Photo Credit: Michelle Livings
Now, who are the Black Eyed Sons, I hear you ask? Of course, their faces are well known to many, but under their previous guise. The band formerly known as The Quireboys are preparing to enter a new chapter of their history.
But why now? The Quireboys’ split is well documented and now all just water under the bridge – perhaps Newcastle’s Tyne Bridge you might say. So, there is no need to go over old ground. Maybe the group could have changed their name then. However, with commitments dating back to before the pandemic, the Brit rockers had to clear the decks and their existing touring obligations before looking to the future.
Now with a clean slate and a brand-new album that’s set to knock your socks off, it’s time for the group to shed their skin and start afresh as we welcome Black Eyed Sons. From this point forth, there is no looking back or even sideways, as this band of brothers look to a new future together.
Frontman Guy Griffin brings us up to speed. “We’ve taken a low profile for a while because a lot of stuff has happened in the last few years and everyone has had a lot of upheavals and personal things happen. There’s been deaths, divorces so, just life, really,” he says. “In the meantime, we’ve been putting the finishing touches to the record. It’s been going on for the last year and a half, but it’s changed as it’s gone along and circumstances have changed as well.”
Regarding life and personal struggles, the artist reflects on the passing of his late friend Guy Bailey. “Guy’s death really affected me, still does and it made me re-assess a lot of things. Guy and myself created a signature two-guitar sound on those first two albums. I played with him the last time he ever performed a live gig, which was with The Dirty Strangers in London,” recalls Guy. “Friendships run deeper than bands. I’ve given up alcohol since. So many funny and happy memories, I miss him greatly. He really was a one-off character, and I learned a lot from him. I was actually with Guy two days before he passed and I can’t believe he’s not with us anymore. I was close with both Guy and Chris Johnstone in all the years after the band first split, in fact Chris is playing on our album, a track called ‘Savoir Faire’”.
Just like the famed track by Joe Cocker, the group received a little help from their friends on their forthcoming release. “The original idea was to try and involve some guest artists and we were lucky enough that there were a lot of people who stepped up and wanted to be involved. And that’s been really humbling and gratifying,” said Guy.
Of course, such is the nature of the music industry, with in-demand artists, you are always going to be up against their hectic touring schedules to make a project like this work. “It’s been difficult to bring it all together, as you can imagine. But obviously, these people, they’ve got their own schedules and the guest artists, they’re doing it out of the kindness of their heart. So, it’s been quite a project production-wise, as far as organizing and trying to collate everything together. It’s been like wrangling cats at times!” jokes Griffin.
In a lot of cases, artists may have one or two guests on their record. The Black Eyed Sons’ new album has rock and roll royalty coursing through its veins. “A lot of these artists are in much bigger bands and are very talented people, it’s just great to have them all on board. If I told myself 30 years ago, I’d be doing a record with all these different people, I wouldn’t believe it. So, it’s quite a roll call when I look at the list of people I need to call today – they are all over the world,” proclaims Guy.
Of course, the album is not all about the guest performers. “There are probably two or three songs on the album which don’t have any guests or should I say they don’t have any famous guests. But we’ve got a lot of musicians who are friends of the band who lent their time and their talent to it, like female backing vocalists, the harmonica and pedal steel, and things like that. There are about three or four songs with just myself singing. One of those is ‘Lie To Me’ which we put out a year or so ago but we’ve sort of changed it a bit for the record.”
If this list of artists featured on the record doesn’t get you excited, it’s perhaps time to check your pulse. “We recorded a song called Medicine which we did with Stevie D and Josh Todd from Buckcherry and I’m really happy with that. It’s a very commercial song,” explains Guy.
The songs featured on the band’s new album eloquently encapsulate their heritage and musical provenance. “We’ve got a track called ‘Savoir Faire’ which is a cover of a song by Mink Deville. Willy Deville was the singer of Mink Deville in the 70s/80s,” said Guy. “The old band, when we first split up in ‘93, the last ever show we did was supporting Willy Deville in Belgium and the opening band was Radiohead! We were in the middle of the bill. Steve Conte from Michael Monroe’s band, Company of Wolves and the New York Dolls obviously, he’s playing guitar on that song. And he incidentally played guitar in Willy Deville’s band. My friend Alan Clayton from The Dirty Strangers is singing with me on it too and he has a big connection with us, having worked with the band over the years. And I’ve also played and recorded with The Dirty Strangers”.
