September/October 2011 Interview by Yiannis Dolas, Rockpages.gr. A true legend of rock and metal comes back after several years of absence in discography hoping for... a second chance. Fast Eddie Clarke reinforces the forgotten Fastway going back to the roots of the band sounding similar to the first two albums. In our extended chat Fast Eddie tells us the story of the reincarnation of Fastway, he gets nasty with young guitarists, and gives a track by track analysis of 'Eat Dog Eat'... Interview: Yiannis Dolas Rockpages.gr: It's been quite a long time since this album you've got now with Fastway was announced that it was coming out... why did it take you so long? Fast Eddie Clarke: Well, you know the way things are these days with the business and everything; it was difficult to find someone who wanted to put the album out for the right reasons. We didn't want a record company to just put the record out, we wanted a company that had a little rock pedigree, someone who feels like us. Because, the business is completely different now, I haven't released an album in nearly twenty years and it's all changed, it's very different with the internet, and the record companies, there are no record shops anymore. So, it's taken a while to sort of get to grips with it... it has been twelve months since we made it... it's a long time coming but I am very excited about it! Rockpages.gr: Well, they say better late than ever! Fast Eddie Clarke: Hahahah! Indeed they do! Rockpages.gr: So, how did you hook up with Tobby Jepson back in 2007 and you decided to put Fastway back together? Fast Eddie Clarke: Well, there's an agent here who works for X Ray, he manages people like Coldplay, he is a friend of mine, I've known him for twenty years, he used to be a drummer, and he approached me about putting Fastway together and do some festivals, because he is an agent and he know the people that put festivals together, and he can say "put my band on", and they'd say "yeah", so it's very handy hahaha! And we needed a singer and he introduced us to Toby, who wasn't doing much at the time. They were acquaintances, so he told him "why don't you come down and try it out with Fastway?", which he did, and everything worked very well out in 2007, they shows went very well, I don't know if you managed to see any... we had some good reviews we played Hyde Park, Download, we went to Japan, we did Germany, Belgium, Holland and Sweden... Rockpages.gr: Well, you see you didn't come to Greece, that's why I wasn't able to see any of the shows! Maybe this time! Fast Eddie Clarke: This time it's going to be different! Obviously, we have the album now, and we will tour extensively to promote it... Rockpages.gr: So, What are your ambitions from Fastway now? Fast Eddie Clarke: To be honest, I am very proud of the record. We set out and did an album which was live in the studio, just like we did in the 70s, and the early 80s. If anything I want the album to be appreciated for what it is, a good old fashioned rock record, with some great rock songs on it, some great performances! I think Toby Jepson's vocals are fantastic, my guitar playing... I am a little older now, but I am still doing it! and it's all sounding pretty good. I just want some recognition... Fastway, great band and to do some great shows... to be remembered for being a really great rock band... All I really ask is for people to like the record, and enjoy the shows we might do. Rockpages.gr: You have a big background, and history in rock writing, and recording music, being in Motorhead and all that stuff. Fastway is a band from the 80s, but there is a very big movement towards this kind of music. A lot of new bands that are coming out now they sound like the 80s. Do you think that because of that, maybe Fastway are more relevant now, than they were in the 90s? Fast Eddie Clarke: Quite possibly... the 90s were a very bad period for my sort of music, 'cause I did my solo album. People still like the old stuff. I heard a few new bands that I like, but I don't think there is room for more. I think there is room for more rock bands! People need to rock out... I do find that modern bands, me being a guitarist and playing since I was a kid, 'cause I love lead guitar... I think that there is not enough lead guitar out there you know? I'd like to listen to those new rock bands putting a little bit more lead guitar, that's what I miss, obviously being a lead guitarist. I love listening to guys playing lead guitar, but there's not a lot of it out there these days. So, I am hoping that we can address the balance a little bit with this album, because there is plenty of lead guitar in here... give me an opening and I'll play some guitar! Rockpages.gr: One more thing that someone might notice these days is that new guitarists don't have their own sound. You can't listen