DEL BROMHAM, guitarist with the legendary British rawkkkband STRAY, is about to go out on the road with Leslie West on the BLUES TO DIE FOR tour.

He's also just recorded a new solo blues album - DEVIL'S HIGHWAY -  and has recently launched a stunning new website.

Here he tells us about being custard-pied by Paul Stanley, being managed by Charlie Kray, drinking with Fin of Waysted, evading arrest with Ozzy, and being covered by Tina Turner. Hmmm... I know which one I'd find most scary...

OK, here ya go...

We'll talk about Stray in a bit, but first I want to ask you about this new road you're setting out on.... the Devil's Highway. How did this come about and how long have you been working on the album, etc. Tell us all about Devil's Highway, and why you're branching out now as a solo performer. I never really considered myself a blues player, but there are those who have described me as a blues-style guitarist. That description has cropped up many times over the years. It was suggested some time ago by a couple of people in the 'biz' that I should do one, but I'd put it off mainly due to commitments with Stray - and I felt that if I did do a blues style album, I wanted to find a reason to do it rather than produce a contrived product. I thought of doing cover versions of old songs, but when I looked around I found that most artistes seem to do exactly that. So I scrapped any ideas I had and went back to the drawing board.
I decided to write some new songs which are in the style and the spirit of the old blues men and along with my recording engineer, Paul Kennedy, I hope to have achieved that. There are eleven tracks. Nine are new, but the album also includes a song which I first heard when I was about 7 years old called 'Careless Love'. My brother Alan had an EP by Big Bill Broonzy and it's a tune that's been in my head since then. That song felt right to do as it was my introduction to the blues. Another song I have chosen is 'That's Alright Mama' written by Arthur Crudup, but more people will recognise this one by Elvis Presley. He did a lot to make the blues go out to a larger audience.

There have been various accolades, such as the one written in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (© Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2002) which place your guitar skills alongside those of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton. Blimey. How does it make you feel when you read things like that? Stunned - AAARGH!!!! I can't find a suitable adjective!!!! I gew up listening to, amongst others, the Yardbirds - which featured both Clapton and Beck, so consequently on a personal level I know how important they were to me. So if others are putting me up there with them I cannot think of a higher accolade. Truth is I never really rated myself as anything special on guitar. I always thought of myself as the songwriter who happened to play guitar because there was no-one else around at the time. I know Pete Townsend feels the same way. Thank you, whoever! I am very humble!

The Stray album Mudanzas went gold, yeh? But Stray never got the fame and fortune that should have followed. Why do you think you weren't a household name along with the likes of Beck, Page and Clapton (apart from the fact that you didn't know Me back then, or of course you'd have been huuuuuuuuuuuuge). No I didn't know you back then - where've you been all my life girl? Simple really - money!! Other than being in the right place at the right time, we never had the record and management companies which our contemporaries had at that time. Also we were young and we changed management company at the wrong time. It's amazing really, but the fact is we were expected to be the next Led Zepplin or Free at that time, but fate decided that was not to be. I'm sure it's all down to luck at the end of the day. One decision, right or wrong, can change your life!! Very true - and Mr. Bat will confirm this!

Inspiration for me, head and shoulders above everybody else, were The Beatles. Our ambition was to be a big as The Beatles. Also The Small Faces, Yardbirds, Rolling Stones and almost anything that came out on the Stax and Tamla Motown record label. The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic mainly because of Steve Winwood (my hero!) I admire Jeff Beck - I can't think of anyone else who has stayed innovative and is a continual inspiration to so many. No-one plays like him and he still looks exactly the same. As for today, there is a lot of new talent around. Unfortunately the biz has turned into a short-term manufacturing machine where longevity and development of an act seems to be of very little concern. Everyone seems to want to make a fast buck! It's a shame a lot of talent will get wasted and never get to fruition. There's a band called Relish I like. They write good songs have good vocal harmonies. Muse - they're another good band. Train, they've got a very good singer and as for singers have you heard that new young girl Joss Stone. She has got one of the best voices I have heard in years. Her album the Soul Sessions is really good.

