Originally posted by Birdsong:
There's a part of me that regrets posting reference to what seems to be a 'controversial' interview.
There's so much more archive value in this than what was said or not at a time when emotions and tension was running high in the band. That is why I thought it was of interest - it will be a real shame if one or two comments from it are taken out of context and become more significant than they should.
I really hope this hasn't caused any offense to John or members of Ultravox, and I apologise if that is the case.
Certainly wasn't the intention.
Hi Martin,
I wouldn't have any worries about posting the link. The thing about the press, and particularly interviews, is that anything published is always going to be there as reference material - even 30 years after it was printed. PR control over what is printed is much tighter now than it was back then, and so comments, whether unguarded or not, made newspapers and music press a much more interesting read.
Whether Warren actually said that (or
was a hairdreser or not) is not actually the main issue to be considered here I think; after John and Robin left the band, Ultravox had been dropped by Island, and the remaining members had had a year of relative uncertainty on whether they would carry on as a unit. One thing that comes with 'genius' is a certain arrogance, a form of contol, and a belief that your opinions do count more than others. Given that John was the main song writer in the first incarnation of Ultravox, I think there's a lot to be said about that. We do know he is a man of boundless ideas who likes to be in contol, and to me it's perfectly understandable that Warren's feelings at the time may have been tinged with the thoughts that until that point he was maybe not allowed to fully express himself in the music or output in the Foxx era. By the time Midge Ure joined, it seems a much more cohesive unit was being forged that for a time at least accomodated everyone's ideas and in/output.
The article is very interesting Martin and a fascinating snapshot of life of a small band on the road in bleakest Northern America in the early 1980s. Thanks for posting it.
All the best,
EG