to someone playing and say "ah, I know this guy", but if you listen to Slash, Brian Robertson, or Fast Eddie Clarke, you know that this is Fast Eddie Clarke, but you don't come across that with new players... Fast Eddie Clarke: I think there is a couple of things... people in our days... we learned from a young age, and we wanted to be what we wanted to be, and now I think the reasons for people picking up a guitar and being in a band has slightly changed. It's more to do with being famous, and the lifestyle and the rest of it. Also, I think that technology affected that as well. Because, you know you can get a good sound on your guitar sitting at home now. The only way you could get a good guitar sound when I was a kid was actually to plug your guitar and turn up your amplifier, but you can do that now on a little box in your computer. And I think that's taken away the need for players to explore their sound and playing... the minor detail... and I know all of them, Brian, myself, and I am sure for Slash is the same, we worked so hard to get a good sound. It really was difficult to get a good sound. You needed the right pedal, the right strings, the right guitar, the right amp... you needed the right everything, and then you were happy with the sound. But, these days you just put a little box that says "great sound" it you plug it on and you get your sound! Rockpages.gr: Well, I am not a musician, and I have never ever played the guitar, but I think that it's the same with other aspects that were affected by technology. Fast Eddie Clarke: I don't know about you, but whenever I had cars, and a car broke down with smoke coming out, I'd lift the hood and tried to fix it! Now, you can't fix the car. You open the bonnet and you can't see anything! In the old days you could sort of muck about with it. It's like what you said, it's the modern age, you can't do anything anymore, just sit there... Rockpages.gr: The album's title 'Eat Dog Eat' does it have a meaning? Fast Eddie Clarke: Not really... we were in the studio, where we were doing the recordings in Chapel, in Linconshire, and we started putting names up on the board, on a piece of paper on the wall, potential album titles. And we put deep meanings on there like 'Deep Shit' and all that... I think it was Toby who put 'Eat Dog Eat' up there and he said "I thought 'Dog Eat Dog', but maybe we should put it around", so it went on the list. And then, when I looked all the titles, it was about 15 or 16 on the list, everytime I looked at it, that one kept sticking out to me. And I said to Toby, "I don't know about you, but this title here keeps jumping at me", and he said "I can't keep out of my head either!", so I said for that reason alone we should use that as the album's title, and that's how it came about really. It seemed to be calling us, and don't ask me why because there is no real reason behind it! For the cover we used an American artist called James Flames, he'd done a couple of covers, he is great. And of course, having an album title like 'Eat Dog Eat' it was perfect for the cover, because there is a dog with its tongue out growling, you know... and so, it kind of completed the circle, so it might had to do with that why the name sort of came to us, rather than we went for the name! I told you before it's deep! I am an old hippie! (he laughs) Rockpages.gr: Can you give me a few comments about the songs? Fast Eddie Clarke: 'Deliver Me' is the perfect opening track to be honest. I just think it has this grinding sort of riff that keeps going round and round. Toby's vocals are great on it, and we just thought that it set the tone for the record. I think that the vocals in the end are fantastic, where the song stops "tah-rah-rah-rah" (he sings). I said to Toby "can we put that on the front?", 'cause I liked it very much. He said "get a grip here!" The ending was five times as long but we couldn't leave it like that it was too much... and the other day Toby told me you know this sounds like U2! And I said "FUUUCK", "bloody hell", which is not of course a nice thing to say, but you know! 'Leave The Light On' was an extra track. SPV asked us about two and a half months ago for an extra, 'cause we only did 10, because it was going to be a 10-track album. Later on they told us to write one more for the download thing, and so we had another track that we didn't finish. We had another title for it I think, but it was an up tempo rocking track in the traditions of Fastway. So, we went back to the studio I put some guitars on it, Toby wrote some vocals and I think that it turned out as a really good asset on the album. Because it's a tempo we didn't really had. It fits in for that slot. And then of course 'Lovin Fool' is one of my favorites. I just love the way it just stomps along and I love the ending, and the guitar solos. It's one of those guitar breaks where all stops and the guitar does its thing. So, I think this is my favorite song, although it's hard to say 'cause when you have 'Dead 'n' Gone' with the acoustic and of course "When I'm dead and gone"... when you get to my age you are thinking about that quite a lot! You know "when I'm dead and gone" ... when I heard that lyric I though it was perfect! 