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The Only Ones

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It's nice to be able to see a band in person that has stayed true to itself over the years. The members of the group may have aged, but the music is timeless.

The buildup for Me And My Shadow is just masterful, with long, rolling drum beats followed by the guitar jumping in, you're on the edge of your seat waiting for it to take off and the timing of when it does is chosen very tactfully.

Those few minutes by themselves were a very memorable experience, surprisingly dramatic.The crowd had a nice representation from the older generation as well as the younger one, as it was two groups of fans that were there for different reasons but both extremely content with what they were given on the stage.

It's worth showing up to listen to the somewhat shrill lead singer be perfectly complimented by the music behind them, it's a pretty unique formula in that respect, a sound that if you're craving it there aren't many acts that could fill in for The Only Ones. This show was a fun throwback to how concerts used to be all the time, I was quite happy with the decision I made grabbing a ticket for this tour.

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• London (20)
• Manchester (6)
• Bristol (5)
• Los Angeles (LA) (4)
• Glasgow (4)

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• Television (8)
• The Who (4)
• Echo & The Bunnymen (3)
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As leader of The Only Ones, Peter Perrett elegantly married a withering turn of phrase with the devil-may-care excess of a unique mercurial talent. His solo albums for Domino reflect on the years that have passed since. These are hotwired statements of intent from a peerless artist - one of the few people left in Rock 'n' Roll capable of doing justice to a pair of sunglasses worn after dark.

Available Formats

Latest release, peter perrett humanworld, album | 7th june 2019.

On his second album for Domino, Peter Perrett – former frontman of The Only Ones - continues to dissect romance and politics with his trademark sense of sardonic wit and wry humour, if not with even more vigour and a palpable sense of immediacy.

Album Description

Tracklisting.

• 1 I Want Your Dreams
• 2 Once Is Enough
• 3 Heavenly Day
• 4 Love Comes On Silent Feet
• 5 The Power Is In You
• 6 Believe In Nothing
• 7 War Plan Red
• 9 Walking In Berlin
• 10 Love’s Inferno
• 11 Master Of Destruction
• 12 Carousel

7th June 2019

Peter Perrett How The West Was Won

30th june 2017, peter perrett shares new song "heavenly day" from upcoming album 'humanworld', 21st may 2019, peter perrett shares new song 'once is enough', 16th april 2019, peter perrett announces new album 'humanworld', 25th march 2019, peter perrett shares live video for 'sweet endeavour', 31st october 2017, peter perrett confirms european live dates for 2017, 7th august 2017, watch the video for new track 'an epic story', 22nd may 2017, how the west was won, debut solo album to be released june 30th, 13th april 2017, newsletters.

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The Only Ones

One of the punk era's most underrated bands, led by scuzzy romantic Peter Perrett.

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PETER PERRETT: THE ONE AND ONLY

As the leader of the Only Ones, a band that drew fans like Johnny Thunders, Richard Lloyd, and Keith Richards, Peter Perrett was a musical force on the London scene of the late 1970s. After a few rocky, drug-filled, drug-fueled years, Perrett got sober but never hit the straight and narrow, and he’s still making great music. Amy Haben caught up with him at his London home last December and spoke with him for PKM

Many of you have probably heard the Only Ones’ best-known song,  “Another Girl, Another Planet.”  I consider it the most romantic punk rock song, even though most speculate it’s about heroin.  A crush of mine gave me a mix tape with the song on it almost twenty years ago and I fell for him right then and there.   With singer Peter Perrett’s unique vocals and guitar sounds that lend to the feeling of shooting through space on a pink cloud –  it hits even the most jaded character (think Vincent Gallo in Buffalo 66 ) in the guts.

“I’ll always flirt with death, I’ll get killed, but I don’t care about it. I can face your threats and stand up straight and tall and shout about it. I think I’m on another world with you.” -Lyrics from, “Another Girl, Another Planet”

The Only Ones – Another Girl, Another Planet:

The Only Ones came roaring through the scene in 1976, playing pubs and venues around London. Peter’s natural charisma brought about fans as well as praise from fellow respected musicians. New York bad boy Johnny Thunders, who was a Doll as well as a Heartbreaker, even felt compelled to approach the skinny, British singer to compliment him on his voice. A strong friendship continued after that fateful night. After the Only Ones’ demise in 1981, Peter and his wife, Zena, made a full-time job of selling dope out of their house. When I asked him if he was worried they would be robbed or shot, he replied that even the worst thugs wouldn’t dare out of respect for Zena. She was the best cook in town—the item on the menu being crack.

I’m surprised at how transparent and affable Peter is. It’s usually hard to get to the dark parts of a musician’s history as they want to highlight their best moments. This isn’t the case with Peter. When I told him I’d never done heroin, his eyes lit up with childlike glee. He made a comment that I could use it when I retire and have a good time. (Cue the leather vest-wearing grandpa played by Alan Arkin in the film, Little Miss Sunshine.) 

These days, Peter makes music with his two sons who were formerly involved in the Libertines as well as other hot London groups. In June of this year, I was lucky enough to witness a remote show put together by Jesse Malin and NYC’s  Bowery Electric  in honor of Johnny Thunders’ birthday. Peter and his son played an acoustic song called,  “Thy Will Be Done,”  which was written long ago by Peter with help from Johnny Thunders to an audience of rock n’ roll fans worldwide watching through their computers.

In December of 2019, I visited Peter’s London home to interview him right before heading over to a fantastic Fat White Family gig at EartH , which is in the Hackney area of London, quite close to Peter’s home. It was a thrilling evening. I will never forget hanging with so many musical heroes of mine.

Peter Perrett: Even though I lean left, I’m anti-political correctness.

PKM: I feel similar. When censorship starts, it becomes exactly like the far right. Most comedy is offensive, and we need to laugh.

Peter Perrett: Everyone is getting offended. There is no humor in it at all. Humor is one of the great survival tools. It’s the thing that gets you through the darkest times. To me the internet and social media are helping mental illness grow. Facebook is making people go off on vitriolic diatribes against people they have never met. They’ll be some trigger word that sets them off, usually it’s a misunderstanding, and it makes them hate each other, unfriending each other, blocking each other, and Instagram is a narcissistic, vacuous thing.

PKM: I’m embarrassed that I like Instagram.

Peter Perrett: Listen, I don’t judge. It’s here. I would be stupid to think that people aren’t gonna take part in it because It’s part of life. I particularly don’t like the tag, “My best life,” because most people’s lives are shit and the last thing they want to see are people in St. Tropez.

PKM: I heard that you helped save Richard Lloyd’s life. Tell me more about that.

Peter Perrett: Yes. The night of October 1, 1978, the Only Ones played a gig at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. Richard had joined us during the encore to jam on our song, “No Peace For The Wicked.” With his innovative guitar style, Richard played in a yet-to-be-discovered key.  Very avant-garde. This may have been a clue to an already inebriated state. After the gig, we retired to my flat and I offered him a line of heroin. Within five minutes, Richard had slumped onto the floor and even though I am partially color blind, it was obvious his lips were turning blue. “Killed the buzz,” as they say. I phoned my drummer (Mike) Kellie, who lived around the corner, to help carry Richard to my car. I drove insanely fast, through red lights, wrong side of the road, etc., the two and a half miles to Lewisham Hospital. When we arrived, Kellie ran inside A&E and emerged 30 seconds later accompanied by a few people including at least one doctor. They put Richard on a trolley and immediately began administering CPR as they rushed him inside. We left hastily without leaving contact details. I’m glad my instincts were not of the ‘Street Hassle’ variety.

PKM: Is it true that you participated in a snorting competition with Keith Richards while in the studio making an Only Ones album?

