Welcome to A Breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kaye. Hi, good to have you company. If you love classic rock, then you’re in for a real treat today.
My guest is one of the most distinctive voices in rock history. A singer, bassist, songwriter and performer whose career has spanned more than five decades. Known to millions as the voice of rock, Glenn Hughes first made his mark with the British band Trapeze before joining the hard rock powerhouse Deep Purple in the early 70s.
There, alongside David Coverdale, Glenn helped create classic albums like Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band. When night time comes, and I’m 10,000 miles away, just lose yourself and watch the band kick back and play. Glenn Hughes’ story, however, goes far beyond Deep Purple.
From the clubs of England to the world’s biggest stages, he’s lived a life most musicians could only dream about. He’s played with rock royalty, survived some of the toughest challenges imaginable and emerged with both his voice and his love of music intact. Today, as Glenn prepares to return to Australia with Kings of Chaos, he looks back on the remarkable journey that brought him here.
This is Glenn Hughes in his own words. Well hi there Sandy, how are you? I’m very well Glenn, how are you doing? I’m doing good, I’m very very busy, a lot of stuff coming up, one of them being Rock the Boat October 25th. Yeah you like Australia, you always liked Australia didn’t you? Oh Australia, I love it.
Hey Glenn, let’s back up a little bit, I want to talk to you about your life and career which has been really quite extraordinary, it’s been quite a journey for you hasn’t it? Well it has, as a child I was, you know, I learned how to read music as a pre-teenager, playing piano and trombone and guitar and not realizing that I was going to become this rock guy, you know, or back in those days as a child I just wanted to play music, I didn’t think about anything else other than learning how to read and play music and have some fun with my friends and of course all throughout my life I’ve had different opportunities come up and I’m still here. You most certainly are and I dare say almost more popular today than what you were back in your heyday which is amazing, you would have never thought that 50-something years later this is where you’d be I’d imagine right? It’s remarkable, it’s just remarkable to see how far most of my friends in my age group have come who are still with us you know, we’re all very very lucky. Your road’s been full of a few potholes along the way, are you surprised you’re still around to tell the story? Yeah I mean for me a life change in 1991 when I changed everything, let’s just say I may have been over served at the bar, had too many drinks what have you and I realized that if I didn’t stop I wouldn’t be around so I decided I would completely change everything except the music of course and you know and I’m still here.
Glenn was the music something that your parents at home in Staffordshire encouraged you to do? They did, my dad’s a singer, was a singer, they were both big big fans of Frank Sinatra, oh by the way later on in life I introduced them to, can you believe it? I was the only child by the way in my family so I was very encouraged to to do what I wanted to do and I’m an artistic kind of young kid so they gave me the opportunity to play guitar and I stuck with it you know. You actually started out in a band called Finders Keepers in the 60s, you were the bassist and the vocalist, when did you first discover that you could sing? I love it when you mention that band, you know at first with a few of the first bands I was in I wasn’t the lead singer, I was the bass playing supporting singer for about three or four years until somebody said wait a minute we think Glenn may be able to be a lead singer, I went me? I was like really? I was basically pushed out front and that’s when Deep Purple found me and the rest is rock and roll history you know. Yeah you did Finders Keepers as I said in the 60s, then you started the British funk rock band Trapeze, again bassist and became lead vocalist for them.
Between 70 and 72 you released I think the first three albums with Trapeze if I’m not wrong and you were such a multi instrumentalist, you worked with them on guitar and piano as well as trombone. You were a valuable member to have. You know it’s like I said before Sandy learning how to play music as a child I was so in love and so I’m in love with with making music and writing music and performing music and singing of course you know that.
So I’m very very grateful for the gifts that God has given to me I’m very very very humbled by it. You must have been one of only few that could actually read music at the time because everybody wanted to be part of a band in those days but most people were just self-taught and kind of winged it. Well for me we had courses at school some people you know would do mathematics or you know whatever and I chose a course in musicology.
