11 May 2015

Nine Questions with Adam Leonard

Photo by Edith Graves
Nine Questions is a regular feature on the Active Listener, where we ask our favourite artists nine simple questions and get all sorts of answers....

Today.... Adam Leonard.


What was the first record you bought?
That's a tough one to remember because it was 36 years ago. I was given compilation cassettes by my older friends from the mid-'70s onwards and I think most of it was recorded off the radio from chart rundowns. I remember liking 'Convoy' (the trucker song) and 'I Feel Love' a lot. I was given Dr Feelgood's 'Milk & Alcohol' single as a present in 1979 but recalling the very first I bought is hard because once I started to buy records (usually a 7” single weekly with my pocket money) I amassed quite a collection. Some of the first singles I bought were 'Are Friends Electric?' by Tubeway Army, 'Red Frame/White Light' by OMD and 'Underpass' by John Foxx. Annoyingly I think it was the OMD single, because OMD went on to become one of the most pointless bands in music history. I think the first album I bought was 'Equinoxe' by Jean Michel Jarre.

What was the last record you bought?
A 7” by a band called Autumns, from Derry. I saw them play last night and they were excellent, but I haven't actually listened to the record yet. It's got 4 tracks on it which is promising.

What's one thing about you that very few people know?
I'm an open book. Everybody knows everything about me.

If you could record with any one artist who would it be and why?
Justin Hawkins. I love pretty much everything the man writes and records, and it would be an education to get a glimpse into how he does what he does. If Justin is not available, then Luke Haines because he could do with some help.

Who should we be listening to right now?
This.
Also: The Darkness, John Foxx's Ultravox & John Foxx solo, Syd Barrett, Hot Leg, Dungen, David Bowie, No Spill Blood, Jethro Tull, Pavement, Wizz Jones, Heaven 17, Roy Harper, Fiery Furnaces, Harmonia, Girls Names, The Soft Boys, Scott Walker, The Human League (Ware era), Bob Dylan, The La's, Aviary, The Wedding Present, Nico, Bill Fay, Slade, Wolf People, Alasdair Roberts, Kraftwerk, Robyn Hitchcock, The Beatles, The Stone Roses, Fad Gadget, Mike Oldfield, Sauna Youth, Beefheart, The Auteurs, Kevin Ayers, Thomas Dolby, Steve Ashley, Roxy Music, The Bonzos, Steeleye Span, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Michael Nyman, Talking Heads, Es, Richard Thompson.

Vinyl, CD, digital or cassette?
In order of my own usage: Digital, CDs (car) and the vinyl comes out if people are round at the house. I don't own a cassette deck.

Tell us about your latest release.
Invaderband's debut single is the latest flare fired into dimming rock skies. Released on Record Store Day (18/4/15) 'The Implausible Man' is the opening gambit of the Northern Irish Artrock/Garagerock/Krautrock quartet of which I am the backman - that's to say the frontman who plays with his back to you.

What's next for you, musically?
Wouldn't it be nice to see into the future? The Invaderband album is finished and looking for a friendly home. We'll be gigging from now until August, finishing up in England. I have the guts of a solo album written, so I'll need to record that at some point, and I'm always on the lookout for interesting collaborations. I'm extremely proud of my work with Richard Moult on his latest solo album 'Last Night I Dreamt of Hibrihteselle"(just reviewed here).

What's for dinner?
I've had it. Sunday roast chicken & root veg. Magic.

https://adamleonard.bandcamp.com/album/the-implausible-man-single
https://www.facebook.com/themessagetapes?fref=ts

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