John Waters - Vocals.
Stewart D’Arrietta - Keyboards.
Paul Berton - Guitar.
Tony Mitchell - Bass.
Hamish Stewart - Drums.
Influences
The Beatles
John Lennon
Elvis Presley
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
The Yardbirds
The Small Faces
Spencer Davis Group
The Band
Jacques Brel
More about John Waters
The below Q&A session was compiled by the webmistress and several of John’s fans who are regular visitors to the JohnWaters.info website in August 2007.
Q: We are well acquainted with John Waters the actor. Tell us something about John Waters the singer that we may not know.
A: My father bought me my first guitar when I was 10 years old and the first song I learned to play was ‘Dream Lover’ by Bobby Darin. At 15 I joined a band of older guys (18-20) who heard me playing and singing and wanted a bass player/vocalist. I had to learn bass. The band was called the Riot Squad – later re-named The Riots to avoid confusion with a Liverpool band. We played gigs all over the South West London area and occasionally elsewhere. The music was solid blues mixed with a few pop songs, and I played with the band for nearly 4 years.
Q: Many of your fans have seen you sing in stage musicals over the past (almost) 40 years. Is there a musical you haven't performed in that you would really love a role in (and what role)?
A: Being a singer got me into theatre via the rock musical ‘Hair’. I figure there are four great roles in musicals that are in my range, and they are: Professor Higgins in ‘My Fair Lady’; Captain Von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music’; Fagin in ‘Oliver’; and Arthur in ‘Camelot’. Of these the last, Arthur, is the one I have not yet played but look forward to someday.
Q: Yourself and many other artists have proven that Lennon-McCartney music and lyrics are as relevant and influential today as they were 30 or 40 years ago. Can you name 5 artists of today’s generation that you believe will be considered relevant and influential 30 years from now?
A: No but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any – just that regretfully I’m not au fait with today’s music. How old does that make me sound? I listen to it but it doesn’t move me, although something will always crop up that I like.
Q: Who was in your record collection in your youth and what influence did they have on you ?
A: My records were Elvis, Beatles, Stones, Dylan, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Spencer Davis Group, The Band – and the songs of Belgian star Jacques Brel.
Q: Which artists have influenced you throughout the years after your youth?
A: The above remain of course, but there is a massive mix of stuff – compilations are a good idea for me because I can get bored listening to one artist for too long.
Q: Who is in your cd collection today - which artists and their albums do you listen to the most?
A: I have liked a lot of people over the years, but real influences are, I believe, the original ones. We will all always love the music we loved when we were fifteen and having our first crushes. In my car right now, which is really the only place I actually listen to music is, the soundtrack from Two Gentleman of Verona (I love it), Beatles (various albums), Elvis greatest hits, and some recordings of my own that I’m working on.
Q: Can you share the most memorable concerts you have ever attended and why they were memorable?
A: I saw Jacques Brel at the Olympia in Paris in 1966. Before that I saw Ray Charles at the Hammersmith Odeon. Landmark events both.
Q: What is your most memorable performance that you have been a part of ?
A: The opening night of ‘Hair’ at the Metro Theatre in Kings Cross in June 1969. I was also in the audience at the memorable ‘The Wall’ concert.
Q: Never mind dinner companions - you are allowed to have a jam session with 6 other people (living or dead) - who would they be and what would you all play ?
A: Jim Keltner on drums, Paul McCartney on bass, Billy Preston on keyboards, Ian Gilmore on guitar, Bobby Keys on Tenor sax and Janis Joplin as fellow vocalist. We would play and sing rock and roll.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island - name the 5 albums you absolutely couldn't survive without.
A: The White Album – The Beatles; Electric Ladyland – Jimi Hendrix; The Band – The Band; Highway 61 revisited – Bob Dylan; The number one hits of Elvis Presley.
Q: What type of satisfaction do you get from performing a concert in front of an audience ? Is it the same as a theatrical audience - or different ?
A: Music is capable of communicating emotions beyond words. That is what makes a concert such a great experience.
Q: How do you juggle your acting commitments while touring with your live gigs and recording an album ?
A: At the moment I work on the music side of things in breaks from TV series work. At times, it has been the other way round.
Q: Tell us something about the songs on your new album? What style are they and what are they about?
A: I have written some songs that are inspired by, or half fictionalised versions of events in my own life. I think its best to write what you know, even if its so sparse or cryptic that the meaning is open to interpretation. Some songs will be just rock n roll – the usual themes of sex, cars and good times and bad. The style is basically organic guitar based rock quintet – drums, bass, keys and two guitars – with other colours added on certain tracks.
Q: Will you do some gigs dedicated to your new album or will you combine it with your Lennon Tributes (Glass Onion, The White Album, Let It Be) ?
A: We’ll be touring with our own material, plus certain covers that I’m used to doing, or that I particularly feel I can do in my own way. Doubtless a Lennon tune will sneak in there somewhere.
Q: Audiences never tire of your Looking Through A Glass Onion production and new audiences continue to discover John Lennon via the show. Will you continue to tour with Glass Onion for years to come ?
A: The demand for Glass Onion always seems to be there. Never say Never!
Q: What will John Waters be doing in 2 years time ?
A: Ha, come on, I could be running a chippy in Harrogate for all I know!
Sounds Like
John Waters - Coloured By The Blues
Looking Through A Glass Onion:
Interview with John on 9am With David & Kim. 28 August 2007. John and Michael McCormick discuss the upcoming production of Rocky Horror. Thanks for recording it Rachael !
John Waters is as much known for his singing as his acting. A man who is so versatile that he can leap from playing a rebel rock doc surgeon in the hospital drama All Saints, to rocking it out on stage with the likes of the brilliant Glass Onion Band, Leo Sayer, Christine Anu, Rick Price, Jon Stevens and Jack Jones.
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This profile is maintained for and on behalf of John Waters by Karina Taylor - webmistress of the Official Fan Site JohnWaters.info. Please note - John wont necessarily see your personal messages, but he will see your comments - so post away !!!
wish you a great new week with a lot of happyness and smile.. take care my friend... greez from Stuttgart/Germany... Love & Hugs & Peace... *anja* ;-)))....
