Alan Price: interviewed February 2003

I do a selection of material from my musical back catalogue, which includes songs from the film, Oh Lucky Man, The Animals hits I played on and music from the Alan Price Set. I have a new album out at the moment called Based on a True Story and I'll play some tracks from that too. We do a couple of hours from the 1960s right through until the present.

Who appears with you?

Zoot Money is in the band. He was a contemporary of Georgie Fame and I and sings and plays keyboards. Then there's Bobby Tench, who played on guitar with Van Morrison and Jeff Beck. He is an ace singer too.

What did you do before you shot to fame and glory with The Animals?

I worked in the tax office.

Were you all Geordie boys?

We were all from different backgrounds.Two were from Byker, one was from North Shields, one from Gateshead and I was from Jarrow. I went to grammar school and a couple of the band had come from art school. So what we had in essence was a stagecoach being pulled in five different directions. Eric was the lead singer and the main focal point of the band. I was the arranger and bandleader and when the spotlight was on just two people the others felt left out. Most people are in show business to show off so when the spotlight isn't on them people feel aggrieved. It's only human nature.

Jazz has been a big influence on your life yet it is usually perceived as being music for the middle-classes.

After the war it was perceived to be very subversive because people with beards and duffle coats played it. A friend who was a chief of police in Sheffield told me they once raided a jazz club and confiscated their instruments because they were smoking pipes and had beards and duffle coats. It was always seen as music for left-wing intellectuals not so much the middle class.

In 1965 you left The Animals on the eve of a tour to Sweden when the band was on the threshold of world domination. Why did you do that?

I was afraid of flying and I couldn't face it. I still hate it and don't do it unless there's a huge pot of gold at the other end and there isn't. You have no idea what it's like when you hate flying. I had to drink a bottle of duty-free vodka before every flight. If you are doing 70 cities in 70 days, that's 70 bottles of vodka, which, even if you are a young man, wears away your constitution.

Would you say you are the Dennis Berkamp of music because you, like him, are so frightened of flying?

You could say he's the Alan Price of football because he came after me.

Was there a lot of bad feeling when you left?

Not really, it was a bit like a transfer in football terms and the band were very professional about it. I even recommended my replacement, Dave Robury, who was a great jazz player.

What do you think of people covering your work?

They're more than welcome to do it. People used to steal from each other even in the classical days. Nothing is original in that sense because everyone begs borrows and steals from everyone. I don't think anyone has covered The Animals' records better than the originals you'll have to go a very long way to find a singer as good as Eric Burden [The Animals' lead singer]. When Eric and I worked together we took material from the likes of John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reid songs and did them in a different way. Being brought up with traditional jazz and the Edwardian music halls, we added a different approach to American blues.

How did that go down in America?

We were recognised as making the blues much more accessible. We were actually warned by record promoters in America to steer clear of black music. When we went to America in 1964 they hadn't passed the Civil Rights Bill and there was still segregation in the south. We were pioneers in a sense because we integrated the first hotel in Alabama in 64 and were threatened because of it. We had a black road manager and we were also threatened because we let him sit in the front of the car. It was quite a culture shock.

Did things go smoothly with the band?

When we signed our deal, the record company had a ready-made band. The first three albums were music Eric and I had done five years previously. But after that, there were all the usual distractions which came with being a rock star, such as girls. It was a problem because I knew how good we were and wanted to improve. We were big in the States before The Stones. We had a number one record and were pioneers of our time. We had a missionary zeal about the music initially but we didn't progress. That had an influence on me leaving as well.

So, you didn't take advantage of the girls, Alan?

I didn't say that.

Do you still have the same audience as all those years ago?

Probably. There are one or two younger ones who come to the shows but you have to be current to attract a younger audience. That would mean doing universities and colleges and they couldn't pay the money to sustain the outfit I take out on the road. To be honest, I don't think the younger generation would find the sort of stuff I do attractive. They've been brought up on a different idea of music.

I wouldn't say that. House of the Rising Sun and Please Don't Let Me be Misunderstood still appear on university jukeboxes. Do you think the youth are missing out these days?

I think they receive their entertainment rather than being active in it. I feel they are missing out of the whole social side of music. When I first started performing we had a crowd which followed us in the same way supporters followed a football team.There was a whole culture attached to it but things have moved on and this does not happen now. [Young people] live in an enclosed and solitary existence with their computers and it's not good because it does not stimulate relationships either. There was a whole structure of music halls and social clubs where you could watch bands but they're not there anymore.

Are you familiar with today's music and the NME?

I stopped reading the NME after it slagged me of for the Jarrow Song in 1974. It said I was a traitor to my class. It hated the fact a protest song could become popular. Some people thought I was cashing in on people's misery. I was asked to do it for an Omnibus programme about me. At first I didn't want to. In fact, the BBC banned the programme because there were two elections that year and it was seen as too political. I was seen as a standard bearer by the left, a traitor to my class from the extreme left and subversive by the right.

What do you think about today's music and the current hit parade?

The charts have no relevance today. They're just there for the benefit of the music industry. I sell enough records at my gigs to guarantee a chart position but if you don't sell your records through the five major music corporations you're not recognised. The BBC also agreed to only broadcast music videos by the big five, which means groups cannot get access to the airwaves or television.

So I take it you aren't a fan of the pop stars phenomenon?

I think you know the answer to that question. At one time you had to learn your trade in music starting in schools, village halls, church halls and community centres. Now it's handed on the plate to youngsters who are spat out by the music industry within three years when they decide to repackage somebody new. Then the process starts again.

Who's your favourite artist?

I would say Ray Charles, who was a fantastic keyboard player and arranger. From a song-writing point of view, it would have to be Randy Newman, who was head and shoulders above anyone else. I had a hit with Newman's Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear. Then there is Stevie Wonder, who I saw when he was just 13. I also like Steve Winwood and Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and Lonnie Donegan.

What of the future?

I'm putting music to a stage musical of Oh Lucky Man at the moment. It was a seminal film of the 70s and it has stuck in a lot of people's minds. The film is just as relevant today as it was then because it tackled issues about the state of Great Britain. The script just needs to be updated to bring it up to current events. I might do a European tour at the end of the year with Paul Jones, from Manfred Mann. He's planned about 40 gigs but I don't know if I'm going yet. I have also been offered a tour of America so if I can catch a boat and a train I'll go.