Steve Conte and Company of Wolves bandmate Kyf Brewer also feature on a further composition. “We did a song called, ‘Foolin’ Yourself’, which is actually a song that’s written with Steve Conte. So, he’s on that one as well.” Steve explains: “Not only was it a pleasure to play guitar and sing on this record – it was an honour to have Griff and the band record one of our songs!”
Guy continues down the track listing. “We’ve got a song called ‘Dig Me Out of This Hole’ which has Scotti Hill from Skid Row playing some lead slide guitar”. The Skid Row guitarist has a long history with the band saying “I go back 30 years with these guys, a band that I’ve always loved and respected. To be asked to be part of this project was a great thrill, and proud moment as a guitarist.”
Some of the songs on the album Guy had in his back pocket for a while. “We’ve got one called ‘So Glorious’ which was the first one that I wrote for this album. It was written about five years ago and at the time, it was never really ever going to be a Quireboys song, but I thought to myself, “this would sound really great with Dan Reed”. So, when we came to make this record, I thought, well there’s no rules anymore and I’ve never really liked sticking to a formula anyway, and now we don’t have to anymore. So, that song is Dan Reed and myself singing, Dan wrote the lyrics,” said Guy. “We’ve got two different versions of it – one that’s leaning more towards how he would sound and the version on the record which we’ve changed a little bit, more to how we sound now – but it’s come out great.”
Guitarist Paul Guerin penned a song called ‘Your True Colours’. “It’s got a real slinky groove, a sort of Stones or Roxy Music thing to it. We’ve got Mike Tramp on that one singing, who’s been a good friend of ours over the years and I really like all his solo records, they have a sort of Americana-type vibe and his voice really suited this track.” Speaking of the song, Mike Tramp said: “My friendship with the Quireboys started a long time ago and each time our paths have crossed, the bond has grown stronger. Therefore, I would lie if I didn’t say that in the back of my mind there always was a wish to do something together. So, I am more than thrilled when I was invited to sing on the Black Eyed Son’s new album and that they also gave me a song where I could be who I am.”
The calibre of artists on the album is second to none. “We did a song called ‘Autumn Reigns’ which is quite a personal song to me as it’s dedicated to my brother who passed away a couple of years ago,” reflects Guy. “I’ve got Charlie Starr from Blackberry Smoke singing and playing guitar on that with me.” Starr adds: “This song feels so real and natural. Like a hug from an old friend. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
With both Guy, Paul and Keith having played with The Down N Outz, it only seemed fitting to call up their mutual friend and bandmate. “We’ve got what I guess would be the title track, which is ‘Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits’ and that has Joe Elliott singing with me. Ryan Roxie from Alice Cooper, another old friend, plays some lead guitar on it at the end.”
But that’s not the only appearance on the album from the Alice Cooper guitarist. “We’ve done a version of ‘Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory’ by Johnny Thunders. The reason I got the idea to include it on the record is because I’d done a version of it in lockdown with Ryan Roxie and some other artists for charity. I thought it’d be a nice tribute to a couple of friends that I’ve lost recently. So, I changed it around to suit how I would sing it and Ryan’s on there playing guitar and singing backing vocals. We also added a string arrangement” The pair share a mutual respect for one another. “I’ve known Griff since the beginning of our respective careers. We are both from the old school baby, and Griff has always been the embodiment of rock n’ roll – genuine, classy, trashy, and an attitude that exemplifies what it is to be a rock n’ roll troubadour,” said Roxie.
Quite a mouth-watering list of guests – perhaps you will agree? “There’s a few different artists on there and a constant on it, through at least half the tracks, is Chip Z’Nuff on bass. He did a few tours with us, the two recent American tours and a Spanish tour. He’s like an honorary member of what we call the Black Eyed Sons now.”