'cause that's how I feel a lot of the time, you know, I get a pain and I'm like "Oh, I'm going" Hahahah... as you get older you just feel a bit more vulnerable. I love the way it goes from the acoustic to the riffs, and the vocal performance is amazing. And I love the way it goes into the riff all the way through, and I love the solo in the end! It's a different kind of solo for me. I thought of ending at that... slight a different sound, and just making it a bit less whisby and a little bit more straight ahead. And then 'Sick As A Dog'... that was going to be the opening track originaly! But, we weren't sure... if it was a record 'Sick As A Dog' would open side two. We kind of looked at it like a record. I love the song, I love the lyrics, and I love the ending! That's one thing we've got on this record, it's songs with the best endings I've ever done! You've got to notice that the endings are brilliant. Aren't they? 'Freedom Song' has a live ending on it... Then, 'Need To Believe'... we weren't quite sure what to do with it... we had this sort of riff and we didn't know what to do with it, so we let it rest for a little bit, and it came out the way it came out. I kinda like it because it's just different; it's not the same as the others. And then 'Love I Lead' which I think it's a great slow blues really! It's got that big riff "dooh-dooh-dooh-dooooh-doooh-doooh"! Just to break it up a bit... and then ending with "On And On", which is one of my favourites as well. I always loved "On And On", it's one of those old-fashioned riffs, from the late 60s, early 70s... dahh-daahhh-dadadahhh... It's like Cream... It's a late 60s kind of riff, it's retro. When I first played that I thought "this takes me back a few years", so all along we've got a nice mix of tempos, and attitudes on the album. I am so pleased with this album! It's the best thing I've done since the first Fastway album... so that's how much I love it! I think it leaves everything else standing! I think Toby is probably the best vocalist I've ever worked with, and that says a lot, 'cause I've worked with a few good ones. Rockpages.gr: The band, Fastway, we must say that you did a good run back in the 80s with the first album, but then I don't think that the band continued at the same level, at least... Fast Eddie Clarke: After the first album it all got too political... differences in the band, Dave and I didn't get on... things like that happen. And the record company wanted this and the management wanted something else, and it just all got lost! Actually, ever since Pete (Way) left before we recorded the first album, it was never the same. The band should have been Pete and me! So, when Pete left to join Ozzy it really took a lot out of me! I lost of my heart on it, and I never got it back... it was never the same. In fact, this one should have been our second album in a way. There is some good stuff on 'All Fired Up', don't get me wrong, but it was hard work, you know? We were all ready not seeing Nigel White... things were already going wrong. So, this album is really for me like... it should have been our second album, it's really where Fastway should have always been. This is how Fastway is, and it should have been what Fastway should have become, but we lost our way. I was drinking and we were doing this and doing that, falling out... the 80s were a bad time. It was a bad time for music as far as I am concerned, it was all the bullshit... the spare lite drums, and the drums this, and the drums that, and the Matt Lange's and all that. It wasn't good for rock music... for me personally, I found it really difficult. Rockpages.gr: Would you ever consider to ask Pete Way to join the band for a show? Fast Eddie Clarke: If he was around and wanted to get up on stage it would be great! I see Pete now and again, and we are good friends now. We always have been. So, any opportunity to play with Pete is always welcome, but we've never been in a band together, 'cause he's got a thing going on, and I've got a thing going on. I'd like to play with Pete sometime, it would be great! Rockpages.gr: When someone has the chance to talk with guys like you that in a way built the history of music always has to ask: did you realize what you were doing when you were releasing albums with Motörhead, when you released 'Overkill', 'Ace Of Spades', or 'Bomber'? Fast Eddie Clarke: No, not at all! You are really doing everything you can to be part of