Today we have an appointment with Peter Staines (Peter Gunn) guitarist of THE INMATES Group.
A group that has left its mark on Pub Rock enthusiasts and has a wonderful love affair with our country.
Here we are in the universe of Mr. Peter Staines (Peter Gunn) to share with him some good memories.
Can we first go back a little bit : you were born and raised in Weston-super-Mare in England, how was your youth?
Peter : I liked two things growing up: nature and pop music....then girls!
In a seaside town you had to take sides. I was a Mod.
Any band touring the UK would play in WSM either at the Winter Gardens ballroom or the Odeon cinema. The Beatles and Rolling Stones played there in 1964 then the Who, Small Faces, Kinks, Pretty Things and many more....
How did you find out about music? What were your first discoveries, your first musical passions?
Peter : I first liked the Shadows and Duane Eddy - the first record I bought was his Ramrod ep.
I owned five L.P.s:
Chuck Berry " The Latest and the Greatest"
Little Walter "The Best of...."
The Who "My Generation"
Sonny Boy Williamson "In Memoriam"
B.B.King "Blues is King, BB King "
....I still have them.
My friend and I shared the Stones first album.
At what age did you start to learn the guitar? What were your first groups before the Inmates?
Peter : At first learning from friends or watching proper guitarists.
No lessons.
In London I played in a band called Nightlife in 1971. Then the Flying Tigers and the Cannibals.
Around 1977, with Ben, you place an ad in the Melody Maker, Bill Hurley answers it, then you meet Eddy Edwards on drums and Tony Oliver on second guitar, and you form The Inmates: how did these meetings go? Where did the idea for the band name "THE INMATES" come from?
Peter : When we got the line up together we rehearsed the material that we all liked; R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock n Roll and a bit of Pop.
The name came from the film "Jailhouse Rock".
Since your beginnings, Vic Maile produced your records then on his death, Pat Collier took over. How did you feel about the change, you were close to Vic and his way of working with you forged your musical identity. Were you afraid of this change or did you immediately feel in perfect harmony with it? Can you also tell us about all these years with Vic Maile, some anecdotes ?
Peter : We loved working with Vic. He had the same musical tastes as we did and the technical knowledge to make great records.
We knew Pat Collier from the Vibrators and the Boyfriends and he worked in a similar way to Vic.
I have so many stories about Vic - but that would be another interview...
You have produced several groups like Chesterbox never edited, the French group Les Saigneurs, Us Marshall, The Amazonas, Eager Beaver, Desoto, The Pirates, Electrocuting Elvis, The Jim Jones Revue… Did you have the same way of feeling things with these groups than the one you all lived in the Inmates?
Peter : Yes. I try to get a live, dynamic sound in all my productions.
France and The Inmates: the first time was in Paris at the Gibus in 1978, since then it's been a real love story, from the depths of Brittany to the north of France, from north to south, the French public all have a live memory of the Inmates. You are part of the life of any good French rocker, how do you feel about France, do you have any memories of meetings, concerts etc?
Peter : Woah! Again so many. We had a love affair with France and they seemed to love us ....
The first week's residency we had at Gibus club, run by Jiri Smetana, who became a good friend, established us in France leading to TV appearances with, for example Antoine De Caunes, and many tours.
Then at the end of the 80s, the french newspaper Liberation contacted you to organize a concert and a tribute album to the Beatles: how did it happen and how did it come about?
Peter : Originally the idea was to play a concert with Serge Gainsbourg but we didn't like the songs he proposed.
The Sergeant Pepper anniversary concert in Paris was more appropriate and was recorded live by Vic Maile.
Are you still in contact with the old band members? Can you tell us about Bill Hurley, how is he, what is he doing?
Peter : Yes we are good friends. I would say like brothers!
Jim Russell played drums on my recent solo recordings.
Ben, Tony and I have been playing live with some members of Matchbox as "Just For Kicks".
Bill sadly is unwell and unable to perform.
Do you remember the last concert of the Inmates, what memories do you keep? Can we hope to see the Inmates on stage one day?
Peter : I honestly can't say which was our last concert but I do remember going to a pub in the east end of London where a band was playing and realising "Hey, we're all here..." so we hijacked the band's equipment and played a few numbers.
After 12 Inmates albums, there seems to be a finished album that has never been released? Is this real news or a rumor? Will we one day see any unreleased material from the Inmates?
Peter : You never know.......
You would have finished a solo album, can you tell us some secrets, and when is this release planned?
Peter : "Life Savings" by Peter Gunn and the Neatbloods.
Recorded in Paris and mixed in London. Jim Russell on drums, Matt Radford (from Nick Lowe's band) on stand up and electric bass Jil Caplan and Christophe J on backing vocals.
Its ready to go and I'm looking for a way to release it.
You've been hosting a radio show for several years on Trash Can Radio in London, it's a very rock show where you can feel all your influences and your tastes: where did your desire to do radio come from?
Peter : I always wanted to have a radio show. I love sharing great music and telling stories about the songs.
Trash Can Radio is run by Mike Spenser who Ben, Tony and I played with in the Flying Tigers and then in the first line up of the Cannibals.
Rock and Roll, Punk, Soul, Freak Beat, Psych and great Pop music played 24 hours, 7days a week.
I don't think there is another radio station like it anywhere.
With Tony Olivier, you joined "Urban Voodoo Machine" which is in a very different register from the Inmates. How did the integration into this new group go? Maybe soon on the roads?
Peter : Paul Ronney Angel has been a friend and sometime member of the Inmates since the 1980s.
He has captained the Urban Voodoo Machine for many years and asked Tony and me to reprise Dirty Water on the "15 Shots" album.
Tony and I have played live with the UVM several times recently.
At the moment, the more the years go by, the more the world goes awry ... Health crises, social movements ... What do you think of all this?
Peter : When the Human Race finally remembers that it is part of the planetary ecosystem and tries to find harmony with the Earth maybe we can start to solve these problems of our own making.
The greatest evil is love of money no matter what the costs to the Earth.
Today, have your musical tastes changed? What are you listening to today, is there a band, song or album that remains essential for you?
Peter : So many - listen to Gunn's Grotto to hear them.
Sundays and Tuesdays from 6-8pm UK times on Trash Can Radio
Here's the link:
http://www.trashcanradio.com/trash-can-radio-live-stream/
This year started badly with the sudden and unexpected end of all concerts following the coronavirus, how did you experience the period of confinement, how were your days going? How do you cope with the distancing measures imposed on a daily basis?
Peter : The tiniest life form on the planet, which is not even really alive until it gets inside us, is turning the world upside down.
World "leaders", with a handfull of exceptions have shown themselves to be totally incapable of handling this crisis and in many ways are making it worse.
Make no mistake...this is serious!
I still write songs and make demos and of course my Gunn's Grotto radio shows.
How do you like to spend time when not working ? Do you have hobbies ?
Peter :If a hobby is something you do because you like it then I guess music is my hobby. There's a whole world, several worlds.....Universes!
in music.....
How would you define yourself in a word?
Peter : Trying
To end, if you should keep only 3 things : a record, a film, and a third choice (any item), what would be your selection and why ?
Peter : Impossible but, today's choices (could change tomorrow)...
Record - Chuck Berry Anthology (poetry and guitar)
Film - Performance (Weird and great....I lived there)
Thing - My 1959 Gretsch Double Anniversary guitar (The whole world of music in a single instrument).