Peter Perrett: We were recording in a small 16-track demo studio in Tooting, South London in September of 1976. I was sitting behind the desk, waiting for playback. The door to the control room opened and a mutual friend walked in followed by Keith and Marlon, who were introduced to the band before taking a seat. I asked the engineer to press play, but he was staring open mouthed at Keith for what seemed like an eternity. It was kind of embarrassing at the time, though I see the funny side now. When the track, “Hope Valley Blues,” was eventually played, Keith suggested speeding it up slightly. He explained that it was something the Stones often did. (I have since found out that it was a common practice in the ‘70s, as it was believed to make songs more ‘radio friendly.’) I have vague memories of Marlon rolling joints.

In September ‘67 I got the Velvet Underground’s first album, White Light, White Heat. Since then, it’s been all about Dylan and the VU.

Our mutual friend had turned up at rehearsal, with John Cale, around the same time. I think he saw himself as a catalyst for bringing people together. Soon after, I was told that Keith really liked the song, “Prisoners,” and was interested in producing it. We were all invited ‘round to Keith’s. Our friend took me, Zena, and the band to a big house Old Church Street, Chelsea (owned by Donald Sutherland, I think.) Keith opened the door and we all marched in and up to the top floor. It was weird. Not least because I had no idea what a producer did, or any expectation of what the process might involve. Keith sat down at a Fender Rhodes piano and asked me the chord structure, which he then proceeded to play. We all stood ‘round the piano. I don’t know if we were expected to join in, but I’d never been in that position before, where someone else was making suggestions about MY song. It felt awkward. After a while, Keith asked if anyone fancied a line of coke, and we all adjourned to sit ‘round a massive table.  This was a scenario I was comfortable with.

You mention a “snorting competition.” There was no competition, though it may have seemed that way to a casual observer. Keith was being a generous host and I always insisted on paying my way. So we took it in turns, putting out the lines of coke. Anyone familiar with this process knows it can soon become an obsessive-compulsive ritual. “The show was outrageous, we chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn,” (Dylan) – and the better the quality, the more intense it becomes. (Mine was straight from the kitchen in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Keith’s wasn’t far off.)

Apart from a brief visit to a studio and another bizarre evening where Zena, Keith, and I were the three dinner guests together with the guy’s posh mother, I never saw Keith again and he never got to produce the Only Ones. The happy ending to that story was that it led indirectly to my becoming friends with Johnny Thunders. Barbara Charone, who was writing Keith’s biography, mentioned in the gossip column of Sounds’  magazine that Keith was listening to demo tapes by a new group called The Only Ones. This piqued Johnny’s interest and when we played our first gig at the Speakeasy in January of 1977, he came and introduced himself after the gig saying, “I love your voice.”

The Only Ones – No solution (BBC live)

PKM: What kind of adventures did you get into with Johnny Thunders?

Peter Perrett: Going out with Johnny was always eventful and unpredictable – you were likely to be dragged onstage without notice or rehearsal. But it was an easy gig. All you had to do was keep a rhythm and follow Johnny’s guitar and voice. There were too many highs to mention, so I will describe a low, the one downside to being friends with Johnny.

In 1977, [Mike] Kellie was seeing Babs Blackmore (Richie’s ex.) He invited me to a party at her house in the country, so I drove down with Johnny and Walter in the back. Johnny spent a lot of time talking to Steve Marriott and Walter spent the evening being the DJ. On the way back to London, we were pulled over by the police. For most people this is a sobering experience. I got out of the car to talk to them, confident in my ability to present an aura of togetherness. I answered the usual questions. It was going well. Then Johnny emerged from the back. He immediately adopted his onstage persona, slurred New York drawl and very wobbly legs. All I could offer, by way of explanation, was “He’s American!” For some reason, this seemed to satisfy them. With bemused expressions, they looked him up and down and slowly walked away. They didn’t even search us. We were lucky.

There are situations in life where you want to maintain a low profile, especially if engaged in illegal activity. It was impossible for Johnny Thunders to remain inconspicuous. It was against his nature.

PKM: Were you pleased with Nina Antonia’s book about you,  The One and Only: Peter Perrett, Homme Fatale ? I love that title.

Peter Perrett: I haven’t read the book. I don’t like reading about myself. I hate inaccuracies, whether caused by misinterpreted mumbled recordings or third-party recollections. Similarly, I hate listening to myself being interviewed because I invariably disappoint myself with my lack of eloquence. In the past, I have concentrated too much on these inaccuracies, when I have been told about specific incidents in the book.  In hindsight, Nina probably had a difficult subject to contend with.

PKM:  Do you like playing music with your sons?

Peter Perrett: Having been a terrible son and not so great father, it is an undeserved privilege to be playing music with my sons. They are both amazing musicians who help me justify my existence and provide me with the pleasure only music can bring. Before TV and other modern recreational activities, there was a long tradition of families playing instruments together for entertainment. They make it very easy, all I have to do is turn up and remember the words.

PKM: The Only Ones were invited by Warren Ellis to reunite and play the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2007. How was that gig?

Peter Perrett: It was very surreal. It was the first time I’d been on stage in 11 years. It came as a shock to the system – the commitment to be at a certain place at a certain time. We decided to drive down the day before and stay the night in a local hotel. It was the opening day of the festival, with only two bands playing. The Only Ones opened and Grinderman (Nick Cave and Warren’s band) ended the evening. We arrived at the hotel and I settled in. Stage time was 7pm. There were a couple minor problems. I was still using drugs. I’d brought copious amounts of everything with me. I still had enough heroin to last a week but, unfortunately, I’d stayed up all night at the hotel (I had “planned’ to sleep) and by 5pm I’d run out of crack. No matter how much you bring, it is never enough, and we were 200 miles from London. After an indefinite period of no sleep, I descended into the Sleep Of The Dead. Luckily, after a great deal of panic and scouring the festival, they managed to locate enough powder coke to revive me. We went on stage only 15 minutes late, which I thought was a major achievement, considering. It could’ve been worse. I remembered all the songs and the audience response was great. The Only Ones reunion gigs lasted ‘til the end of 2009.

PKM: Do songs ever come to you in dreams?

Peter Perrett: The only significant, music related thing that came to me in a dream and stuck was the name of the band (The Only Ones) – I knew I was dreaming something special/ important and woke up, wrote it down, then went back to sleep. I have dreamt songs, but I can’t write musical notation, so I could never memorize a tune. I did recently wake up and write down a lyrical couplet; “She was skinned alive/ She was hung out to dry,” which is now a part of a song called,  “Women Gone Bad.”

PKM: You stopped smoking pot and cigarettes in 2015. When did you quit the drugs?

Peter Perrett: I stopped smoking heroin and crack on a 24/7 basis back in March 2008, when I started taking Methadone. Last time I had either was in 2010. I stopped smoking cannabis and nicotine on April 8, 2011. I haven’t had a single puff of smoke of any kind since then. I need all the oxygen I can get. I started reducing Methadone in January 2015 and came completely off it in November 2015. A particularly liberating feeling. I wouldn’t take drugs now because I have my limitations physically and mentally due to the terrible way I formerly treated my body. You think you’re having fun on drugs, but once you have a break for a little while, you realize it wasn’t really fun. It’s a bit one dimensional. A lot of people take drugs in the first place to experiment and explore and try everything. So when you realize you spent your whole life just trying the same thing over and over…  A lot of people find they have depression in sobriety, so they have to find a new habit that makes them happy. I have this hobby called music that makes me happier than drugs ever did so…

Peter Perrett – I Want Your Dreams (Official Video)

PKM: Who were you influenced by as a teen and how did you get started playing music?

Peter Perrett: I just did it myself. I discovered Bob Dylan at 13. Before that, it was the Beatles and the Kinks and the Yardbirds. It was all about the sound and the fashion, but Bob Dylan was the first person to articulate things that I felt were unique. So at 14, I started writing down words and I had a tape recorder and I’d make electronic tapes. These tapes were just me bashing a desk and chanting and turning them backwards and they sounded really weird to me. Ha!

PKM: Haha. That’s really cool.

Peter Perrett: The next epiphany was in 1967, the summer of love. Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd, the Creation, early Fairport Convention, and the Incredible String Band; were all groups that seemed really exciting seeing them live as a 15 year old. In September ‘67 I got the Velvet Underground’s first album, White Light, White Heat. Since then, it’s been all about Dylan and the VU.

