Mel Pritchard Interview, July 1998

This interview was conducted by Keith Domone for the official BJH fan club magazine,Nova Lepidoptera, and first appeared in issue #42 of NL in September 1998.

NL: Firstly, we wanted to ask you about theRiver Of Dreams album, whether you were happy with the way that it turned out?

Mel: I think it’s as good as anything we’ve done, in fact in some ways I think it’s a lot better than some of the things we’ve done in the past. I’ve got to say that it took a little bit longer than was expected, but it was just one of those things. John had booked his holiday and stuff like that. In terms of the overall sounds and the songs, yeah, I was happy. Whether the songs turned out as expected when they were written, I couldn’t tell you, but they all sound good to me. It’s a nice Barclay James Harvest album - it covers all bases from rock ‘n’ roll to melancholy and anywhere in between.

NL: Do you have any favourite songs from the album?

Mel: I like “Three Weeks To Despair”. I know it’s not a very “up” subject, but it was the way it was done - the rhythm track was done pretty quickly, so there wasn’t a lot of birth pain with it - it just seemed to be a magical thing. We all seemed to be touched by the muse at the same time, and it went down a treat. The song, as well, especially in this part of the world where we live, you can see things like that happen. You see it every day, and your heart does go out to them. It’s a nice reflection on life, as well.

NL: Were you surprised that the album didn’t sell better?

Mel: For the last three or four albums I’ve always felt that they should have done better. Whether there was not enough live work or the promotion wasn’t right or there was no single on it per se, I really don’t know. All I can say about that is that in my opinion it was not because of the quality of the album.

NL: Why do you think the album hasn’t been released in England or France?

Mel: You’d have to speak to David (Walker) about the contractual things, but we signed directly with Hamburg, so if the other territories don’t take it up on license then itwon’t get released. You can’t walk in and demand that they do it. We wouldn’t put it out unless it was of a quality, anyway. We’ve done it before, we’ve had to go back tothe drawing board with a couple of songs and have a look at them. We’ve never been a band that’s put two songs on an album and the rest is padding.

NL: How was the tour of Germany and Switzerland?

Mel: It was great! I always enjoy touring. The only thing I will say about it is that I would have liked to have done more gigs, because once you’ve gone through therehearsals and you’ve got a few under your belt then you’re in the mode, and rather than being four or five weeks it could have been eight, nine, ten weeks. Firstly you could play to more people, obviously you’re getting tighter as well and it just becomes more enjoyable. Once I’m in tour mode I could just go and go and go. Having said that,you’ve got to remember that I haven’t got a family. For me, when I’m on tour I’m an eighteen year old again. My mind is eighteen, but whether my body would wear it Idon’t know!

NL: How was the feeling within the band on that tour?

Mel: It’s always good. Obviously we’ve known each other for a long time, we know each others’ foibles, so we give each other enough space, we know when people need timealone. Gone very much are the days when you all go out for a meal every night and you all hang around together. Of course, if there was a night off we all went out andhad a chinwag and talked about what was going on. I’ve never had any problem with morals - er, morale! Being on the road with x amount of people, there’s always goingto be somebody who’s not in the same mood as you at any one time, but you need each other.

NL: Can you tell us how the decision to take a sabbatical came about?

Mel: It was more about John and Les, I think. For me, looking kind of inside but still on the outside, I think it’s a time to reassess what direction we’re going to go into,rather than just keep going through the process of another album and a tour. It was getting a little bit flat. The court case took a lot out of us - looking back now, I don’t think we realised how much it did take out of us. It’s only when you get working again that you realise how much it’s drained you. I certainly think that from John andLes’s point of view that it’s more of a reassessment. It’s being adult about it - there’s no great arguments, it was just “is this really what we want to be doing or should we take time away from each other and see what happens?”

NL: Some fans are concerned that this could be the end of Barclay James Harvest as we know it.

Mel: With the conversations that went down, I didn’t get that colouration of it, but, having said that, I’ve been through as much as John and Les have, with the court caseand doing albums, finding producers, engineers and all the peripheral things that go with it, plus signing contracts and all the rest of it, and it was like “let’s just take a breath here and see if we are still doing the right thing”.

NL: What are your own immediate plans?

Mel: Actually, nothing at the moment. I still practice, I still get on the kit, but I can’t imagine me working in another band except Barclay James Harvest. Until somethinghappens, I don’t know. I will have to do something pretty quickly, but I don’t want to get too involved in something, just in case. If we have another meeting and say,“Right, it’s a goer again”, I don’t want to be locked into something that excludes me from doing it. I’m just taking my time and thinking things through. Obviously I’moptimistic about everything and hope that we will get together, rested and getting a a bit more excitement in things, and see how it goes from there.

