Edgar Winter interview | Gig review

How did you get involved with the tour with Edgar Winter? And what sort of set will you be playing?

Well, they just asked me really. I said no at first though, as the dates are very close together, but they adapted it to make it possible for me to play!

Some people say it was the start of Ten Years After, but in another way, it was the beginning of the end.

Alvin Lee on Woodstock

I'm using the bass player, Pete Pritchard, who is on the new album . He's playing double bass as well as bass guitar. It will be the first time I've played live with a double bass.

And we'll also do an acoustic set in the middle of the show which will also be a first for me. It's gonna be a bit different.

Now going back to your early years, Ten Years After secured a residency at the legendary Marquee Club. What kind of reaction did you get from the crowd back then?

It was the time of the blues. John Mayall was beginning to get noticed as a blues player and brought the music to a lot of people's attention.

So many bands were into blues, but there were not that many blues venues around. And John Mayall kind of started that off. I went to see John Mayall at the Marquee, with Peter Green on guitar, and that was a particularly good gig.

We did an audition for the Marquee, and we happened to know that the manager, John Gee, was a bit of a jazz fan. So we performed an old Woodie Herman number called Woodchopper's Ball, which had him come dashing out the office and got us a residency.

A young Alvin Lee

The crowd reaction when we were up there playing was great. I loved those days. It was blues but it was also underground, and I really like that kind of atmosphere. It was very arty!

We used to play the underground clubs like the UFO, and Middle Earth, and they were great because they would have on things like a poet, string quartets, and then a rock band! It was kinda cool!

And then it was the time for Woodstock, and your performance of Going Home is considered to be one of the festival's highlights. What was it like to play in that festival?

Woodstock was an amazing experience. It was declared a national disaster. We couldn't get in by road and had to get a helicoptor to air-lift us through the crowds.

Strangely enough though, it was one of many festivals we played that year. We also did something called the Texas Peace Festival, which was actually a better gig both musically, and in the way it was organised.

Back in those days we thought we could change the world. In fact, we did change the world, but when we weren't looking, the world changed back again!

Alvin Lee on the early years

After we played Woodstock, nothing changed for about a year. We were still playing the underground circuit, of 2000-3000 seaters.

It wasn't until the movie came out that it all changed for us. Some people say it was the start of Ten Years After, but in another way, it was the beginning of the end.

We started playing ice hockey arenas and baseball stadiums which was not as good as the underground circuit. I didn't enjoy it as much. Suddenly we were popstars, and I didn't see myself as that. I saw myself as a blues musician with jazz leanings!

But don't get me wrong. I still had a great time. Back in those days we thought we could change the world...(pauses)...In fact, we did change the world, but when we weren't looking, the world changed back again!

What was it like to play in front of hundreds of thousands of people? Did you suffer from nerves?

I never really got them that bad. I just play to the people I can see. So it's almost like you are playing to the first few rows of the crowd. You can see the faces of the first hundred people, but then it becomes a blur as the crowds disappear over the hill.

I'm just as nervous playing to 50 people as I am to 500 or 5000. You're on show. You have to prove something, no matter how many people are watching.

What were your influences when you were growing up?

I was brought up on blues. My dad used to collect old blues 78s. He had loads of stuff by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Lonnie Johnson and people like that.

Alvin Lee: on stage

I started off playing the clarinet, after I was inspired by listening to my dad's Benny Goodman records.

It was by listening to Goodman's band, that I began to notice the guitarist Charlie Christian, who was one of the first musicians to play solos in a big band set-up. I then began to take guitar lessons by a guy who was a Django Reinhardt fan. Django was like the Jimi Hendrix of the 1940s. An incredible musician.

I began to learn a lot of his chords and rhythms. It was a bit boring at the time, but came in very handy later on. I think a lot of modern day guitarists start off playing like Eddie van Halen, and they don't take the time to learn the basics.

You've played with some big name musicians over the years. Who for you stood out?

Well, I jammed with Jimi Hendrix a few times. The first time was at The Scene Club in New York. Jimi was in the audience and just asked if he could get up and play with us. He took our bass, and because he was left-handed, he had to turn it upside down. He then proceeded to play an amazing, far-out solo on the bass.

He saw us play a few times in fact. I did this song called I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes, and Jimi loved it. He paid me a huge compliment when he told me that he was thinking of doing something similar himself! (Laughs jokingly) Haha, beat you to it!

But seriously, he was great. A phenomenal guitarist and a phenomenal person too.

Alvin Lee: As he is now

George Harrison was also a pleasure to work with. He was one of the most famous people I've ever known, but in spite of that fame, he was such a nice and friendly guy.

I was a jamming musician while George really sat down and wrote the solo. He put a lot of thought in them and he made me lean that way too. It was a great experience because it helped me to become a more tuneful musician.

So do you keep in touch with the other members of Ten Years After? Any plans for a reunion?

I'm afraid we've falling out. They have decided to tour under the name of Ten Years After which I don't think is very cool. To be honest, they have had to do that as it's the only way they can get any work.

It's a bit sad really as Ten Years After is a very special name, and now it has turned into a kind of pub band I think.

The chances of a reunion now are less likely. I was thinking of having a 40th anniversary of the band, but now they are really another band, so it's all a bit weird. I think I'll continue to work as a solo artist.

So if you see Ten Years After, it's not me anymore. I'm very happy with what I am doing now. The new album was recorded in Nashville, with Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana who are the original Elvis backing band. I'm going back to my roots, so to speak, and really looking forward to playing the UK again.

Check out the Edgar Winter interview