I discovered the Velvet Underground at the age of 15, and so those were the two, big inspirations. My father did the one positive thing he ever did in my life and he bought me a drum. I used to bash this drum as hard as I could because I wasn’t really a drummer. So, I think he was like, “Please shut the hell up.” So he bought me a cheap acoustic guitar. I learned two chords and started writing. I was 17 which was quite late to start.

A lot of people take drugs in the first place to experiment and explore and try everything. So when you realize you spent your whole life just trying the same thing over and over…

PKM : You’ve said before that the Only Ones are more like U.S. bands than U.K. groups. What did you mean by that?

Peter Perrett: When JT and I met, we were both 24. Some people on the scene, like Joe Strummer, were the same age or older. But the Sex Pistols were three or four years younger (Sid was 5 years younger,) so a lot of bands felt like kids in comparison. In the U.K., the ‘punk’ ethos adopted a scorched earth policy. Eradicate all that has gone before and start again from scratch.  This created a pronounced schism in the U.K. A young punk said to me, “You’re great but your band’s too professional.” While Kellie’s old school musician friends regarded him as a traitor for associating with the enemy. Being able to play your instrument in NYC was not necessarily seen as a handicap. So, in London, the movement started off being fashion driven, it was predominately about image and attitude. The U.S./ NYC bands seemed more advanced in their musical concepts, but the U.K. bands matured very quickly. It felt like a special time to be on b both sides of the Atlantic. So much energy. Revolutionary.

PKM: I heard you were kicked out of school. Why?

Peter Perrett: I was kicked out of two schools. One when I was 15 in 1967. After four years. I was just disruptive.

PKM: By talking out of turn or flirting with girls?

Peter Perrett: It was an all boys school. It was like prison. If there were girls there, I wouldn’t have gotten myself kicked out. Ha!

There were two different types of boarding schools in England. One is for bad kids that are too young to go to prison called Borstal. The other is called Public School and it’s for rich people, except a few poor kids that are intelligent. I was offered a scholarship because I did well on the exams at the age of 11 when you have to go to secondary school. My father felt education was really important. It was hell for me at that school.

PKM: So you were the poor kid at the rich kid’s school. That sucks.

Peter Perrett: It was back in the day when you would be caned by the teachers and the monitors, who were older boys.

I was too arrogant to regard anybody as competition. I like to think we were unique, particularly in that environment, and therefore beyond comparison. My main competition was against myself.

I have this hobby called music that makes me happier than drugs ever did so…

PKM: If you were able to collaborate with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

Peter Perrett: In my dreams: A duet with Mary Margaret O’ Hara or Chrissie Hynde. Or on a different level, Christina Amphlett. In real life: It would have to be Johnny Thunders, because I know it worked really well.

Peter Perrett – Sweet Endeavour (Live Video)

PKM: What does your idea of heaven look like?

Peter Perrett: A pitch black vacuum of sensory deprivation. Though I probably wouldn’t enjoy it, once I was there.

PKM: What song would you want to be played at your funeral?

Peter Perrett: If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have a funeral. I’d like to be dissolved in acid,  Breaking Bad  style. So reluctantly, I choose Chopin’s “Funeral March.”

[ Side note:  There is a bar in the East Village area of NYC called  Lovers Of Today , which is obviously an Only Ones song reference.]

MORE FROM PKM:

PUNK ROCK WAS NOT A BOYS’ CLUB, PART 3 (THE UK EDITION)

HERE’S LOOKING AT HUGH: THE STRANGLERS’ HUGH CORNWELL SPEAKS

VIVIEN GOLDMAN AND REVENGE OF THE SHE-PUNKS

FAT WHITE FAMILY’S LIAS SAOUDI ON BLM AND FINDING A MUSICAL WAY FORWARD

SHOT IN THE DARK: THE PUNK PHOTOGRAPHY OF DAVID ARNOFF

Wow, what a remarkable read. I love that Chrissie Amphlet gets a mention, such a unique voice. Thank you.

Great story and interview, but the opening line to Another Girl Another Planet is: I always flirt with death, I look ill but I don’t care about it.

White Light, White Heat may be the first VU album Peter heard, but it was actually their second, after the eponymous Velvet Underground with Nico.

This was a fine interview. I’ve been a Peter Perrett/Only Ones fan from the very beginning, and I’m so happy that Peter is still with us and making his wonderful music with his unmistakeable voice and his literate, touching lyrics.

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KEXP Exclusive Interview: Peter Perrett

Peter Perrett possesses one of the most distinctive voices in rock n’ roll. Some would call it an acquired taste. Me? I loved it instantly, hearing it for the first time in 1976 on the top side of the debut single by new British band, The Only Ones . The song was called "Lovers Of Today."

I was managing a record store in Minneapolis. We had a broad inventory of music but our specialty was imports and the glut of new domestic independent labels of the day. It was a time when I could order one of pretty much every 7-inch our distributors offered. It was always exciting to get the shipments in and have a stack of brand new 45s to audition. The auditioning became a ritual. If we liked what we heard, we ordered a quantity. If we didn‘t, we priced them cheap and put them out in a one-of-a-kind bin (which our collector-minded customers devoured). That fateful day when we dropped the needle on "Lovers", a super-hooky guitar riff came blasting out of the speakers and we immediately went on High Alert. Then, we heard that voice. The Only Ones took our town by storm. A singular band with extraordinary songs and exceptional musicianship. Singer/guitarist Peter Perrett. Lead guitarist John Perry. Bassist/backing vocalist Alan Mair. And the mighty Mike Kellie on drums. The fare they traded in was decidedly dark stuff but there was a majesty to it that was positively exhilarating. For a while there, everyone I knew thought they were the best band in the world. Their self-titled first album arrived in 1978 and the lead single from it -- "Another Girl Another Planet" -- was to become their signature song. An adrenaline rush of a rock song if I ever heard one. And, dare I say, one of the single best rock n’ roll songs ever recorded.

When the band came to the states for the first time in 1979, they were booked for two nights at THE underground nightspot in Minneapolis -- The Longhorn. My girlfriend and I couldn’t wait so, a few days before, we took a train down to Chicago to catch a two-night stand in a basement club called Mother’s. They exceeded our expectations -- they were even better live than on record. The anticipation in our hometown was already running high but, after we returned with reports on the band’s astonishing live prowess, things reached fever pitch. 250 people came to see the band the first night. They were so great, nearly everyone came back the 2nd night. The people that were there still talk about those shows 38-years later.

Sadly, the Only Ones broke up in 1980 after three brilliant albums that still sound as good today as they did then. For all intents and purposes, Peter Perrett became a recluse, disappearing into a haze of drugs, only coming up for air briefly in 1996 with a group called The One. While not reaching the lofty heights of the Only Ones, the recordings they made (one EP and one album) are a fine addition to the Perrett canon.

Fast-forward to 2017 and, miraculously, Peter Perrett is back with an album entitled How The West Was Won that is so strong I can barely believe my ears. It feels unhurried, effortless and confident. The songs are solid and smart, full of wry observations on the human condition and brimming over with Peter’s mordant sense of humor. Cause for celebration, indeed!

I spoke with Peter about How The West Was Won by phone from his home in London on June 6th.

Peter Jesperson: Let’s start with the new album. You have been outspoken about being drug-free for the first time in many years. Did you clean up and then decide to make a new album… or did you want to clean up in order to make a new album?

Peter Perrett: There was no grand plan behind it. It was a case of the survival instinct kicking in at the very last minute -- to sort of prevent physical extinction basically. And making the album was a fortuitous consequence of it. I found myself in a place where I was wanting and able to make music again. But the initial drive behind it was to prevent (laughs) imminent extinction of the species.

Was the process of writing and recording again therapeutic?