what you are doing. You never think for a minute that you are going to be laid down in history. It comes later, usually when it's all over. You look back and say "fuckin'ell that was bloody great, wasn' it?". It's only afterwards when you can look back and see how good it was. At the time you don't see it. that's why we argue, and that's why good bands break up you see, 'cause they don't see how good what they are doing is, and they don't realize that they do all that great stuff, since they don't think the are great, 'cause they are doing it. It's ten years later that you look back and you go "fuck me, that was good, wasn' it?" When all the dust settles, and all the tempers has dived down... I don't think that anybody can really tell that they are doing anything knowingly like that. It has to happen naturally, like an accident really. You need a lot of good luck and it happens by accident. I've got "Ace Of Spades" that people liked it, saw it on TV, heard it on the radio, they remember. I have perhaps another record to become a classic. I am very fortunate, I've been very lucky. I had a good career, and I have no complaints. Rockpages.gr: Also, last year 'Lemmy, The Movie' was out in theatres, and you were a part of that... Fast Eddie Clarke: I did an interview about an hour and a half, and they only used ten seconds! Hahaha... Rockpages.gr: Some of that is on the second disc, if you buy the DVD, there is a lot of extra stuff in there. Fast Eddie Clarke: Oh, OK! Is there? I didn't know that! Lemmy is so popular everyone wants to say something. Rockpages.gr: Actualy, was surprised that Girlschool weren't on that, but anyway! Fast Eddie Clarke: Yes, they weren't! I don't know why this happened... I think Lemmy lost contact with Girlschool and sees them very occasionally since he moved to L.A.. So, I guess this should have something to do with it. Plus, he's been very busy for the last two years... Rockpages.gr: Do you follow what the band has been doing all those years since you left? Fast Eddie Clarke: No, I don't! No, I go to shows and see Lemmy and say "hello", but no! Rockpages.gr: I want to take you back now, when you first picked up the guitar and tell me what was it that made you wanna play and become a professional musician? Fast Eddie Clarke: Well, I just fancied the guitar a little bit and then I got into some of the Yardbirds with Eric Clapton. My head went off when I saw them! And I got to see them quite often, because they used to play down the street from where I live in Richmond. I used to go to the shows, I must have been about 13 I think, and that was my inspiration really. I really wanted to do this, so that fired me to actually play the guitar. Becoming a professional musician was lucky really... I wasn't doing much at the time, and I could play really well and I've been playing for a long time, I was 20. I just got a couple of opportunities when I was jamming with a few people just for fun. And, in such situations they always introduce you to more people, and so once again it wasn't a plan, it was luck really. I believe that if you hang on in there, and you keep playing every day something will happen. But, you do have to be at the right place at the right time. I was just very fortunate. I consider myself lucky. Rockpages.gr: So, what advice would you give to a kid coming to you asking for an advice about playing in a band? Fast Eddie Clarke: If you enjoy playing, keep enjoying it, play as much as you can, and don't ever give up. If you never give up and you keep pursuing your dream then something will happen! I almost guarantee it! if you don't give up... like I said you have to be at the right place on the right time, and that means being ready! Should something happen you should be able to say "yes, I am ready!" And of course they can't ask you for something and you go "Naahh, I can't right now, I have to see me girlfriend!" there's none of that! You have to be "Yes, I'm there!". If you don't give up and you keep at it, I almost guarantee you'll get something out of it! Rockpages.gr: Do you listen to new music today? Have you listened to any new bands that made you go "Oh, these guys are really good, I like them?" Fast Eddie Clarke: I haven't done for some time... I still play all the old stuff... the Hendrix, the Zeppelins, Santana... I listen to all of that. I don't listen to new bands because I've been busy obviously the last two years anyway, and I just don't find myself looking for new music. I am sort of stuck with the old stuff. So when people ask me I tell them that I am a bit out of touch. And I am a bit out of touch, it's just the way things turned out, I don't do it deliberately. So, I can't really say about one band, or another, what they should be playing, what they should be doing...

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