In the early days, Stray was managed by the legendary Charlie Kray, brother of Ronnie and Reggie. Compared to Sharon Osbourne (or even compared to your current manager) he was probably a pussycat, but looking back, do you think being managed by Charlie - that's Mr.
Kray to you - helped or hindered Stray's progress? Interesting you should mention Sharon. I first met her when she was about 17 or 18 years old. She was very different then to the Sharon as we know her now. Mind you, if you knew her dad, the infamous Don Arden, you could see where she gets it from! It was at her father's manager's office, Jet Records & Management that I first met Charlie. I think it was early 1977, shortly after he left one of Her Majesty's hotels! Wilf Pine had been our manager and he had worked for Don Arden in the 60's, but Wilf's company was on the slide so he was rekindling his association with Don. Charlie had a contact who had suggested he should speak to Don regarding his autobiography which he was putting together. I was due to meet Don to discuss a management deal for Stray. So now picture this - one day I find myself in the 'waiting room' of a mansion in Wimbledon sitting opposite Charlie Kray - surreal or what! Just us two sitting there. We struck up a conversation, I don't remember who said what first? Charlie told me about himself and I told him all about Stray. We seemed to talk for ages almost like we'd known each other for ye rs. Obviously due to the length of our conversation we had both been sitting there for some time and it was not the first time that one of my meetings had been postponed. Charlie seemed genuinely interested in Stray.

Charlie was actually a showbiz agent in the 50's and 60's, representing people like Judy Garland and Billy Eckstine. As we sat there, I remember Charlie looked over at me and said "Ere, do you think we are being given the runaround?" I said that this was not the first time this had happened. He said he knew someone who might be able to help. We exchanged phone numbers and within the next couple of weeks, with the help of Laurie O'Leary (who incidentally was the partner of Robin Greatrex / managers of Gary Holton/HMK - that's another story), we announced Charlie was our new manager. Great publicity - we hit the daily papers, photographers took pics of us in the West End of London and we even made it on national TV. The downside were the rumours which circulated. Agencies and promoters were reluctant to get involved fearing it could end in tears! I remember a band supported us and told us they had heard we were 'hard nuts' and we beat up support bands if we didn't like them - ridiculous, we were pussycats. Consequently we all agreed that the situation was not working out. So after a very short relationship Stray and Charlie Kray were no longer an association. However I kept in touch with Charlie and his wife Diane. A smashing bloke - a legend!

A review of one of your Stray albums says you play "a perfect blend of amphetamine fuelled ex-mod, psychedelic and hippy sci-fi time travelling rock!". Oooo-errrrr. Is that how you'd describe it? Absolutely - in fact in the early days we were known as a speed-freak band! People thought we were high on amphetimines - in fact we hardly even took any aspirin. I suppose we were just young and a bit excitable. Mind you we made up for it later - I'm surpised we didn't get a sponsorship deal from Procter & Gamble or Merck Sharpe & Dohme. How did your sound develop over the years - and did each incarnation feel like you were starting out with a new band with a new sound - or was it like picking up where you'd left off? I've no idea how the sound developed. I suppose everything you listen to and everything you read goes into the mincer and comes out via the music. I have been very lucky with the musicians I have worked with with the various incarnations of the band. They have all had the greatest respect for the individuals and music and history that has gone before whilst still introducing something of their own. In this way Stray has been able to continue without alienating our long-standing fans.

The song 'Come on Over' from Saturday Morning Pictures has been likened to an Oasis song. Have you ever had any feedback from the Gallaghers as to whether you inspired their songs in any way? No, I've never heard from the Gallaghers, but I have heard that comparison before. Maybe it's because we have one thing in common - the love of the Beatles. 'Come On Over' from the Mudanzas album is a very Beatle-influenced track - IT'S FAB!!!

Some of our SITN readers are into amps'n'valves in a big way, and want to know what you use.