Yeah. Music is the best therapy. When you find yourself with a lot of time on your hands, when you were previously occupied in other ways… something that is that pleasurable to do, it’s the best therapy of all. Music is used as therapy in lots of different human conditions. And for me personally, it was my salvation. My ability to make music and to actually be in a position (to) make an album and get it out to people was even more inspiration. Because you have to feel music. If you don’t feel it, then what’s the point? Substance addiction tends to numb all feeling. To me it was either one or the other. I couldn’t see the point of listening to music even, let alone playing it when I was otherwise occupied.

I’m struck by how the album sounds perfectly in line with your previous work. It’s like you didn’t miss a beat. After such a lengthy break from music, did it feel like writing the songs was a continuation of what you’ve always done or did it feel new somehow, writing while clean? And was it hard for you to write clean?

It was both. Obviously, it was a continuation of my previous work because it’s me writing the stuff and there is a link, but it felt completely new because it was hard to remember two or three lifetimes ago, and it feels like I’m doing it for the first time. When I did it before, it was literally another world. I feel like a newborn baby, which sometimes you do when you come out of decades of internal exploration. So yeah, it’s both. A continuation, obviously because it’s me writing the songs and I’m still me. But it feels like doing it for the first time. And being one of the unclean was a full-time occupation. It’s the complete opposite. It was the only way I was ever going to write again, by getting clean because you have to. To me, music has always been about passion and fun. And I think other distractions inhibit your ability to enjoy things to the fullest. It wasn’t hard to write clean. I never did write when I had a serious addiction. That’s the whole point of why I haven’t done anything for such a long time. In the mid '90s, I was briefly productive for a couple of years when I did the album, Woke Up Sticky but, apart from that, it’s been a very long time.

Since you bring that up, maybe we can jump to a couple of questions I had about The One. Looking back, those recordings are really good but the new ones are significantly stronger. Why didn’t The One last longer?

Because I’d made plans throughout the '80s which never came to fruition. Procrastination sort-of put me off from completing those plans. At the beginning of the '90s, I got to a place where I thought I could complete them. But my window of opportunity was too brief. When I started to record the album, I was really focused, but it took a while to do it because the producer was going to America to do other stuff. And, by the time it finished, I was less focused and then retreated back into the haze that I was prone to inhabit. Because I was less focused, I think, some people say it was over-produced. But I think I just put too much stuff on it. There were some great songs on it (but) the album could have been better. We were good live, but it was too brief of an experiment to fulfill its potential. I mean, there were a couple of TV appearances where we played Woke Up Sticky in France and England that I’m really proud of, you know. But I think now, there’s more weight to the new album because I think it’s the best I can do and that makes me feel much more content.

How did you decide on the band you’ve got now, with your two sons in it?

There was no decision to be made. I was a big fan of their playing before they agreed to be a part of the project. And referring back to how The One got together -- having children is a much more organic process than holding auditions. And I think that benefits the album as well. I don’t wanna put down what I did in the ‘90s at all. It’s what I did. But I do feel I’m in a much better place now.

Are your boys and their band mates still calling themselves Love Minus Zero or Strange Fruit?

It was called Strange Fruit for a while. They didn’t like that name. It’s hard to find one (a band name) that’s unique. Every name has been thought of. If you think of a great name these days, there’s always some band -- that’s got like five fans in Australia or something -- that’s thought of the name before you. So, they haven’t got a name at the moment. But they still do great music by themselves.

[ed. note: The band on Peter’s new album is his son Jamie on guitars, keyboards, backing vocals and percussion; second son Peter Jr. on bass and backing vocals; Jake Woodward on drums; Jenny Maxwell on electric viola, violin and backing vocals; and Lauren Moon on backing vocals on one song, “Take Me Home” (PP: “They all started playing music together and were a ready-made band for me.”); guest keyboardist, Jon Carin, was recommended by producer, Chris Kimsey, to play the string synth and piano on “Take Me Home.” Jon's day job is playing with Pink Floyd & David Gilmour.]

At times, the band seems to naturally resemble The Only Ones. Did you do anything specifically to try NOT to sound like The Only Ones or was that not a concern?

Obviously, there’s a resemblance. There’s certain things in common -- my voice, my lyrics, my songs. It’d be a surprise if the album didn’t resemble The Only Ones, right? The only times I’ve been concerned with not sounding like anybody was in the '70s, I was concerned not to sound like my musical heroes. In the '90s, I was probably subconsciously concerned about not sounding like The Only Ones. This time my only concern was to make a great album and I didn’t really care about whether I sounded like The Only Ones or if I sounded like any of my original heroes from the mid-'60s.

I wanted the vocals mixed up loud. Which was quite different -- they’re much louder than on The Only Ones albums. I wanted them dry and naked, without lots of reverb. I wanted them to be really up front. And (I wanted) relatively sparse arrangements. When I listen back to the old Only Ones stuff, I particularly like the John Peel sessions. The main reason is because it was recorded on 8-track, it’s basically live renditions of the songs. I think there was a temptation when I was young, because you’ve got 24 tracks, ‘Oh let’s use ‘em all up, try out lots of different ideas.’ And I wanted this album to be… basically, all of the tracks are just played live with a minimum of overdubs. And “How The West Was Won,” “Something In My Brain,” “Take Me Home,” they’ve got the original guide vocal takes on them. I didn’t even bother doing another vocal because they… just felt right. My only concern was to make a great album, where the vocals and the lyrics are the main feature. I mean, I like powerful instrumental bits, you know there’s “Living In My Head,” which has got an extended instrumental, but I wanted the songs to come across… and the emotion in the songs.

Do you think Jamie has some John Perry in his style?

I think Jamie sounds like Jamie, right? But it probably does have a bit of John in him because when he was 13 or 14, John gave him some guitar lessons. So, I think if you have guitar lessons from somebody at that young an age then something will resonate in your future style development. I think Jamie’s quite unique, but I think’s there’s probably bits of John that you can hear as well.

Were all ten of the songs on the album written recently?

Out of the ten songs, seven of them were started after the summer of 2015. The other three were finished off in that period, works in progress that were finally structured and arranged properly.

So, there’s nothing older than summer of 2015?

Three of the songs had different previous incarnations but they weren’t in their present form. And some of the songs were totally written in that year. “How The West Was Won,” I recorded it a week after I wrote it because I wanted to capture it fresh. And “Something In My Brain” was written the week before we did our last session. And on both of those, I thought it was important to capture when they were fresh because they were like talking blues songs that you needed the freshness of the delivery because it’s more about the delivery than any tune.

Can you describe the dynamic of working with the band, especially in terms of working with your sons?

The dynamic was perfect because all ideas and opinions were welcomed. I’d listen to anything they have to say. But then, I had the final say on everything -- which is one of the benefits of being the patriarchal figure (laughs). And the person whose name it’s going out under. I have final say.

I’m struck by how great the record sounds and I think Chris Kimsey was an inspired choice of producer. How did he enter the picture?

My manager knew Chris and he suggested him. I’d never met Chris before. I’m very tentative about new people I meet… but, the more I worked with him, it became obvious he was the perfect person because he wasn’t a producer that inflicted his ideas on you. He let us do what we wanted to do. But every suggestion of his that we did use really improved the songs. I think that’s the best thing you can expect from a producer. You can ruin an album by a producer who’s too overbearing and inflicts their signature sound on whoever they’re producing. But Chris wasn’t like that. He quickly understood the dynamic of the band and let us try things out that he thought were crazy but later thought, ‘Yeah, that’s great.’ And he suggested things like… you know, he joined forces with Jamie and insisted on backing vocals for a couple of choruses. I’m very much of the opinion that if you put on backing vocals and a tambourine it says, ‘Here’s the chorus,’ and I don’t like doing things that obvious. But it did actually improve the songs and it was good having a different perspective in the studio. Sometimes he was the referee between me and Jamie (laughs), so he was very useful.

I’ve got Chris’s name on dozens of records in my collection, everyone from The Chieftans to Ten Years After or The Rolling Stones but he also worked a lot with a band from Minneapolis that I signed to a record deal many years ago called Soul Asylum. I don’t know if you’re familiar with them.

Oh yeah, I remember them. They had a big hit single, didn’t they?

