Brian Tatler Interview

sleeper · Brian Tatler Interview

Hey all, just found this interview on the Ronnie James Dio forum and thought I'd share it with you all. It's a little old, but still informative.

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Axis of evil asks= Hi Brian.
Thank you doing this Q&A with us. My best Diamondhead track is 'To
the devil his due' I love that song.
My questions are:

What was it like playing in 1993 with Metallica at the Milton Keynes Bowl ?

It was the biggest gig Diamond Head have ever done. It was a great gig but we felt under pressure because it was being recorded for a live album and it was live on radio 1 and MTV. Also I had shingles so it was not ideal! Metallica had been on tour for two years whereas Diamond Head had not played for 18 months and we had a new bass player. We were also on the verge of splitting up!

The album 'Canterbury' was not that much of a 'hit' album when it
first came out but it was mentioned that it was years ahead of it's
time. How do you feel about this album now ?

I still like the album, it’s very well produced but it was a very difficult album to make, and actually split the band up. Some of the tracks sound a little pretentious now, we still perform “To the devil his due” live, it still sounds great.

Weissheim asks=
Hi Brian
I'm a huge Diamond Head fan. Thanks for all the great music and gigs
over the years.
A few questions :-

You'd recorded an album before Sean left the band last year. Is
this ever going to be released? There was a suggestion in your
message board that it should be made available for internet download
- is this an option?

It will not be made available for internet download. Sean wanted to change the name of the band and I didn’t, so it may get released if Sean ever gets round to it, it’s just sitting on the shelf.

Do you still have the white Flying V (that you played at all the
early DH shows)? If so, are you ever tempted to bring it out again?

I still have it, I am tempted to use it live but the neck on it broke 5 times, so it was un-reliable. Every time I opened the case I never knew if it would be even playable. For the past 12 years I have been using mainly Les Pauls.

There was a short video clip of Powerage (from the unreleased 1985
Flight East album) shown on The Tube TV show. The video appeared to
be a "home-made" one. How did it end up being shown on The Tube?
Was it a full-length clip? Are there any copies of it still in
existence? Can I get one?

The track was a demo Sean recorded with Robin George and the video was put together quickly for the tube. I don’t have a copy.

I saw you supporting Megadeth earlier this year. Great show. Your
set was geared towards the heavier side of your material. Was this
tailored specifically for the Megadeth audience, or is this the
direction you'll be pursuing?

Glad you liked the show. It was tailored on the heavy side, we mainly took songs from the first album and “all will be revealed.” We are doing a longer show now that includes “to the devil his due” “I can’t help myself” and “Paradise.” The set is still very powerful, it suits this line up.

The split with Sean doesn't seem to have been amicable. Are you
still in contact? Do you know what he is doing these days?

I am not in contact with Sean, but have no bad feelings towards him and wish him well with whatever he is doing. He is probably writing more songs.

Yurei asks=
what's up Brian! Thanks for giving us some of your time.

With the passage of time, a lot of us have come to view the NWOBHM
almost with a "village mentality" meaning a folks tend to think that
it was a whole bunch of bands that all knew or associated with one
another coming up and getting recognition together. Out of that
grouping, which bands were you guys closest to, in terms of hanging
out with, doing gigs with, etc. Are you still in touch with any of
these bands?

The only other band from Stourbridge were WitchFinder General, we took the wee wee out of them, and vice versa! We met most of the bands, “Def Leppard” came to see us at the limit club in Sheffield, we met Iron Maiden, Angelwitch, Girl, Girlschool, A to Z and Tygers of Pan Tang. We had Silverwing on tour with us, they were a nice bunch of guys as were Chinatown.

By the way, were you ever successful in obtaining a copy of the
1980 TV show, "Look Hear?"

No, no one had a video tape back then. I contacted BBC but even the had wiped it.

Lastly, tell us how you came to settle on the BRILLIANT artwork
for the Borrowed Time LP.

Sean found a painting he liked and MCA put us in touch with Rodney Matthews who did a great job. It was the most expensive album cover in MCA’s history at the time.

Warlord asks=
I saw on your site your tribute to Tommy Vance. I was lucky enough
to meet him backstage at an all day festival and we got drunk
together all day. He was an amazing man, and although I only met him
once when he died I was upset about it, basically cos he was the guy
that played Metal and Rock to me every friday night and introduced me
to so many bands (yourself included).
Do you have any further comments about him or funny stories ?

Was it the festival in Cumbria when Magnum headlined around 1988? Yes it was the Cumbria rock festival from 1990-Featuring Magnum/Saxon/Dogs D’amour/The Almighty/Wolfsbane/Romeo’s Daughter
He was our life line to radio 1, he was the only DJ who would play rock at the time. Will miss him.

What do you think is Diamondhead's best work ?

I think “Am I evil” is our classic and we will be remembered by it. I still enjoy playing it live, it’s very dynamic.

I understand you've got a show planned in the UK with Witchfynde.
It looks set to be an awesome show do you have any more details on it
and will you be taking the gig further ie on tour ?

It’s at the London Astoria November 4th, the bill includes praying mantis and bronze we are currently booking more dates, see our web site for details: www.diamond-head.net

So the albums ready for release then.
What can you tell us about it and what are the plans for the future
for Diamondhead ?

There are some on line reviews on the web site, we are currently negotiating for a release. I’m very proud of it, it’s our first album with Nick, and the feedback has been fantastic.

Thank you once again for doing this Q&A with us and we wish you all
the best in the future.

You’re welcome, all the best.
Brian Tatler

HiFi

Thanks for reposting this, Sleeper! That was a good one. I remember someone mentioned this interview on the old board and in order to read it you had to sign up for the Dio board - which I did! Laughing

- just to read the interview. There wasn't much out there at the time and I'm all for reading any DH related interviews and articles I can find.

sleeper