MICHAEL DES BARRES – “FOX ON THE RUN”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
Think of It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll as Michael Des Barres’ musical autobiography, the soundtrack of his youth and the songs that shaped him in the spirit of classic cover albums like Bowie’s Pin Ups or Bryan Ferry’s These Foolish Things, both released within weeks of one another in October, 1973. That places it smack in the middle of the dozen covers on this album, all originally released between 1971 and 1975 (with the exception of the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for My Man,” which was arguably the inspiration for everything that followed on this collection).
Des Barres’ love letter to the ’70s and his own entry into the rock ’n’ roll circus includes stateside classics like Iggy and the Stooges’ “Search & Destroy” and Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen,” along with U.K. stalwarts [Mike] Chapman & [Nicky] Chinn (Mud’s “Dyna-mite” and Sweet’s “Fox on the Run”), Roxy Music (“Love is the Drug”), Bowie (“Moonage Daydream”), T. Rex/Marc Bolan (“20th Century Boy”), Mott the Hoople (Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes”), the Faces (“Stay with Me”), Slade (“Cum on Feel the Noize”), and the Stones’ title track. All were released within a four-year period when Des Barres was forming Silverhead in London before leaving for Los Angeles and his soon-to-be-wife, Miss Pamela of GTO’s and I’m with the Band renown, to form Detective. And while he remains true to the songs’ hook-filled origins, he makes each track vocally his own.
“These 12 songs represent chapters in my life,” he explains. “It is a look back from someone who was not only there but was the most stoned person in the room. I still remember these songs. If it was Christmas, they’d be my carols. What they all had in common was melodies, a big chorus and plenty of eyeliner, with all that sensuality. That was what that era was all about. It was an epic moment in my life that I wanted to pay homage to.”
Recorded at Paul Ill’s Psychedelic Shack in L.A.’s Valley, the album features a first-rate band with guitarist Eric Schermerhorn (Iggy Pop, David Bowie, The The, Seal, P!nk) alongside bassist Paul Ill and drummer David Goodstein, Linda Perry’s go-to rhythm section. “We cut it in 10 days, largely live in one room,” says Des Barres, who co-produced alongside engineer Chris Wonzer. “All you need is a rock ’n’ roll guitarist and an R&B rhythm section. You don’t have to do too much to make it sound great.”
Son of a no-account aristocratic marquis – the title was inherited by Des Barres upon his father’s passing – and a mother of somewhat ill repute, young Des Barres had come out of the theater, where he was doing Shakespeare, only to tumble headlong into the ’70s rock ’n’ roll demimonde, where the artificiality and theatricality of glam – which led directly to a streamlined, hardcore punk – attracted him like a moth to the flame (“It was ‘A Clockwork Orange,’” he says. “The punks were just the droogs.”). After all, he had also studied mime with famed Bowie influence Lindsey Kemp, knew David and Marc Bolan when they were still Davy Jones and Marc Feld, and hung with then-underground designer Vivienne Westwood “long before Johnny Rotten came into the shop… I was present at the creation.”
That’s no idle boast. At once a pop culture chameleon and a rock ’n’ roll Zelig, our picaresque hero didn’t just observe, but was a full-fledged, windmill-tilting participant as a member of Silverhead, Detective (signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label by Jimmy Page), Chequered Past (with Sex Pistol Steve Jones, Blondie drummer Clem Burke, his one-time Silverhead bandmate Nigel Harrison, and Tony Sales), then stepped in for Robert Palmer as lead singer of Duran Duran’s Power Station for a premier gig at 1985’s massive Live Aid in Philadelphia. And that’s in addition to his thespian career, starting with his memorable performance opposite Sidney Poitier and Lulu as a sunglasses-wearing, mod student with bangs in 1966’s “To Sir with Love.” He had subsequent roles that ranged from a six-year stint on TV’s “MacGyver” as Murdoc to acting opposite Clint Eastwood (“Pink Cadillac”), Mick Jagger (“The Man from Elysian Fields”) and Jerry Seinfeld (“Seinfeld”). Then there was the time he rented a live tiger for $500 for a week to get on-stage with Silverhead at the Whisky-a-Go-Go during the band’s first trip to Hollywood.
These days, he’s known by his millions of listeners as a radio superstar heard weekly on his show for Little Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM. The 2021 documentary of his life, “Who Do You Want Me to Be?,” turned into a surprise hit when it came out on streaming services at the start of the pandemic.
The next steps for Des Barres include a live multimedia presentation, featuring the songs and images of the album narrated by someone who experienced it all first-hand. “The ’70s were primary for me; between the sex, drugs, and music, it really changed things for a lot of people,” he says. “Especially me. I want to turn on as many as I can to that era to show how memorable it was.”
It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll… and Michael Des Barres doesn’t just like it, it’s made him who he is today… a certifiable legend.
“I hope that it appeals to all generations,” he says. “These are the songs that defined my life and musical career. This was a real labor of love. I didn’t overthink it. It came naturally and makes you feel good about yourself. Thinking is wildly overrated anyway.”
ARTIST QUOTE
I believe in rock ‘n’ roll melody without an orchestra. “Fox on the Run” is a celebration of the simplicity, joy,and sensuality of three musical instruments and a singer, and that is the basis of rock ‘n’ roll. Elvis did not have a synthesizer. “Fox on the Run” is both naïve and sexy. It was written by the band Sweet, a band who knew great melodies. My mission was to simplify and glorify a chapter in rock ‘n’ roll that is sadly disappearing. With this song and my upcoming album, “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll,” one hopes to reawaken the delights of 1970s rock ‘n’ roll music.
Michael Des Barres
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Rock Ridge Music)
Release Date: October 11, 2024
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