That’s why I started to learn how to read music first on the trombone can you believe it then I switched to piano then I found myself playing guitar and all those years later I played bass so I’m very very grateful to have had my fingers on many instruments. And which one of those did you enjoy most and were you best at? Well I although you know I’m a singing bass player we all know that but I love guitar and I write pretty much everything on guitar a few things on keyboards and sometimes on bass guitar but for me I’ve always got I’ve got a guitar in every room in my home I’m always picking a guitar up and traveling with the guitar I never there’s always a guitar next to me. Do you still practice a lot today or are you just playing for the joy of it? It just happens like I brush my teeth take a shower and then there’s a guitar waiting for me and I just play I don’t possibly need to but it calls me you know I think it’s a calling.
Something that you’re born with? I believe so. I’ve been on my own so long, won’t you let me be your hand. I’ve been picking up a pulse too long, won’t you understand? It looked like an old man’s plan.
I shook his hand. He told me he had no answer. He didn’t really hold the key.
I am a simple man. That’s all he said to me. I’ve been on my own so long, won’t you let me be your hand.
I’ve been out in the cold too long, won’t you understand? I slept with my guitar as a teenager. I slept with it. Did you? I did.
You didn’t chase the girls? You didn’t need to? You had your guitar? Girls wasn’t important to me when I was learning how to play instruments. That came later. How cute.
You said that you were recruited to join Deep Purple I think in 1973. How did that come about? Well they kept coming to see me in true peace in LA and in New York and in London. Each of them separately would come to see me and I was thinking to myself, remember I was very young.
I was thinking, oh they must be really fans of Trapeze. They must really like the band. Even on the day they were going to ask me to join I’m going, I don’t quite understand why I’m in New York sitting with them in a hotel waiting for something to happen.
And when they asked me if I’d like to join I was kind of, really? Ridiculous to think about it. But yeah, I was gobsmacked. Had they been one of your hero bands till that point? I didn’t know too much about that band at that time because my band Trapeze was everything to me.
We were working 300 days a year and I had no time for anything other than Trapeze. Of course, when I did learn they were going to invite me to see them play at Madison Square Garden in New York City, I had a feeling something was going on. So I started listening to their albums and getting to know what they were all about.
Their music was quite different to the music you were playing with Trapeze, wasn’t it? Yeah, I was more into the heavy, funky, groovy, R&B flavour, you know. It was straight down the middle traditional hard rock, which was very popular in 1973. Yes, it most certainly was, as I recall.
And you had no trouble making that transition? No, they welcomed me with arms. They were so kind to me. I moved in with Ian Pace for a while in London.
We were very, very close. Even Rishi Blackmore and I were good friends, can you believe it? So you remained living in London, although they had discovered you first in America? Yeah, first of all, I was living in the Midlands, in the Birmingham area with my mum and dad, you know, touring America all the time. But when they asked me to join, they had no plans on going to America.
They wanted to stop breaking, first of all, in the UK. So I moved in with Ian and then we went to Flewell Castle in the English countryside to write the album called Burn. An amazing album that was.
In a 15th century castle, can you believe it? What was that writing process like? Check this out, Sandy. We were writing in the dungeon of a castle, a 15th century castle, can you believe, in the crypt. All the gear was set up in the crypt and we were scared to go down there after dark, you know.
But Blackmore took me down there one night and wanted to seance. Seance? Are you sure? And he didn’t take it too well. What do you mean? Well, something started moving on the Ouija board and, you know, he was very, very unsure about it.
He could just stay in the room and he quickly left. It sounds really creepy. But why were you in the dungeon anyway? Were the acoustics better down there? The acoustics were fantastic.
When we arrived, the crew set us up in the dungeon, whether Rishi decided he wanted to be in the dungeon or not. But in that room, we were really at the great acoustics. So that’s where we made the album.
Was it a collaborative process between each of you? It was like five guys writing spontaneously. Somebody come up with an idea or a riff or a melody or a drum pattern and we basically fall into the process of writing.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. Is it true that you weren’t interested in joining Deep Purple until you heard that Paul Rodgers might be called in as co-vocalist? Well, Paul’s a dear friend of mine and, in my opinion, one of the greatest vocalists ever in history.
