Transcript of an interview I recorded with Bob Catley, mainly regarding AVANTASIA but touching on MAGNUM as well - 20/04/19 Full article here. MAL-
Talking to Bob Cadley about the coming AVANTASIA tour Australia. Bob, it's great to talk to you. BOB- Hello, everybody. Yes, yes, nice to talk to you all this way from, I'm in Switzerland at the moment. We're just doing some shows in and near Basel, called Pratteln, just near Basel, Switzerland. And we're doing three nights at a club called Z7 . And we're about we're coming to the end of the European leg of the world AVANTASIA tour. And it's been going fantastic. We've been all around Germany, and been to Czech Republic and Slovakia. And now we're in Switzerland. And then we're heading off on Monday, we head off to Spain to do three shows in Spain. And it's going great, then we're gonna have a bit of a break, and then we'll be starting the long haul stuff. Yeah, great. spending half your life up in the air flying around the planet, I'm really looking forward to it. It's been going great. And I've done I've done a couple of world tours before with AVANTASIA in the past few years. But it hasn't been as big or as popular as it is now. I mean, it's really taken off in Europe. So I'm hoping that the word has spread as far as Australia, and we're going to be welcomed with open arms when we get there to Sydney in May and I'm really looking forward to coming to Australia, I've never, never been to Australia before. So it's a totally new experience for me. And most of the people in the AVANTASIA world. So yeah, can't wait, it's gonna be great thank you. MAL- I don't think you have anything to worry about you will be well received because it's been big, big news when it was announced. Because people have been trying for quite a long time, as far as I'm aware, and I've spoken to Toby a couple of times, and he says, Look, I don't think it'll ever happen. But it has. So it's, it's a big thrill for us down here. So we're we're really looking forward to it. BOB- Great, great stuff. Well, then, I hope everybody's going to enjoy it. I know they're gonna look from the reaction we've had so far in Europe it's been fantastic. So I think you're gonna like it. It's a great show. It's a three hour show. There aren't any other bands on as far as I know, is you don't need anybody else on and it's quite involved. It's constructed like an opera. You know, in a heavy metal rock way. There's about six individual singers that appear occasionally on and off the stage. But Tobias is there all the way through. He's like the ring master. And he is involved in all the songs apart from a couple where he has a little break. And I don't blame him for three hours. And he does great and we all get on famously well, I mean, there aren't any egos backstage. We're all on the same level, we'reall there for the right reason. And to create this magical rock record called AVANTASIA, yeah. and I love it to bits. It's my third world tour now, but this is the most interest it's attracted so far. So great. Bring it on. Yes please. MAL- Were you familiar with AVANTASIA before you got the call? How did that come about that you got involved? BOB- Well, this was this was probably 18 or 19 years ago, probably 2000 2001, my manager Annie got a call from a guy called Tobias Sammet, who I'd never heard of to be honest. And she's she said this guy, this German chap's got in touch with me, he's wondering if you'd be interested in singing a couple of songs for him, to do with a project called AVANTASIA. Yeah, I went 'Oh that sounds interesting'. I was doing stuff with Tony from MAGNUM at the time, we're working on a comeback album. We'd been away for some years. And we was working on the first after that break. And I said yes. I did six solo albums in the break the MAGNUM took for six years. And I was open and up for you know, working with different people, depending on what the music was, if it suited my voice, and I take it from there. He came over to England and we got together and played me the stuff and I liked it very much. And we recorded a couple of tracks the one with which was one that everybody knows by now, which is called 'The Story Ain't Over' and that's been my kind of anthem for AVANTASIA all these years probably to a lot of people I wouldn't have imagined performing in front of. So that's how it started really. And it grew from there and I started my first tour with AVANTASIA was in 2008. And so that's when it all started back in the early 2000s. And it was I loved it. And it reminded me of kind of 80s MAGNUM, the way Tony used to write at the time. And it reminds, that's why I liked it so much I think. So, that's where it started yeah. MAL- How do you go fitting in Magnum and any other projects you have with AVANTASIA? I'm always fascinated with the AVANTASIA thing because they've got, you know, you coming from here, someone else coming from over there and getting all these people's schedules was aligned for starters, how have you found it difficult or is it really easy? BOB- It's a miracle that we all get together at all to do it to perform live. Recording is one thing you can do is at your leisure and whenever you're available to do it. And you don't have to be in the same room these days, you can do it through the wonders of technology. But to get all these people together on one stage, or one tour bus or one airport is, I don't know how we do it, usually works out good considering how many people are involved and what their schedules are. Mine included and you don't want to upset your own band by saying well sorry, I can't do this tour we've got booked because Tobias Sammet, wants me to just sing with AVANTASIA on a world tour. And I don't think that would go down very well, so you have to it has to be spoken about beforehand and arranged amicably between the band, the record company the agencies, everybody has to be involved and to to get the make it work between all those elements. Otherwise, it just clashes terribly and you lose out and there's no need to do that if you just talk about it sensibly. And I mean, what happened last time, three years ago, there was the MAGNUM tour coming up for the new album which came out in January and we were due to play March, April and then AVANTASIA album came out January that tour was supposed to start March, April, so 'help'. So we've got together Tobias called our record company, which is also a German label SPV, and they called Tony Clarkin who with myself runs MAGNUM and talked him into putting the MAGNUM tour back a month which was great. So at least I could, AVANTASIA could have me for the European leg in March. And then I had to come back to the MAGNUM tour which was which was then put back to April and then May so I could only to the European I couldn't do it around the world long haul stuff like I am now. So it doesn't it could have been worse. I could have said to Toby, sorry, I can't do any of it. Because some of the gigs were already booked. But they were rescheduled thankfully. So it can cause problems. But if you talk about it then and everybody sees that the sense of doing AVANTASIA because it's great publicity for the band that you're in, of course, and it helps promote your album. So it's good for business all around really. So hopefully it can be sorted out but it can be difficult at times. MAL- Old time Magnum fan here from the very early 80s, 'On A Storyteller's Night', I just want to tell you that I still play that album regularly. BOB- Great. Well that's just brilliant well then that it did its job then. I think it's a great album last year we recorded it in 1985 in Wolverhampton and it's it's been brilliant for bringing Magnum to a lot of rock fans. The songs are still there in people's minds and hearts, the old phrase hearts and minds and we still do a lot of them on stage. we still do How far Jerusalem' on stage, we do 'Les Morts Dansant', we do 'All England's Eyes' MAL- That's just incredible, 'Les Morts Dansant' BOB- From those years ago, you know, I mean songs come and go over the years but those ones are cornerstones of the MAGNUM show now recently and will be next year when we tour the new album. And it's been a fantastic record for us. And everybody loves it and the artwork by Rodney Matthews and it's very Middle Earth as everybody knows. It's brilliant i think is put together brilliantly. But the only thing Tony would say Tony Clarkin, who's the songwriter and our record producer. He would say that he wished it sounded like we sound nowm it sounds a bit dated the the production you see not not the songs The songs are great. And the performances are pretty good as well. But technology has moved on so of much of it now, though it we sound a lot, bands sound a lot better than they did in the mid 80s of course. But that's the only downside from it. But everybody loves it. And I think it will always be a MAGNUM classic album. And the people say when they mention it they go 'Oh yeah Storyteller's Night'. So that's good explain for us. And I'm glad you're still here still like it's that's that's fantastic videos. MAL- Okay Bob, absolutely great to talk to you looking forward to seeing you down here in Australia with AVANTASIA in May and thanks for taking the time to talk to me. BOB- My pleasure. You take care, and I'll see you soon hopefully okay. Cheerio, then. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMetalhead who hates bad parking. |