Stray once supported Ten Years After. Was that fun?That was a long time ago, about 1971 if my memory serves me correctly? but I remember it as being fun. I was much younger then and they were a HUGE band. I'd seen them on the Woodstock festival and I was at Hyde Park when they played there. The icing on the cake though was the day we played the Vienna Opera house, we had soundchecked and Alvin Lee came up and started jammimg with us. I was a very different person then, young and insecure, and decided to play piano and let Alvin play guitar. Nowadays I wouldn't think twice about picking up my guitar and jamming with someone like him. Alvin and his wife invited me over to their house (mansion!) after the tour, but unfortunately I was out on another tour and never did get back in contact. That was one of the biggest regrets of my life, because he was recording at his house with my heroes George Harrison and Ringo Starr and a host of others. The other thing I remember about that tour was that Alvin seemed pretty much on his own. Shall we say, there did not seem to be much dialogue going on between him and Ric Leo and Chic. They still played great though! How do you feel about TYA carrying on without Alvin Lee - and about other bands generally, reforming without a key member? This is a tricky one, because I'm split down the middle (ouch!) between being the musician and the fan. What I mean is, if you have supported a band, particularly if it has been for some time and you have all those good memories and associations with their music, then if a band should continue it's great if it's the same line up. Unfortunately life is not that simple, there are so many factors to take into consideration. I have found people don't like change, but what are the remaining band members supposed to do ?
I had a similar problem a few years back when I was going back on the road under the name Stray. The original line-up had played some shows, Nostalgia is a great place, (but I wouldn't want to live there!) and it was apparent for various reasons that it was not going to work out in the long term. I was being offered more shows but was feeling a little uncomfortable (must've been the incontinence pads!) about using the name Stray, until my publisher, David Howells, said to me that in any other job, what I'd done was like an apprenticeship and there were people out there who wanted to see me play and hear the old songs. That really convinced me it was the right thing to do. So, yes I do think these bands should reform if they feel the desire. They must be self-critical because on the other side of the coin, I have seen a couple of reformations that come over more like tribute bands. As far as TYA are concerned, if Leo had asked me if I was interested in standing in Alvin's shoes (as I recall he wore white clogs a lot of the time!) I would have given it a go. I'm sure their new guitarist has given TYA a new lease of life. Good luck to 'em.

Iron Maiden covered the Stray song All In Your Mind. Which other Stray songs do you think would sound good if they were recorded by other artists - and which bands would you like to hear cover them? There are so many songs and I have to admit that although I mainly write for myself, I very often have a style or an artiste in mind when writing. Also sometimes it helps me to explain to other musicians what I had in mind.
I played with the new Thin Lizzy line up last year. Phil Lynott used to write the bulk of their material, but if they are looking for new songs then I think 'Dangerous Games' would suit them. From Devil's Highway I'd like B.B.King to record 'What's Wrong With You?' Most people I can think of are writers anyway so I doubt if anyone I'd thought of would even consider it. I do write in many varied styles. So I've picked a handful and here's who I'd like to record them....
Maybe You Want Me - Bryan Adams and/or Tina Turner
I Wanna Be Free - The Isley Brothers
Precious Love - Eric Clapton
Knocking On Your Door - Michael McDonald
Time Machine - Oasis or The Stone Roses
The Man In My Head - Oasis or The Stone Roses
One Night In Texas - Status Quo
In Reverse - King Crimson
There you are - you don't get more diverse than that lot! Blimey yeh. I was half expecting you to say The Darkness should cover Stand Up And Be Counted. (I'm not above resorting to every trick in the book to get my SITN interviews found by every damn search engine on the web. The Darkness The Darkness The Darkness - there ya go Mr. Googlespider!) Hey, is it true you were once approached to put a band together with Gary Holton (sadly-departed ex-singer with the Heavy Metal Kids) - what was all that abaaahhhht? Yes that's right. I met Gary on a few occasions and we seemed to hit it off. We had the same sense of humour (very important). At that time he was managed by Robin Greatrex who I'd known for a while via his partner Laurie O'Leary who used to run the famous Speakeasy club off of Oxford Street. Robin came up with the idea. I was a songwriter/guitarist and Gary was a great frontman and it was thought would be a great combination. We never got as far as completting a band line up, although it was suggested we use the other members of Stray with Gary as the singer, but possibly under a different name. Anyway it was never to be, because, as I remember Gary got offered a part in the theatre. I recorded a solo single and formed a band and went off gigging. There looked like another opportunity later, but once again Gary was offered another acting role. Then finally Gary was offered the part of Wayne in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and the rest as they say, is history.

