Magnum. An historical name. A band that left it’s own mark to the history of hard rock, with legendary songs and a band that influenced many musicians. Rock Overdose recently spoke with Magnum’s bass player Al Barrow and his answers was very interesting. Enjoy!
Rock Overdose: Hello Al and welcome to Rock Overdose. How things are going with Magnum?
Al Barrow: Hello, how you doing? We are great thank you for asking. We are all just getting over the Christmas break and getting back into the swing of things. It was great to get back to friends and family after the short tour of the UK and recharge the batteries for what will surely be a great year to come.
Rock Overdose: A few days ago – on January 6th – your new best-of album “The Valley of Tears – The Ballads” was released. Tell us a few things about this release.
Al Barrow: Ok, the album was an idea that arose from a conversation Tony had with his daughter. She said “Magnum have so many wonderful ballads why don't you do them all on one album?” At the time this seemed like a great idea and something the band and SPV thought would be great to give back to the fans while we are locked away for a while recording the next studio album. It was supposed to be a fairly easy and relatively quick thing to do, but as with anything Magnum do it became a little bit more involved than expected. It took months of work. Lots of back and forth to get it right. The right songs, the right sounds and mixes and not to mention artwork. It grew in to its own little monster, but eventually blossomed in to what we have now. A great representation of some of the great ballads the band have done.
The album has been very well received and if there is any criticism is that it should have been a double album. A lot of fans asked why some of the well known ballads Magnum are known for did not appear. There was two reasons, make an album that is not the normal everyday choices to keep it fresh and new, and also some of the older songs were not available licensing wise. Magnum could not rerelease some of they back catalogue through SPV as it is licensed to another label.
There was enough material to be a double album but not the studio time and budget to spend more time in a studio remixing, re mastering and re-recording songs. If we have to spend money and time on anything right now it would be best spent on the new album. New songs, lots of new ideas, etc.
Rock Overdose: Give us some information about your latest studio album “Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies”. How do you feel about this release?
Al Barrow: “Sacred Blood” did very well for us. It was great to see a nice high chart placement on release. That will always help raise the profile of the band a little. It was a lot of fun to record that album and I think we struggled when coming to pick which songs we all wanted to play live on the following tours. There were a lot of band members favourites on that album. But I think we got it right.
Great album I think, and the songs translated and transposed themselves very well to be played live on stage. It a powerful album full of everything you would expect from Magnum. “Crazy Old Mothers” goes down so well live. I love to see all the arms swaying along to that track. The title track as well was something we did for some video footage also. It was released as part of the bonus cd pack and it was a great deal of fun to shoot them. One of my favourite songs on that album is “Gypsy Queen”. Great riff and hook in the chorus.
There was a bonus dvd with that album with the two videos and three bonus tracks. All brilliant songs that were added to give that little bit extra. You have to do this and give back more these days. Just 12 songs on a studio album does not seem to cut it. As good as they are the industry screams for bonus material.
Rock Overdose: How did the press and the fans react on the album?
Al Barrow: Well, you would have to ask them that question really, but from the way it sold and the amount of people who came to the following tour I would have to make a guess and say it went across very well. The press seemed to like it also. That does help but to be honest we listen to the fans to see how we did. We do see a lot on the social media posts that fans like to talk about that album as much as talking about Storytellers etc so we hope it has found it`s way in to the hearts and minds of the fans and will be with them for many years to come.
Rock Overdose: Magnum is an old and legendary band. Since your reunion in 2001 until today do you think that the fans are mostly interested in for the gems of the past or do they also pay attention on every new record from you?
Al Barrow: Obviously Magnum has a wonderful back catalogue, and fans have grown up with this “old band” with the music over their lives. It means so much to each and every one of them in so many different ways. What is great is that Magnum fans are so cool but what I find is there is a great fondness for very different albums amongst them all. Some will favour “Storyteller” some opt for “Sleepwalking” some for “Goodnight LA” and some for the first albums released, it goes right up to the latest albums released.
What is strong is their passion for their favourite albums and the support they show us is undying and heart warming. They say you are only as good as your last album. I think we do ok with what we have put out and we continue to strive to give the very best we can.
