The Mark Lawson interview

[Robson]

I will always defend John 

[dustyvalentino]

Yes, it was nice watch it again. In my mind, I seemed to remember that Lawson pushed Mark harder on the topic of David, and that Mark got very uncomfortable, but this wasn't really the case. It's not exactly Mark's favorite subject, but he handled the question pretty well I think.

Funnily enough, he was much more brutal in the ML interview than the BBC hardtalk one. Here he essentially said his brother was crap at playing guitar and he didn't want to bother teaching him.

He was kind of hinting at John Illsley too not being very advanced musically. Which lines up with what Pick said during his string of interviews last year or the year before, that both John and David had pretty elementary skills. I can actually hear it from shows during the BIA and OES tour. John really isn't a great musician, and I'm even surprised Mark let him stay that long. I know they're good friends, but still. Musically John must have been a hindrance.

You don't really need to be a musicoligist to work out that John was limited musically. In the early days I think that was a benefor though, those simple lines on something like Six Blade Knife fit perfectly.

Got to be honest and say I'm not a fan of Worf's live playing - he just seems to be playing a different tune all on his own sometimes and it's distracting.  I always thought John Illsley read Mark's playing like a book and offered the best bass lines to accompany it.  It's certainly my opinion that like children a bassist should be seen and not heard!

We'll agree to disagree my friend, I think Glen's playing is magnificent.

[superval99]

Yes, it was nice watch it again. In my mind, I seemed to remember that Lawson pushed Mark harder on the topic of David, and that Mark got very uncomfortable, but this wasn't really the case. It's not exactly Mark's favorite subject, but he handled the question pretty well I think.

Funnily enough, he was much more brutal in the ML interview than the BBC hardtalk one. Here he essentially said his brother was crap at playing guitar and he didn't want to bother teaching him.

He was kind of hinting at John Illsley too not being very advanced musically. Which lines up with what Pick said during his string of interviews last year or the year before, that both John and David had pretty elementary skills. I can actually hear it from shows during the BIA and OES tour. John really isn't a great musician, and I'm even surprised Mark let him stay that long. I know they're good friends, but still. Musically John must have been a hindrance.

You don't really need to be a musicoligist to work out that John was limited musically. In the early days I think that was a benefor though, those simple lines on something like Six Blade Knife fit perfectly.

Got to be honest and say I'm not a fan of Worf's live playing - he just seems to be playing a different tune all on his own sometimes and it's distracting.  I always thought John Illsley read Mark's playing like a book and offered the best bass lines to accompany it.  It's certainly my opinion that like children a bassist should be seen and not heard!

We'll agree to disagree my friend, I think Glen's playing is magnificent.

I'm a bit split about Glen.  I do like his bass playing but listening to live concerts they do seem rather bass-heavy in places. 

[quizzaciously]

Just like Mark said in the Mark Lawson interview, guys like Glenn Worf are professional musicians, and that's their instruments. To me personally, a professional musician is indistinguishable from a magician. What they are able to achieve with their instruments is beyond any comprehension... I still remember playing with a professional jazz guitar player, I just gave him random chord progressions I liked and he composed brilliant solos around them on the fly, as if he knew those all his life.

John Illsley, on the other hand, is just like MK. Brilliant in his own right, and a solid player, but not exactly the most versatile. You can't put Mark in a jazz band. I think Glenn's bass lines are simple, but sometimes he really can't help but show his jazzy chops. Can't blame him

[quizzaciously]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

[TheTimeWasWrong]

Yes, it was nice watch it again. In my mind, I seemed to remember that Lawson pushed Mark harder on the topic of David, and that Mark got very uncomfortable, but this wasn't really the case. It's not exactly Mark's favorite subject, but he handled the question pretty well I think.

Funnily enough, he was much more brutal in the ML interview than the BBC hardtalk one. Here he essentially said his brother was crap at playing guitar and he didn't want to bother teaching him.

He was kind of hinting at John Illsley too not being very advanced musically. Which lines up with what Pick said during his string of interviews last year or the year before, that both John and David had pretty elementary skills. I can actually hear it from shows during the BIA and OES tour. John really isn't a great musician, and I'm even surprised Mark let him stay that long. I know they're good friends, but still. Musically John must have been a hindrance.

You don't really need to be a musicoligist to work out that John was limited musically. In the early days I think that was a benefor though, those simple lines on something like Six Blade Knife fit perfectly.

Got to be honest and say I'm not a fan of Worf's live playing - he just seems to be playing a different tune all on his own sometimes and it's distracting.  I always thought John Illsley read Mark's playing like a book and offered the best bass lines to accompany it.  It's certainly my opinion that like children a bassist should be seen and not heard!

We'll agree to disagree my friend, I think Glen's playing is magnificent.