Yeah, they had a couple hits, the biggest one was “Runaway Train.”

And also, looking back through Chris’s discography -- a massively impressive resume there -- I noticed that he had done a Spooky Tooth album. During the period you were putting this new album together, Mike Kellie (drummer of Spooky Tooth and later The Only Ones) passed away. Did Chris have any…

No, he passed away afterwards because we finished recording in August of 2016. Kellie passed away January of 2017. So, when Chris was talking about Kellie, it was all about what a great drummer he was. We weren’t talking ‘death’ about Kellie because he was still around. You know, he was the last person I expected to not be around. Chris worked with him on the Spooky Tooth and Peter Frampton albums, yeah, he’d worked with him a few different times on different stuff. Most of Chris’s stories, his funny stories, were about working with Mick and Keith, which were quite hilarious. Also, some pretty scary stories about working with Peter Tosh in Jamaica, which was quite a hairy experience for him. But, no, I mean most of the stuff we talked about Kellie was what an amazing drummer he was, which was the overwhelming impression he left. At Kellie’s funeral Stevie Winwood sang “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” on mandolin, it was quite moving. Kellie came from that era. That’s why he was such a part of my musical education because he’d been through it all before. I was learning on the job and Kellie had done it all. He was a rock.

I remember my time with him so fondly, when we first met you guys (in 1979) in Chicago and then Minneapolis. He was such a gentleman.

Yeah, that’s what people remember about him -- he was a real gentleman, his manners were impeccable. Don’t think I ever heard him swear. He’d always sort of tuck under his breath when I’d use the C-word or anything like that, he was quite funny.

How was the album recorded? Did you do long sessions that went into the wee hours? Did you record all at once or over a period of months?

They were all basically 12-hour sessions. We started at 11 AM and we finished at 11 PM. If it was necessary, like (when) we were getting right at the very end, then we’d go on for an (extra) hour or two if there was something that had to be done. We never did more than three days in a row because I figured I needed… after three days of 12 hours a day I deserved some time in bed.

The first song that we recorded was in November 2015, “An Epic Story.” And then my manager’s plan was to use that. We recorded another couple of songs with it which we left off the album. They were like country songs… or country-feel type songs. When I first started writing again in the summer of 2015, the first song I wrote was a real country song. I could write ten country songs a day, do you know what I mean? They’re the easiest things to do (laughs). But I didn’t want to put them on the album. Because Chris was producing he chose the first three songs we recorded so, “Epic Story” he chose and then these two country songs. My manager wanted to get a record deal with that.

I’d had contact with Laurence Bell, who’s the owner of Domino Records, before. We did some gigs… the start of the process, the four gigs we did in the summer of 2015, and Laurence had come to (one of them). And then he texted me really complimentary messages -- “So great hearing a collection of amazing songs,” talking about my old songs. But there were a couple of new songs that I’d written when I was rehearsing to do the gigs. And so, I suggested to my manager that if he wanted to get a record deal with the recordings to approach Laurence. The basics were agreed to really quickly. And then we had to wait four months for the lawyers to do their thing, which lawyers do, that’s the way they make their money (laughs), they argue about the fine details for months. So, knew I was going to be doing an album for Domino in December of 2015. But by March 2016 I got impatient waiting for the lawyers to finish, come to the final contract. And so, I went into Konk Studios. The engineer at Konk, Josh Green, is a friend of Jamie’s and the kids had recorded there before and… it felt like home. So, I booked two days in there because I’d just written “How The West Was Won.” We went into Konk and recorded six backing tracks, which included “How The West Was Won,” “Living In My Head” and “Take Me Home.”

I signed with Domino in April and got the first available time. Ray (Davies, of The Kinks, owner of Konk) was doing an album at the same time so there wasn’t that much time available. I think we had 12 days overall in July and August to finish off the three backing tracks and record the others that went on the album. So, it was all done between November 2015 and August 2016 but probably about 18 or 19 days altogether.

I was just thinking about Ray this morning because I was listening to The One album and one of the tracks I especially liked was your version of (the Kinks song) “I’m Not Like Everybody Else.” Was Ray around at all while you were making the record?

Yeah, I bumped into him. He came in a couple of times, to the control room while I was in the live room recording. He may have come in to say hello to Chris, because I think they knew each other from the old days. But then when I was out in the refectory, eating, his secretary introduced me to him. He seemed like a really sweet guy. You hear all these crazy stories about him but he just seemed like a really quiet, sweet guy. I said to him that Kinda Kinks (The Kinks’ 2nd album) was, when I was 12, the first album I bought that I actually liked (laughs). The first album I bought was the first Rolling Stones album and the only track on it I liked was “Tell Me.” And then, the next two albums I bought were Kinda Kinks and Five Live Yardbirds , which I bought because of the singles, not knowing that Five Live Yardbirds meant a really shoddy live recording. So, yeah, Kinda Kinks was the first album that I bought that I actually quite liked. He (Ray) didn’t seem phased or impressed by that (laughs).

You already told us how the deal with Domino came about. I’m curious, how involved in the recording were they?

(laughs) I tried to get their opinion, but Laurence just wanted to keep me happy. He came to the studio once, just popped his head in for like half an hour just to say ‘Hello’ right at the end of the recording process. But we were totally left to our own devices. I think Laurence felt that recording music was my forte. Selling, marketing the music, the album cover, and the presentation -- stuff like that -- that’s when Domino got involved. But up until finishing the album and handing it in, he wouldn’t even make comments about it, he didn’t want to influence me. And that’s why Domino is the perfect record label for me, because it does feel like a family. At this stage of my life, I’m big on family values. It feels like a secure environment, which is where I need to be right now.

When I heard that you signed to Domino, I jumped for joy. It meant this album is going to get a fair shot, it’s going to be heard.

The great thing about them is you get a feeling they actually care about music. Whereas the major labels, they’re like bank managers. They’re not interested in the music at all. They just want to look at spreadsheets and work out if there’s money to be made. Domino cares about… the music for music’s sake. You get that feeling throughout the company. Especially in this day and age, where it’s not quite the same as it was in the '70s. There were much more ‘music first’ people. As my manager says, ‘It used to be the Music Business, now it’s the Music Business ’ (we both laugh). That’s why people respect Domino. Something to be treasured in these days of corporate rock.

“How The West Was Won” is a provocative and humorous diatribe against America that is timely and spot-on. I’ve known you for a long time and never felt you were anti-America. How did this song come about? What is it that inspired you to write a song like this at this point in time?

Well, I’m certainly not anti-America. Like a lot of people, I’m concerned about what some of its leaders have done in the name of America. The song came about as a stream of consciousness talking blues. It’s meant to be humorous. When you first met me, the reason I was apolitical is because I thought all the battles had been won. The Americans had gotten out of Vietnam. We were from the generation that felt could change the world by going on the streets and manning the barricades. It felt like there was hope for the future. There were still bad things going on in the world, obviously. But, at present -- like the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times” -- these times, especially for the younger generation, feel like they’re devoid of hope. As far as ‘provocative,’ if it can provoke thoughts, if people ask questions like “How? Why? Have I been told the truth?,” then that’s a bonus. It’s not a political song in the sense that I want to ram my opinions down people’s throats. Especially in a musical context because I don’t like upsetting people. And you can’t change people’s minds. The best music should move you intellectually and emotionally and if it can make you laugh, then that’s all I’m aiming to do. I thought I’d get the politics out of the way early on the album. That’s why it’s the introductory song. But it’s tongue in cheek. There’s nobody that I want to point a finger at. There’s good in everybody. It’s just opening people’s eyes. And if you can open people’s eyes with some humor, then, like I said, that’s a bonus. I’m not trying to change the world with songs. I don’t think it can be done. It’s too far gone for that to happen.

The line at the beginning mentions downloading “Tor.” Is that a reference to the controversial software (that enables anonymous internet communication)?

Yeah, a browser or whatever. It gives you access to the top web. And it must be pretty dark because they gave (the creator) Russ Ulbricht life without parole.

