Music is life. It showed me I could follow my passion and make it my job. I’m a lucky guy.
Is there a country you haven’t played that you would like to ? Australia! That would be a dream come true.
How did you get the job with the Tygers ?
In the past I have been lucky not to have had to audition for a band. Firstly, I was contacted by a Swiss management company who said a British band are looking for a new singer. Without knowing the name of who it was, I sent my CV and recordings from the album released by my band Mantra.
So, when I got the confirmation it was the Tygers and they wanted to audition me, I said to myself ‘Why not? Let’s do the first and hopefully, only audition of your life’. I went to Darlington on November 4th 2004 ….and got the job!
Is there a good balance of characters in the band ?
It’s a five-piece band and we all have different characters, more important, very different musical tastes. This is a bonus but sometimes it’s not easy to combine everyone’s point of view on a song, if you know what I mean.
We are all very passionate when it comes to Tygers songs.
You just recorded the new album, how did that go ?
It was tough but rewarding. We were forced to delay the recording twice because we didn’t feel we were ready to record. It wasn’t an easy decision to take but the best.
The eleven tracks on the new album are the best we could ever record. I know it sounds like a cliche, but after all the hard work, we’re all very proud of the result.
How did you get on with the producer and former Tyger, Fred Purser ?
I personally enjoyed every moment spent in the studio with Fred. He is such a talented guy and made me feel at home. I only had six days to record and believe me it’s not very much when you have to record eleven songs plus a couple of bonus tracks.
But I made it and have to thank him for that. Also, we discovered we have a passion for craft beers. So, after recording we managed to ‘indulge’ drinking some really good ones.
Who were your early influences in music ?
I love rock ‘n’ roll from Chuck Berry to Slayer but the first record that really blew me away was Dark Side of the Moon. I have memories of me, about 4 or 5 years old, listening constantly to On the Run.
The first record I bought, or should I say I asked my father to buy was the Queen album A Night at the Opera. Still one of my favourite albums of all time.
I’m a record collector – the boys in the band can confirm that – so you can find me at festivals looking at record stalls. When it comes down to singing, the choice would go to Robert Plant, early David Coverdale, Phil Mogg, Paul Rodgers…the list may go on and on.
What has been your best gig with the Tygers so far ?
There has been a few. I always enjoy playing the Bang Your Head Festival in Germany. A memorable day was at a festival in Northern Spain where we played a great set and then had the pleasure to hang around with Cheap Trick, then saw the set by John Fogerty with Ty Tabor from King’s X.
Have you got any gigs lined up for the new album release ?
During November we are going to play the UK and Europe. Before that we play Dusseldorf with Diamond Head, Doro and Saxon on 26th October 2019.
Since this interview Saxon have been forced to postpone all upcoming gigs in 2019 due to frontman Biff Byford undergoing heart surgery. Get well soon Biff.
‘White Lines’ will be the first single, released on 27th September on all platforms, and a 12″ vinyl limited release of 500 copies for all you collectors will be available from:
http://targetshop.dk/…/tygers-of-pan-tang-white-lines-12vin…
For further information contact the official website:
http://www.tygersofpantang.com/official/
Interview by Gary Alikivi August 2019.
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK 