Happy Birthday Boz!
- Thread starter Kewpie
- Start date
maynardmorrissey
Member
D
Dave
Guest
this might have been posted before, but I just saw it.
Happy Birthday, Boz!
Q & A with Boz Boorer
Boz on the blower. ©Photo - Boz Boorer
Fender: Can you remember the first time you picked up a guitar?
Boz: A proper electric guitar?
Fender: No, any guitar.
Boz: It must’ve been when I was about 12. At school in the music room, there was a classical guitar that I learnt my basic rudiments on. I also tuned it up and broke a string on it – at a very young age! I did use to play it most times I’d go in the music room.
Fender: Can you remember the first recognisable riff/chord that you learnt to play?
Boz: (Plays a standard 12-bar blues riff and then "Johnny B Goode" by Chuck Berry)
Fender: When you were learning, what artists inspired you to take it to the next level?
Boz: Marc Bolan was the one who first made me want to pick up the guitar. I was always fascinated with music. I learnt clarinet and I sang, but I didn’t really put pop music and what I did together. After the Marc Bolan thing, I had to work out how I was going to do it.
Fender: What songs feature in your earliest memories?
Boz: One of the first records I ever bought was "(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone" and "I’m A Believer" by The Monkees. I was going to buy some horrible Rolf Harris/ record, but they didn't have it, so I bought The Monkees instead. Then it was things like "Resurrection Shuffle" by Ashton Gardner & Dyke, before I’d heard of T Rex. My brother had some Beatles records. When I started listening to the charts, it was things like "Watching The River Flow" by Dylan, Neil young, pop stuff like Slade and T Rex.
Fender: What was the first gig you ever went to?
Boz: I think the first gig I ever went to was a band called Charlie that opened up for Fleetwood Mac. The next gig after that was Chuck Berry in Victoria (London) and after that, it kind of went all punk and ‘orrible. Rockabilly as well.
Fender: What would you consider to be the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Boz: As a spectator, it would have to be one of those early punk gigs at the Roundhouse. Seeing the Buzzcocks and Siouxie and the Banshees and The Worst and Electric Chairs all on one bill. Being that age and managing to soak it up without judging anything was great. You look at things differently when you’re a kid. D’you know what I mean?
Fender: Yeah, you’re not so critical of it.
Boz: No. Every live band I saw at that time, I loved. Those times were very special. Rockabilly bands at that time were a bit more rock and roll, a bit more teddy boy.
Fender: Who were the rockabilly bands of that era?
Boz: Crazy Cavan 'n' The Rhythm Rockers… Flying Saucers… They were really loud, right in your face and aggressive in a different way than punk was.
Fender: What would you consider to be your top three albums of all time?
Boz: Very easy really. Electric Warrior by T Rex. Either Never Mind The Bollocks by The Sex Pistols or The Scream by Siouxie And The Banshees and probably Vauxhall & I by Morrissey.
Fender: What sounds are you currently listening to?
Boz: The last album I bought was a Parkinsons album, but only because I did the sax on it. Still loads of glam and rockabilly; I can’t get away from it. New bands… there are bands that I see and I like them and I go and buy the record, but it doesn’t have the thing for me. Maybe I’m just getting old! I can’t get a whole album of stuff I like.
Fender: Pink Floyd of Led Zeppelin?
Boz: Well, it all depends what side of the bed you get out of. I would’ve probably said Led Zeppelin years ago. The first album I bought was Presence. I didn’t buy any Floyd for years, but I recently started listening to the early 45s on a CD. I’m probably in the middle, really.
Fender: What Fender®/Gretsch® gear do you play in the studio and on tour?
Boz: This is pretty much my favourite guitar of all time. (Picks up a natural-finished Tele® guitar). It’s a ‘63/’64. I think it’s a March ’64 body with a December ’63 neck and it was originally sunburst. Unfortunately, someone took all the finish off of it.
Fender: Bl**dy ‘ell!
Boz: (Laughs) Exactly my reaction as well! I have a vague feeling that it might’ve belonged to someone quite influential in his own right…
Fender: Who’s that?
Boz: I probably shouldn’t say.
Fender: Oh go on…
Boz: (Boz reveals the alleged previous owner of the guitar – our reporter looks stunned. Unfortunately, we are sworn to secrecy). Gretsch guitars – I’ve got an old 6120 that I’ve used for every gig with Morrissey for years. It’s played out. It’s really old and knackered. Maybe it needs some new pickups, I don’t know. I’ve got a cats-eye Gretsch I use on one or two Morrissey tunes. That one has Dearmond® pickups. I’ve got a cheapo Synchromatic™ that I used with The Polecats, which is great for hillbilly and rockabilly bop. It sounds fantastic with some heavier gauge strings on it. I’ve got a six-string bass which I’ve had for about ten years now. I’ve got about four or five Tele® guitars. Strat® guitars, I’ve kind of dabbled in and I go in and out of them.
Fender: How about amps?
