ON TRACK: JOHN ILLSLEY WARMS UP FOR STABLES DATE WITH OUR QUESTIONS...
Former Dire Straits bassist John Illsley will pay a visit to The Stables on September 24 - the first date in a brief tour to support the recent release of the album, Testing the Water, his first release in four years.
John will bring a full band along for the show, which will blend old Dire Straits classics with his fresh solo material.
John tackled our famous music questions in this week's On Track...
The song that first awakened your musical senses and why.
‘Johnny B Goode’ by Chuck Berry - I heard it first in 1960 and thought "What is that ?"
I immediately felt connected to the energy and clarity of the music - It made me want to be part of what was going down so I bought a cheap guitar and set about learning the chords .
The rest is history. Then I went back and listened to Elvis's Sun sessions and that was it - the journey had begun.
Physical or digital - how do you take your music?
In the main physical because it sounds better than the compressed digitalised alternative, we are in danger of getting used to listening to bad sound quality.
It is interesting that vinyl is making a bit of a comeback even for younger people. For convenience or when travelling then I use Spotify and through great headphones it sounds ok.
The first time you thought 'Music - this is the job for me'
I never ever saw it as a job - more a passion that started in the early 60s and doesn't seem to have waned. Still fascinates, resonates and pleases me especially when a new half decent song comes along.
Your best on stage memory…
Has to be Live Aid - an incredible day for all that took part which will never be repeated I suspect.
And the worst gig you've ever done
Can't really think of one - we always did a lot of rehearsing so we didn't make too many mistakes! Dire Straits did play in front of 3 people once in Wolverhampton and there was a fight between 2 of them!
Oh yes and the cheque bounced and we didn't get paid.
What made you take up the bass?
There were already two guitarists in the school band, so they said - "If you want to join you'll have to play the bass."
I found out quite early on that this was going to be my instrument; it just felt right in my hands.
I still played the guitar and still do but I think that different people are drawn to different instruments - the drums, keyboards or bass- it’s quite interesting to see what instrument suits what character.
Which one song by another artist do you wish you'd have written and why?
That's a big question, so many wonderful songs to choose from. How about ‘If It Be Your Will’ by Leonard Cohen - such a beautiful piece of work.
And one - by yourself - which holds special significance
A song called 'Railway Tracks’ I wrote for the new album Testing The Water. I was in hospital for a month three years ago and wrote the song when things weren't going to well.
"Life doesn't run on Railway Tracks"
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Very happy in my own shoes.
Are there any current musical influences that you might look to?
Not particularly, my children bombard me with new stuff from time to time - if there's a good song I'm interested.
And any genre of music that you simply can't stand?
All music has something to offer and I listen to a pretty eclectic mix, but I personally prefer singer songwriters - I am not a great lover of electronic music.
Finally, plug the tour – what can people expect from your concert
We will be playing new songs from the Testing The Water album and some from the Streets of Heaven album plus some Dire Straits classics like Money for Nothing, Sultans, Brothers in Arms and Romeo and Juliet.
We played Southern Man by Neil Young recently which went down well so will probably put that in the mix.
John Illsley brings his ‘Testing The Water’ tour to The Stables, Milton Keynes on Wednesday 24th September. For more information and tickets visit: www.johnillsley.com.
Physical or digital - how do you take your music?
In the main physical because it sounds better than the compressed digitalised alternative, we are in danger of getting used to listening to bad sound quality.
It is interesting that vinyl is making a bit of a comeback even for younger people. For convenience or when travelling then I use Spotify and through great headphones it sounds ok.
The first time you thought 'Music - this is the job for me'
I never ever saw it as a job - more a passion that started in the early 60s and doesn't seem to have waned. Still fascinates, resonates and pleases me especially when a new half decent song comes along.
Your best on stage memory…
Has to be Live Aid - an incredible day for all that took part which will never be repeated I suspect.
And the worst gig you've ever done
Can't really think of one - we always did a lot of rehearsing so we didn't make too many mistakes! Dire Straits did play in front of 3 people once in Wolverhampton and there was a fight between 2 of them!
Oh yes and the cheque bounced and we didn't get paid.
What made you take up the bass?
There were already two guitarists in the school band, so they said - "If you want to join you'll have to play the bass."
I found out quite early on that this was going to be my instrument; it just felt right in my hands.
I still played the guitar and still do but I think that different people are drawn to different instruments - the drums, keyboards or bass- it’s quite interesting to see what instrument suits what character.
Which one song by another artist do you wish you'd have written and why?
That's a big question, so many wonderful songs to choose from. How about ‘If It Be Your Will’ by Leonard Cohen - such a beautiful piece of work.
And one - by yourself - which holds special significance
A song called 'Railway Tracks’ I wrote for the new album Testing The Water. I was in hospital for a month three years ago and wrote the song when things weren't going to well.
"Life doesn't run on Railway Tracks"
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Very happy in my own shoes.
Are there any current musical influences that you might look to?
Not particularly, my children bombard me with new stuff from time to time - if there's a good song I'm interested.
And any genre of music that you simply can't stand?
All music has something to offer and I listen to a pretty eclectic mix, but I personally prefer singer songwriters - I am not a great lover of electronic music.
Finally, plug the tour – what can people expect from your concert
We will be playing new songs from the Testing The Water album and some from the Streets of Heaven album plus some Dire Straits classics like Money for Nothing, Sultans, Brothers in Arms and Romeo and Juliet.
We played Southern Man by Neil Young recently which went down well so will probably put that in the mix.
John Illsley brings his ‘Testing The Water’ tour to The Stables, Milton Keynes on Wednesday 24th September. For more information and tickets visit: www.johnillsley.com.
