Part two of our interview with Bush's guitarist.
Last updated: 08 January 2010
After the success of your first album Sixteen Stone, you recorded the follow-up, Razorblade Suitcase, with Steve Albini. Working with him must have been a thrill; what did he bring to your sound and did this count as working with a hero?
Albini certainly was a hero and so we were very nervous and behaved ourselves with him. He brought clarity and honesty to our sound. We had a great time with him and I thought he made us sound terrific. Also we had been on the road for 18 months and we were making the album between tours and so we were playing really well.
Your further albums The Science of Things and Golden State came after the grunge sound had well and truly died, and you wove in more electronic sounds in those two records; so how much was this a conscious decision to develop your sound? And personally speaking, were you happy with the move away from a traditional rock sound that relied on your own guitar work?
The Science Of Things was strange. We'd had a break, fallen out with our record company and so it was almost three years between albums. We played at Woodstock 1999 and realised how much had changed in the last two years. The nu-metal scene was kicking off and so our position had changed and although we headlined the first night it did seem that people wanted Korn and Limp Bizkit style 'jock rock' more than what seemed quite delicate coming from us. It was still a great show though and we went down really well.
"The shift in our sound I suppose seemed natural at the time although I think we overdid it a bit. Razorblade probably took about a month to record in total - TSOT probably about six. Golden State suffered from too much Pro Tools and I don't think it sounds very good: all the life was produced out of it. It's a shame because the basic backing tracks sounded great."
You left the band in 2002. What was the reason for your leaving?
"I became disenchanted with the band after The Science Of Things tours. I realised I would be happier at home with my family as I'd had a daughter in 1999. Gavin and I had fallen out over mixes on Golden State and I don't think we ever quite recovered from that. When my son was born I got someone else in to tour in my place and that was that. It fizzled out and the band was no more by the autumn."
How many records did Bush sell in the end? And were you financially comfortable after the band split?
"We sold about 14 million albums I believe. Ironically we don't get a penny for any European releases since 2001 as a German label releases them and don't pay royalties. This has something to do with a deal done by our old record company which went wrong and because the band imploded it was never sorted out. It's crazy really.
"I'm pretty comfortable - we did really well. We were very lucky; so many great bands don't make a bean. It means I can work on what I want and spend time with my wife and three children. "