And I heard you almost became a member of Thin Lizzy too, yes? Tell us about that. That was one of the wierdest experiences of my life. I woke up one morning ('I woke up one morning', hahaha) after having a dream that I was in a room playing with Thin Lizzy! I told my wife Jackie about the dream and that was it. I went to my office and latter that morning, around 12pm, she called to say that someone from the Thin Lizzy office called and asked if I could go to Shepperton Studios next week to audition. It took her ages to convince me because I thought she was winding me up! Anyway I telephoned this number she gave me and I spoke to their tour manager and then later to their manager Chris O'Donnell, who I had known a few years earlier. Gary Moore had left the band (not for the first time). It appears my name had come up and they decided to give me a go... I only had a few days to prepare, but as there was lots of twin guitar stuff. I could not always differentiate which guitarist was playing what line - so I learned all the guitar parts and duly went along to Shepperton Studios. Although on the same gig circuit, I had never met any of the band before, so I felt a little uneasy and a bit in awe of the situation. I was all set to play anything they threw at me from their repetoire. Phil (I suppose understandably) wasn't really interested in playing their songs over again, he just wanted to jam. Brian Downey was a very nice guy. He suggested I show him one of my songs. Scott Gorham, was being Scott Gorham ('nuff said).

Anyway we played a few of their songs. I remember playing the solo in 'Still In Love With You' and afterwards Phil said to me "Well you can sure play the fookin' thing". I'll always remember that. We said our goodbyes, I went home and waited to hear from them. Chris O'Donnell told me a few days later I was on the short list, in the final 3! But the story goes that they had a tour of Japan thrust on them at short notice. Scott Gorham's friend Dave Flett from Manfred Mann's Earthband jumped on board and played the tour dates as he was able to get together with Scott. On their return Snowy White joined (he audtitioned after me as I recall). So unfortunately I didn't quite make it. That could have changed my life. I think that was around 1981.

One of my SITN boyyyyyyys in America is a huuuuge Stray fan, and he asks... did you ever do any gigs with a London-based band called Bearded Lady? Not sure why he's asking, but... there ya go. No I don't remember them - sorry!

One thing which I only found out recently is that you played guitar on the theme tune of British TV series The Office - and of course Fin of Waysted did the vocals for that. Tell us about working with Fin. Is he as barmy as we think he is? Of course he is - silly question! But tell us about working with him anyway. Our SITN readers love Fin to bits.

Fin is the epitome of the 'Rock Star'. Looks good - sings good and acts 'BAD'..... seriously though, he's great to work with. Every now and then you meet someone who's a natural and a real character - that's Fin. We have done a couple of recording sessions together and we have played some gigs together with a band called 'The Business' - a 10 piece soul band. Great fun.
He once managed a music venue in Milton Keynes called 'Dukes'. The walls were lined with empty bottles of Buckfast wine. They were all Fin's..... bloody hell can he drink!!!!! Yeh - he's had plenty of practice! As for 'The Office', I reckon if the BBC had been a little quicker, we could have had the hit with 'The Handbags And The Gladrags', we might have had the hit before The Stereophonics. Truth is, in the beginning, the BBC did not have very much faith in 'The Office'. If only anyone could have forseen how succesful it was about to be.

RUSH - last night of the tour, Richie Cole and I grabbed a couple of brown overalls and a couple of yard brooms and walked on stage and began sweeping up just as Geddy Lee was about to introduce the next song. I was telling him on stage it was about time he was off home. Back at the hotel, Alex Lifeson came down dressed in a silk smoking jacket, hair slicked back, cigarette holder and spent the rest of the evening speaking in a ridiculous German accent. A funny bloke and a great band.
SABBATH - Ozzy nearly got us all locked up in LA... he came to see us play at the Starwood in Hollywood. After the gig he asked if we could give him a lift back to the Beverly Hilton where he was staying. On the way our car was pulled over by a policeman on a motorbike. While he was talking to our driver and checking his licence etc, I realised that Ozzy was wriggling around on the seat next to me. I didn't think much of it at the time because I was more interested in the conversation with the policeman and our driver. Anyway we eventually continued on our way and dropped Ozzy off at his hotel. The next day we got in the car and right where he had been sitting was a cylinder about twice the size of a photo film canister and WADDAYA KNOW? It was full of a powder-like substance! I don't think that motorcycle cop would have been too impressed... however it least it was good to know that Ozzies' wriggling around on the back seat was not down to painful haemorroids!

