Mark Blake Interview

Mark Blake is the author of the recent highly-acclaimed biography of Pink Floyd Pigs Might Fly. An experienced music journalist, he is the Editor-in-Chief at the Q and Mojo Special Editions titles. His website is www.markrblake.com.

 

How long have you been writing about music?

Since 1988/1989, writing for various rock magazines, most of which closed years ago. The first band I ever interviewed were a hair-metal group called Slaughter. They had a song called ‘Up All Night, Sleep All Day.’ Rubbish, of course. The interview was on the phone and the tape recording didn't come out. One of my colleagues at the time advised me, "Remember what you can, and just make it up." Which I did. I later discovered that Danny Baker did the same thing at NME when he interviewed The Jam or someone certainly more important than Slaughter. Since 1997, I have written for Q and Mojo, but mostly Q, where I was Reviews Editor and, later, Assistant Editor.

What do you think of the current state of rock journalism compared to when you first began your career as a rock scribe?

It's more professional (despite the anecdote above). I grew up reading Sounds, the now defunct weekly music paper. I don't think I missed an issue from 1978 until the late 80s. The piece that made the greatest impression on me was about the band UFO on tour in the USA. It was written by Garry Bushell. Today, that piece wouldn't be published, as it was self-indulgent, libellous, politically incorrect and almost incoherent. It did make me laugh, though. I don't want to get into a blowing-smoke-up-arse type scenario, but if you read Sounds and you were into heavy rock then writers such as Geoff Barton, Mick Wall and Pete Makowski were the young gods. Everything now is very stage-managed. Writers rarely get the sort of access to the bands that they did 20 years ago. Pete Makowski went on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd and got a gun pulled on him. I can't see that happening with The Ting Tings.

What are you favourite rock books?

Here's a few…Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs by John Lydon; Living The Blues - Canned Heat's Story Of Music, Drugs, Death & Survival by Fito De La Paro (this is the most insane car-crash rock biography I have ever read. Everything that can go wrong for a band does!) Keith Richards: Life As A Rolling Stone by Barbara Charone; Inside Out: A Personal History Of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason; The Who - Maximum R&B by Richard Barnes; Passion Is A Fashion: The True Story Of The Clash by Pat Gilbert; Exile On Main St: A Season In Hell With The Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield… I also keep a copy of a book called Laughing All Over The World in my office drawer at Q. It came out years ago and was written by Patti Parfitt, ex-wife of Status Quo's Rick. It's badly written but it is the funniest and most damning indictment of a rock star marriage I have ever read. I still dip in from time to time…

Who are you musical and non-musical idols?

Who was it that said, 'Never meet your heroes, they will always disappoint you'? I live by that. As a kid, I never queued up to get anyone's autograph, I'm afraid. I had Jon Pertwee's when he was Doctor Who in 1973 because my schoolteacher's boyfriend was a set assistant on the show. Does that count? When I listen to albums like Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti or even something like Kate Bush's The Dreaming (which I played recently for the first time in years) I still think, 'How did you manage that? How does your brain work?' I admire and respect that kind of talent. My non-musical idol is my son Matthew.

Your most interesting interviews have been…

Predictably, from the perspective of having bought their albums and lived with their music since the age of 12, any member of Zeppelin or Floyd. Jimmy Page and Roger Waters especially. In retrospect Kurt Cobain, though nobody would have known that at the time. I also interviewed Fleetwood Mac in Detroit in 1997, and I recall seeing Stevie Nicks arriving in the hotel foyer, she didn't walk in, she sort of floated in, surrounded by a phalanx of handmaidens. I have never seen anything like it before or since. It was hilarious. I'd like to see more bands 'float' around like that.

Who have you least enjoyed interviewing?

I enjoy the bad ones as much as the good ones because they're funnier and you can get some good comic mileage out of them. Guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was a gift, with an ego that far outweighed his musical talent. Never warmed to Jon Bon Jovi, either.

What are the most memorable gigs you have been to over the years?

Pink Floyd's The Wall at Earls Court because it was one of the first I went to. Iron Maiden at Brunel University, Uxbridge, in 1980 was another. I have never really been an Iron Maiden fan, but it was exciting to see them in a tiny college hall. Some older kid had acquired a few cans of Double Diamond, which we were passing round while we queued up to get in. I was stood there shooting my mouth off like a typical 15- year-old, when this old rocker - long hair, beard, stinking of patchouli oil – turned round, didn't say a word and just clapped his hand over my mouth, before walking off. Thoroughly deserved. Led Zeppelin at the 02 Arena in 2007 was an exhilarating evening that lived up to and beyond all the hype.

How long did it take to write your latest book Pigs Might Fly?

About three years from start to finish. I was fortunate to have interviewed all of the band members beforehand for various magazines. The research is the easy part - tracing old roadies, girlfriends, drug dealers etc. The writing is the tough bit.

The reviews for Pigs Might Fly have been outstanding…have you had any feedback from Pink Floyd fans?

Yes, lots of e-mails, mostly positive, some pointing out the errors - ha! - which have been amended in later printings. My favourite e-mails have been from someone that was at the Perse school in Cambridge with David Gilmour and got kicked out of his music class for being tone deaf, and another from someone that shared a house with Gilmour in Queen's Mews off the Moscow Road in 1968. He shed more light on this very obscure period in Gilmour's history - something for the 'anoraks'.

Do you write about music full-time?

Yes. I work full-time at Q and Mojo magazines, the world's finest music magazines. yada yadda yadda…

What advice would you give to aspiring rock scribes?

Get a proper job. Train to be a plumber instead. I'm not being facetious, just honest. If you are still determined to do it, then acquire some useful skills such as being able to sub edit or proof read. If you can get out of bed in the morning, turn up on time. Demonstrate some command of the English language and some proper social skills, this makes you more indispensable than just knowing the catalogue number for the first Velvet Underground album. Social skills are a big plus: a lot of rock journalists struggle with this. Be different. Stand up straight, go for a run, get some fresh air in your lungs… Don't just stand around, looking at your shoes and muttering about Primal Scream.

What is your next project?

I am hoping to renovate my bathroom when Pigs Might Fly goes into paperback at the end of the year. If anyone can suggest a good plumber…

 

Interview by Neil Daniels 2008