Did you have to consult with a bank of lawyers to be sure that calling Kim Kardashian a “bum” wasn’t going to get you sued? I laughed out loud when I heard it for the first time:

“just like everybody elseI’m in love with Kim Kardashianshe’s taken over from J-Loas my number oneeven though I knowshe’s just a bumin another time lineI would’ve stared at her all day longwithout ever wanting to see her from the frontGod knows I love America”

Well, you know, part of the attraction of writing that line is that I’m aware of the different meanings that word has on different sides of the Atlantic. I like lyrics that are ambiguous. Humor has always been a big part of my writing and it made me laugh when I wrote it as well.

“An Epic Story,” the first of a couple of beautiful love songs on the album, which you’ve mentioned in interviews are about your now 48-year-long marriage to Zena. You two are both romantic and business partners. How have you managed to make it work for so long?

I think it takes special people to stay together for incredibly long periods of time. The binding glue in a long-term relationship is the truth. I think honesty and trust are the most important things. And being best friends. The first couple of decades, infatuation and sex can sustain you but, for longevity, being best friends to the point where you become -- as Kurt Vonnegut called it ‘The Nation Of Two’ -- that’s the best way to describe me and Zena, we’re our own little ‘Nation Of Two.’

“Hard To Say No” -- You sing this one in a harder, determined voice. Any reason this one feels a little different from the others?

I didn’t think it was any different from the others. Trying to think… maybe I’m singing it with a more determined voice because I feel the subject matter is my main weakness. When I was young, I was only interested in pleasing myself. Now that I’m interacting with the human race again I find I’m often tempted to please strangers and I feel that’s always good for me. Yeah, so maybe there’s like an edge to the voice because I feel that it’s my one Achilles’ Heel. But it’s only you saying that, that you think it’s different. It’s not something I was aware of.

The one thing that is different -- it’s the first time I’ve ever written a song complete with backing vocals. Normally I write the main vocal and then if there’s backing vocals to be added, it gets added somewhere between rehearsals and overdub stage of a song. But when I wrote the song, the backing vocals were an intrinsic part of the melody immediately and that’s the only time I’ve ever done that. And after writing them, listening back, it reminds me a bit of The Shangri-Las.

That’s interesting because I thought the next song, “Troika” has a '60s girl-group kind of feel. With a lyric about a romantic triumvirate, at first it seemed humorous but it’s actually quite straight forward and touching. Any thoughts on how this song came to you?

I mentioned earlier there were three songs that had origins in previous incarnations. This song (originally intended to be a duet), the first verse was written in 1985. I’d just come out of rehab and stayed clean for three weeks or a month. The second verse and bridge were written in the early '90s when I was briefly productive. And then the second half of the song was written and structured and arranged during the recording of the (new) album. So, it basically took me 31 years to write the song. Which, for me, is par for the course really. I’m not the most focused for long periods of time. It was like intermittent snatches. When it came to doing the album, I remembered the song and thought, “It’s quite a good song, I’ll have to finish it off. I’m not proud of the fact that it took me 31 years but I think I got it right in the end, do you know what I mean? If I’d recorded it ten years ago, 20 years ago, it wouldn’t have been the same and it wouldn’t have been as good. The three songs that had their origins in earlier times, I think have become better songs by me waiting to do them properly.

Also, I hear echoes of “Kid” by the Pretenders in the guitar lines. Was that intentional?

(laughs) There’s a story to that. When I had The One in the early '90s, the first gig I did was in London in 1994. Jamie was there and he remembered, after the gig, Chrissie Hynde came backstage and I was talking to her and told her about a duet that I was writing. So, when it came to recording “Troika,” he sort of referenced James Honeymoon-Scott’s guitar style on purpose, as an in-joke but also as an homage to a great guitarist.

I like the song not being a duet now because with me First Person, Second Person, and Third Person have always been interchangeable in my lyrics, even within the same song, and I like it just with me singing the whole song. But, yeah, I think you noticing slight similarities… there’s just one part of it that is similar but the rest has got that James Honeymoon-Scott style, which I think really fits the song.

“Living In My Head” is the only song on the album you didn’t write by yourself. Jamie, co-wrote this long, guitar-heavy track. How did the collaboration work? Have you two written together before?

We’ve never written (together) before and we weren’t planning on writing together. Jamie was just doodling on his guitar while he was looking at the computer screen and he started playing the introductory riff… and then the B minor with the drone going to the A… and as soon as he started playing it a melody came into my head straight-away and very quickly it became the song “Living In My Head.” And so I had to credit him because the song would not have existed if he hadn’t started playing that riff. And like you say, it’s very guitar-heavy. When it came to recording it… that was one of the songs we did before signing to Domino in March 2016. Out of the six songs we did, three of them were eight minute jams and “Living In My Head” was a six and a half minute jam, because basically I wanted to do those type of songs before I had to get more structured. That was the one time I had to pull rank on Jamie because basically it was played live, the only overdub was electric viola-violin because it really needed it, it’s a drone sound… and the way the violin and guitar work together is incredible. But because it was live it was just one take and, like most guitarists, Jamie said, “Let me do that one again, I can do it easy…” And I just wouldn’t let him do another one. Because once you do, you have to start making decisions. To me it just sounded perfect the way it was. I couldn’t see the point of even trying to do another take. It’s basically just one take all the way through. I think the guitar on that is amazing. And it’s the last track on Side One like (Only Ones’ songs) “The Beast” or “The Big Sleep,” you know, tracks with extended instrumental bits. I thought, “I’m not gonna have that many extended instrumental bits on the album because I want it to mainly be about my songwriting, voice and lyrics.” But because I’ve always been a fan of musical improvisation, it was the perfect track to put on the end of Side One.

Jumping to “Sweet Endeavor” -- one of the two or three lines that jump out at me the most on the album is on this song, “The future is already dead and gone.” That is one heavy lyric. I don’t really have a question but it hit me hard.

Well, especially when you’ve got kids, it makes it more poignant. If it was just me I wouldn’t be that worried. I mean obviously worried on a humane level. But those are stream of consciousness lyrics as well, that was one that just came out.

“C Voyeurger” is another gorgeous love song and perhaps the most tender vocal on the album. What’s the story behind this one? And do you pronounce it “see voyager”?

Yeah, “see voyager.” The title’s a bit of a misnomer because for ages… I started writing it in the middle of the '90s… and it was always known as “the one in C” because it was in the key of C so it’s a cobbling together of different ideas as far as the title goes. That’s another one that had a previous incarnation. The reason I didn’t record it before was because it was never right. And then when the Only Ones reformed in 2007 it was one of the songs we played live. But it just never felt right. I finally managed to arrange a musical landscape that complimented a vocal that needed to be tender and fragile because the subject matter was about mortality and it demanded that environment. Before, in its previous incarnation, it was more of a mid-tempo rock song. I don’t think the depth of the lyrics had space to breathe. I was pleased I finally found something really delicate in which I could put across what I was trying to say.

But why the spelling?

That’s like… you know… explaining lyrics is a law of diminishing returns.

(laughing) I’m not asking you to explain the lyrics, just curious about the spelling.

(laughing) Well, there’s a word within a word. But I’m not going to explain what context that is in. I always remember when I was really young, reading an interview with Bob Dylan where a journalist said “What’s this song about?” Dylan said, “It’s about 4 minutes.” That struck a chord with me. And all my life I thought – never explain lyrics because you’re trying to write lyrics that are multi-dimensional, that have got many interpretations, because that’s part of what makes lyrics great. And then this thing of ‘hard to say no’, wanting to please people, I find myself almost tempted to explain the lyrics and it’s something I’ve got to stop myself from doing because I always regret it if I do.