Boz: Years ago, I was a big Twin® user. You can see that little one there (points to a Blues Deluxe™). That one (a Bassman®) came along about eight years ago. The Bassman is probably my favourite. It’s the one amp I’ll take along to sessions and the producer will go (in an awestruck, admiring voice) “Nice!”. And a Super Six which I don’t really use. I’ve got a 70s Vibro Champ. It sounds great cranked up. It’s got one great sound on it, which is ‘Everything Up Full’! For a small amp, I think it’s brilliant. I used to use it all the time, but it hasn’t been out for a while. The Bassman® has done the last seventy Morrissey gigs, with an acoustic sound going through it.
Fender: If you could construct a fantasy band made up of musicians living or dead, with you as the guitarist, what would the line-up be?
Boz: There’d probably have to be a double bass player in there. Someone like (Elvis bassist) Bill Black. The bassist would be someone from Motown, probably James Jamerson. Keyboards would have to be Jools Holland – I’ve jammed a few times with him.
Fender: Who’d be up there on the mic?
Boz: It would have to be Bolan, really. Just for my own self-indulgence.
Fender: And on guitar?
Boz: One of those old rockabilly guitarists. A lot of them are so nameless. They made one fantastic record and then rocketed to obscurity. Many of them, you don’t even know their names. Grady Martin was a great session man who appeared on loads of great records. He was one of those people that were always around. He would back two or three guys up a day.
Fender: What advice would you give to any young guitarists wanting to make a name for themselves in the business?
Boz: Practice, practice, practice. And play with as many different people as you can. Find things that you’d never think of listening to or playing.
Fender: Imagine if you will, that somewhere out there is an alternative universe where Boz Boorer never learnt how to play guitar – what’s that bloke doing right now?
Boz: (Laughs). I’ve got no idea. He’d probably have no direction in his life. He’d probably be a very sad man. He’d be grumpy, he’d have no friends and he’d be looking for some purpose, but couldn’t work out what it was.
Happy Birthday, Boz!
Q & A with Boz Boorer
Boz on the blower. ©Photo - Boz Boorer
Fender: Can you remember the first time you picked up a guitar?
Boz: A proper electric guitar?
Fender: No, any guitar.
Boz: It must’ve been when I was about 12. At school in the music room, there was a classical guitar that I learnt my basic rudiments on. I also tuned it up and broke a string on it – at a very young age! I did use to play it most times I’d go in the music room.
Fender: Can you remember the first recognisable riff/chord that you learnt to play?
Boz: (Plays a standard 12-bar blues riff and then "Johnny B Goode" by Chuck Berry)
Fender: When you were learning, what artists inspired you to take it to the next level?
Boz: Marc Bolan was the one who first made me want to pick up the guitar. I was always fascinated with music. I learnt clarinet and I sang, but I didn’t really put pop music and what I did together. After the Marc Bolan thing, I had to work out how I was going to do it.
Fender: What songs feature in your earliest memories?
Boz: One of the first records I ever bought was "(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone" and "I’m A Believer" by The Monkees. I was going to buy some horrible Rolf Harris/ record, but they didn't have it, so I bought The Monkees instead. Then it was things like "Resurrection Shuffle" by Ashton Gardner & Dyke, before I’d heard of T Rex. My brother had some Beatles records. When I started listening to the charts, it was things like "Watching The River Flow" by Dylan, Neil young, pop stuff like Slade and T Rex.
Fender: What was the first gig you ever went to?
Boz: I think the first gig I ever went to was a band called Charlie that opened up for Fleetwood Mac. The next gig after that was Chuck Berry in Victoria (London) and after that, it kind of went all punk and ‘orrible. Rockabilly as well.
Fender: What would you consider to be the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Boz: As a spectator, it would have to be one of those early punk gigs at the Roundhouse. Seeing the Buzzcocks and Siouxie and the Banshees and The Worst and Electric Chairs all on one bill. Being that age and managing to soak it up without judging anything was great. You look at things differently when you’re a kid. D’you know what I mean?
Fender: Yeah, you’re not so critical of it.
Boz: No. Every live band I saw at that time, I loved. Those times were very special. Rockabilly bands at that time were a bit more rock and roll, a bit more teddy boy.
Fender: Who were the rockabilly bands of that era?
Boz: Crazy Cavan 'n' The Rhythm Rockers… Flying Saucers… They were really loud, right in your face and aggressive in a different way than punk was.
Fender: What would you consider to be your top three albums of all time?
Boz: Very easy really. Electric Warrior by T Rex. Either Never Mind The Bollocks by The Sex Pistols or The Scream by Siouxie And The Banshees and probably Vauxhall & I by Morrissey.
Fender: What sounds are you currently listening to?
Boz: The last album I bought was a Parkinsons album, but only because I did the sax on it. Still loads of glam and rockabilly; I can’t get away from it. New bands… there are bands that I see and I like them and I go and buy the record, but it doesn’t have the thing for me. Maybe I’m just getting old! I can’t get a whole album of stuff I like.
Fender: Pink Floyd of Led Zeppelin?
Boz: Well, it all depends what side of the bed you get out of. I would’ve probably said Led Zeppelin years ago. The first album I bought was Presence. I didn’t buy any Floyd for years, but I recently started listening to the early 45s on a CD. I’m probably in the middle, really.
