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SINNER:AN INTERVIEW WITH AL ATKINS

     Al Atkins is the original singer of Judas Priest. He left in May, 1973 to care for his extending family.The money Priest were making at the time couldn’t provide for him, his wife and child, so he quit the band to pursue a day job.The music bug quickly kicked in again and he formed a band called Lion, which disbanded in 1978 after supporting the likes of the Sex Pistols, the Stranglers and the Heavy Metal Kids. Lion came close to signing a record deal with major label players EMI in 1974 but Al says they gave the contract to Queen instead.After Lion. He had a spell living in Europe where he wrote songs and wandered about.
     His first solo album was 1989s Judgement Day followed by Dream of Avalon in 1991, Victim Of Changes in 1998 and Heavy Thoughts in 2003. His most recent album is Demon Deceiver, which features a raft of special guests,including Brian Tatler, Simon Lees, Mike De Jager and Johnny Lokke. One thing is for sure,Atkins is an underrated talent.The West-Brom based singer tells us about his topsy-turvy career.     

Your last album was actually 1998s Victim Of Changes because Heavy Thoughts (released in 2003) was initially meant for release back in 1995 by Gull Records but it was shelved.Why so long in between albums?
     A few years after recording the Victim Of Changes album on Neat Metal Records, Dave Holland (ex-Judas Priest drummer) and myself decided to get together and record another one,this time using top name artists.A few names were suggested to call our band like Steel Force and Judicator but we decided on just plain Atkins/Holland in the end.
     We had several meetings with record companies in London and everything seemed to be going well, also, Dave had a deal offered to himself using artists that he had performed with over the years like Rob Halford, Glenn Hughes and Don Airey, to name a few. He even asked me to sing a couple of songs on his album, which I was well up for. So now we had two irons in the fire at this time for recording new albums. But then everything came to nothing when in 2003 Dave got caught literally with his pants down and in early 2004 he got sent down for eight years. 2003 also saw the release, at last, of my CD Heavy Thoughts, which I had originally recorded for Priest’s old label Gull Records.

At this time I had started to record some of the songs I had written for Dave and myself like ‘Cradle To The Grave.’ But I soon broke away from the recording again to team up with ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton and we toured the East Coast of America from Tampa up to New York.So these are some of the reasons why I took so long.Also, there were various players that I wanted to perform on my new album and sometimes you have to wait until they are free from there own bands projects so everything gets held up.

