Gotthard - what have British rock fans been missing?
Gotthard - what have British rock fans been missing?
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Wednesday, 04, Nov 2009 04:01
Selling more than two million albums and hitting the number one spot in your homeland with 11 successive records would be enough to keep many bands happy.
But, Gotthard would be forgiven for thinking of what might have been. Record company wrangling meant that the Swiss rockers missed their big push in the UK in the 90s, but now they're back to show Britain what it's been missing. Richard Chamberlain speaks with Gotthard lead guitarist Leo Leoni about fame, fans and going from huge arenas to tiny clubs.
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of Gotthard?
The story starts a long time ago, something like 1992, that was the release of the first record. We toured quite a lot, 20 years on the road more or less, nine studio records, a few best ofs and a live DVD. Just working and rockin'.
Over the years you've had a pretty stable line-up - how have you managed to avoid the fights and break ups of other bands?
The line-up has stayed pretty much the same from day one. A few years ago we added Freddy [Scherer] as a guitar player, but the main line-up is the same. The secret of that is that we are a band. These other bands might pretend to be a band but really they're not. Just respect each other, it's like a big family. We're all friends and I think it's good to be with friends to have a beer together and not just to hit the stage. I think that's the big part of the secret, but it ain't no secret.
How do you find coming over to the UK for gigs?
We played in 1992 supporting Magnum, but the record company wouldn't release our record. They just would not release the record so that's the reason we didn't tour here for a little while. Then in 2003 we changed record companies and released the Lip Service album and finally our records were released in the UK and we could get back to the UK.
Do you feel you missed out at all with all those years not being able to come over to the UK?
You're supposed to ask the fans if they missed out!
With you guys being so huge back home is there almost a temptation to stay there and play arenas every night?
It's nice to go to new places. The difference between back home and here is that we're playing around in clubs [in the UK]. It's different but at the end of the day we're here to do our job and make our fans happy and try to get some more fans for the next tour. It's a jungle out there so you have to go out and win your little place and hopefully your little place will become bigger.
Sometimes you can't deliver all of the big stuff you'd like, it's always a compromise. Sometimes that's good and sometimes it's not. Sometimes we play small venues and sometimes big venues, which makes the show different. We always do our best to get the Gotthard vibe though.
Is that an easy transition to make from arenas to clubs?
No it's not an easy thing to do, but then it's not that difficult. We know what we need to do. But, a five-square-metre stage is not the same as playing at Wembley or the 15,000-seaters we have played back home.
How has the reaction to the new album been?
Pretty good. We're very welcome everywhere in the charts. We're top ten in Germany and of course number one in Switzerland and in Sweden we're number 26 or something, which is pretty good. The fans love it, people buy it, we're rockin'.
How was the writing process for the album?
It was a combination of things. When we're on the road we record things on little recorders or telephones or write things down. When the tour has ended people look through everything that's stored and we start from there. We think what would be a good idea and go step by step. We don't record on the road because we don't take the gear around, we like to do one thing at a time.
Have you already got an eye on the next album?
We're very happy with the record and we plan to tour at least until the end of next year. We might record some extra songs, but the plan first is to promote this album and then we'll see if we've survived the tour.
Are there any particular countries you'd love to crack?
Sure, it'd be nice to establish a little more in England. My personal dream is to be bigger in Russia. America, maybe, but it's not so exciting there anymore. A lot of American bands are coming back to the UK and Europe to tour because people still appreciate music and there's some money left. In America I don't think there's much money left to be made in the music business. But, I may be wrong. I'm happy to stay around Europe and to have kids dream to have a band like Gotthard.
Were UK bands a big influence on Gotthard?
I think a big part of rock music came from UK bands. You start with Zeppelin, to the Beatles to Deep Purple, most big bands were from the UK. Now I think everything has to be trendy to be in the music market, which I think is a bit sad. When you look at the Beatles or Zeppelin, they painted a large part of the rock and pop industry. I still believe in this country there's a lot of talent around.
Do you think that other European bands can be inspired by what you've achieved?
In Switzerland we're already an inspiration to other bands that have followed us. We are Swiss but the passport is not important, nevermind your passport, if you're making good music that's all that matters. Gotthard tries to be an example to a lot of people. When you have kids singing your songs it's great. It means they mean something to people.
What's coming up next for the band after the UK tour?
We have a few gigs through December. The three in the UK and then we'll go back to Germany touring with Europe. Then we go on the road with Deep Purple and then after that we'll tour Scandinavia in February. Next year we might hit a few festivals, maybe England. Headlining Castle Donington would be awesome! Let me call the Queen!
Richard Chamberlain
Gotthard's new album Need to Believe is out now