For those of a certain age, Suzi Quatro represents the first real female Rocker to grace our musical psyche. The leather-clad front women arrived via the States to add some American spice to our radio, music papers and TV screens. It was like being engulfed by a raspy Rock ‘N’ Roll whirlwind. Suzi Quatro ’s two number one hit singles in the mid-seventies are still getting plenty of radio airplay from Rock, Gold, and mainstream stations. Her TV CV includes appearances in Happy Days, Dempsey & Makepeace, Minder and getting electrocuted on stage in Midsummer Murders. So after five jam-packed decades what keeps the ageless singer songwitter, bassit and performer, well performing? Ladies and gentlemen the living legend that is Suzi Quatro, aka Miss Leather Tuscadero.
ORIGINAL ROCK. Fifty years is one hell of a long time to be performing and you still look amazing (in leather as well, no easy feat), how do you keep the sands of time a bay?
SUZI QUATRO. “It’s actually fifty-five years!! I think my secret is not to care, which I don’t. I just try and feel and look the best I can. I am not chasing 28… I embrace my age and just roll with it.”
OR. Your new album ‘No Control’ has a very eclectic feel. Some good old fashioned Rock numbers like ‘Macho Man’ and tracks such as ‘Strings’ which goes off at its own angle. Then ‘Love Is Not Fair’ which has the seventies tinged pop edge. Do you have an ‘anything goes’ attitude to songwriting? What was your writing process for ‘No Control’
SQ. “I wrote the majority of this album with my son who was somehow able to push my Suzi Quatro buttons. When I realised, about three demos in, that we were, in fact, making a seriously good album I told him and the engineer “this album must be organic.” No songs would be pushed in any direction and each would have its own personality, whatever that may be. So the songs, in reality, just happened.”
OR. How do you see the music industry 2019, compared to say the late seventies?
SQ. “It’s lost its feel somehow, too planned, too meticulous, not natural. This is why critics are raving about this album, it is a breath of fresh air. The Seventies were the last great era for musicians who learned their craft by gigging and that’s how you really learn!!!
OR. You’re in the middle of a huge tour and the UK is next. What can the UK audiences expect from the legends tour and how much stage time will you get?
SQ. “Lots of acts (on this tour) so only forty-five minutes, which is not my ideal at all!!! I prefer to do two-hour shows and no support. But saying that I’m sure I will enjoy it no matter how short the set is. It will be the hits of course and the new single.”
OR.So how do you pick a Suzi Quatro set list in 2019?
SQ “I have always mixed in both old and new, picking what seems to be the most popular tracks from each album. It’s the same now, two songs will go in from immediately. ‘No Soul’ and ‘Macho Man’. Then we will see which others to add from the new album.”
OR. Let’s talk TV, I mean there was a time when you were starring in Happy Days alongside The Fonz… Minder (my favourite show of all time), Dempsey and Makepeace and also Midsummer Murders. Which was your favourite show to star in and why?
SQ. “Happy Days, just because of what it is, is hard to beat but I did love Minder and Dempsey And Makepeace for different reasons. Both were interesting roles to bring to life. Actually Midsomer Murders was really good, had to play deep for that one.”
OR. You’ve influenced a raft of female musicians including Joan Jett, who in turn is influencing the next generation of female performers like, amongst others, Aimee Interrupter. Are we any closer to music industry equality, in pay, artist respect and jobs.
SQ. “God I hope so. I hope that I am influencing musicians, not just performers. That is what I stand for. A real Rocker, a real musician and a real performer. I take what I do very seriously and never give less than one hundred percent.”
OR. Finally, what does the rest of 2019 hold in store for Suzi Quatro?
SQ. “Well you mean besides the non-stop touring? I may do a little more writing, I’ve got lots of ideas with my son. Also a there’s a couple of TV series in the offing. Other than that trying to relax which isn’t easy for me.”
The legends tour starring Suzi Quatro, David Essex, Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers and Smokie starts on the 4th of April in Manchester before finishing in Bournemouth on April 14th. For a full list of dates and ticket details head to, http://legendslive.org/tours
“So come alive!”