The original and current bass player for The Sex Pistols, Glen Matlock is credited with penning the music for 10 of the band’s 12 songs on their most notorious of albums, Never Mind The Bollocks.
He left the band to be replaced by Sid Vicious and subsequently formed The Rich Kids with Rusty Egan and Midge Ure, toured and recorded extensively with, among others, Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders, Frank Black, Dead Men Walking with Slim Jim of The Stray Cats, and now travels the world with his own band, Glen Matlock and The Philistines. He is about to debut as bassist for the recently reformed ’70s super band The Faces, with Mick Hucknall of Simply Red on vocal and Faces founder members Ronnie Wood on guitar, Ian McLagan on keyboard and Kenney Jones on drums.
Chris Sullivan had a chat with Glen over a cup of tea, and quizzed him about his latest escapades, including a recent appearance at London's 1,2,3,4 festival.
How was the 1,2,3,4?
Great. The crowd loved it. We did all that ’60s garage psychedelic stuff like The Troggs and that.
Roger Sargent
Were you originally a Faces fan?
Not half! I first got into the Faces when I was 13 or 14. I remember that we had an old radiogram that my uncle had given us with all these 78s like Elvis and Little Richard in these cardboard sleeves, and then the first time I went down Portobello Road [trendy shopping street in London], I saw this record called Long Player in the same cardboard sleeve, so I bought it, took it home and put it on, and went ‘Wow!’ It was the Faces’ first album. I used to see the Small Faces on [British 1960s TV show] Ready Steady Go, but missed out on the intervening period because I was really into football, but after that I just dug them and really got into what they were into – like The Meters , Booker T, David Ruffin – I just dug this rock band with a soul singer and American R ’n’ B influences.
What about their live shows?
I remember going to see them first at the Rainbow [Theatre, in north London] when I was about 15, and it was an eye-opener. They didn’t slip off during the drum solo for a drink like most bands, but actually had a bar with a bartender on stage. They just looked as if they were having a right laugh. At the time, you had all these po-faced bands like Barclay James Harvest doing Beatles songs very seriously and these were having a good time.
'Anarchy in the UK is basically the same groove as Had Me A Real Good Time by The Faces'
And the rest of the Pistols were fans as well?
Yeah! Just after I first met Paul [Cook] and Steve [Jones], I bumped into them as they broke in through the roof of a gig to see Keith Richards playing with Ron Wood and Mac from The Faces. Steve Jones’ mobile phone ringtone is Pool Hall Richard by The Faces. We all loved the band – apart from Johnny Rotten, who hated them…
Did Ronnie Lane [original Faces bass player] influence you?
Absolutely. Big time. The Faces were different and Ronnie Lane was different within The Faces. I learned to play bass by playing along to Faces songs and a few other things thrown in. Anarchy [in the UK] is basically the same groove as Had Me A Real Good Time by The Faces. If you check Ronnie Lane’s bassline, it’s almost the same as mine and Steve’s guitar sound is very similar to Ronnie Wood’s, although they play differently. We all pick up different things as we go along, but they certainly were a huge influence on us. It’s the whole mixture of the rock and the soul and the blues that I dug.
Roger Sargent
How does that feel now, playing with the band that inspired you and were your favourites as a teenager? Is it odd?
Not really, ’cos I worked hard for this. It’s funny, because it’s always been lurking in my subconscious. I never thought it would happen, although the relationship began over 30 years ago after McLagan did a tour with me and The Rich Kids in 1978. When I knew he was keen on reforming, I asked him to put a good word in for me, worked a few angles myself and had a play with them, and they thought I was the right bloke for the job. I think I’m the right bloke because I get it, and often being the right bloke is not about being the best musician, it’s about fitting in and having the right vibe. Same with Mick Hucknall [current vocalist] – he’s great and I think people will be pleasantly surprised. Like me, he was a fan and is on the right wavelength.
Why didn’t Rod Stewart [original Faces vocalist] get involved?
I’m not party to all that and don’t want to be, but there’s nothing to say that he won’t do a few gigs in the future, and the door is open. As Mick Hucknall said, “If Rod wants to do it, I will gladly stand on the side of the stage and watch him.” There’s no bad blood, I don’t think, but every band had a bit of Coronation Street [ie, melodrama – Coronation Street is a long-running British TV soap opera] and I’m just enjoying playing with them. Ron Wood has been really together and is playing very well. There is a real chemistry between Ron and Mac. We had a run through at Kenney James’s house and it was great. You should hear Mick Hucknall sing I’d Rather Go Blind. It’ll make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
'Mick Hucknall’s great and I think people will be pleasantly surprised'
Is the first big one at Goodwood?
Yes – the idea is that we‘ll sow the seeds now and, if all goes well… we’ll look at doing some more in the New Year…
Glen has also recently headlined the 1,2,3,4 Shoreditch festival with the band The Silver Machine, fronted by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. Read an interview with Gillespie here.
The Faces play on Friday, August 13, on the main stage at the Vintage at Goodwood, an annual music- and fashion-led celebration of creative British cool from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s near Chichester, UK, featuring the leading DJs, bands, collectors, purveyors of vintage clothing and vintage vinyl from each decade, as well as contemporary bands and brands inspired by Britain’s rich creative and cultural heritage. www.vintageatgoodwood.com
For further info on the Faces, go to www.the-faces.com
Glen Matlock’s solo Glen Matlock & the Philistines album, Born Running, is out on Floating World on September 20. For more info, visit www.glenmatlock.com
Comments
Add a comment