Paul Collins’ Beat : The Godfather Of Powerpop!
By Jens LOWCUT
For 30 years Paul Collins has been making powerpop magic with songs like ”Hanging On The Telephone” (The Nerves) and ”Rock’n’Roll Girl” (The Beat). Many new bands claim to play powerpop but Paul’s the real deal, which I witnessed at this year’s Rotterdam Rumble where I met the friendly Mr. Collins. His Spanish backing band was brilliant, and his voice was in great shape, truly one of the highlights of the festival. Paul Collins Beat has a new record out called ”Flying High”, The Beat’s first in 12 years. Take it away, Paul!
LC: Tell me a bit of where and how you grew up?
Paul Collins: I was born in New York, when I was very young my family moved abroad. I spent 4 years traveling, a year and a half in Vietnam and than 3 years in Greece. It was very interesting and it opened me up to how different life is in different places. As a result I love to travel, which is one of the things I love about being a musician.
LC: What was the first kind of music that caught your attention as a kid?
PC: My earliest influences of music where listening to American radio in Vietnam, I remember hearing ”Big Girls Don’t Cry” and ”Lighting Strikes”. I also listened to Hank Williams and Ray Charles as they were favorites of my fathers. After that it was The Beatles (my all time favorite group) and The Stones and the rest of the great music of the 60’s.
LC: What bands were you in prior to The Nerves?
PC: I had one band that I was in before I moved to California, we were called Homegrown, we did a few shows and that was it. I also worked with a girl singer, Tiffany in NY, she had a kind of revue and we played the **** clubs in the city.
LC: The Nerves?
PC: The Nerves was really my first profesional group, it was a great experience and I learned so much about songwriting and music working with Jack and Peter, plus we had a hell of a lot of fun!
LC: Did you buy a house in Malibu from the royalties of Blondie covering ”Hanging On The Telephone”, haha? Were you friends of them?
PC: I didn’t but Jack made a lot of money off that song! I knew them but very casually, we were not friends, just aquaintences.
LC: The Beat?
PC: I was very lucky to have been in 2 really good bands! The Beat was great because we actully made it on to a major label, toured the US and Europe and had our records released worldwide. The Beat created a base forme that I am still benefiting from, I am very proud of that band!
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