In light of the band’s approach to their new album, it was very clear that this was something quite different to their past. Hence the project became Black Eyed Sons. “It’s kind of like a collective really, more than a band. It’s nice to be able to write a song and go, “this would really suit so and so. Oh, wow! now I can actually give them a call’. All they can do is say no and luckily for us, everyone’s said, yes. They were all really enthusiastic to be involved, especially at the beginning of something new and fresh, not bound to or stuck to any preconceived formula of whatever people think we should be doing,” said Guy. “It just seemed like a natural thing. Everybody came to the same sort of conclusion as we got further into the record. It was like, this is something else, and it needs to stand on its own merits, without prejudice – it’s a new thing. This is now. Actually, ‘This Is Now’ was almost the title of the album.”
To get to this point, the band had to sail through some choppy waters. “We’ve continued playing as a band. We did a year and a half of touring after the split. We’ve done two American tours. We did Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, obviously. And those were contracts or things we had to fulfil. There is a real grown-up world out there where you actually assume responsibility. Gigs are booked a year in advance – a lot of them. And some of those gigs were booked pre-lockdown,” recollects Griffin. “So, that year and a half during Covid, we had to keep the company running while there was nothing coming in. And then, once the lockdown was finished and bands were able to go out and tour, we were obliged to go back out there and play the shows we were legally contracted to do.”
Guy is enjoying his current role in the band. “I had no plans to become the singer, otherwise I would have done it a long time ago or would have left a long time ago and done my own thing. But I love playing with the guys in the band, it’s the same five guys who’ve been playing together for the past twenty years. It’s the same record we started; it’s just taken a few turns along the way and it’s taken a life of its own and an identity of its own,” explains Guy. “I don’t want to be bound by the past, I want to move forward. There will still be some Quireboys stuff that will come out because we’ve got a live album that we recorded and there are anniversaries that come up when you’ve got as many records as we’ve made.”
The role of a frontman can be a different animal. “I always say that there’s a little bit of pressure there. But I’m not trying to be anyone else – it’s a different thing. I play guitar, I’m not going to be throwing a mic stand around and all that kind of stuff, that’s not me. We did some very big gigs like Hellfest in France with Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard, playing in front of 50,000 people. The crowd were with us all the way, we got them singing and I did all the stuff I was supposed to do as a frontman… I got the crowd going. So, I know I can do that, it’s something that I can turn on when I go on stage,” confirms Guy. “It’s not who I am naturally, but like anyone who’s performing on stage, they’re putting on some sort of persona. I always feel strong and confident because the band is great, something that comes from playing together for many years.”
The frontman had some good times with the group before the split. “Since the band got back together in 2001, or whenever it was, we’ve got ten studio albums there. It’s not only the first two albums believe it or not! I’m just as proud of those first albums as anybody,” he says. “I’ve got some nice memories and I’ll keep those, remembering all the good stuff. This is a new beginning. We will put a song out in the next couple of months ahead of the album release and then you’ll see us on the road in 2025. That’s the realistic thing. Give it a few months to settle in there and get the name out there, let people know it’s a brand-new thing. And let it just stand on its own merits.”
The band are overjoyed with the support they’ve received from their peers. “With the way the music scene is nowadays, first of all, it’s great to have some really well-respected musicians (and friends) helping us out. And the one thing that all the people we’ve been involved with have in common is that they are very professional and reliable. They are all in very successful bands in their own right and work hard at it,” he says. “The last few years we were making a good living playing music, but I don’t have any illusions that we’re starting from the same point we were before. We know we do have an audience because we were out there still playing when all the dramas happened and there wasn’t a drop off in attendance. We’re lucky to have fans who were just open-minded enough to listen without prejudice and enjoy the music. Some people will always have their own opinions and just stick to whatever that opinion is regardless. Some people like to take sides and that’s just how it is.”
Guy remains excited about the future and Black Eyed Sons. “Personally, I’m in a much better place and all the stuff that happened in the past couple of years seems a bit silly to me now. I don’t really want to get involved with it. There’s a lot more important stuff going on in the world than some silly squabble between a bunch of blokes who should be old enough to know better,” jokes Guy. “I had a great time in 1989 but I’ve got no desire to go back there. I just want to move forward. You’ve only got so long doing this, you never know what’s around the corner. So, I just want to work with people that love playing music as much as I do.”
Word by Adam Kennedy