Rock Around the World • Se tember, 1976

JOHN MILES:

BEST IN THE LONG RUN

. . .Music was my first love, And it will be my last    Music of the future.. .

And music of the past.

John Miles is the latest entry into the singer-performer personality sweepstakes that has given us the likes of Leo Sayer, Alan Price, Steve Harley and David Essex in the last two years. Like most of the above-mentioned, John Miles spent his wonder years scufflin' about, trying to put across his music in Jarrow, Alan Price's hometown, and just a lump of coal's throw away from Newcastle. It took eight years before the move to London was made, and John Miles became an international figure.

The following interview took place in London, and presents us with a thorough portrait of a young artist, perhaps more emest than others in what he does; in a business where plastic smiles and forgotten promises are the norm, John Miles is, as he says, a 'rebel'.

RATW:

JOHN:

RATW: John, your songs are all very personal in nature, even more so than other artists. Are you espousing your own philosophy of life through your songs?

JOHN: Yeah, well normally, I'd try and explain what each track meant, but I think You'll get a better idea from listenin' to the album. The first track is my whole philosophy about the business. . .it really explains why I'm in the music business, because it's the only thing I ever want to be in, it's the only thing I enjoy doin' and it gives me like the greatest pleasure I've ever had.

RATW: Did the production job turned in by Alan Parsons help bring the music out like you wanted it to?

JOHN: Well, when we were recordin' the first album, it was something we wanted to do for a long time. . .we'd been writing the songs for the album about six months before. . .it's somethin' you get very, I don't know, very personally involved with, and if things don't turn out right, you get very upset. But Alan Parsons produced the album, and it's turned out just like we wanted it to; it's like Alan Parsons was part of the band. It's really helped us, 'cuz we had made, you know, demo records for companies, but just to see your album with your picture and name on it makes a big difference.

RATW: Your band sounds very accomplished for a group on their first record. How long have you worked with these people?

JOHN: The band has been together for about five years,   a playing around Newcastle; we played around there for a long time, doin' nothing and getting nowhere, just plain' Top 30 material and soul material and all.. . about a year ago, we decided we weren't getting anywhere and to come down to London to. . .seek the Big Time. We played at The Hammersmith supporting The Ohio Players, and a lot of record company people were at the gig; we eventually signed to London Records, and went straight in and made the single (High Fly), and about four weeks after that, we made the album.

RATW: Do you think that it was the talent of the band alone that helped you make it so quickly? I mean, why your band and not someone else's?

JOHN: The music scene in London for the last two years has been very stifled, I mean there's so many groups down here. . .and we thought that what we'd have to do is whatever bands start to do first, the pubs and the clubs, The Marquee and all those places, and just try an' build it from there. Well, we didn't have to do that, we just wrote our own material, and we've done maybe three prestige gigs, you know, supportin' major acts. Of course the major point with any group or single act is getting a hit record out, and I have waited about eight years for this, worked hard for it. ..we didn't expect it to happen when it did, to be quite honest, we'd had so many disappointments. We had a lot of singles with different companies and nothin' happened at all, and this one (High Fly) did it. That's sort of the overnight success story of the band (smiles).

RATW: Who lit the fire under you in the first place to write music?

JOHN: Well, my parents are very pop-minded; they love pop music. . .they go out and see bands every week, in clubs. They really were the ones who kept me goin' in the hard times. They bought the instruments, they bought my first guitar. . .and when we sort of progressed from that onto somethin' better, they bought a better guitar, a better amplifier. . .my father bought a van specially to take the band around in. I think, really, if it hadn't been for them, then I would probably not be doin' this.

RATW: There's been a great deal of talk about the image you impart on the cover of your album. Just how did that develop?

JOHN: Some people might relate to the James Dean pose, the famous James Dean pose with the shotgun over the

shoulders, but that originally started before we had "High Fly". I had sort of shoulder-length hair, long and curly, and when "High Fly" started to take off, the record company decided we had to have a bit of an image. We did a lot of television shows with other bands, and long curly hair didn't look that much different, so we went to the hairdresser; there was only one way to get rid of the long curly look and that was to cut it all off. I came out of there with about two inches of hair, and I wasn't very pleased about it at the time, I remember it was very cold; we went along from there and bought a black suit, and an earring with a fly in it. We did the television with that, and I started slickin' my hair back an' buying jeans with narrow bottoms, leather jackets and American baseball shirts; before we knew what had happened there was this article in a paper that mentioned the James Dean thing, an' I got along with that, 'cuz I admire James Dean a lot. ..it's not as if I'm tryin' to copy James Dean, because it wasn't intentional at the beginning, but people seemed to associate us with that image. All the music press caught on to that image, so if that's the way they want it, that's the way it'll have to be, but there's no way we're trying to emulate James Dean at all.

You mentioned or seemed to imply that you would follow the dictates of the music press. Don't you feel that it's rather dangerous having an image that isn't really you?

I don't think it's important, really, to try and be different; I think everyone should try and be themselves. Our music is our expressions and it's our feelings.. . songs relate personal experiences, and people who go out an' buy the album do so because they relate to the experiences in the songs. I think that's what The Beatles were all about; The Beatles used to write very simple songs, basically. . ."She's Leaving Home" is a perfect example of what it's all about. You are your music, not your image.

To live without my music Is impossible to do,

'Cuz in this world of troubles, Music pulls me through.

—John Miles—"Musk"

JOHN MILES "REBEL" London PS 669

I had never heard of John Miles (though he takes a great photo), but with production by Alan Parsons (Tales of Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe) I figured he'd at least be pop-pleasant and, more than likely, a rocker.. .

Well, I found out all right. . .he's bein' groomed to be another Elton John (or at least Al Kooper) (I'd swear to it), which isn't so bad cause Miles writes some really neat tunes, which can be divided into approx. three categories: hit singles (yea-yea-yea) "Highfly" and "Rebel"; in-depth visionary ballads "Music", "When You Lose Someone So Young", and "Everybody Wants Some More"; and the show-stoppin' grosso-production gems "You Have It All" and "Pull the Damn Thing Down". Only once does he descend into mimicry—"Lady of My Life" borrows heavily from Stevie Wonder (I'd swear to it) in vocal style and piano technique, and is pure blasphemy in terms of the other tunes.. .

Miles' guitar-work is also most impressive, especially in the longer pieces, where he is most adept at flexing his digital muscles along with bassist (& co-writer) Bob Marshall's cascading runs. . .that's when the album really zooms along at its own pace. Only one question bothers me: live, how is John Miles gonna make up for the missing orchestrations that sweeten his album? Good luck. . .and remember, Elton made it in a trio.. .

"To live without my music would be impossible to do Cause in this world of troubles, my music pulls me through.. ." Indeed!!!...

ROUSERS: "Music"; "Highfly"; "Pull The Damn Thing

Down".

—Jim Kozlowski-