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Batttttty
has a blinking good chat with
Tristan Greatrex
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Tristan is the fella who has left his mark on almost as many of
Michael Schenker's albums as Michael himself. The MSG logo and
much of the artwork was created by him. He also opened many people's
eyes to the UFO reunion in 1995 when he started his UFO website
as a 'Thank You' for the Walk On Water cd.
So.... let's shut our eyes and listen to what he has to say. Oops,
no, better open your eyes if you want to read it! |
Which
was the first UFO gig you ever went to? It
was a local gig in Bracknell (UK) in 1979 with Paul Chapman having
just replaced Michael Schenker on Guitar. Everyone was talking about
the Strangers In The Night album and 'Schenker Is God'. Paul had
a tough act to follow but he did remarkably well to follow the finest
LIVE album of all time.
Did you come out of that gig feeling taller, stronger, richer, more
intelligent, more attractive to the opposite sex, and more confident
- in a "we're the boys, we've got nothing to lose" kinda
way? I
loved Phil Mogg's presence on stage, very cool, he was to me like
Robert Plant from Led Zep. He didn't have to try, and 'COOL' was
the perfect word for him. His performance was effortless and to
me that is PHIL MOGG. Pete Way was in contrast, 100 miles an hour
and the energy was oozing. Andy Parker was the power machine and
stunning. Paul Raymond was Paul Raymond.
What
was the UFO song that put you on your path to UFO addiction? Let
It Roll, the opening track from the FORCE IT album. I remember looking
at the cool album cover and hearing the riff. The lead solo had
so much feel it made me want to pick up a guitar. High Flyer was
my favourite after a few hundred listens, so melodic.
How long was it before you started making the UFO logo out of mashed
potato, and started getting up in the middle of the night to carve
the UFO logo onto the roof of your house, and other peoples houses
too? Once
Lights Out had been released, I was sketching the logo all over
my school books. Try Me was written as an instrumental but Phil
loved it so much he added the lyrics and the combination of this
has made it one of the classics. SUPERB!!! LOVE TO LOVE for me was
UFO's flagship. All the bands have a classic. Deep Purple has 'Smoke
On The Water', Led Zep has 'Stairway', Guns N' Roses have 'Sweet
Child Of Mine', Uriah Heep have 'The Wizard', Wishbone Ash has 'Blowin'
Free'. I'd better stop there as I am showing age here but proud
to have grown
up during this time. |
When
did you start your website? I
started the website back in 1995, inspired by WALK ON WATER, which
is my all time favourite album. Simply it has the best versions
of Doctor Doctor and Lights Out and for me Michael's playing is
the best ever.
The opening track was, for me, the sound and feel of the current
'rock' bands. A Self Made Man had it all and then followed up with
Venus, the song that sums up UFO as a great rock songwriting band.
Phil shines through and finishes the album with another 'Love to
Love' in the form of Dreaming of Summer. The lyrics capture and
relate to all of us who live in the UK and remind the world that
UFO are quite simply the best UK rock band EVER. Yeh.....
oh YEH! |
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Your
website was what got many a UFO fan, new to the internet, back into
the fold. So many fans from the glory days didn't even know about
Walk On Water until the day they bought a computer, set up their
internet connection, then immediately did a search on 'UFO and Michael
Schenker', and sat there stunned with amazement when they found
your site - I know this is true cos so many people have said that's
exakkerly what happened. And they were blown away when they found
that the band were back together again. So... after all the years
of devotion and dedication to the band and to your website, how
did the M--m-m-m-mm-m-m-manchester Incident affect your feelings
towards UFO? (Sorry, I still have trouble saying The M Word). It
made me dissapointed, angry and gave me a feeling of emptiness.
Once again UFO had self destructed. Michael was the source of blame
and there are no excuses to the fans who pay good money to see the
band they love. They look forward to this gig for months and then
get let down. There are thousands of fans who would just turn their
backs on the band and there really is no getting them back. 'Sorry'
doesn't do it.