Rock Overdose: Which are the most memorable moments of you career?
Al Barrow: I could tell you a few but again there is that old saying, “What happens on the bus..stays on the bus!” lol So many great stories and to be honest they would not seem half as funny to anyone as they do to me or the band and crew. It`s one of those “you have to be there” things. The thing I have found over the years is that a band and crew become quite secular and the in jokes and stories are great in amongst that very tight knit clan.
I find coming off tour is a big adjustment, as those people you have just spent the past 7 or 8 weeks with 24/7 are the only people that understand the jokes, the up`s and downs, the schedule your body goes through on tour. Strange sleep patterns and nightmares lol..lots of nightmares. You would understand if you saw our crew. We have to sleep close to them but keep one eye open.
lol I could tell you about moments of falling downstairs in front of room of fans and pretending that it did not hurt until I got to the downstair toilets and cried like a girl for about an hour just before a show, lol Took my foot years to recover. But I won’t! Ok I have to say each and every tour has its high lights. There have been so many great moments. So many fun times. So many moment of great people bonding over a common cause. We have a great crew and they work so hard to put us up stage to play the music for all of you.
We have so much fun on and off stage. There has been some real tear jerk moments as well. Mostly from laughing so hard but there has been times also when songs or emotions are high and you get swept away by it all. Standing in front of thousands and having them sing songs I have helped create and now get to play and also to play some classic Magnum tunes and be part of the whole thing is good enough for me. I love that moment on stage when you look around and hear everyone having a good time. So many great moments!
Joining this band and being able to do what I do has to be top of my list. I feel very lucky and honoured to be able to do it.
Rock Overdose: What are your future plans? Are you thinking about releasing a new studio album in the near future?
Al Barrow: We are already getting ready to transfer all of Tony`s ideas he has been working on from his home studio up to the main hard drives at Mad Hat studios in Wolverhampton. Work is well underway and the next chapter will be very exciting. New ideas, new songs the world is our lobster. We will be recording most of this year and doing just a few dates later in the summer. I think we aim to have a new album ready for release early 2018 as far as I am aware. Don't quote me on dates, as I say it`s all new and a bit up in the air right now. Exciting times indeed.
Rock Overdose: Is there any “secret” that keeps you active after all these years?
Al Barrow: Love what you do. Be honest and truthful about what you want to achieve. Be true to yourself. Be humble, be kind! If you can fit in some swimming walking and a bit of good wine and song life will be ok. Staying fit and healthy gets hard at times but we have some very loving and supporting family around us. They also keep us grounded when we feel a little above our station. Nothing like coming of tour and being told do the laundry, lol
Rock Overdose: Do you like any of the new hard rock bands? Do you think that the things in the music industry are kind of the same compared to the 70s or the 80s?
Al Barrow: I find it hard to listen to new rock these days. Not a lot gets my boat floating so to speak. i still listen to some classic rock from 80`s and 90`s for me. I live in a part of the country that has a very heavy Country rock influence. So I am ok with that. Living not too far from Nashville and that music scenes suits me for now.
Rock Overdose: Has any attempt ever been made for you to come in Greece? Would you like to play in our country? If yes, do you think that you could make this happen in the near future?
Al Barrow: We get hundreds upon hundred of emails asking can we go to a city, venue or country. Lets just say this…if we could play everywhere we were asked by fans it would be a dream come true. The fact of it really is all done to promoters of the venues. They have to take the chance on us, book us and then do some hard work doing what they are paid to do…promote the band and the gig.
So many are not willing as they don't put the hard work in, don't sell tickets so hence think that bands have no following. Horrible situation but very true. We will keep working hard without management and agents to get to as many venues as we can. Playing in Greece would be fantastic, we do get asked but the promoters just don't seem to follow suit. We will keep trying.
Rock Overdose: Thank you very much for your time and for the interview. I wish you the best for the new year. The epilogue is all yours for your fans!
Al Barrow: Thank you so much for taking the time today to speak to me. I always love to talk about Magnum and this is very close to my heart. I would like to thank the fans for their continued support and we hope and wish we will see you in a venue in Greece very soon. Cheers and all the best!
For Rock Overdose
Michalis Zounarakis
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