Glenn Hughes
April 2008
You have a new solo album coming out that you start promoting in a few weeks with a European tour.
The great thing about this album is that it's a real serious honest album of my personal feelings about music and at this point in my life and times I want my fans to realise how I am as a songwriter and a producer and these songs on this new album are for me some of my finest ever songs I've ever written, ever! It's important to me to present these songs to my fans in Hungary in Budapest.
I could only get the chance to listen to the album a few times today but my first impressions are very good…
Thank you. I mean I'm glad you've heard it and I'm glad you understand what I'm talking about because it's difficult for an artist like myself to talk about the music, I think I want you to hear it and as the kind of singer I am it's important. I think with some bands it's all about the way they look but these songs are about the way I feel and I want my fans to understand the way I feel.
Since Music For The Divine there were two minor releases of yours: a compilation CD and a live CD/DVD package. What should we know about them?
A compilation is something that's I guess needed to be presented. I mean it's songs that come from Trapeze all the way to solo. It was a nice bit of information before this album comes out. I think it sold really well. It's always great for an artist to have a retrospective of his music and I think these songs are a good representation of my whole catalogue. The Live In Australia DVD is also a good representation of my music. It's like to be acoustic with Glenn Hughes. It's very raw, very in the moment, it's very live, it's not fake and it's the acoustic Glenn Hughes.
Did you compile the songs for the "best of" disc?
I did it with Dave Ling who is a writer for Classic Rock. He and I, we basically came up with the songs for this release. I wanted to keep it something personal. Obviously as always there's a lot of funk on there and other good stuff, so I want my fans to know who the real Glenn Hughes is.
And as for the live package, why did you go especially for an Australian recording?
I was there and I just figured out to just record this live. I mean I record a lot of things live now. I could have taken this live from anywhere in the world but I just thought it was important to do it in Australia as I don't play there very often. It was kinda cool to do that. I went to Sydney and it came as a last minute thought like, "Wait a minute, I'll be in Sydney that week. What if I get a film crew and record the event?" It was only a month before the show that I had this thought. I wanted to do something different and record in a town I haven't played solo before.
So when are you going to record a gig on the boat in Hungary?
(Laughs) You never know. Like I say, most shows are recorded. It's a good little venue that boat, I think it's a great little place. I have great fans in Budapest and Hungary. I only started to play Hungary four years ago so it's important for those fans to know that I'm making really artistic music.
Btw, your live disc came out on Edel and not on Frontiers. How come?
This is another great question, very good. Why not have sometimes releases on different labels? I think it's important to see how they do and what they do as promotion. I can always be happy with promotion but I wanted to keep it to a new label.
But the studio album is out on Frontiers, right?
It is. And I tell you why. Because Serafino and the staff at Frontiers really take care of me. I am their number one artist and they promote Glenn Hughes. It's important that they completely promote what I do and they offered me enough reasons to stay with them.
The new album follows Music For The Divine by two years. How much of that time you spent with actual writing?
Oh God, you're talking to someone that writes on a daily basis. I have a studio in my house with all the instruments that I need. All those songs were written in my home studio. These songs in my honest opinion are the greatest songs I've ever written whether it's from Trapeze or Deep Purple or solo. And I was so happy when I was writing these songs over a year ago, when I started to write. And I'll continue to write songs. That's what I do. And I write because it makes me a better person and I love what I do, I love the songwriting process.
Do you also write while on tour?
I do. I always do. I carry machines with me. I don't have a lot of time because I'm doing things in the day, which I wanna keep personal and I like to meditate but I do write on the road. And this year I'm gonna be touring 'til December. When you see me in Budapest I'll be going for another six months after that.
The new album has a very unusual title: First Underground Nuclear Kitchen. Was it something you just made up for FUNK?
Yeah. I wanted also to have something which was fun because some of my album titles have been a little serious. I think this one is a little bit more fun. And also when you use the word "kitchen" it's something cooking and I think this is an album that the music is definitely cooking and it's definitely an album that is super super funky. I mean I don't think you'll hear this year, Zoltán, I don't think you'll hear in the next five years an album from a white artist that is this funky. So I wanted to use the title FUNK.
On the last couple of your solo albums you already moved towards the funky style that fits your voice amazingly well...
Yeah, and I'm not turning back. And you're really good, it's a great statement, I really appreciate the compliment. Bfore Deep Purple there was Trapeze and Trapeze were very very funky. And if you listen to all the work I did with Trapeze or let's just take any song from stuff I wrote with Deep Purple, you'll notice that I wrote very very funky. I am a very very funky writer and I wanted to show my strength as a songwriter, that's why I chose to be funky.
Do you always consider your last album the best one you ever did?
I think so. Look, I knew that Soulmover was the greatest album I ever did and I knew that Music For The Divine was a really great album but in two years time when we speak again when I release my next album if I come to you that album is better than this one then I have a lot of work to do because this album from start to finish I think is the greatest record I've ever made because the songwriting is so amazing. Let's just say this; if this wasn't my album and I was a fan of this kinda music, I would say, "Well, this is the greatest album of this kind that I can hear." The thing about this album is that I'm really amazed that my songwriting has become very strong, even stronger than last year. I love making better music each year. You'll never see me take my foot off the gas. I don't think so. I could go on stage and play twelve Deep Purple songs every night and it would be boring to me. I have to play new exciting fresh music, it's important to me. So I want my fans to know all over the world that when I play in their city they can expect new, exciting, fresh music and when I do that, when I bring to the stage these brand new babies, these children of mine as I call my songs, there'll be a look in my eye, there'll be so much happiness from my face of delivering these brand new songs to a great audience, especially in Budapest. They are great fans of mine. I want them to know, "Go and get the album because you're gonna hear new songs. It's gonna be fresh, it's gonna be funky, people can dance, people can be happy." And I'll be happy.
