JOEY
MOLLAND. FRF PHOTO.
By
ANGELA DAWSON
Front
Row Features
HOLLYWOOD—Joey
Molland, best known for his work with the legendary English band Badfinger, has
released his fourth solo album “Return To Memphis” on UK’s Gonzo Multimedia! The
CD features 10 new tracks the singer-songwriter recorded at the world famous
Royal Studios in Memphis.
Signed
to the Beatles’ Apple label in the late ’60s, Badfinger went on to score four
consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: “Come And Get It” (written and
produced by Paul McCartney), “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue,”
which recently became top downloaded song when it was used in the final scene of
the finale of AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” The song’s resurgence has put Molland, the
last surviving member of the Badfinger, back in the spotlight.
Other
acts have scored success with Badfinger songs over the years. In 1971, a cover
of the Badfinger song “Without You” by Harry Nilsson, became a number one hit on
the Billboard charts. Molland, now 66, widowed and living in Minnesota, has
continued to keep the Badfinger flame alight through concerts and recordings
over the past 30 years. “Return To Memphis,” a mix of rock, blues, country and
progressive rock was produced by Carl “Blue” Wise.
Originally
from Liverpool, Molland continues to perform with Joey Molland’s Badfinger. For
updated tour information check Molland’s official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OriginalBadfinger
To
purchase Joey Molland ‘Return To Memphis’ CD:http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15625/Joey_Molland-Return_To_Memphis.html
Molland,
who resembles and even sounds his fellow famous Liverpudlian colleague Paul
McCartney, recently spoke by phone about his new album, the “Breaking Bad”
surprise and what’s ahead.
Q:
The album’s title is “Return to Memphis.” Is it a personal connection to that
city or is it more a return to the sound?
Molland:
It was more a return to the actual music of Memphis. I’d grown up in Liverpool
playing a lot of American R&B, and a lot of that came out of Memphis. And,
of course, Elvis came from Memphis, Carl Perkins, people like that. I went down
there to do a session and I was reminded of the difference in the sound and the
way they play music. It was very exciting for me to be at Royal Studios because
of the people who had (previously) recorded there. They’ve got tapes on the
shelves—the Al Green masters, Ann Peebles, B.B. King. So it was a great thrill
to be there anyway. But, mainly, it was to do with the music and my musical
roots when I learned to play in Liverpool.
Q:
This album is a real mixture of songs and musical styles. How did you choose
these tracks?
Molland:
The producer picked them. I sent him about 30 and he picked a dozen and we ended
up with these 10.
Q:
When did you record the album?
Molland:
I went down in November 2011. We did some pre-production at Carl Wise’s house.
Then we went in studio and recorded a bunch of backtracks in December. We
recorded all of them, which consisted of me playing acoustic (guitar) and the
pianist and drums and bass, and rock vocals and everything. I don’t remember
doing a lot of overdubs in those sessions. I came home for Christmas and then
went back there early in the New Year and did the rest of my parts: lead vocals,
lead guitar, a little bit of fattening it up with electric rhythm here and
there. That was it for me. I was done with my bit by the beginning of February
2012. And then Carl finished it up over the next three months. I wasn’t there
for the (backup singing) girl parts and mixing. What I tried to do is step away
from being on the production side of the record, which is something I’d done for
years, since the old Badfinger days, really. I’d gotten involved in the
production of my records and the band’s records that we made, and this was just
getting back to the way we do records. I used to just go in the studio and I’d
only go in the control room to have a listen to what the producer was doing.
Q:
I like that the overall sound is polished but your voice still sounds real and
unprocessed like so many other recording artists do these days.
Molland:
Thank you. We didn’t do any fixing on it. I’m glad that’s apparent. That’s the
thing I wanted to do was to make an adult records and, hopefully, adults will
like it. I’m not a teenager trying to make a hit record for the teenagers.
Q:
“Still I Love You” seems to be a love song to your fans. Is that how you
imagined it?
Molland:
It is. It’s a love song to music and the music business and to the fans and all
of that—the long career. I’ve had some enormous highs and enormous lows. And the
music business in particular has never been a friend of mine, in terms of
getting my life together. I’m 66 now and I still love playing music, making
records, even the business of it, which I’m learning a lot about now.
Q:
Does social media, where you stay in touch with your fans through Facebook and
Twitter, interest you?
Molland:
It does. From the Badfinger days, especially when we came to America, we would
go out and try to meet the fans in the car parks and stuff. We’d hang around
outside and meet people. We didn’t know anybody or anything about the place
other than the music. So we wanted to meet people and make friends and we did
that. So social media and all that, I’ve got about 4,000 or 5,000 friends on
Facebook. I go on now and again and make a blurb. If somebody asks me a
question, I go and answer it. I enjoy all that stuff about it. You get this
instant feedback. If you put a song up somewhere, you get instant feedback on
the song. People tell you if they like it.
Q:
So this new interactive technology is just an extension of how you communicated
with fans in the early days, right?
Molland:
We always felt that way about the fans, and they helped us a lot because we were
always nervous about (our image) with them. We didn’t look on ourselves as
geniuses or rock stars. We were just this little band. It was great to get real
people coming up to us and saying real things to us, and enjoying aspects of us.
We never knew they’d want to know about the lyrics and jammy bits, the
harmonies. It was good for us and encouraged us. It was like a pool that we
would go back to for a drink.
Q:
Are you going on tour with the album?
