson follows by explaining he's happy to do benefit concerts for certain of British cathedrals that are on the verge of bankruptcy. (Note: An early Tull album is called "Benefit," though Anderson has long dismissed it as being a remnant of the band's blues-riff origins a la Cream and not reflective of the identity they'd forge. Still, a connection is a connection.)

"I've played two benefits because they're in tremendous trouble," Anderson elaborated. "And, though I don't have the Faith with a capital F, I'm happy to help pay the heating bills because I DO have a sneaking suspicion ..."

Anderson, in fact, is active in a variety of charities and, as he speaks, alludes to a few including the Polyphony Foundation (helping young classical musicians); Shatil (an organization supporting a just, democratic and shared soceity in Israel); Population Matters (helping women across the globe make informed choices); and Scotland's Oak and Furrows Wildlife Fund. He's clearly passionate about all these things.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Anderson cheerily says, "Well, listen. Did you have a musical question before I go off to supper with my children and grandchildren?"

There are several questions, if fact — the same ones as from the start of the interview. But it HAS been interesting. Somewhat randomly, Anderson is asked if there was a particular text of British folklore — "The Golden Bough," perhaps — that inspired the acoustic/medieval tones of the "Songs From the Wood," "Heavy Horses," "Stormwatch" trilogy.

"Not really, nothing like that," Anderson says, and then somehow twists the answer to "A Passion Play," describing it as a "tongue-in-cheek look at the stereotypes of Good and Bad, and that we should be able to look at the concept of the afterlife with a bit of a smile on our faces, be it good OR bad ... That we should be pleased with where we are without worrying about trying for a speedy boarding pass to the beyond or VIP access at the Pearly Gates." He laughs. "I think I'll just amble up and say, 'Any chance for a room at the inn?' And St. Peter will say, 'Nope. No room right now.' And that's OK."

As he's saying goodbye, Anderson does have a quick thought. "I hope you'll come to the show," he says. "We'll do a nice variety and have a fond, nostalgic look back — but we'll definitely set it in the culture of the day so as to appeal to a variety of generations."

[maddogfagin]

www.eonmusic.co.uk/jethro-tull-ian-anderson-eonmusic-interview-february-2020.html

JETHRO TULL
"A thing that most progressive rock musicians have in common is a low boredom threshold, and that defines essentially what progressive rock is about". - Ian Anderson.

Things are never quiet in Ian Anderson's world, but of late he's been particularly busy, so busy in fact, that even the release of his long awaited next album has lapsed. "The reality is that yet again, I had January and February set aside for working to complete the new album, and that has just disappeared", he tells us as we sit down for a chat. Still, there's a new live production celebrating Jethro Tull's 'Prog Years' (of which there were many) to look forward to, as well as an intimate 'an evening with' set of events to look forward to. We caught up with the Prog God for a chat about what's going on in 2020. Minstrel in the gallery; Eamon O’Neill.

​Hi Ian, how are you today?
I’m not entirely compos mentis this morning, having spent the last 72 hours in intense rehearsals with the band. We’re all a bit knackered.

Is that for the forthcoming ‘The Prog Years’ shows?
It is indeed. It’s running everything; the video, and all the cues with our lighting director. To a large extent, the members of the band, they all prepare everything beforehand; they all have the resources in terms of music references and descriptive things that I can provide everybody with, but when we all actually still need to come together, particularly when it’s involving a more production-oriented situation with synced video and so on. It becomes necessary to spend quite a bit of time doing that.

Before that, you’ve got your more intimate ‘Ian Anderson on Jethro Tull’ shows happening.
That’s what we were doing for the production tour in October in the UK, and then in April / May, it’s just a more intimate, theatre, Jethro Tull-oriented chat. There will be music performances, but that’s just me with my guitar player Joe [Parrish], who has yet to perform his first concert, a week on Friday.