Fender: What Fender®/Gretsch® gear do you play in the studio and on tour?
Boz: This is pretty much my favourite guitar of all time. (Picks up a natural-finished Tele® guitar). It’s a ‘63/’64. I think it’s a March ’64 body with a December ’63 neck and it was originally sunburst. Unfortunately, someone took all the finish off of it.
Fender: Bl**dy ‘ell!
Boz: (Laughs) Exactly my reaction as well! I have a vague feeling that it might’ve belonged to someone quite influential in his own right…
Fender: Who’s that?
Boz: I probably shouldn’t say.
Fender: Oh go on…
Boz: (Boz reveals the alleged previous owner of the guitar – our reporter looks stunned. Unfortunately, we are sworn to secrecy). Gretsch guitars – I’ve got an old 6120 that I’ve used for every gig with Morrissey for years. It’s played out. It’s really old and knackered. Maybe it needs some new pickups, I don’t know. I’ve got a cats-eye Gretsch I use on one or two Morrissey tunes. That one has Dearmond® pickups. I’ve got a cheapo Synchromatic™ that I used with The Polecats, which is great for hillbilly and rockabilly bop. It sounds fantastic with some heavier gauge strings on it. I’ve got a six-string bass which I’ve had for about ten years now. I’ve got about four or five Tele® guitars. Strat® guitars, I’ve kind of dabbled in and I go in and out of them.
Fender: How about amps?
Boz: Years ago, I was a big Twin® user. You can see that little one there (points to a Blues Deluxe™). That one (a Bassman®) came along about eight years ago. The Bassman is probably my favourite. It’s the one amp I’ll take along to sessions and the producer will go (in an awestruck, admiring voice) “Nice!”. And a Super Six which I don’t really use. I’ve got a 70s Vibro Champ. It sounds great cranked up. It’s got one great sound on it, which is ‘Everything Up Full’! For a small amp, I think it’s brilliant. I used to use it all the time, but it hasn’t been out for a while. The Bassman® has done the last seventy Morrissey gigs, with an acoustic sound going through it.
Fender: If you could construct a fantasy band made up of musicians living or dead, with you as the guitarist, what would the line-up be?
Boz: There’d probably have to be a double bass player in there. Someone like (Elvis bassist) Bill Black. The bassist would be someone from Motown, probably James Jamerson. Keyboards would have to be Jools Holland – I’ve jammed a few times with him.
Fender: Who’d be up there on the mic?
Boz: It would have to be Bolan, really. Just for my own self-indulgence.
Fender: And on guitar?
Boz: One of those old rockabilly guitarists. A lot of them are so nameless. They made one fantastic record and then rocketed to obscurity. Many of them, you don’t even know their names. Grady Martin was a great session man who appeared on loads of great records. He was one of those people that were always around. He would back two or three guys up a day.
Fender: What advice would you give to any young guitarists wanting to make a name for themselves in the business?
Boz: Practice, practice, practice. And play with as many different people as you can. Find things that you’d never think of listening to or playing.
Fender: Imagine if you will, that somewhere out there is an alternative universe where Boz Boorer never learnt how to play guitar – what’s that bloke doing right now?
Boz: (Laughs). I’ve got no idea. He’d probably have no direction in his life. He’d probably be a very sad man. He’d be grumpy, he’d have no friends and he’d be looking for some purpose, but couldn’t work out what it was.
spinelessswine
New Member
Happy Birthday Borrissey!
CaliforniaMozGirl
Member
YEAH BOZ! Have a great Birthday! See you on Friday!
CrystalGeezer
My secret's my enzyme.
Happy Birthday Boz!
CrystalGeezer
My secret's my enzyme.
Okay Boz, here's your present. I'm sorry it's not wrapped and you don't get all four of them, just the third one from the left that looks ox blood in color. It's a reed case! Happy Birthday!
Black Cloud
Case Sensitive
wow, I can have cake today as well...
Maradona
Senior Member
Happy birthday Boz.
Great interview, thanks for posting. I wonder who the guitar belonged to?
Great interview, thanks for posting. I wonder who the guitar belonged to?
G
goinghome
Guest
Breithlá shona duit, mavourneen Boz!
Mars_Rover
Junior Member
But he's an Englishman, why are ye speaking Gaelic at him, mo mhuirnin! Maybe he's Irish by association, after hanging with Morrissey all these years.
Would it be impolite to ask the age of Mr. Boorer?
Would it be impolite to ask the age of Mr. Boorer?
spineless-swine
New Member
Would it be impolite to ask the age of Mr. Boorer?
Born in 1962, 47 years then? Happy birthday Boz!
D
Dave
Guest
I first thought possibly Elvis, but I've only seen him playing acoustic guitars. If he played electric a tele would be the obvious choice though.
Jimmy Page plays teles, but I think he mostly stuck to one that he still has. Keith Richards plays them and doesn't seem to stick to one. Would that be jaw-dropping?
But it could be some country or rockabilly legend. Luther Perkins, who played on all the famous Johnny Cash songs, or someone like that. Looking at pics of him, he usually has a tele and there are several of them, so he probably traded and did not keep every guitar.