Molland:
I’m sorry to say I haven’t got a tour booked. I will be doing some touring next
year on back of the album, I hope. At this stage, I’ve got to get some success
with the record before I can pull the sponsorships in to do the gigs, and can
afford to take a band out. I do some acoustic shows with an accompanist. I’ve
been doing a few of those. Last year, we did a half dozen gigs. As far as taking
a band out on tour, it’ll be a couple of months yet before I can even start
planning it properly.
Q:
Are there singles picked out for this?
Molland:
I love “Walked Out in the Rain.” There’s another song called “Hero.” There’s one
called “All I Ever Dreamed.” I put all three of those in the same world. I don’t
know about singles anymore. The label is going to see if any particular track
pops out with listeners. I wouldn’t mind any of the songs being picked on.
“Walked Out in the Rain” is a particular favorite of mine.
Q:
I understand that you never met Paul McCartney, which I’m surprised because of
the Apple Records connection you have. Is that true?
Molland:
Yeah. I never met him. I had a very brief chance to. I went to a Wings concert
once but I got nervous, to tell you the truth. My wife and I were backstage at
the (L.A.) Forum. Ringo and John Bonham (the drummer for Led Zeppelin) were
singing to me Badfinger to the tune of “Goldfinger.” They focused a lot of
attention on me including Paul McCartney. I got a little nervous with him
looking at me. (He laughs.)
Q:
Of course, you did work with George Harrison. Are you pleased that “All Things
Must Pass,” the album that you played on, was just included in the 2014 Grammy
Hall of Fame.
Molland:
Yeah, and a couple of years ago we received a certificate from the Grammy
Association for participating in that. But we never got our Grammy awards. So
some fans got in touch with them and persisted and we got these certificates
from the Academy. It’s called a Grammy certificate. It’s very cool. I’ve got it
hanging on my wall because I’m really proud of it.
Q:
How long have you lived in the U.S.?
Molland:
Since 1975.
Q:
Did you move here because your wife (Kathie) was American?
Molland:
Yeah. After the band broke up, we wondered what we were going to do. Kath and I
decided to move to Los Angeles. We had some friends out there. We’d been there a
few times and loved it. So we went and lived there until our children were born.
So in 1982, we moved to Minnesota. Then we went to England for about a year—we
had some money troubles and we had to go over there and get the money from the
courts. It was part of the old Badfinger legacy. We had to get that squared
away. We were able to in 1985, and now everybody gets all their royalties. We’ve
all got our royalties and stuff. But there was a period of 11 years where we
never made a red cent off of any of the Badfinger stuff and there were no
records in the stores because Apple had some kind of legal problems with EMI,
and that prevented any Apple product from being in the stores for 11 years. So
we missed out on a whole lot. We were able to go to court in 1985 and get
everything settled up and it’s been OK ever since as far as the money goes.
Q:
How did you feel about the resurgence of Badfinger’s popularity with the
inclusion of “Baby Blue” in the “Breaking Bad” finale?
Molland:
That was unbelievable, wasn’t it? It was really a surprise. Again, it
illustrates what we were talking about with the record business today. The next
day (after the show aired on AMC), the record was the number one download in the
U.S., and then it started to spread around the world. It was a completely
amazing week. It was like being two people. One was the bloke I was the week
before, and then my phone was ringing like I was Elvis. Every agent and manager
I’d ever worked with called. I was like, “I haven’t done anything!” A lot of
people thought my life was going to change the very next day.
Q:
Now that “Baby Blue” has gotten a lot of renewed interest with the public, will
you include the song on your set list when you perform?
Molland:
I will. I have a concert band called Joey Molland’s Badfinger, where we always
did feature “Baby Blue.” It was one of the band’s big hits. It’s a great song
besides that, a great rock band song. One of the side effects of this (“Breaking
Bad” attention) is all of our shows are selling out. It’s been a long time since
we’ve consistently sold out shows so that’s a great side benefit. It’s great to
see somebody use “Baby Blue” like that. It won an award in its day for the band.
It was one of the most played songs when it was released.
Q:
You have two grown sons. Are they musically inclined? Do they play with you?
Molland:
They’re both musically inclined but they’re not musicians. Joe is a salesman
extraordinaire and Sean is a cook. Joe plays the guitar and is a great
songwriter and I encourage him to do that and keep working on that because he’s
got a gift for it. Shaun is an intuitive musician. He can instinctively play
instruments. I gave them both guitars when they were 15 or 16 years old. So
we’ve always had guitars, pianos, drums and basses around the house. They can
play anything they want. But, to tell you the truth, my experience in music in
the beginning of it all was so bad coming out Badfinger, being lied to and all
that stuff, that I never encouraged my children to take it up as a career. I
encouraged them to play but not to do the career bit. I regret that a little bit
now but it’s just the way it was and that’s how I felt about it. What made it
difficult is that I didn’t get the Les Paul (guitars) that I wanted, but it took
years before I could even get a house for my family. Just the little perks that
my family would have enjoyed in all the different aspects of life would have
been a different world, and I kind of resent that of those people who
responsible for that in our case. It’s kind of hard for me to let that go.
Q:
But your songs on this album are very upbeat, and not about pain and regret.
Molland:
I’ve been blessed that I’m an optimistic guy and I’ll always get up tomorrow and
get ready for work. I’ve always lived like that and I plan to continue doing
that.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
 | This Way Up CD - £9.99 |
 | Return To Memphis SCD - £9.99 |
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