{"id":481284,"date":"2019-01-24T10:06:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T17:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=780206"},"modified":"2019-01-24T10:06:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T17:06:05","slug":"roxy-musics-andy-mackay-talks-rock-hall-reunion-odds-were-quite-optimistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/roxy-musics-andy-mackay-talks-rock-hall-reunion-odds-were-quite-optimistic\/","title":{"rendered":"Roxy Music\u2019s Andy Mackay Talks Rock Hall Reunion Odds: \u2018We\u2019re Quite Optimistic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roxy Music<\/a> saxophonist Andy Mackay was driving down to England\u2019s West Country in mid-December when he got a text from Bryan Ferry saying that they\u2019d been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. \u201cI knew we had been nominated,\u201d says Mackay. \u201cBut I always felt that we were a little too far out there for the general public in America even though we have a strong following in some pockets over there. It was very surprising to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group hasn\u2019t performed together since they quietly disbanded after a 2011 tour, but it seems quite likely that they\u2019re going to play at the ceremony. We spoke to Mackay about the big night, the possibility of original Roxy Music keyboardist Brian Eno coming, the band\u2019s aborted 2007 reunion album, why they stopped touring and the possibility of the Hall of Fame leading to more shows.<\/p>\n

What does the Hall of Fame induction mean on a personal level?<\/strong>
There some satisfaction in it. We get a lot of nice comments about stuff we\u2019ve done a long time ago, but it\u2019s quite nice to feel that we still mean something to all generations, really. I think it\u2019s nice to think there\u2019s a broader spectrum of the public than those who grew up with us in the Seventies who are thinking that we played some part in rock & roll history.<\/p>\n

Have you spoken to any of your bandmates about it besides Bryan?<\/strong>
Yeah. We\u2019ve been in touch. We\u2019re all very pleased. We\u2019ve been looking into how we\u2019re going to approach the actual induction, whether or not we\u2019re going to play. I\u2019m hopeful that we will. As you probably know, Roxy hasn\u2019t actually worked together as a band for about nine years. But we\u2019re friendly. I see [guitarist] Phil Manzanera a lot. I did a concert with him in November of last year. I work a lot with him. Bryan and I talk. We see each other from time to time. [Drummer] Paul Thompson and I talk to from time to time. I haven\u2019t seen him in some years, but I know he\u2019s there. I played on an album of his about four years ago.\u00a0Generally speaking, we are in contact. We are all feeling quite optimistic about it, but I wouldn\u2019t like to say for sure what\u2019s going to happen. It could be complicated to figure out.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re taking in Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry, Eddie Jobson, you, Phil Manzanera, Graham Simpson and Paul Thompson. Did they get that right? Did they miss anybody?<\/strong>
It\u2019s difficult, isn\u2019t it? Over the band\u2019s career there were many different people. For a period, we worked with American session musicians on a few records. By and large, the four of us there at the beginning were there at the end. That\u2019s probably what counts. And Eddie Jobson obviously did play on three records in the middle of the band\u2019s career. With bass players, it is hard to say who is the definitive bass player. The guy who played on \u201cLove Is the Drug,\u201d John Gustafson, died a few years ago. He was a fantastic player who had been in a Liverpool band before the Beatles. He was a great player that did a lot of session work in London.<\/p>\n

Who knows? I think we\u2019ll come up with something. Obviously if the ceremony is in New York, if there\u2019s someone based there that\u2019ll be a bonus. But we\u2019re still talking about it. I\u2019d be very happy to do it. It would be nice to see the others and I hope they feel the same way.<\/p>\n

Why did you go through so many bass players in the lifespan of the band?<\/strong>
Graham Simpson was Bryan\u2019s friend from Newcastle. When I bet met Bryan for the first time, it was him and Graham Simpson that were playing in a flat in Kensington in London with a piano and a bass. That was it. They were playing these rather strange songs and very occasionally a guitarist would drop in. Then we put the first band together. And then Graham Simpson got very unwell. He had a bad breakdown and just couldn\u2019t cope with the rock thing anymore. Sadly, we parted company with him. He had a very interesting life and, sadly, he died a few years ago.<\/p>\n

After that, we had a lot of good bass players, but none of them settled. They kind of came and went. John Porter did a lot of work in the early days. And then on tour, we had different players. I think any of them would be great. John Wetton was the bass player for a while. And Guy Pratt did live work with us. He played with Pink Floyd, but I think we\u2019ll probably find an American player. But I don\u2019t really know how the show works. We\u2019ll have to see.<\/p>\n