Who was the first musician to give your goose bumps ?
Tina Turner . Working with her was amazing . I used to go to see her in the clubs when I was in my late teens , early 20s before she hit the big time . It was incredible to watch her . It was such a privilege to have sung ‘ It ' s Only Love ’ with her , especially since I was only 24 at the time .
What is the best thing an upcoming musician can do with their life ?
Get into music because you love music , not to become famous . If your dream is fame , you have set yourself up to be disappointed .
Is there anything that you do every single day ?
A ritual for making or playing music , perhaps ? Fruit and veggies , with the occasional cup of tea .
What was your first impression of India ?
On my first trip to India , there were no cars to collect us , so Keith my guitarist and I got in a taxi from the airport . The suspension was broken in the car so we leaned over the seat to watch where we were going . Along the way we had to stop because an elephant had gone to sleep in the middle of the road . That story would not happen anywhere else in the world , welcome to India .
Tell us about your India tour . Are you excited and is there anything special for the Indian fans ?
We have a great show in store , our best work . We spent months preparing this tour , it ’ s a long way from our first tour of India . It ’ s a long way from our first tour of India where the light switches were large levers beside the stage . It ’ s always an adventure when I ’ ve been here . This will be our fifth tour of India , I ’ m not sure many artists have done that from the West .
What ’ s your perception about India and the music in India ?
Well it goes without saying your finest musician is AR Rahman , I ' ve also admired the great Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka , who is also an excellent sitar player .
The gigs are lined up in support of your current 21 track compilation , could you elaborate a little bit on the line up ?
It ’ s called the Ultimate tour because of the album we released last December called ULTIMATE . It ’ s a collection of songs which truly represent the live show , even the arrangements on some of the songs in this collection are slightly different . The tour itself , as I said earlier , took a lot of work to put together , it has literally taken two years . As a songwriter and musician , you are always creating – it ’ s what you do . So even though I ’ ve released an ‘ ultimate ’ collection , I ’ m always looking ahead . There are two new songs included … both written this year with the message that love still counts , even in uncertain times .
What ’ s your take on the current music scene worldwide ? How has it changed ?
I think all of it is the same really . There are artists that will last for a long time , and there are artists that are shooting stars and burn bright for a moment . That ’ s the way it is . I ’ m more like one of those space stations that floats along and every now and then an astronaut pops out and says hi . Rock has been dying a slow death on the charts for a long time , yet for the most part , rock acts dominate the live concert scene still
What ’ s your message for your fans in India ?
I ’ m really looking forward to the gigs ; we ’ ve always loved playing there . We ’ ll be playing all the songs you know and love , and have possibly heard . Come and see the show !
The Score Magazine
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Favourite song of all time- Changes – by David Bowie
One song of yours that you can ’ t stop listening to till date- 18 Till I Die
If there is one thing you ’ d like to change in the world of music , what would it be ? Artists shouldn ’ t be fooled by the internet — concentrate on the songs more than social media . No matter what , you have to realize your worth . Your music is a valuable thing , and once you give it away , it ’ s very hard to get it back
Describe your music in one single word- Rocking
Your idol- My brother .