And I was told at the meeting in New York that, first of all, I was a bit surprised that they wanted me just to play bass until I said, yes, but we’re going to invite Paul Rodgers to sing. And a little voice in my head said, hmm, my friend Paul Rodgers. Now, the other side of the brain, wouldn’t it be great if I’m playing bass and we could switch some lines out and we could do duets? And I said, if Paul’s in, I’m in.
So I joined the band basically because Paul was going to join. He was forming Bad Company at that time, Sandy, so it was important. I saw Paul last week.
We were talking about it. You still talk about those things? Still talk about those things. Was he sorry that he didn’t end up joining Deep Purple? At that time, Sandy, he was privately making a brand new band called Bad Company in 1973, and he was privately recording music with them when I was actually saying, I’ll join if Paul’s going to join.
Of course, the next week we heard the news and I already pretty much signed on the goddamn line. Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatles song Love me do, I think it wasn’t from there it didn’t take him long Got himself a guitar, used to play every night Now he’s in a rock and roll outfit and everything’s all right Don’t you know Johnny told his mama, hey mama I’m going away I’m going to hit the big time, going to be a big star someday Mama came to the door with a teardrop in her eye Johnny said don’t cry mama, smiled and waved goodbye Don’t you know Don’t you know that you are a shooting star Don’t you know, don’t you know Don’t you know that you are a shooting star And all the world will love you just as long, as long as you are He did get David Cappadale later on. Yes, we were looking for someone after Paul couldn’t make it.
Somebody had the same lower baritone voice, mine’s a higher one as you know. Looking for somebody who had a deeper, darker voice than mine, like Paul. And I think we found the right guy with David.
It was unusual at the time to have two singers together, wasn’t it? It was. Again, for me, it was important to let them know in a very gracious manner that if I’m going to join, I’m not going to be sort of going ooh and ah, you know. I’d like to somehow share some vocals with David and myself.
And by the way, we rehearsed some things at the castle to make sure we were going to be on the right route. And we came up with a couple of songs that were great with two voices and of course the rest is history. And David and I were very, very close and slotted this very day.
Glenn, how did the success of Deep Purple at that time change your life? Because you’ve been quite successful with Trapeze, but I imagine you’d seen nothing like the success of Purple. You must remember, Sandy, in the 1970s, Smoke on the Water was the number one rock song in the world. When you have that kind of weight behind you, the fever is very high.
And coming in with David to make Burn and then releasing Burn after Smoke on the Water was, is it going to happen? And of course it did happen. It was a major album globally. So we were off to the races on the private jet everywhere and, you know, we even came to Australia at some point.
But it was very fast, very crazy, a lot of temptation everywhere. Everything was a different world, really. Were you spitting out with it all? A little bit, I must say.
It hits you really hard, you know. No one can understand what it’s like to be thrust into that kind of fever at the top of the game when you’re 21 years old. It’s a new experience.
Planes were out Some stupid with a packet Burned the place to the ground Smoke on the water Fire in the sky Smoke on the water A bunch of clunk Pulling kids out of the ground When it all was over We heard it was running out It seemed we would lose the race How did you deal with it? On one hand, I’d imagine the experience would be fabulous. And on the other hand, it’d be like an out of body experience. I’m talking from my imagination here, obviously, but how did you stay grounded? Or did you? How did you handle it? I mean, I know that’s when you kind of got involved in a lot of the temptations that were available to you.
But were there any strategies to try and keep your feet on the ground? Well, for me, I’ve always been a very social person as far as being friends with them. I’m an only child, so I like to meet people in my life. I’m a very social person.
And back in those days, some of the band were not social or they were isolators, if you will. I won’t say who. And I found myself needing company to, you know, talk to people and have fun with.
And for me, I couldn’t live in this glass bubble when things are so big and out of control. You have to be very careful that you don’t slip into the isolating period. And I didn’t do that.
Why isolating, though? Just in order to remain inside that bubble and not to puncture a hole in it. Was that the reason behind that? No. I mean, for me, I just couldn’t.