Demon Deceiver is self-financed, so is it difficult trying to get a record deal and distribution?
     Yes, I decided to finance this album myself so I have full control over it.The Victim Of Changes album eventually got sold to Sanctuary Music after they bought Neat Metal Records and then after Dave got sent down, they shelved it.Also it was easier for me to get a distribution deal then to negotiate a new record deal.
     Diamond Head guitarist Brain Tatler adds his talent to the song ‘Blood, Demons and Whiskey.’ How did the collaboration come about?
     There were talks between Brian and myself about me taking over vocals with Diamond Head after Sean Harris left them but I think he had made his mind up to appoint the younger Nick Tart. But I asked Brian if he could play on one of my songs ‘Blood, Demons And Whiskey’ and he agreed – it was a great session.
     Simon Lees from Budgie is in your band, what is he like to work with? He is an excellent guitarist …
     Simon Lees is a top-notch guitarist,one of the best I have ever played with.At one time I asked him to play in my live band but Budgie offered him a better pay packet. Simon was even once voted guitarist of the year by Guitar Magazine.
     You have lots of talent involved on Demon Deceiver, including the South African guitarist Mike De Jager of Dante Fox. How did you meet him?
     Mike came to England about six years ago and I met him through my bass player Pete Emms who was putting together a Birmingham side project band called The Vaseline Rats.
     When I hooked up with Dennis Stratton and Jess Cox of Tygers Of Pan Tang to tour the USA, I asked the Rats to do the backing for us, which they did. On returning from America he joined Dante Fox for a while and then teamed up with me again when I put my new band together for touring. Since then I have become close friends with Mike and he features in everything I work on now both in the studio and live.
     You’ve also worked with singer Johnny Locke from Kansas USA.You share lead vocals with him on the excellent track ‘Drown.’What was it like to work with him?
     A few years ago Johnny Lokke asked me to sing with him an album called The New Breed.‘Bound By The Thread,’ which also featured Stefan Leibing of Primal Fear and Chris ‘Wah Wah’ Watson, the guitarist from Black Rose.The money from the album sales was given to Johnny’s drummer Scott who unfortunately had a motorcycle accident.The track Johnny and I sang together was a song called ‘Drown’ which I absolutely loved and I asked him if I could put it on my new album.The sound of it differs from the rest of the songs on my album because it was recorded in Kansas USA but I think it works okay.
     Your long time bassist Pete Emms left in December, what happened?
     Pete left us just before Christmas to pursue his own personal career and his ongoing project band The Vaseline Rats in which I wish him all the best.
     Tell me about the rest of your band?
     My live band consists of new bass player Scott Dallow who came to me recommended by Mick Hales, my studio drummer from Dante Fox and also, Simon Lees from Budgie.
     My 25 year-old drummer Alex Reynolds is the powerhouse behind the band and already has experience playing across the pond. His kit of drums was bought off Jason Bonham and Alex is going in the right direction in following in his footsteps.
     My two guitarists are Mike De Jager who I have already mentioned and Chris Johnson, who have both been endorsed by Moser Custom Guitars in California for 2007.
     Where did the sub-title The Sin Sessions come from?
     There were so many players that appeared on my album, I was going to call it Al Atkins & Friends but with a title like Demon Deceiver, it sounded too tame so one drunken night I decided to subtitle it The Sin Sessions.
     You have covered ‘Victim Of Changes’ before, so why did you decide to add another version to this album?
     I first recorded ‘Victim Of Changes’ in 1989 on my first album Judgment Day for German label SPM and I cut it short to more or less what the song sounded like when it was originally called ‘Whiskey Woman’ when I used to sing it live with Judas Priest. Rob joined after I left and added the slow piece to it from one of his songs called ‘Red Light Lady’ and then later it got re-titled to ‘Victim Of Changes.’ I recorded it again in 1998 when I decided to record all of my songs that Priest and other bands had recorded and I hadn’t, the album was called Victim Of Changes. But as I said earlier, Sanctuary Records shelved this album because of Dave Holland’s misdemeanors that’s why I decided to re-record it again.
     You have also covered the Judas Priest song ‘Dreamer Deceiver,’ again from the Sad Wings Of Destiny album.Why did you decide to record a new version of that song besides the fact that you co-wrote it, of course?
     ‘Dreamer Deceiver’ is one of my all time favourite Priest songs and I’ve always wanted to record it. Sad Wings Of Destiny was a great album and I think a benchmark for Judas Priest and all their later recordings that followed.
     Have you ever thought of recording any Judas Priest songs that you didn’t write?
     Yes, loads but I’ll stick to the old songs that I wrote with them. I actually open up my live set with the classic track ‘Metal Gods,’ which I always say is a tribute to them. They have written some brilliant songs over the years.
     Why did you decide to open the album with an instrumental?
     ‘Demon Deceiver,’ the opening instrumental by Simon which features myself reciting an old poem by Lionel Johnson, was going to be an introduction piece to the album and I was going to fade it after a minute or two but how could I cut it short with its awesome guitar playing towards the end! So I just left it as it was.
     You played two shows last year at the famous JB’s club in Dudley.What was it like to be back on stage in front of an audience?
     It was great to get out back on the road if only for a handful of gigs towards the end of 2006. JB’s has always been a favourite gig to play and the band went down really well with the audience who came from near and far to see us. Old friends turned up like Trevor Lunn, Priest’s old roadie from the ‘70s and Ernie Chataway, the original Priest guitarist who I hadn’t seen for about 20 years.We even had four guys from Germany come over to see us.
     Do you have any plans to tour this year?
     Yes, we have two new agencies working for us now – SSG Management and Agency in Finland and RG Promotions in New York.We are being lined up to play in Europe in late spring and as soon as Scott learns the setlist, we will kick off with some gigs in the UK first.
     Your voice is nothing like your Judas Priest predecessor, Rob Halford, so whom would you compare your voice to?
     I have been compared to Paul Di’Anno on several occasions but I don’t know about that.I was brought up listening to Paul Rodgers whose style I like very much.And then it was Robert Plant and later with David Coverdale, but I don’t think I sound like any of these.Years of cigarettes and whiskey have given me my own personal voice although I have now have given up the ciggies. Rob Halford has a unique vocal range and must rate as the best rock/metal vocalist in the world and without a doubt the Metal God.
     What are your plans for 2007 and beyond?
     My plans for 2007 are to sell a million albums, ha, just kidding. I eventually want to get my book published and tour America again towards the end of the year.

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