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In the early seventies after all of those hits, you started recording as a solo act, but except for a minor hit with "Melanie Makes Me Smile" the solo stuff didn't really take off. Why do you think that may have been?

Well, there is a story behind that, as well. With these four records out at the same time, I had previously started recording solo titles. They all got released, and all sold as we've just talked about. That was because of Top Of The Pops, a record program, which has been running here for about... it must be thirty years. In those days it was a major television show. I did three of the titles on one particular night on the show (with the Edison Lighthouse, White Plains and the Brotherhood of Man.) Imagine changing clothes on the side of the sets to appear with different bands! After that, the producer came and spoke to me, "I ought to tell you something, Tony. I had the word from above you're not to be used again." I asked what he was talking about. He said one particular wag from upstairs says this doesn't look right. It looks as if there's something wrong with the situation where you appear with all these different bands. Well, you asked us to do these shows. If you got on the chart, you go out and plug it, do the show. They're all selling and you asked us to do the show and that's what we've done. But he said, "well I just thought I ought to tell you." To be quite honest, I got banned from BBC Radio for two years. That was the period when I had the solo records, and I really and truly couldn't get played. We had no commercial radio in those days, just BBC.

After the BBC incident, how did you get back into studio work and hook up with First Class?

That was through John Carter. John Carter was part of the Ivy League. I'd known him for years. He also wrote and produced "Let's Go To San Francisco." He called me and said, "I've got this song I'd like to record. You fancy singing?" So, he played me the demo and I said, let's go do it. It's as simple as that, really.

"Beach Baby" was quite possibly the best song the Beach Boys never recorded. Throughout your career, songs sounded very strongly American, like that and the psychedelia of "Let's Go To San Francisco." Was there a conscious decision not to have British quirks, like, say, the Beatles or the Kinks?

No, I don't think it was a conscious decision. I grew up with American pop music. That's what I remembered. That's what I listened to. That's what I enjoyed. I think that just rubbed off more than anything else. I think that probably applies to a lot of people in those early seventies.

I know of about six bands that you recorded with. Do you have any idea how many there have been totally?

Oh, wow. (laughs) Actually recorded with or featured with? I mean, I do studio work and session work. I've recorded with an awful lot of bands. But, featured, I think probably, it's about eight. Something like that.

What have you been doing since "Beach Baby?"

Well, I've still been in studio work, but I got into commercials... I've been in commercials for twenty years. I do voiceovers. I write. I produce. I do just studio work, really. That's it.

Who are some of the people you've done studio work with?

I've worked with Rod Stewart and Elton John and Tom Jones and most of the British acts that have been successful at some time or another, I've recorded with. I toured with the Beatles. With the Kestrels, we did the two tours in Britain with the Beatles.

How involved were you in the making of the Varese reissue?

In what respect? How do you mean?

I mean, did you help to decide which songs were going to be included...

No, that's been purely their choice. In fact, they've come up with one or two titles which I didn't even remember singing. But, they sent me tapes and things and I said, yeah, that's me. I did that.

Do you have a favorite song you recorded?

I suppose it'd have to be "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes.)" It was a natural, if you know what I mean. I just heard it and said, oh, yes, that's a good song. That's a hit. I think it's probably my favorite. (laughs) It's certainly financially my favorite song.

Was there anything you would have liked to have sung but couldn’t?

I don't know if "Home Lovin' Man" is on the Varese Sarabande CD, but I did the original demo of that for Roger Greenwood and Tony MacCauley, who wrote the song. The recording company decided that it wasn't commercial enough for me as a single. So Roger took it to America and Andy Williams recorded it and had a monster hit. That I regret. He actually covered it note for note.

How about anything you would just as soon forget?

(laughs) I'm sure there are, which means to say I've already forgotten them.

Radio playlists are so regimented today. You used to be able to hear rock, soul, pop and country all on the same station, and that just doesn't happen anymore. Do you think that can inhibit new musicians?

Yes I do, very much so. Acts and singers and artists get bracketed and put in a bag and that's where they are. So that can certainly mean that a large number of the public does not get to hear the material because they don't listen to that particular brand of music. I think that's wrong.

Suddenly lots of pop-based alternative bands like Matthew Sweet, Gin Blossoms, Jellyfish and the Posies are celebrating seventies pop groups, acknowledging that The Partridge Family, ABBA and your bands were as important to music history as Led Zep and the Who.

I think so, yeah.

For a long time people had said that seventies music was pretty bad. Do you think those years got a bum rap?

I don't know that it was a bum rap. I think it was a very successful period in music history. Basically, because I think the songs were good. I think nowadays far too much is produced in the studio. I think recording techniques have advanced so far that music has become sort of robotically produced now. I don't think there's enough emotion and heart goes into recordings anymore. They certainly used to in our day. I think that's a bit of a shame. But that's probably the old man in me speaking.

Why do you think pop is making such a revival?

Because good songs will always stand the test of time. We have a little working band here which we go out and gig for, basically fun. I mean, they're all session guys and we go out and enjoy ourselves. We do sixties and seventies material and it's enormously successful. Even the youngsters, they don't got a yearn I think to music these days that is produced on computers. To actually see people performing live and working instruments, it is a change for them and they enjoy it.

What musicians do you feel inspired you?

When I was very small it was the big band era, I suppose. We had Sunday big band concerts in England when I was growing up. But, my early memories of seeing artists were the Eddie Cochrans and Gene Vincents. Those were the guys that, when I was twelve or thirteen, that I went to watch.

Are there any new musicians you've been listening to?

(laughs) The short answer to that is no.

How would you like for people to see your music?

How would I like people to see it? I don't know, I never thought about it. Well, what we did was from the heart. We did it to enjoy ourselves and hopefully to allow people to enjoy listening to it. It was never taken too seriously. We weren't trying to change the world. There's room for all sorts of music, I feel. One doesn't have to be educated every time one listens to a piece of music. Sometimes it's just pure enjoyment. That's basically what we tried to do.

What is the misconception about your music or yourself that you would most like to clear up?

I have a few regrets, in this country (England), I suppose. That I was put in a bag, this is bubblegum music and that's what you do. I could do lots of sorts of music. But if that was successful, that's how I was successful with the public, so I suppose I don't have any real gripes about that. No, I don't think so. I don't have too many regrets.

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