By Steve Newton I guess one of the cooler in-person interviews I've ever done was that time back in October of '83 when I hung out with three members of AC/DC--singer Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, and then-new drummer Simon Wright--at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver. The Aussie earbusters were in town to … Continue reading Hangin’ with AC/DC on the Flick of the Switch tour while Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson talk Bon
That time I told Gord Downie that the Hip’s “Nautical Disaster” made me think of Neil Young & Crazy Horse
By Steve Newton When I interviewed the Tragically Hip's Gord Downie in January of 1995 it was less than four months after the release of the band's fourth full-length album, Day for Night, and I was still playing the crap out of it. I would also play "Nautical Disaster" over and over again, until it … Continue reading That time I told Gord Downie that the Hip’s “Nautical Disaster” made me think of Neil Young & Crazy Horse
That time AC/DC’s Malcolm Young told me that Angus’s schoolboy outfit was first meant as a “kick in the teeth”
By Steve Newton Back in '83 when I interviewed AC/DC at a Vancouver hotel before the start of the Flick of the Switch tour I asked Malcolm Young whether Angus, as a kid, ever had to wear that schoolboy outfit he's famous for. Turns out it was just a way to get attention more than … Continue reading That time AC/DC’s Malcolm Young told me that Angus’s schoolboy outfit was first meant as a “kick in the teeth”
That time Black Sabbath riffmaster Tony Iommi told me that the first guitar he ever wanted was a Fender Strat
By Steve Newton So here's the last of the audio excerpts from my 1984 interview with Tony Iommi, back when Black Sabbath was touring behind the Born Again album. I called him up at his home in Birmingham--or maybe he called me up, it was a while ago--and we chatted about stuff like the band's blowing … Continue reading That time Black Sabbath riffmaster Tony Iommi told me that the first guitar he ever wanted was a Fender Strat
Annie Lennox struts her stuff as Eurythmics prove themselves pop masters in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 1, 1986 By Steve Newton The Eurythmics show on Monday (July 28) opened with a big white zipper slowly parting a silver/grey curtain stretched across the Expo Theatre stage. It closed with singer Annie Lennox shedding her white shirt and traipsing around in a lacy red bra, slying … Continue reading Annie Lennox struts her stuff as Eurythmics prove themselves pop masters in Vancouver
That time back in ’84 when Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi told me: “If I go deaf, I go deaf”
By Steve Newton Sometimes when I interviewed heavy-metal bands in the '80s I'd play the devil's advocate and ask silly questions like "What do you say to people who think you're too loud?". Or if they were really heavy--like Black Sabbath--I'd ask them if they were worried about damaging their hearing with their music. I … Continue reading That time back in ’84 when Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi told me: “If I go deaf, I go deaf”
That time Gord Downie and I talked hockey after the 1994-95 NHL lockout
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie on January 18, 1995, it had been exactly one week since the end of the historic NHL lockout that had started the previous October. That lockout caused the 1994-1995 hockey season to be shortened from 84 games to 48, the shortest season in 53 … Continue reading That time Gord Downie and I talked hockey after the 1994-95 NHL lockout
That time Brian Johnson joked about going deaf and Malcolm Young added that AC/DC’s fans get most of the volume
By Steve Newton The biggest news in the hard-rock world back in 2016 revolved around AC/DC having to hire Axl Rose to take the place of Brian Johnson for the remainder of its Rock or Bust World Tour. Johnson, the band's singer since replacing Bon Scott in 1980, had to leave the band--or got tossed … Continue reading That time Brian Johnson joked about going deaf and Malcolm Young added that AC/DC’s fans get most of the volume
That time Tony Iommi told me about wanting to play drums, losing his fingertips, and loving Django
By Steve Newton Here's another audio excerpt from my 1984 interview with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, wherein he reveals that he wanted to be a drummer at first. Thank god he got over that! Iommi also talks about losing two fingertips in an industrial accident, and how he was inspired to keep on playing by … Continue reading That time Tony Iommi told me about wanting to play drums, losing his fingertips, and loving Django
That time Gord Downie told me that he thought “The Inevitability of Death” was kind of a funny song
By Steve Newton As a freelance writer for the Georgia Straight back in the heyday of the weekly paper, it was highly unusual that I would interview the same artist more than once in the same calendar year. But I did two interviews with Gord Downie in 1995--one in January and another in July--because the … Continue reading That time Gord Downie told me that he thought “The Inevitability of Death” was kind of a funny song
Lights Out ain’t The Babadook, people
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 22, 1016 By Steve Newton Lights Out is a new horror flick about a murderous ghoul that you can only see--and get terrorized by--when the lights are out and its silhouette is visible. Illumination renders the thing harmless, so there's a helluva lot of victims-to-be sprinting for lightswitches and fumbling … Continue reading Lights Out ain’t The Babadook, people
That time I asked Gord Downie about the cool cover art on the Tragically Hip’s Fully Completely
By Steve Newton This audio excerpt from my 1992 interview with Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie concerns the intriguing album-cover art for Fully Completely, which the band released less than a month before our little chat. At the time I was still trying to make sense of the weird kind of collage that would become … Continue reading That time I asked Gord Downie about the cool cover art on the Tragically Hip’s Fully Completely
That time Robert Plant assured me “young girls still whimper as I walk past”
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Robert Plant back in 1993 he was in the midst of a world tour supporting his new album Fate of Nations. I asked the 45-year-old rock god whether it had gotten easier or harder to keep up the pace of touring over the years, and he said it was … Continue reading That time Robert Plant assured me “young girls still whimper as I walk past”