What sort of lyrical topics are you dealing with on FUNK?
I'm talking about love. I'm not really talking so much about death anymore. On this album I'm talking about what happens to us as human beings again. Some of these songs are about finding yourself, "Who are we? Why are we here?" This album isn't so much about fear, it's about being fearless. The last album was about fear and death and on this one I'm more concerned about where we're going and what can we do on the planet. The song called We Go To War is about why do we have to keep sending children to war? There's a lot of other great subjects now I'm writing about and it's interesting.
What musicians did you record the album with this time?
Louis Maldonado is my guitar player. JJ Marsh plays guitar in two songs, Anders Olinder is on keys and Chad Smith on drums.
How about bringing Chad on tour with you one day?
It's kind of impossible. Chad is now at home and he's actually got his own little band that he's taking on the road a little bit. He's also working with Sammy Hagar and he's very busy. You can see me play with Chad in maybe 4-5 shows this year like in London but it's impossible for him to tour because he's a family man and he's kinda busy. He's my best friend and I don't wanna use him to promote my career always. You'll see Chad with me from time to time.
So what your touring line-up is gonna be like this year?
Louis Maldonado, JJ Marsh, Anders and Matt Goom on drums. It's a great line-up, it's really funky. It's really special.
I really liked the previous line-up with Jeff (Kollman) and Mark (Mondesir).
Yes, I love those guys. They are amazing, they are absolutely fantastic. And you know something? It's even better now. As I said I like to keep it fresh, I like to keep it interesting. Sometimes you have to change people. It's great to have JJ back and Louis Maldonado is my secret weapon. He's 33 years old and he's very very talented and very very funky. And if I'm making funky music it's great to have musicians that understand that. So what you'll see this year is you'll see people that understand the music and that is important.
What songs are you looking forward the most to play live off the new album?
Well, Zoltán, I can say this to you that there'll be at least six songs off the new album. Those songs I keep it personal right now but you can expect half of the album will be played live. At least!
But you wouldn't mind playing the entire album I guess...
I would love to play the whole album but you can't do that unless it's a special evening. You can expect the super funky songs on this album for sure. Half of the setlist will be brand new material. It's very brave but I think an artist like me who's always recreating and reinventing needs to do that. If I was to go see Radiohead I would wanna hear the new album. Maybe if I go see Deep Purple they'll play only old songs or Whitesnake would be only old songs. This is not the way I wanna be remembered. I wanna be remembered as an artist that always plays new exciting music and it's important for people to know this before they come to see me that I'm playing music from the album they have just bought.
I couldn't agree more. I don't like when bands just play a safe setlist with all their big old hits. That's boring to me.
I totally agree. And that's why I like Robert Plant who is a good friend of mine. He likes to play new music and I agree with him. It's important to do that. If the fan wants the artist to be happy such as me then... I can play Burn for the next 20 years and it's 40 years old almost and the fact of the matter is: yes, people wanna hear it and they probably will in Budapest but the thing is that I've gotta play new songs to keep me young as an artist.
Yeah, but I think you just can't skip Burn. (Laughs)
No, I don't think so. They'll go nuts on that one.
You recorded two albums together with Joe Lynn Turner some years ago. Do you see yourself doing a third album in the near future?
No, and I tell you why. If I am going to record an album with let's just say anyone that's one of my friends, I have to record that and then I have to go on the road with that and it competes with my own work. I don't mind so much competing record-wise but I can only tour the world once a year and I choose to do it as a solo artist because it's the purest form of Glenn Hughes. When I toured the world with Joe most of the fans were coming to see me anyway and they were coming to hear my songs. Hughes Turner Project was successful in a way, but it didn't really make me excited about touring.
And can we expect a Hughes/Thrall album or maybe something together with Tony Iommi?
I think there's more chance of Iommi/Hughes than Pat Thrall and Glenn Hughes. I've recorded songs with Pat Thrall in the last ten years that still hasn't been completed. Not my fault. It's Pat has not completed his parts. I completed my parts seven years ago and he hasn't completed guitar parts. It's impossible for me to complete something that somebody doesn't wanna complete. But with Tony we are very close and there's a possibility that he and I will record again next year.
You did a guest appearance on Ken Hensley's last solo album. How did you end up being on there?
Ken's is very old dear friend of mine and he's also spiritual like I am. Ken asked me if I would come to his studio in Spain last summer. I was actually on tour and I had a day free and because I do really care for Ken and he needed my help I chose to go there to his home and record those two songs. It was great for me to help Ken. I think he's a great guy, I think he's a good writer.
But you missed the special release gig in Hamburg...
I did because Alitalia was on strike. Can you imagine, I'm sitting on the plane in Rome airport and they announce that they whole airport has gone on strike and I could not take off. I was very upset.