What makes Arthur Brown tick, musically?
Where did he discover his love of singing, and when was the switch first flicked that made him want to make music for a living?
Total MK probed The God of Hellfire from Whitby, who has been at his game for almost half a century, and still cuts the goods - check out current album Zim Zam Zim if you don't believe us...
Which song first awakened your musical senses?
The Welsh National Anthem
Physical or digital – how do you take your music?
I like the sound of vinyl, but I listen to CDs and to digital.
A lot of vinyl has been through digital processes, so the distinctions are blurred
The first time you thought 'Music – this is the job for me'
I saw a live open air concert by a trad band - Ken Colyer or Mike Cotton.
And when they went into the free form section of a tune called Maryland, I left my daily mind and all its troubles behind.
When I came back into my mind, I thought "If music can do that, then music is what I want to do."
You best on stage memory?
Waking up onstage after my bass player had mistakenly laid me out with his bass.
I was lying down on my back, looking straight into the eyes of Julie Driscoll, who I had always fancied. She was saying "Are you alright?"
Not half!
And the worst gig you've ever done?
I once did a concert with just me and the piano at the LSE. I improvised everything, and no one understood anything
What made you take up singing?
I loved walking in the hills. Singing was my own personal therapy.
Which one song by another artist do you wish you had written?
Do What You're Gonna Do by Jim Webb
And one - by yourself – which holds special significance
Voice of Love
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Jimi Hendrix. I would explore music from all ethnic cultures, and all forms of theatre, and of lighting and dance
Are there any current musical influences you might look to?
Brain rhythms.
And any genre of music you simply can't stand?
No
You've just played the Free Spirit Festival, near Milton Keynes. What's next for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown?
We are doing Bestival in September. The Big Top on the Saturday night.
Those folks put us on the main stage, an amazing event for families, and have given us a good shot. Open minded and inclusive indeed.