“Something In My Brain” has one of the most interesting lyrics on the album – poignant and funny. Love the drumming and it rocks, I’ll bet this one is terrific live. It’s one of my favorites on the album:

“Just like the experiment with the rathe could choose foodor he could choose crackwell the rat he starved to deathbut I didn’t dieat least not yetI’m still just about capable of one last defiant breath”

What makes it really special is that we borrowed a 1962 Gibson with P-90 pickups. I think that helps it really, as they say, “Rock.” It makes it even more powerful than it would have been if we’d carried on using Fenders. He used the Gibson in places on other songs, like on the chorus of “Sweet Endeavor,” but this was the only track where he just used the Gibson all the way through. Chris was in the live room while Jamie was getting his sound and Chris said, ‘That’s just over the top, that’s just too… you can’t do that.’ And Jamie said “Well, just go in the control room and see what it sounds like with the track.” And once he went into the control room it was like, ‘Perfect!’ Because it gives it dynamics. With all the songs, when (just) the verses and the vocals are there, it’s quite sort of empty so when this really heavy guitar comes in, it just gives it a dynamic that is perfect and, like you said… gallows humor is my specialty, it’s one of my strengths. We’d already got to the point in making the album where Chris was saying, ‘No more new songs, we’ve already got enough.’ That was the last song that we recorded. When he heard it he said, ‘OK, we’ll include this one.’ So, it’s got a special place in my heart as well.

And the last song, “Take Me Home” -- I’m a big fan of closing songs that are meant to be closing songs. Did you write this one specifically to end the album? I find the words puzzling. Where did this one come from?

(laughs) You think of me as being greater… I wish I could say I was that clever and premeditated but I just write songs. And then I chose ten out of the 16 and tried to put them in an order that felt like it was an emotional journey. And I was mucking about with different orders. I think my manager suggested, ‘That sounds like a closer.’ And, as soon as I put it at the end of the sequence of songs, it was THE perfect last song, as perfect as I could’ve dreamed of. Just everything about it. It’s slightly anthemic, it’s sort of got a melancholy feel to it.

What I really like about the album is that it feels like a journey all the way through. With the first Only Ones’ album, I was very pigheaded about not wanting to make music too easy listening so I purposely (put) a slow song, then a really fast song, then a slow song, because I wanted to constantly make people uncomfortable and to not be able to listen to it as background music. And I don’t think that made for too easy a journey. I was more about shaking people out of their lethargy rather than making something an emotional journey all the way through. But I think I got the right order for this one. I think I chose the ten best songs to make an album. There are other songs I can’t wait to record but, for this album, I’m really happy with the finished product.

I had two other questions about this song but if I’m asking you to explain something you don’t want to, no worries. But I have to say that another really startling line is in this song - “I wish I could die in a hail of bullets sometime”:

“like brother and sister in the warsharing their rations trying to surviveI wish I could die in a hail of bullets some timebut all I can do is sing and play on the front line”

I’ll give you a clue to the second verse, I won’t tell you what it’s about for me personally. I wrote it after watching the documentary The Siege Of Leningrad and, was it Shostakovich whose symphony (the hostages performed)? Yeah. So that’s a clue… after watching that, I wrote the second verse. Though the 2nd verse means something different to me. But it is related to that documentary and Shostakovich because his symphony, they were using it… they weren’t soldiers that could fight but they could use music as a means of defiance.

Well, that wraps up the song part of it. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind me continuing a bit.

That’s ok, yeah.

What are your live plans? Are you planning on coming to the states?

Live plans at the moment are in a very formative stage. So far, we’ve just booked a handful of gigs in England at the end of October, beginning of November. I’d love to come to the states but it depends on opportunity and viability. It’s not the easiest place in the world to get into so it might be out of my hands. Also, it costs 20 times as much for an English musician to visit America as it does for an American musician to come and play in England, so that’s the viability side of it. I’m desperate to come. The last gig I did in the states I think was summer of 1980, playing with Johnny (Thunders) at Max’s or… I don’t know if there was an Only Ones gig after that or if that was the last gig. I’d really like to make it back to the states… but it’s not up to me. Here’s hoping.

How did you first start playing and what made you want to do it? Was there a band or a song… what made you pick up a guitar?

I got a guitar for a present on my 17th birthday. I mean, previously, me producing music, it depends on what you call music. In ’66 and ’67 I was playing around with a tape recorder and I was banging things, including piano keys, and then playing the tape backwards. And as a 14-year-old I thought that sounded really weird and it gave me a lot of pleasure. I enjoyed making sounds. I dunno if you’d call it music, although later when I discovered Schoenberg and people like that, Stockhausen… maybe some people would call it music. But it was just me making a noise. And then I got a guitar on my 17th birthday and that’s when I started writing songs. But music had always been… the power of sound was my escape in my early teens.

The real changing point was when I heard Dylan when I was 13 in ’65 and I discovered the power of lyrics in combination with sound. The other big influence was hearing The Velvet Underground when I was 15 in 1967. What I liked about them was that Lou Reed sounded a bit like Bob Dylan. And, although Bob Dylan was the master, Lou Reed was a pretty good apprentice, in my 15 year-old viewpoint. The only other thing that was an influence was early Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and the psychedelic sound. When I was 15 I saw them a few times and that was the best thing I’d experienced live. I didn’t manage to see Dylan when he came over. And The Velvet Underground never toured England. So yeah, my best musical live experiences were Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd.

So, they were great live?

Well, it was just an experience. For a 15-year-old it was an assault on the senses. It was a long time before I took any recreational drugs at all and just the light show and the weird sound and the smells, it left a mark.

But Bob Dylan was THE person because he was the first person I heard that had that conversational vocal delivery where you knew the lyrics were more important than the tune. And that transcended everything I’d heard before. That was when music became not just an escape but a way of life. And as soon as I got a guitar I just started writing. I always wrote sort of Sixth Form poetry. I wrote words because words always came into my head from an early age. But once I learned how to play a few chords then they soon became transformed into songs.

Do you remember in either case -- Dylan or Velvet Underground -- what the first song was that caught your ear?

The first song I ever heard of Dylan… I was at a friend’s house and he had an older sister and I heard “To Ramona.” And I thought, “I’ve never heard a voice like that.” But I didn’t have the record to play over and over. Then I heard “The Times They Are A-Changin’” on Pirate Radio and I thought, “I like what he’s saying,” the rebelliousness of it. Because I was a rebel from about the age of nine so I associated with the ideas that he was proposing. But the changing point was when I heard “Like A Rolling Stone.” That, just the whole thing, the sound, the vocal delivery. The intensity in the vocal delivery was like… that was the turning point.

With the Velvet Underground, someone, an older kid at school, he was quite rich. He used to buy every psychedelic or… every record that came out basically. And he bought the (first) Velvet Underground, didn’t like it and said, “You have this, I’m sure you’ll like it, you like Bob Dylan.” “Heroin” was the first track… I didn’t even think about the subject matter, I didn’t know what it was really. I thought it was something that was dark and forbidden… but it was just the sound, it just sounded really dark and dangerous. And with the added bonus that he had a similar vocal delivery to Bob Dylan. They’re worlds apart but, compared to everyone else that was singing, they were in their own little universe. So yeah, those are the things I remember.

Then, something else that you said just a few minutes ago, you mentioned Kurt Vonnegut. Are you a bookish person?

No, I’m the least bookish person you know. I haven’t read a book since, like 1980. So that would’ve been, what was it, Breakfast Of Champions? That was the last Kurt Vonnegut book (that I read). My kids have tried to tempt me. Jamie bought me Chronicles … or no, Peter bought me Chronicles for one Christmas, you know, the Bob Dylan thing (autobiography). And it was really well written but I thought it was just a bit too egotistical. It was like he really loved himself a lot, that’s the way it came across. Even though it was well written and easy to read, I didn’t finish it.

