Having already notched up a major comeback British tour with new six-stringer Andy Barnett, melodic rock messiahs FM kicked back into the groove with the release of a new album through Music for Nations. Mark "I'll do it" Blake takes to the streets and finds out why their fire still burns brightly.
HARDER THAN THE REST
If you were going to gigs during the 80s, chances are you would have seen FM at least once. Since their inception in 1985, the band has gigged consistently, threatening to overtake TERRAPLANE (now THUNDER) as the Marquee's resident house band, not to mention some much-coveted support slots to the likes of MAGNUM and BON JOVI on their "Slippery When Wet" tour.
But despite A lucrative recording deal with CBS, consistently good press, and the ever-present allure of fame and fortune across the big pond, FM never quite reached the heady heights of success predicted for them by so many. With only two albums to their name in seven years and enough legal wrangles and management problems to last most bands a lifetime, the future was beginning to look rather bleak for FM. But 1991 finds the band with a new lead guitarist and a new album, Taking It to the Streets (scheduled for a September release) and currently in the middle of a British tour that is beginning to look like a promoter's wet dream!
In fact, as myself, bass guitarist Merv Goldsworthy, and new guitarist Andy Barnett survey the queue outside London's Marquee club on the night of FM's triumphant return, it's hard to believe that they've ever been away.
"Our fans have always been incredibly devoted," smiles Merv, as we settle down for a pre-show drink in the American restaurant just across the road from the venue. "Honestly, you wouldn't believe the letters the fan club used to get. People really do care about this band, they know every song, demand to know why we don't play their favourites, and if we fuck up they let us know."
"I've been genuinely amazed by the response we've been getting on this tour," chirps Andy. "I must admit there have been one or two nights when I've had a bit of a lump in the old throat!"
However successful this tour has been, the last two years haven't been quite such a pleasure cruise.
Merv scratches his head, his eyes, hidden by those traditional dark glasses, can't be seen, but I get the feeling they could well be registering some of the disappointments FM experienced since their second album Tough it Out.
"Things were dreadful for a while. I mean, if there was a mistake to be made, we made it! Some of the management problems this band had were a real nightmare. We're now at the point where we are managing ourselves, at least for the time being,. Music for Nations have picked up on Taking It to the Streets, and we've had to call in a lot of favours from some very old friends. We're using ROD STEWART's sound man on this tour and we're paying him less than half of what he'd normally be getting. The road crew, everybody is really helping us out on this one."
Since Tough it Out was released in 1989, founder member and lead guitarist Steve Overland has quit to be replaced by stalwart session man Andy Barnett.
"Chris had enough," states Merv quite simply. "He waited until a convenient time before telling us, so there was no animosity. He just teaches guitar now full-time. Andy was an obvious choice for a replacement. He's a very old friend of mine and helped co-write 'That Girl,' one of our first ever songs. Basically we wanted someone who had played small venues, large venues, just about everywhere, and with just about everyone. And he's worked with COREY HART, ADRIAN SMITH AND PROJECT, etc., and he knows the ropes. For years now, if you want a great guitarist to play on your record and you don't mind him turning up half-an-hour late, you ring Andy!"
"The guys already had all the material written for the new album," continues the guitarist, "and they'd been demoing it with Craig Joiner (lead guitarist in ROMEO'S DAUGHTER). As soon as I went into the studio I felt right about it."
"It clicked straight away," agrees Merv. "Andy's kept us all on our toes as far as the live show is concerned. We're having a job keeping up with him!"
One of the first things you notice about the new album is how much harder and more guitar-orientated it is compared to Tough It Out and particularly their 1986 debut Indiscreet. Tracks such as "Just Can't Leave Her Alone" and "Hot Love" kick along nicely with a very BAD COMPANY-ish feel that seems to be far removed from some of FM's earlier glossy are moments.
"I think we sound a bit more authentic these days," admits Merv. "In the past we had a tendency to polish everything up and that's how we became labelled with the AOR tag. We are fed up with being compared to JOURNEY because it makes us sound as though we are a formularised band, which were not. When I sit down to write something, this is the way it comes out, I don't set out to write something which sounds as though it's been written for an American radio station."
Andy's quick to explain the band's direction:
"I don't think the songs themselves are that different from what the band were doing before. It's mainly a question of interpretation."
Merv:
"This time the guitars are a bit more up front and we've opted for a traditional keyboard sound, plenty of Hammond organ instead of synthesiser, but the song writing itself hasn't changed. I think a lot of our influences are coming to the fore on some of the tracks, bands like LIZZIE, Bad Company, and UFO, the kind of stuff we all grew up with."
You certainly appear to be showing your true colours with the cover version of FREE's "A Little Bit of Love."
"That was Andy's idea," laughs Merv, "he just started cranking out the riff in the studio and we all joined in."
"We've already written most of the next album with Andy, and that one is going to take it even further towards a harder sound. There's three of these new songs, which we're already playing in the life set, and they're going down very well."
Many of your old contemporaries, such as AIRRACE, GRAND PRIX, and OUTSIDE EDGE have disappeared, or, in the case of Terraplane, grown their hair again and changed their name to Thunder! What is it that has kept FM afloat all these years?
"They've always had the songs," pipes up Andy, "and Steve Overland. Years ago Steve and Danny [Bows of Thunder] were known around London as the kids with the voices. They were always the ones to look out for."
"We've all kept a real belief in this band," states Merv, "but, looking back on it, although we've had some setbacks, which weren't our fault, I don't think we honestly deserved the success a lot of people were claiming we should have had. I don't think we were good enough," he adds with alarming honesty, "but we are now. I've learnt a few lessons personally, and we've all learned to trust our instincts a bit more.
Music for Nations appear to be right behind us, and we're hoping the album gets the push it deserves. Maybe we'll even get to the States after years of people telling us that's where we should go! You know it's crazy, a friend of mine worked with REO SPEEDWAGON, and on their last tour he played Tough it Out during the interval, and every night someone went up to the desk and asked who it was!
I finally found out the other week that Indiscreet went top ten in Sweden of all places. I just wish someone had told us a couple of years ago when we were in debt. Would you believe, we've never played there!"
He shakes his head laughing.
"We've had to call in a few favours to get this tour off the ground, but it will pay off. I'm sure of it, we all are!"
Mark Blake
Riff Raff
September 1991
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