The Eddie Campbell Interview
by Linda Meijer - May 16th, Glasgow
I’m staring out the window of, what appears to be, a typical Scottish restaurant in the centre of Glasgow. Although this is the first time I ever visited this hometown of TEXAS, it is everything I expected it to be. It’s a bit dark and pauperised and even the weather plays along with the image I had from Glasgow, it’s raining! I have an appointment with one of the finest keyboard players in the UK, Eddie Campbell. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once before at the end of the 2001 tour in Amsterdam. I can only hope that he remembers me and even better, that he has pleasant memories of that meeting! As last time, I’m not alone but accompanied by my friend and free-lance photographer Annelies Schrik and Southside founder, my host and “chauffeur for the day” Bill Matthews. Only a few minutes after 3 PM Eddie enters the place alone, immediately recognizes me and I welcome him the traditional Dutch way, with three kisses. The people around us don’t even seem to recognize him (or just don’t care) cause they never even give him the light of day.
I thank Eddie for his time and ask him the most obvious question I could think of, what he has been doing the past one and a half year?
“Playing golf. No just kidding, we’ve been recording. We were planning to take a big break after the tour, but started to get really bored after a few months, so Tony, Johnny and myself started working again at Johnny’s house. We’d swap instruments as well, like Johnny playing keyboards and me playing the base.”
“Sharleen got bored as well. She decided she wanted to get back into it again. You just can’t sit that lady down, no way! She planned to take a year of as well, but only a month or so after Misty was born, she wanted to go to work again as well.”
What about al the other members then, what have they been doing during the break?
“Ally got married October 2001 and has been doing his own thing in London. He was working on some solo stuff with some friends and is still of the cigarettes as far as I know. However, I did see him every now and then when we played golf together. Tony wanted to do a solo album, produced by Johnny, but Sharleen wanted to start with TEXAS again quite soon, so Tony didn’t really have any time for that. But he doesn’t really mind, cause he’s quite happy to be part of the TEXAS album again. He and Corinne also had a little girl called Abby and she was born a couple of months ago. Just like her dad, she’s always sleeping, always sleeping!
It’s also Tony’s birthday today isn’t it? So did you phone him already?
“Yes, yes, I phoned him this morning, so did Sharleen, everyone did!”
What about Steve, Mark, Charlotte and Nicole then?
“Ally seems to have seen Steve a few times in London, cause Ally and Steve both live there, but I haven’t seen him in a while. I sort of kept in touch with Mark by phone, cause he live’s in London as well. Bickerton, near Sharleen! Charlotte was at Sharleen’s a couple of weeks ago, for coffee and so. And Nicole is busy with photography so I believe. They’re not really involved with the new album right now, as Sharleen does all the backing vocals herself ”
How’s the new album coming along?
“Great! The first single is going to be called “…………..” and there’s a great surprise for you in it as well. It will be a released around August or September
and then the new album around October! Yeah, we move fast, we’ve been working really hard”
What does an average day of Eddie look like?
“Well, like I said, we’ve been very busy recording, but when we want to take some time off, we all love to play golf as well. I kinda fell away from tennis. It’s only golf for me now. I also love to listen to music. I believe ‘50 CENTS’ is in my CD player right now, the song ‘in da club’ is absolutely brilliant.
Ore I love to watch a movie every now and then. Last film I saw was ‘The Transporter’ Never heard of it? Good movie, about a get away guy, robbing a bank, very hi-tech, very much like Matrix, very futuristic!”
You’ve got 2 daughters in the age of 14 and 18. What are their interests then and would you encourage them to go into the music as well?
“Hell yes, why not? They are both very interested in music. Both have piano lessons, and the youngest one played the violin as well, but she got really bored with it. But she loves synthesisers and stuff like that. They both like hip-hop as well. ‘50 CENTS’ and my youngest likes ‘White stripes’ a lot.
Do they both still live at home?
No , Stephanie (the oldest) lives with her boyfriend, so only one to go!
Who are your musical hero’s then?
“David Bowie! Yeah, he’s still the man!!! Really like his last single ‘Everyone says Hi’. This man keeps improving and reinventing himself, every time, that’s what I like about him so much, and he’s still so good live as well!. As far as fellow keyboard players go, still Billy Preston!