I needed to be alone. Obviously, I spent a lot of time alone at night. But the travel, extensive travel and a lot of a lot of people wanting to meet us, you know, and we had a lot of security.
Remember, I’m a kid from the north of England and trapeze were my family. We were children. And all of a sudden, David and I are thrust into this huge thing.
And it was just new and different. Did you ever want to bail? Not really. But things got a bit crazy a couple of years after I, you know, when Richie left the band in 1975.
And then we decided we were either going to stay or we were going to break up. But David Bowie was living with me in Los Angeles in 1975 at my home. And he convinced me to stay.
You know, he in fact, he drove me to the audition of Tommy Bolin. So, yeah, it’s crazy. You and he were really close.
David and I and Tommy, yeah, absolutely. Was it because Richie had left Purple in 75 that the band then broke up in 76? Well, you know, at that time, Sandy, the goalposts moved. Now you’ve got three new guys.
You’ve got David Coverdell, Glenn Hughes and Tommy Bolin. That’s basically three new guys. You’ve got John and Ian, and Ian was the only real soul member.
And things musically were changing. Tommy was not a Richie Blackmore style of guitar player. Tommy was an incredibly talented rock, soul, bebop and reggae player.
But it wasn’t the Richie Blackmore thing. A lot of people miss that, you know, but we wanted to experiment. How would you describe that Richie Blackmore thing? Richie, in my opinion, in the early 70s, he was one of the Holy Trinity with with Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton and and Richie Blackmore, of course, Tony Iommi, of course.
So Richie, in that moment when he left, the man was leaving on a high, you know. And a lot of people thought we were going to break up. And at that time, Sandy, you asked me if I was going to bail.
I was thinking about bailing. And David Bowie taught me into not bailing. On what basis did he say stay? Because he thought it would be interesting with some new blood to work with.
He was all about changing and he wanted to experience a new era of the band. Did it work? It was fantastic. Again, Tommy coming in, we did an album called Come Taste the Band in Germany, and Tommy was now replacing Richie.
And when you listen to the album, it doesn’t sound like a Blackmore album because it’s not Blackmore influence. So you are a new guy coming in. David and I were pretty much singing the same.
But when you have a new guitar player coming in, it changes the game. So had it been Richie that was leading this band through those top years or was it simply his, not simply, but was it his style of playing that really produced the Purple Sound? I really do think, Sandy, I think people who are listening and watching this, when you look back, if anybody was around in 1972, 73, we all know that the riff, Smoke on the Water and I always saw all these things of Blackmore. So if you will, I would say the band were focused around Richie and everybody has to have someone that has that gauntlet to throw down.
Richie had that gauntlet. And why did he decide to up and go? I think he found on Stormbringer, the album I did with David and Ian and John, I think he thought the band were becoming funky. You know, he didn’t want that.
No, he didn’t like the funk stuff. So were there disagreements with the band members as to the direction that you were going in? OK, well, you know, let’s talk Turkey here. I know you can understand when I say Australian English.
We were in the castle again to write the album called Stormbringer. And we all get there and we’ve all got some ideas. And this time, Richie came down with only two ideas.
Normally he comes in with five or six or seven ideas. And this time he came in with two. So basically, he only really wanted to work on two songs he’d written.
So David, John and Ian and myself really had no choice but to write music for the new album called Stormbringer. So we were writing music that really wasn’t the kind of thing Richie really liked. We tried to make it sound like he would really like it.
But we realized, well, while making the album in Germany, that Richie really wasn’t intrigued by it. So he started to feel that it was going off in a different direction. I think certainly at the castle, whilst writing the album, I think by the end of the of the time we were there, I think maybe he was already thinking about leaving.
I was wondering maybe we could make a show Whitney did leave and it was a short time later that you guys all decided to disband. Was that a mutual decision? I think, you know, in 1976, we already did on Australia and New Zealand and Singapore and the America, we did a UK tour. So we were tired, there were some personal things going on behind the scenes that nobody really knew about.