So you’re easing the new player in with these more laid back shows?
Not really, now, because we start a week on Friday in Barcelona with the Jethro Tull production tour, so we have several places to visit before we do the more intimate q&a type shows. Between now and then we do a bunch of places that we will be able to continue to develop the show in. We’re in Spain, and then in Finland, and Italy and Poland and Russia, so we have lots of shows to do.
​
Is that a different type of show again?
Yes. There’s something about changing the format of the show, which happens about three or four times a year; it’s quite energising, because you find yourself really looking forward to the Christmas concerts, because you haven’t played that type of set for twelve months, and then it’s time to ease that material back in again, and it’s always a lot of fun knowing that you have something other than week upon week, month upon month, repetition of the same set list, which, in some ways provides its own blue blanket comfort zone, but then you have to meet the challenge of; “oh my god, I’ve a completely different show to play tomorrow night!”

Going back to the theatre shows, and are you reprising the format of your 2002 / 2003 ‘Rubbing Elbows With’ American tour?

That was very much based on the American TV talk show format, so I had guests and I interviewed people as well as it becoming a bit of dual banter with the co-presenter from local radio. So it had a format that was something that, at that time, wouldn’t have so easily translated into the UK, so I never did that kind of a show in the UK, or obviously for language reasons, any other country like mainland Europe. So, this is more interactive in the sense that there will be opportunities for members of the audience to take on the role of Andrew Neil pinning down the missing Boris Johnson! I’ll be Boris; you can take me to task, watch me squirm, and watch me try to wriggle out of it if it’s an embarrassing or hard question! But I think that’s fun for me, and fun for them.
​
What else does the show have in store?
Well, we’ll do a bit of that, and of course there’ll be lots of illustrations behind me on video of the early days of Jethro Tull and people I’ve worked with. It’s definitely a piece of entertainment for people who would consider themselves fairly knowledgeable fans of Jethro Tull.
I haven’t got the set list in front of me, but there will probably be twelve or thirteen pieces of music that we’ll be playing during the evening with obviously a very stripped-down and edited format. But none the less, it’s really about giving the idea of how these songs came about; the song writing process, the elements of melody and harmony, and some of the instruments. So Joe and I will be playing lots of things; some of which will sound not too different to the original recorded version, or they’ll be a little bit more elementary in their context and arrangements. It’s for the Tull fans; it’s an intimate kind of a thing that probably will not be appealing to somebody that knows nothing about Jethro Tull.

Have you any concerns at all that you’ll get questions that you don’t want to answer, or are you looking forward to seeing what comes up?
Oh, I’m very much looking forward to it! You know, the worst thing that’s going to happen is someone’s going to ask me something, and I‘ll say; “oh, I can’t remember anything about that!” Or; “oh, that never happened”. They could be recipients of false information they’ve gleaned from the internet, and I will be quick to point out that while Mr. Google is an endless source of amusement and fun, as indeed is his second-cousin Mr. Wiki, we can’t always believe what we read.

Have you found that in the past, that erroneous stories get repeated?
Some things do get endlessly copied and pasted, and they’re based on some sort of folklore-ish or even scurrilous untruth in the first place. So when people ask me about my “feud” with Robert Plant, then they can expect a sharp retort, because there was never a feud between me and Robert Plant; it’s one of these absurd things that seems to come up.
​
I had no idea that was even a thing!

I remember meeting Robert Plant, and he said; “I hope we can put that behind us”, and I said; “what?”, and he said; “whatever it as we are supposed to be feuding about”, and I said; “exactly!” We never had a feud, because we didn’t really communicate. Led Zeppelin were Led Zeppelin; they were rock gods, and we were the humble support act. We rarely spoke, particularly to Robert, who was on a higher plane, as a vocalist, and as a person. Jimmy Page was a little bit more friendly, but Bonham, you steered a mile away from, because he was a raving nutcase! He was always polite enough to me, but I probably just saw him on a rare good mood. I think to some extent, the stories of Led Zeppelin being hell raisers who barged their way across America, there is an absolute element of truth about it, but probably wildly exaggerated.

You were contemporaries of Led Zeppelin, none the less.
Well, Led Zeppelin, like Jethro Tull began really, with a background in essentially, black American blues, but clearly it was in the song writing of Page and Plant, that it moved towards something that has every right to be called progressive rock. I don’t think it was a term usually applied to Zeppelin because they were in a world of their own, much of the time. But looking back at it, there’s a lot of their work – things like ‘Kashmir’ – things that are very clever, quite complicated progressive rock ideas, taking elements of rhythm and melody that were quite often deriving in influence-terms from other cultures, other music styles. And so Zeppelin had, rather like Jethro Tull after the first album anyway, a very eclectic mind of musical taste and musical influence.