He was the main segment for the Beatles and he was playing for The Rolling stones as well. Loved what he did back then, but I’m not to crazy about his solo stuff though.”
Do you ever feel jealous about Sharleen getting all the attention and her and Johnny being the main songwriters?
“No, no, of course not! If it weren’t for Sharleen and Johnny I wouldn’t be sitting here. And to be quite honest, I’m not really good at writing songs at all. I have some vague ideas when I’m at home, but they never amount to anything really. I’m just good at playing the piano. I never really had any lessons, just learned it myself. My sister had a little keyboard, but she didn’t really wanted to play it, so I did. Just started to play along with records and CD’s. So no lessons, taught myself really.”
How’s Misty doing?
Misty is amazing. Sharleen comes up every couple weeks to do vocals. She just sits in the studio when Sharleen does her vocal bits and after a break she just goes like: aaaaaahhh aaaaaaahhhhhhh, so she’s gonna be star, for sure!
Sharleen and Ashley still not married?
“No, not married!
Only Milk, vodka and golf for keyboard legend Eddie Campbell.
The more I talk to Eddie, the more I get the feeling that this is not an interview, but just me, having a nice chat with a friendly chap. He has this unusual quality to make you feel so at ease and it’s just so much fun talking to him. We have a lot more in common then I first expected. Both 37, both a big passion for music, both a few grey hairs (OK, I have quite a lot, shut up!) and we both try to enjoy life to the fullest. As he orders another glass of milk (!) the conversation tends to get a bit more amicable and we start talking about his favourite drinks and dishes, about his other passion in live besides music and his opinion concerning Texas cover bands like Southside.
“Milk, only milk for me when I’m working. Vodka is my favourite drink for a party though. And to eat? Italian, yeah, pasta and stuff! My other passion in live, besides music of cause, is playing golf, I love playing golf. If there are any good golf places around here? Are you mad? Scotland is the Mecca of golf! We all play golf now. Johnny is the best, lucky bastard. No I hardly ever use a golf car, I love walking so I walk all the holes. If only I didn’t smoke so much, I smoke like a shimmy. Ally quit like one and a half year ago and Tony gave up the cigarettes 6 months ago, so I’m started to get a minority within the band now.
What do you think about cover bands like Southside? Do you think: How dare you try and copy us, get a life?
“No, no, I think it’s great!. I think it’s a good thing. We are honoured. Who plays Eddie then in Southside? A guy in his fifties called Niel? Bloody hell!
Let’s talk about the new album a bit more. Can we compare it with any of the previous albums?
“No, no completely different I would say, we try to keep it fresh. We were in the studio (mostly Johnny’s) for a long time, it turned out amazingly I think. Had a lot of laughs too. If you don’t have any fun anymore, you should just stop We still don’t have a title for the album. That’s all I can tell you right now, sorry!
The last single TEXAS released was ‘I don’t want a lover – The remix 2001’. Are you gonna hate me if I told you that I wasn’t to thrilled about that one?. Which is your favourite album then?
“No, no, I hear were you’re coming from, but it wasn’t mend to be a big marketing thing or so. Just a personal celebration, as it was the first song TEXAS ever released, so we though it would be nice to release it again after 10 years. But you’re right, it’s always hard to surpass the original. I still love playing ‘I don’t want a lover’ live though. And every time we try different parts for that as well, try to keep it fresh! I think ‘White on Blonde’ is still my favourite album, well so far that is! There’s so much good stuff on that one, every track could be a single!”
A new single, a new album, does that mean another tour as well?
“Yeah for sure, just not sure when. Maybe the end of 2003 or early 2004. First we have to do a lot of promotion for the single and see how it goes from there. I really love to travel and I’m really looking forward to see all the fans live again!”
We chatted a bit more ‘bout Glasgow, Edinburgh, (which is almost part of England according to Eddie) and his huge keyboard collection and then finally said our goodbyes. I was so planning to pick up the check, ore at least go ‘Dutch Treat’ (lol), but Eddie wouldn’t here of it. Like a real gentleman he picked up the tap and together we walked outside, into the drizzly rain.
Linda Meijer for So Called Friends
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