NL: Would you like to tour Britain again?

Mel: Yes, and I don’t know why we haven’t done it for such a long time. It would be wonderful. The audiences have been good, and the thing that we mustn’t forget is thatthis is where we started. Without the people in Britain - I’m not saying that they’re still around now and into us now,[NL: I think they are, actually!] but without that input the band wouldn’t have carried on through its formative years to do the things that we did. You never really forget that. Every time we talk about touring, I’m one of the first to say, “Well, what’s the chance of doing some dates in England?” It’s a bit like the record company not taking it up; if nobody offers us dates, then there’s not an awful lot we can do, really. The last time we toured it was doing universities and I thought it was very successful. I thought we went down well, and I was reallyexpecting the same kind of thing the next time we went out, but it just seemed to go quiet again. Why that is - the older I get in this business, the less I know,unfortunately...

NL: We’ve already heard that John and Les intend to pursue solo projects. Can you see yourself getting involved in either or both of those?

Mel: If they asked! If they needed a drummer, and they wanted someone of my style and technique, I would love to do it. They know I’m always available. If they’re havingtrouble with drum sounds or they’ve got a drummer and need someone to explain a few things, then I’m more than willing. We’re still good friends! Any or either of them,I’d be more than happy to help.

NL: Talking of drum sounds, a lot of fans have said that they prefer the sound of an acoustic drum kit.

Using the electric one was when we started doing the festivals when it was just in and out. We’d used it on the album and it was kind of all right, and if you’re doing aquick turnover and you don’t know what equipment you’re using - in the old days we’d take our own crew and our own PA and we’d have a separate mix for everything,but the way it’s going now it’s very much a quick turnover. Everything’s being digitised and you don’t have that much time on soundchecks. We just thought it’d be a good safety net to use electronically digitised acoustic drums. I must say on stage they’re a lot easier to cope with, the electronic ones, but in terms of the overall feel and the ambience, my heart is still on the acoustic side. There’s nothing quite like the sound of an acoustic kit. The only thing is that you can’t control the volume that much in smaller places, and my kits were getting bigger because we were doing the stadiums, and then we had to go back a little bit. I was a little bit in the haze about which way to go, and Martin (Lawrence) and I talked about it, and he was happy because he was doing the outstage sound along with the studio, and it was kind of a co-decision. If something came along where acoustics would be made available or I could take mine, then there’s something about tuning the snare drum to what you want, not just using a sound that they’ve programmed in for you.

NL: What kit are you using currently?

Mel: I’ve still got the Pearl. Don’t ask me what model number it is! In the studio I usually use a mix-match of an old ’57 Ludwig that I’ve got and the newer Pearl - Pearlsnare drums. As I said, I haven’t got a clue what models they are, so for the drum aficionados, I can’t help you! It’s one of the smaller ones, more on the jazz side than the rock side. I’ve got a choice of two, and of course the old Ludwig - I’ll keep those forever. They date back to the ‘50s, early ‘60s, and there; just something about the warmth of the sound. Like everything else, they get better with age...

NL: You talked about joint decisions on the kind of kit to use and this sort of thing. How much input have you had to the sound of the finished product in recent years?

Mel: Certainly on the last two albums with Martin. With Pip (Williams) it was not taken out of our hands, exactly, but it wasn’t so much of a co-decision. On the recentones working at John’s, I can go in at any time I like, I get the sound up on the electronic or acoustic. You can have a drum sound in mind, but everything’s alwayscompromise. If you like, the compromises have been going a little bit more my way. I prefer the heavier side, but a lot of the current songs don’t need that, they need thesofter, more lilting kind of drum sound. It’s never been a problem about my input in the sound - what always controls it is the song. If they sound good together, it’sbecause that drum sound works well with that guitar, organ and bass or whatever. You can’t be too dogmatic.

NL: As a non-songwriter, have there ever been times when you would have preferred to have had a bigger say in the musical direction that BJH has pursued over the years?

Mel: No, I don’t think so. That’s never really been an issue. I wish I was a songwriter, because I have ideas, but they’re not finished in my head, if you understand what I mean. It’s as it should be - the one who writes the song has always got the final decision about which route it’s gonna take, and I’ve got to respect that always, from the year dot.

NL: Any messages for the fans who will be reading this?

Mel: Just, without sounding too crass and glib, thank you again for all the support. Without you, we wouldn’t be anything. I hope to see you soon, and I’d love to see youin England!

NL: Great, and finally we’d like to thank you for all the brilliant music over the years and to wish you lots of luck with your future plans.

Mel: Well, thank you. There’s nothing high on the horizon, but I want to make myself available for whatever happens down the road.

NL: Right, hope to see you at a gig before too long.

Mel: All right.

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