Both Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin shared a love of Roy Harper, among other things.
Of course, Roy Harper, amongst the various people that came across him back then; a couple of members of Zeppelin, a couple of members of Pink Floyd, and one member of Jethro Tull; we had an affinity with Roy, we played on his records or whatever, so yes, there was a bit of a symbiotic relationship there.

I guess, it’s rather like Jimi Hendrix, if he were alive today, he would be the king of progressive rock, because that’s the only thing you could call his music. It didn’t perhaps go into the more scholarly or academic side of music in the way that perhaps Emmerson, Lake and Palmer or even Yes, in a way, but none the less it was still taking music away and beyond the thing that it began being in the era when rock music came out of; essentially black American blues and Jazz. In the days of early Elvis, rock music was something that essentially, was about three or four minute pop songs, simple stuff, but progressive is about taking ideas forward.
​
Of course a lot of self-indulgent, anally-obsessive meandering went on, but you’ve got to take a few wrong paths in a maze in order to find your way successfully to the exit. I think that’s probably true of all of us. I think a thing that most progressive or prog rock musicians have in common is a low boredom threshold, and that defines essentially what progressive rock is about. We get bored with doing something that seems too much dependent on what went before. We want to try and move onwards and put our own stamp on the music; even if it’s more of a muddy footprint than a delicate imprint on the lunar surface.
Jethro Tull had huge success when prog was at its height in the ‘70s, but a lot changed as the new decade arrived; did the band struggle to fit in?
Well on the inside, we didn’t struggle at all. We were quite impassioned and moving to the next thing, but more or less in cheerful oblivion of what else was going on in the music, which was the ‘80s; it was synth-pop; it was Marc Almond; it was Gary Numan, and although I wasn’t enamoured with the music when it came about, I’ve since come around to the idea that this was another great decade of British music that exported itself around the world and showed the independence and the creativity of another generation of younger musicians.

Marc Almond was a fan of Jethro Tull and progressive music.
Marc has recently turned 60, and I was a guest at his concert at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of weeks ago; “I was 13 when I heard this song, ‘The Witches Promise” [mimicking a nervous Marc Almond talking to the audience], and he was so nervous about getting up and playing one of our songs! It was very endearing! You forget that music is passed on like a baton in a relay race, just as I, in some ways inherited the music of anything from Muddy Waters to Beethoven, so did people like Marc Almond inherit some of the early efforts of Jethro Tull. As indeed did the Sex Pistols did; Johnny Rotten was a bit of a fan of the ‘Aqualung’ album, not that of course he would have admitted to it at the time. If he had, then Malcolm McLaren would have probably fired him from the band for sullying their reputation and their public image!
​
Finally, you’ve been hinting that new Ian Anderson music is forthcoming for the last year or so; have you any update on how that’s progressing?
Well, this interview might have concluded with me saying; “yeah, I’ve just finished the last mixes of the new album!”, but the reality is that yet again, I had January and February set aside for working to complete the new album, and that has just disappeared, day after day with the various other things that can’t wait that I just have to get on with. I think that Christmas Day was my only day off! I’ve been working every day since about that time last year, and whilst I have some completed, finished mixed songs, I still have a few that need to be completed, and another five tracks to record, which are all written, and in a sense ready to roll and get on with. But it is finding the free days with my schedule to be able to do that. So, I can confidently predict that sometime in the next 10 years, this album will be released! [*laughing*]

Can you give us a hint of what direction it’s taking?
It’s another of those albums that is loosely defined as being ‘progressive rock’; it’s a thematic, conceptual album that has, I think, quite carefully considered lyrical references. But giving the game away saying; “well, this is what it’s about”, it rather takes the fun out of it for people who are going to look behind the lyrics and see what is the common thread. If I read novel or see a movie, I don’t want everything laid out in front of me; I want to be challenged a little bit and contemplate stuff and come up with my own considered evaluation; I don’t want it all presented on a plate.

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