They climbed the 80’s charts with ‘Digging your scene’ and ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’, but you don’t have to go that far to talk about The Blow Monkeys: the British group is brimming with activity, with six albums released in their second life, starting in 2008, and as if that were not enough we have their leader, Dr. Robert, living near us, in the Lecrín Valley of Granada. From there he has flown to perform with his band this Monday in Gaslight in a double concert in which they will also take part christians and with which the room will finally celebrate its duplicate 25th and 26th anniversary.
Timely celebration in times when, “Between the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, fear and depression are rampant and we need a new educational illustration & rdquor ;, reflects Robert Howard, who sees music and art “as part of a necessary change in philosophy & rdquor ;, given that “capitalism is not a sustainable way of life & rdquor ;. The political background of their words should not be surprising: already in the 80s, beyond their refined size and sound, The Blow Monkeys were a troop of leftists committed to the collective Red Wedge, who fought Margaret Thatcher. “There was a clash between the image we gave and our political attitude & rdquor ;, ponders Howard. “But because you’re on the left you don’t have to be Billy Bragg, who I adore; you can also be Oscar Wilde. And it’s okay to confuse people sometimes.”
Paul Weller’s Example
Another preconception that Dr. Robert has in mind is that of The Blow Monkeys as a sophisticated pop band. “Our albums had a great production, very 80’s & rdquor ;, he reasons. “But live we were more ‘punk’ than people expected, and we reflected a mixture of many things & rdquor ;. Born in Scotland, he spent his adolescence in Australia, discovering bands like The Saints and The Go-Betweens, and when he returned to the UK in 1981 to settle in London, he came across new wave and the Scottish team of Postcard Records (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera). “In the beginning, with the group we were learning and we did not fit into any scene & rdquor ;, he recalls, alluding to his wide mosaic of influences, which ranged from the melodic and black music of the 60s, intercepted through his two older sisters, “to Northern soul, T. Rex and the blues”.
A high reference has always been Paul Weller, a musician with whom he collaborated as a bassist when he was released solo, at the beginning of the 90s, and who he sees as an example of risk taking, “given that the public of The Jam was very conservative , and he was as much influenced by The Modern Jazz Quartet as he was by The Small Faces”. Precisely, the problem of The Blow Monkeys in the old days was “the pressure & rdquor; to continue billing pop-soul milestones. “When I didn’t want to get caught up in that and limit myself to repeating schemes & rdquor ;, explains Dr. Robert, who remembers his visits to Barcelona in those years, including the massive performance in the Recta de l’Estadi, at the Mercè festivities in 1987.
Start over
The group broke up in 1990 because, after nearly a decade, several ingredients in the equation had changed. “We had formed families, I left London, and although we were doing well, a change was appreciated with the arrival of bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays & rdquor ;, remember. “A new generation was arriving, and I wanted to explore house and dance music. I needed to educate myself musically to start again & rdquor ;.
Two decades ago, Dr. Robert moved to the Lecrín Valley, where you have the time and serenity to develop your music. “I no longer drink alcohol or drugs, I play every day and as long as there is an audience, no matter how big it is, I enjoy it & rdquor ;, Explain. Although the rest of the band resides in the United Kingdom, the bond is “family & rdquor ;”, he assures. The formation is almost the original: Mick Anker on bass, Neville Henry on sax and the only modern signing, Crispin Taylor, on drums, filling in for Tony Kiley. “They trust me, and we have a very special relationship & rdquor ;, he underlines. “We all kept the same couples for a long time. Myself, for 35 years & rdquor ;, he adds in reference to his also manager Michele. “That tells us something about our personality and the feeling of loyalty. There we are all, embarked on the same journey & rdquor ;.
far from the museum
That’s where your last album, ‘Journey to you’ (2021), where The Blow Monkeys have sought to “recover the essences & rdquor; letting himself be inspired by the spirit of the classic ‘Forever changes’ (1967), by Love, and “its mixture of acoustic guitars and great metal arrangements”. All this, with full awareness that “you never know when the last album and the last concert will arrive” and that it is about “living in the moment”. No ’80s revival, no nostalgic festival: the group combines old hits with modern material in their concerts, announces Dr. Robert. “I am not a museum piece.”
And although he suspects that “it’s too late to get a real job & rdquor ;, he jokes, he delights in his country life, on a farm “not very big & rdquor; in which cultivates olive trees and produces oil. “Not much, for friends, about two hundred liters in an organic process & rdquor ;, points out Robert Howard, it would seem that he was irremediably abducted by the winds from the south. “Sometimes they invite us to a friend’s farmhouse, we eat and then they dance, and they ask me to play a blues or something by Chuck Berry, and someone plays flamenco & rdquor ;, he explains, delighted and fascinated. “In Andalusia, traditions are preserved in which a North African air is breathed. It is something very strong, and I like it & rdquor ;.
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