Did that equate to why you stopped putting so much time into your
website? The
Manchaster gig just put my time into perspective. If there was no
effort from Michael other than a selfish point then I wasn't going
to waste my time promoting UFO and Michael Schenker. Simple. I know
Michael is sorry about that evening but as I said before, no excuses. |
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From 30+ years of music, what is your favourite UFO song?
My
favourite all time song is a Schenker/Mogg song that appeared on
'No Heavy Petting'. Can you guess? 'On With The Action' Why?
Phil's Lyrics paint the story as do so many other songs but it was
the impact it made at the time. I was young. The guitar riff was
a knockout, lyrics made the impact on me and that really is typical
of a 'schenker/mogg' composition.
What are your hopes for the new line-up? Do you see it as a new
beginning? Hopes
are as ever very high. Phil and Pete deserve it and my initial thought
was thats its 'Mogg/Way' but now Paul Raymond is part of the group
then its UFO once more. How
do you think Vinnie and Jason will fit in, musically and also temperament-wise?
Vinnie
will fit in perfectly. He openly says that Schenker was an influence
on his growing up and guitar stamp. He will play melodically as
does Michael and I hope that it isn't flash for flash sake. I am
confident that Vinnie will concentrate on the riffs and combine
this with loads of melodic guitar runs. As for Jason - he be the
closest to Andy Parker that UFO has had since his departure after
Walk On Water. I am looking forward rather than looking at the past
glories. Exactly!!! |
When
Schenkerholics listen to UFO, many of them judge what they're hearing
just on the quality and magic of the guitarwork. For me, it's never
been like that - I experience a UFO song on all levels - the guitarwork,
the lyrics, the passion in the performance, the distinctive vocals,
the drumming (well, no, not the drumming - that's going a bit toooo
far, hahaha) - but yes, as a Complete Thing. How is it for you?
Exactly
as you have said it. UFO has been a great blend of all these. If
I just listened to the guitar work then I would only be an MSG fan
but UFO are more than this. And with such a great vocalist, which
in my opinion is what MSG have lacked since the McAuley Schenker
Group days.
Phil writes some amazing lyrics - he has a way of putting the thoughts
that you didn't even know you were thinking, into words that you
realised you'd been thinking all along, if only you'd known the
words to think those thoughts with. What UFO lyrics strike a special
chord with you? Presently
it's Dreaming of Summer. The aspirations that are conjured up with
that song is enormous. The great thing about UFO songs are that
they fit in with any mood. I am listening to Covenant at the moment
and Miss The Lights and Serenade are buzzing around my head. A great
follow up album to Walk On Water. |
Are
you a 'collector' or are you only interested in the music? Do
you have No Place To Run in all 595786970980789 different coloured
LP covers? Back
in the eighties I collected every form of vinyl - I wanted it
all but in reality you can't spend the time and effort once you
settle down with jobs and family.
How many versions of Rock Bottom did you have in your record/cd
collection at the last count? Every
one of them including MSG versions. Hahaha.
Can you listen to a 3-second clip of a live album/bootleg and
know exactly which gig it came from, which tour it was on, what
the preceeding and following songs were on the setlist, what Phil's
between-song banter was, and what colour socks Mr. Way was wearing?
Tell us how into all that stuff you are. No,
to me thats too complicated and gets in the way of the music.
I love the music and because of this I get familiar, not obsessive.
Although in 1978, I was with OBSESSION. |
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What
about the Schenker/Chapman debate? Which do you consider to be
the best era? Pete
Way sums it up for me in that Michael helped UFO get to the international
acclaim in 1980 and although Paul was there during their most
commercial era, it was sad that Michael didn't experience the
glory days with the band. Michael was innovative and creative.
Paul was outside UFO with Lone Star but it was difficult to fill
in for Michael.
And
how did you feel about what many people call the 'wilderness years'
- Tommy Mac, Laurence Archer etc? Was that still UFO for you?