And people were starting to find out there was stuff going on that was, ooh, what? Some stuff that was kind of private. And maybe there was too much drinking going on with a couple of people. One of them was me.
And of course, you know, a few months after the band broke up, we lost Tommy, you know. I think everything happens for a reason, Sandy. Everybody, every band has a life, a short life, a long life.
Remember, there’s three new guys coming in, some personal stuff happening. There was no rehabilitation, there was no time to stop, no time to take a breath. And it was, I think the band were done in the spring of 76.
Would things have been different? Do you think Glenn had management implemented a few rules around you? No, they tried that. It wouldn’t work. No.
Again, we were five guys all gone in different directions. I look back with fond memories of all the things I didn’t enjoy, all the things I don’t recall being great. I don’t really think about it too much.
I just think about the joyous things we did making some great music, the love and the laughter and the camaraderie we had.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. You must have felt a little lost when that band did break up.
What goes through your mind then? You’ve been on top with one of the biggest bands in the world, and you think, what now? Well, I took a breath and I said, well, I’m going to go in the studio and make my first solo album. And after six months of the band breaking up, I was in the studio making my first album. So, you know, I needed again to switch gears.
I mean, I always wanted to keep changing. My entire life I’ve been changing everything. I don’t like to stay in the same place.
So for me, I didn’t want to sit around too long. That’s why I started making my own music. I’m your refusement, hear me out.
I like how you say that you embrace the changes that David Bowie spoke about so much, because then you started with Gary Moore and Black Sabbath. Tell us a little bit about that time. Well, you know, the 80s for me, I have a book, you know, I said in the book, I don’t remember the 1980s, you know.
It was a period for me where I wasn’t the man I am today. That’s giving you a bit of a hint. But I do remember making albums with Hugh Thraw, Pat Thraw, 1982, which was a very remarkable album.
I think it sold a million copies to musicians. I know it’s right You don’t want to see it My dear friend Gary Moore, and Gary was, in my opinion, the greatest guitar player I’ve ever played with. Then, of course, I got a call from Tony Iommi after I finished with Gary to join Black Sabbath.
Can you believe it? So I did. For me, it was a period of time that I look back and thank God I’m still here because I’m a different fellow. The book that you mentioned, which was published in 2011, was called Deep Purple and Beyond, Scenes from the Life of a Rockstar, which is an amazing read for anybody who’d still like to get a hold of it.
And it does feature contributions from Tony Iommi, David Coverdale, Ozzy Osbourne and Tom Morello. So you certainly had lots of friends in the industry that were supporting you during that time. You know, I have.
My wife always tells me, everybody likes you, Glenn. You’re a good person. I feel very grateful that I have great friends.
You mentioned that 1991 was your pivotal time when you turned everything around. I did. You also came back with the vocal for the hit America, What Time Is Love? Well, I tell you, Sandy, that was the time for me where I was basically, because we’re going deep now because you’ve read my book.
The book is about recovery, as you know. 1990, 91 was a time where I knew I was in trouble. And the KLF asked me to perform with them, and I was not in great shape.
And we did the song, and then I found myself in the Betty Ford Center. And when I came out, the song I recorded called What Time Is Love? was number one in 18 countries. So I found myself having all this new success with a new kind of music, which gave me the foundation to create something new again.
And that has kept me going to this very day. I think we’re all driven by 100 different forms of fear. Ego, self-doubt.
And if I can recognize fear, and it comes and goes for me, I’ll call it a name, like, hey, Dave, the fear. It becomes my friend. I know it’s there.
We all have fear. So for me, if I cannot allow it to grow and allow it to just be there and keep calm and walk through, I wrote a lot of songs about walking through the fear. And again, a lot of my friends haven’t made it yet.
But I’m one of the lucky ones, you know. How do you handle the loss of friends? I mean, we all partied so hard back in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Are there regrets? I am a very positive person about life in general.
I’ve been studying spirituality for 20-something years now. And I work with someone in India quite a lot. And if I can stay in this moment, if I can stay here, talk to you, and not think about tonight or tomorrow or the next show, if I can just stay here simply and breathe the air in this room right now, I’m great.