CANNED HEAT - Bob Hite was the huge (I won't use the word fat - ah! bollocks just have!) singer/harmonica player. He used to walk into the gigs at soundcheck time calling out words to the effect of "Hey where's that skinny little cockney bastard". We have developed a little rapport like this you see. Now back in 1975, I was, as Bob so eloquently put it 'skinny'. He and I stood side by side on this particular night and it was decided we should check out what the waist sizes on our Levi jeans labels read. Mine read 26" waist (I said I was thin) but Bob's measurement was 56" waist! Nobody had a camera to record the moment. After another gig one of the guitarists was really into collecting old Cajun and blues singles and had a little portable record player and invited Richie Cole and myself back to his hotel to listen to the records and try out this thing which was new to me at the time called a 'bong'. Well we got so stoned with the aid of this bong... but we somehow managed to get the hotel receptionist to call us a taxi to take us back to our hotel. The next day we were recalling the events of the night before with the other members of our band. Someone asked "You got a taxi back here?". "Why yes" I replied. Richie and I didn't think that was so odd. Until they led us to the front doors of our hotel to point out to us that on the other side of the road (ok it was a big road - dual carriageway even), was the hotel where Canned Heat were staying. So basically the taxi driver drove us up the freeway off at the exit and back down and dropped us off. I don't remember how long the journey was or how much it cost. But it probably wouldn't have taken five minutes to walk it... hey ho... rock and roll!!!

What are you most proud of, from your career so far? What songs, what events, etc? And in your life, what are you most proud of? I don't wish to sound blase, but I made my first public appearance when I was 13 years old and I have so many memories, most of them good ones. So I wouldn't know where to begin..
In brief I suppose making our first album - I remember walking into a gig, The Farx Club in Potters Bar, and our managers at that time had a copy of the first album sleeve standing waiting for us to see; opening the music papers to see the second album 'Suicide' go into the album charts at number 23; recording with members of the London Symphony Orchestra on the 'Stand Up And Be Counted' album and receiving some very complimentary comments on my songwriting ability and musicianship. That did so much for my confidence; The first tour of the USA; meeting many of my heroes over the years and I wish I'd taken an autograph book with me; Iron Maiden recording 'All In Your Mind'.
I have two daughters Zoe and Jodie who have grown into beautiful people depsite having me for a dad and despite all of my musical ups and downs. I suppose what really fills me with pride is when someone tells me of a special moment in time associated with one of my gigs or a specific song. When you touch someone that deeply like being part of the wallpaper of their lives, it's very difficult to put that emotion into words. I know just what you mean. I gets emails all the time from my SITN boyyyyys, and yeh, it makes ya feel very worthwhile, but at the same time very humble. (Note to all you SITN fellas who are reading this.... I was lying about the 'humble' bit. Batttttty don't do 'humble).

OK, so... now that you're on a solo path, what will happen to Stray? Stray, myself, whoever - well we've never had a big plan or strategy. We just keep going. The past 18 months or so have been very busy. We have probably played to around 200,000 people around Europe. In that time, drummer Paul's wife had a baby boy and he has seen very little of him. We don't have the big cheque book or huge organisiation behind us, so it looked like we were just going to set back on the road and do more of the same gigs again. So for the first time in years, we felt it was the right time to take a breather. Paul could spend some time with his family. I could do this solo project which had been hanging around for some time, but which I'd never had the time to do anything about. What we would like to do as a band is to come back with a new album and a tour later in the year. We would like the next one to be slightly different. I'm not sure how - heavier maybe? Well I think it definitely needs a re-think on the sleevenotes darlin, viz-a-viz...... a certain name needs writing large... you get what I'm saying? Yes Ma'am. OK, now looking to the future, where do you see Del Bromham in five years time? It's a bit dangerous to talk about at this stage because things change and people always come back and say ''eeeere, you said this and that and so and so and so''.....You just never know what tomorrow will bring. As for tomorrow... five years from now... who knows? I've always been an optimist - I suppose that's part of what keeps me going. I have a good feeling inside right now. Yeh, being interviewed by Batttttty does have that effect on people. Yeh.... Yeh.... But what I meant is, I hope to meet more people, and work on more collaborations musically and on a business level. I have no illusions of grandeur. If I am still playing to audiences in five years time then that's what I intended to do when I first started - mission acomplished! Well Del me old china, good luck with the DEVIL'S HIGHWAY album, and good luck also with the BLUES TO DIE FOR tour, and good luck with gettin Tina Turner to record 'Maybe You Want Me'. Blimey!

This interview © Batttttty - February 2004