When
Pete left the band and it was just Phil and Paul, that was not
UFO for me personally. I love the songs and the creativity of
Phil but hearing Tommy play live the classic 'Only You Can Rock
Me' solo at Knebworth was painful. No emotion, just flashy guitar
and thats not what UFO is about.
What
other bands were you into, throughout the UFO years? Uriah
Heep, Wishbone Ash, Blue Oyster Cult, Ozzy, Sabbath, Purple, Gillan,
Iron Maiden, Def Leppard
Are
there any bands these days who you think have got what it takes?
'The
Darkness' will be the next big band. Nowhere near as talented
as UFO but it's 2003!!! Hmmm....
would you ever be seen (a) wearing a Darkness t-shirt, or (b)
standing next to someone who's wearing a Darkness t-shirt or (c)
setting fire to a Darkness t-shirt? If you heard someone raving
about what a brilliant band the Darkness are, would you go over
and have a quiet word with them, even making a play-on-words kinda
thing between 'Darkness' and Light's Out' to help get your point
across...... Please say you would! -----------------------
Hmmm... I'll assume that's a 'No' then. |
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WIth
your background as a graphic designer, you've been responsible
for some of the great UFO/MSG designs, yes? I
designed and produced Michaels 'Thank You', '25th Anniversary
LIVE', 'Unforgiven (MSG Logo) and 'BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert'
(Photo, logos and profile). Wow!
... and talking of 'WOW'........ what
about those posters for the Walk On Water tour...? The
p osters
are a sore point. I created the Walk On Water tour posters but
management and band members dissagreed as to how it should be.
I spent £2000 of my own money in getting 5,000 made and
didn't receive a penny. I still have thousands in the garage.
(Click
on the photo on the left for larger pictures of the Walk On Water
posters)
What
do you think of the UFO spin-off projects? $ign of 4, MSG etc?
$ign
of 4 was excellent. A tribute to Phil. MSG is a great solo vehicle
for Michael and part of rock history. Waysted has also gone in
the hall of fame and Mogg/Way was again very good. I'd rather
have the band members create than have 5 or 6 years go by without
a sound. |
What
things do you like to do in your spare time - hobbies and interests
etc.? I
am a huge squash fan - I play for my home town in the Berkshire
Squash league. I also play in the business
leagues.
Isn't
that a little too excessively energetic? Or maybe you just like
being Pushed To The Limit, huh? Don't you do anything a bit more
laid back? I
have created the image of local band 'Beats Working', having designed
and created all their album covers and website.
That's a bit more like it! 'Squash' indeed....
it's a great name for a game, but in its present form it's not
my cup of rocknroll tea.
You're also a very proud family man as we can see in this photo
here with your daughter Bronya. Now I can see where Schenker got
his ideas for his 'new look' from. Blimey... Great photo though! |
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What
brought about the 'Rise Again' of your website? I
was inspired by the 'Classic Rock' and 'Powerplay' articles as
well as the News that UFO were recording a new album. I want this
band to last forever and if that's without Michael then so be
it. I believe Michael will always be part of UFO and as we all
grow older together, we appreciate the contribution every member
has made. Very true!
Do
you promise, under oath, and with your right hand on your signed
copy of the Pete Frayn UFO Family Tree from the Headstone LP,
that now you have given your website the kiss of life that it
so desperately needed, you will keep it regularly updated and
treat it with the tender loving care that a website devoted to
the best music-makers in the world deserves? You'd better. Or
you'll have Me to deal with..... I
wouldn't dare cross the Battttty! The difficulty is that we all
have the same goals to promote the artists/bands we love but there
is only so much information that we can all share. The problem
is trying to get that information from the management company.
I agree! My goal is to present my
website in a way that it is enjoyable to visit and has accurate
information displayed. There is a fine balance and I really do
feel that all the websites do this really well. I am proud of
being part of that community and feel the love and enthusiasm
radiating out from all of YOU. Love to love
to love you! |
This
interview © Batttttty - 7th October 2003 |
| Tristan's
Studio - where lots of work takes place |
Tristan's
Website - where lots of work is going to take place. Oh yes indeed! |
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