But if I start thinking about the future or making a plan, God’s got a sense of humor. He won’t let that happen. It does take quite a bit of practice, though, doesn’t it, to stay in the moment.
It really, really does. Nights in white satin Never reaching the end Letters I’ve seen Beauty I’d always missed With the eyes before Just what the truth is I can’t say anymore Because I love you Yes, I love you 2006 was Music for the Divine. Yeah.
I think I’m the only member of Deep Purple to make a very kind of music. I don’t like to stay in one place too long musically. I can’t make an album and repeat it.
So I just keep making kind of New Glenn music. So is that part of wanting to continue challenging yourself? I love a challenge in every aspect of my life. I love it.
2009 saw you forming Black Country Communion with Jason Bonham, of course, John Bonham’s son on drums, as well as Joe Bonamassa. We got together in Malibu, California, and we’ve done five albums. Black Country Communion is one of the greatest pieces of work I’ve ever done.
I hold true passion For many years I will listen Heavy in my chest I’m not waiting anymore Followed closely by Dead Daisies. I don’t think you’ve done any music, Glenn Hughes, that hasn’t been commercially or critically popular. You know, Sandy, I haven’t thought about that.
I’ve never thought about, has this been something that got under the radar? I never thought about that. And as life goes on, I’m humbled to still be doing what I’m doing and I love to sing, as you know. I was one of the first guys to join Kings of Chaos with Matt and over the years, different guys come in, you know.
It’s a great group of guys and we deliver. It’s a great scenario of great musicians. Most people want to hear the hits from my past, you know, and I get it, they want to pay money to see that.
But for me, I’ve always wanted to play new music. But with Kings of Chaos, basically, you’re going to get the hits from Deep Purple and ZZ Top and Cheap Trick. So yeah, it’s a great show.
There’s something about you that’s so fine She’s the best girl that I ever had Sometimes you’re gonna make me feel so bad When I decided to do this all those years ago, if I’d have known I was going to have all these songs in the charts globally and all the success I’ve had, for me to do a show and not want to play those songs for people that have waited a long time to hear them would be really wrong. So each time I play a song that I did all those years ago, I do it with vigor, I do it with love and I do it with every ounce of ability I have because I know what it means to people to hear those songs they want to come and hear. You’ve always given your all to every song that I know that you’ve ever performed.
You’ve been dubbed the voice of rock. How does that sit with you? Well, I didn’t call myself that. I was called by the English press in 1990.
I know. It’s an incredible thing to be called that. There’s so many great rock singers, you know, but I don’t really think too much about it because that’s why people call me and it’s like, it’s so honoured.
So I have something to live up to. If you’re going to be called the voice of rock, you better be ready to go. So I’m very eternally grateful for all those people that deem me to be just that.
And your voice has held out over the years, hasn’t it? Do you have to use the muscle that is your voice to keep it in tip-top shape? It’s a great question. And my answer to that is very simple. Don’t think when you’re singing, don’t think of the next note if it’s high, don’t think of anything other than breathing and just breathe and relax.
I have a very high, strong voice, as you know, Sandy. But if I can just, like this is the guy in Mumbai talking now, if I can just breathe and relax and release, I can sing all night long. I drink lots of water and I sleep whenever I can.
And I’ve been very grateful that my voice has been strong over the years. So do you do breath work, exercises, things like that? Religiously, day and night. Music is the centre of my world.
It’s the centre of my life. I’ve been very blessed to be given this gift, music and this voice by two wonderful parents. Going today Just passing The road I know So well Seems the more I write you You give me more You tell And if I try Soon it will show To keep me strong And know that I’ve had time So good From coast to coast Even the hard times Can’t wait to see you for the Rock the Boat Cruise in October, November this year.
I’m so pleased you agreed to share some time with us, Glenn. Thank you. You take care of yourself till then.
Lovely to chat again. Peace and love, everybody. Peace and love.
Thanks again, Glenn. You’re welcome. Bye.
Bye-bye. You’ve been listening to A Breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day