Same! The lines he played in the outro of Why Aye Man in 2019 were fantastic, and his role in Speedway is huge. I never had a problem with any of his playing, except that in 2019, some of his work on the upright bass seemed off (mostly DWB, which was terrible in 2019 anyway).

I think Mark values him most of the whole band. They seem to have a special connection on stage.

[superval99]

Yes, it was nice watch it again. In my mind, I seemed to remember that Lawson pushed Mark harder on the topic of David, and that Mark got very uncomfortable, but this wasn't really the case. It's not exactly Mark's favorite subject, but he handled the question pretty well I think.

Funnily enough, he was much more brutal in the ML interview than the BBC hardtalk one. Here he essentially said his brother was crap at playing guitar and he didn't want to bother teaching him.

He was kind of hinting at John Illsley too not being very advanced musically. Which lines up with what Pick said during his string of interviews last year or the year before, that both John and David had pretty elementary skills. I can actually hear it from shows during the BIA and OES tour. John really isn't a great musician, and I'm even surprised Mark let him stay that long. I know they're good friends, but still. Musically John must have been a hindrance.

You don't really need to be a musicoligist to work out that John was limited musically. In the early days I think that was a benefor though, those simple lines on something like Six Blade Knife fit perfectly.

Got to be honest and say I'm not a fan of Worf's live playing - he just seems to be playing a different tune all on his own sometimes and it's distracting.  I always thought John Illsley read Mark's playing like a book and offered the best bass lines to accompany it.  It's certainly my opinion that like children a bassist should be seen and not heard!

We'll agree to disagree my friend, I think Glen's playing is magnificent.

Same! The lines he played in the outro of Why Aye Man in 2019 were fantastic, and his role in Speedway is huge. I never had a problem with any of his playing, except that in 2019, some of his work on the upright bass seemed off (mostly DWB, which was terrible in 2019 anyway).

I think Mark values him most of the whole band. They seem to have a special connection on stage.

I agree with you about DWB in 2019.   The bass was much too prominent imo.

[dustyvalentino]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

Yeah, so he owns the top recording studio in the world (even if recording studios aren't as lucrative as they once were he could sell the land and all the gear for millions), he owns a house in Chelsea worth around £20 million, another on the south coast that presumably is worth millions, a 1958 Les Paul that on the open market could sell for $300k but with the celebrity association could sell for $1 million etc etc etc

I wish I was as broke as MK!

[MagicElliott]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

I’m a teacher and I most certainly do NOT make anywhere near the money MK does.

[quizzaciously]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

I’m a teacher and I most certainly do NOT make anywhere near the money MK does.

MK definitely was a lucky teacher, since he could afford a car, a motorcycle, and travel to the USA in his mid-20s, apart from guitars and all. When he said that, I laughed since in Russia teaching is a condemned walk of life, nobody wants to be a teacher here because in Russia it means you'll be broke AF. That's why to this day I still don't want to be a teacher, that's how deep this psychological trauma is within me.

[2manyguitars]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

I’m a teacher and I most certainly do NOT make anywhere near the money MK does.

MK definitely was a lucky teacher, since he could afford a car, a motorcycle, and travel to the USA in his mid-20s, apart from guitars and all. When he said that, I laughed since in Russia teaching is a condemned walk of life, nobody wants to be a teacher here because in Russia it means you'll be broke AF. That's why to this day I still don't want to be a teacher, that's how deep this psychological trauma is within me.

In the 70s in the UK teachers were comparatively better paid than today, and definitely held in higher regard. My yearly teaching wage today wouldn't buy 3 MK Les Pauls!

[hunter]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

Come on, Mark didn't say that. He said that he made more money as a teacher than he had made in his life, up until that point.

[dustyvalentino]

I guess circumstances change as well. I make more now than I did in my early 20s but in those days I didn't have kids, mortgage etc so could afford expensive guitars and holidays to the US!

PS great that we have some teachers here on AMIT, keep up the good work

[quizzaciously]

What's interesting is that Mark always points out how little money he makes. He even said in this interview that he made more money teaching than he makes now. How that's possible? I never heard an English teacher building his own recording studio to rival Abbey Road lol.

Come on, Mark didn't say that. He said that he made more money as a teacher than he had made in his life, up until that point.

That's the trouble of being a non-native English speaker, I sometimes get the meaning wrong. Don't get me started on lyrics, I get like 5% of it... This by the way is the other reason why Mark gives interviews so rarely, everybody will interpret your words differently and sometimes turn it 180 degrees from what you originally meant. And discussing a song's meaning is pointless since every song has its own meaning to everybody and you don't want to ruin that.

[dustyvalentino]

In the not very good Myles Palmer book MK's old band mate Dave Pask makes the point that teaching was a comparatively well paid job in those days and they could afford to buy decent gear.