We dig into the VLR vaults to bring you this interview with Sex Pistols legend Paul Cook from last year.
Paul Cook has been a been a busy man of late. Working with Edwyn Collins, playing with a reformed Chiefs Of Relief ‘We may release the recording of the Scala show’ and now about to release the second album from his new band Manraze, that just happens to include a certain Phil Collen from Def Leppard.
Did you know Phil and Simon from back in the day and how did that come together?
"Um, not really. I bumped into Phil in the last 10 years or so and we crossed paths when we were touring for the Pistols in ’96. We kind of just talked up about doing a band and it was just like that really. Until recently I bumped into him walking down the Fulham road and he was like, oh yeah I got something for you I’d like you to listen to and all this and see what you think and the thought went from there really. I had a listen to some demos and asked if I wanted to get involved and I said yeah we’ll see how it goes and if it works out and it was quite a long process. We got there in the end and it worked out good."
The album is called Punk Funk Roots Rock, that’s kind of like a mix of all three of your influences and all three parts coming together sort of thing?
"Yeah I guess that’s what it is really. Its all of our influences basically like we were kids basically re-growing up. that’s what we wanted to express with our emotions. We just wanted to combine it all."
Is the reggae influence yours?
"We all grew up in London and I grew up with reggae when I was a kid, and Reggae was on the charts all the time in the early ‘70’s - and it was just really big back then."
And you have a cool cover of Hendrix’s song ‘Fire’ which is brilliant and hard to play and do justice to.
"We play it live a lot, we love playing that live, and we thought let's try it and get it on the album if we can. And it worked out all right, It’s one we’ve all grown up listening to as well. We wanted to keep it (the band) as a three piece. We wanted to keep it as a nice unit."
Do you find it harder playing it as a three piece? It must be a bit trickier.
"It is a little bit. Singing and playing and stuff like that is, but it pushes you a bit more musically, which is good, and it tests you as a musician playing different styles, and playing as a three piece."
The song ‘Get Action’ sounds a bit like Thin Lizzy.
"Well they were a great rock band, really. I grew up listening Phil and Lizzy, and became friends with them eventually, which is nice. So it’s good to always keep all those influences in there."
And of course you played with the Greedies (various Pistols and Thin Lizzy members)
"Oh, the Greedies that was just a bit of fun. The live shows were good fun."
Are you going to be playing more gigs in the UK and America?
"We are heading over to the states in September for the album release. Towards the end of the year after the album is up and running, we will be heading back to the UK for some shows."
So its still fun for you playing live these days?
"Yeah, I love playing live actually. A lot of people aren’t playing anymore, when they get to that stage in their career, so I cant complain".
We saw John Lydon at Guilfest the other weekend and he was good.
"Yeah, he’s playing all over the place. Been hearing a lot of good feedback from it. He’s seriously good so hopefully he’ll be carrying on with that and making a new album or something".
No plans in the works for the Pistols?
"Not really, not at the moment. Everyone’s busy doing their own stuff but next year it might be different. You never know."
Everybody has been asking will the Professionals (Paul and Steve Jones post Pistols band) ever play again?
"Who knows we might do something. I would like to do some new material cos I don’t really like doing all this stuff without it.I’d be interested and I spoke to Paul Meyers yesterday actually, it might come together you never know".
"One of my regrets was that we didn’t make another album with the Professionals. Them, the Pistols, Chiefs, just one album - story of my life".
PunkFunkRootsRock is out now on Earmusic.