Since the 1960s, Michael Des Barres has had an extensive
career in movies and music. He was first seen as one of Sidney Poiter’s students
in To Sir, With Love. Following that, he would lead two of the
most underrated bands in the 70s. First was Silverhead, a band in the early 70s
that was considered a favorite of the glam rock scene. (Although when you read
this interview, you will see Des Barres does not consider Silverhead to be a
glam rock band.) The second band in the late 70s was Detective. They were signed
to Led Zeppelin’s record label Swan Song where they supported Led Zeppelin and
KISS. Classic Rock magazine has described their debut album as
“the best album Zeppelin has never made.” Detective’s music appeared on an
amusing episode of WKRP In Cincinnati where Michael played the
lead singer of the band Scum of the Earth.
The 80s would turn out to be a very special decade for
Michael, both as a musician and an actor. He wrote the song “Obsession” that
would become a big hit for the group Animotion. In addition, he toured as a
singer of the Power Station, a supergroup that featured Robert Palmer, Duran
Duran members John Taylor and Andy Taylor, and Chic drummer Tony Thompson. When
Palmer decided not to tour with the band, Michael got the gig as lead singer and
toured with them, playing one of the most legendary concerts ever: Live Aid. In
addition, they would make a guest appearance on Miami Vice. After
The Power Station, Michal would make his most notable appearance as an actor in
the TV series MacGyver. He played MacGyver’s most deadliest
villain: Murdoc. Murdoc was MacGyver’s enemy from the very beginning,
even before MacGyver decided to start fighting crime. In addition, despite
falling off a deep cliff or mine shaft, Murdoc never died and would live to
fight MacGyver the next season.
After MacGyver, Michael continued to keep busy, doing
plenty of TV and movie appearances in the 90s and 00s. Seinfeld,
Roseanne, Ellen, and Melrose Place are
just few out of the many TV series Michael did. He appeared in NCIS
on October 9, 2012 as a rock star.
Most recently, Michael has returned to music, releasing
a solo album, Carnaby Street. The album gets frequent airplay on
Steve Van Zandt’s radio station. Other musicians besides Van Zandt are fans of
the album such as Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones, Michael’s old colleague John Taylor
and the Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom. The Philadelphia Inquirer
has given the album 3 ½ stars out of 4. Carnaby Street is a
return to the type of blues-oriented rock ‘n roll that was playing in the late
60s. Fans of bands such as The Rolling Stones and Humble Pie will love this
album.
In this candid conversation, we cover the long and
extensive career that Michael has had. We talk about his groups Silverhead,
Detective, Power Station and his current stuff. We also discuss highlights from
his acting career such as playing Murdoc. I want to thank Billy James from Glass
Onyon PR for setting up this interview, but most of all, I want to thank
Michael.
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