And then for another Christmas Jamie bought me the (Tony) Benn diaries. Tony Benn was a socialist politician and these diaries were so optimistic, because he basically believed in the good of humanity and believed that the good would come through and they’d eventually see that socialism is the only answer. And it just made me so sad. (laughs) Even though Tony Benn’s a hero of mine I couldn’t finish that either. So, I’m not a bookish person at all. I just happened to -- when I was like, I can’t remember, 20 or whatever -- read a Kurt Vonnegut book and became enthralled with him. He just made me laugh. And like I said, laughter and humor have always been a big part of the way I look at things. He just made me laugh in a way that I enjoyed so I read everything that he wrote up until 1980. But I stopped reading. And I stopped reading because I just stopped doing anything. I just didn’t really have any interest in communicating at all on any level with anybody. Also, I told myself that, if I read books, I might be influenced by them and I wanted every idea I had to be an original idea. And if it happens to coincide with something somebody said before, then that’s not my fault. A good ‘out’ for being lazy.

As you say about Vonnegut, the humor is one element but his poignancy -- I had to write this down when you mentioned it earlier -- “The Nation Of Two.” That’s a pretty profound phrase.

Laughter is important but it’s got to move you in other ways as well. The good stuff hits you on different levels. And he ticks all the boxes for me. But that’s just my personal taste. He’s one of my literary heroes… not that I have many (laughs).

The last influences question. Are there any new groups or artists that are grabbing your ear these days?

I’m not the best person for discovering new stuff, unless it’s put on a plate in front of me by my children. The last person they played for me that I liked was Courtney Barnett. Australian singer. Jamie and Jenny just fell in love with her and played it for me and I thought, “Wow!” The first thing I liked is that she sounds really Australian. She’s got a broad Australian accent which I thought was really cute and attractive. And she writes amusing lyrics, which is always gonna get me. They’re amusing but clever as well. I saw her live last summer in London and I didn’t like the fact that the bass drum was louder in the mix than the vocals. That’s one criticism… I like the title of the album -- Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit -- and that sums up a large majority of my life. And also, on the double EP, “Avant Gardner” is one of my favorite tracks. I don’t think everything she does is genius but she’s done a handful of songs that are the best recent things I’ve heard. But there could easily be loads of great stuff I haven’t heard. I’m not very good at surfing YouTube or the Internet to find stuff.

This is a little uncanny because when I asked you about new artists, Courtney Barnett is the one I was wondering if you’d heard. I love her, too. One of the lines that hit me the hardest is in the song “Pedestrian At Best,” when she sings, “Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only disappoint you.”

“Tell me I’m exceptional and I promise to exploit you / Give me all your money, and I’ll make some origami, honey.” Yeah, there’s some good lines…

Talk about influences, if you look back at footage of her playing live a couple of years before her profile went up, you can tell that she was a big Nirvana fan. Or, if she wasn’t a big Nirvana fan as a kid then she was uncannily… you know, she plays the guitar left-handed, there’s definitely references. And like I said, the only criticism -- I’d like to hear her vocals a bit higher in the mix because I think she’s got a great voice and her lyrics deserve to be heard. And some of them get buried a bit. But she’s powerful, she definitely rocks. Unfortunately (at the show), I was in the front and I was quite safe until everybody started jumping up and down and pogoing and then it was like, “What am I doing here? (laughs) I’m 65. I should not be here, risking my life.

When you look back at the Only Ones, what were the high points, what are you most proud of?

The high points for me were the gigs. I didn’t think people would be listening to our music in 40-years. I only thought of… the moment. And, for me, we did some amazing gigs. Especially like in ’79 and ’80. I think we were better live than we were on record. And the one regret I have is that there’s not more footage of us from that time. There’s some of us doing live TV things but it’s not the same as an actual gig where you’ve got an audience going crazy. It was before phone cameras and low-light video recorders. People did want to film us but we wouldn’t allow them to use the lights that they needed. I’ve got some footage on VHS and you can see that we’re on stage but it’s very dark. I might try and … do something to it digitally to make it a bit brighter but… yeah, the highlight for me was the gigs because that was the thing I thought was the most important… when you actually played to your audience. Now I know that, for posterity’s sake, your recordings are what you leave behind after you’re gone. And that’s what people are going to listen to. But we did some amazing gigs… and it wasn’t like an act, we were different every night.

I’m still a fan of the Only Ones recordings, I just love the albums but when I first saw you, first in Chicago and then Minneapolis, you were a formidable live band. In a recent interview you said that, when the band first got together, you rehearsed relentlessly for months.

Yeah, we put in the groundwork. It was mainly to teach me how to be a professional musician. I just did things by instinct and feel. Kellie was a great drummer. He always said feel was more important than technique. But, if you’re playing together in an ensemble situation, you’ve got to do it the same way each time in order for people to be able to follow you. For instance, “Lovers Of Today,” it’s got some bars of 3/4 and some bars of 2/4 and I used to vary where, sometimes I’d do it as a bar of 2/4 and sometimes… know what I mean? So, I had to learn all that stuff. It took like four months of rehearsing eight hours a day, five days a week, just so I could function on stage. (laughs) But that time was time well spent, which not many young groups get a chance to do now… unless they’ve got rich parents that can afford to buy all the instruments and pay for their studio. But for struggling young musicians, the only ones that find it easy are the ones that press a button to make the music and rap or do whatever they do over the top of it. Poor kids can do that and make music. But, if you’re playing sort of old school instruments then it’s harder for kids. Back in the 70s, especially in England, you got the benefits. It was easier to survive. There were free places to live called ‘squats.’ You know, there were all sorts of things our generation had, it’s harder for the young musicians now. The Only Ones were really fortunate to have existed in the time frame that they existed in. Obviously, it’s sad it was so short lived but I think we shone brightly while we existed.

There was something really uncommon about the four of you playing together and I’m wondering if, during those early days while you were spending all that time rehearsing -- was there a moment where you suddenly realized that you had something that was really uncommon?

From the time I was nine I thought, “I’m different from everyone else”… and I felt disconnected from the world. I always felt that there was something… that I was special in some way, hence when I dreamt the name it was ‘The Only Ones’. I just felt that we had to be different from everything else. And, luckily, at the time we came together, it was easy to be different from everybody else because all the other new bands were people like me -- just starting to learn how to play. There were lots of good people that came on the scene that turned into great bands. Like, The Clash became a great band. Lots of people became great bands but, at the beginning, there weren’t that many that had lead guitar breaks, especially a 32-bar intro to the song, and things like that. So, it was very easy to stand out. Number one on the agenda was to be different from everybody else. That was THE most important thing. Which is why I wanted to be as different from my heroes as possible back then. So, it did feel like we were unique. Now, looking back on it, there’s been a lot of music that’s been done since then that’s been similar… but, at that moment in time, we felt like we were different from everybody else. Because Kellie was in the band, there was a connection to what had come before. But because of my sort of chaotic approach to stuff, it had a relevance to what was going on at the time as well. I think the combination made us stand out. I think that’s why the people that saw us back then still remember us fondly.

And, finally (!), the very last question -- we love Johnny Thunders. What was it like to work with him on the So Alone album?

Working with Johnny was fun. That was the predominant feeling. He was unique and he was fun to be with. And you couldn’t take anything too seriously because of who Johnny was. So, it was very loose and light-hearted making the album. That was part of Johnny’s charm, the looseness. I was close to him. He came and introduced himself to me in January of ’77 at a gig, after I came off stage. And, apart from The Only Ones, he was probably the only male friend I had. I was more interested in spending my time with females. But Johnny had a certain beguiling personality that sucked you into his little world. I only did like… I think we recorded six tracks. “So Alone,” the title track wasn’t on the original album, which pissed me off because that was my favorite song. I mean, obviously, I like "Memory" and “Ask Me No Questions,” but “So Alone,” I liked it because it was so slow. And one of the things he said to me before making the album was he felt like he had the freedom to play really slow songs. Because before, in The Heartbreakers, it was very much like the punk thing and doing what (was) current. I think it was his signature album. He did some of his best work on that album. I’m proud to be a part of it.

I wish I’d been there to support him throughout the '80s but… the '80s weren’t a good time for me. I wasn’t that healthy. I’ve spoken to people since who said that, during the '80s, Johnny was telling them he was really worried about me. And they thought, "Fucking hell, if Johnny’s worried him, he must be in a bad state!" (laughs) I’ve always got real fond memories of him because… he had that… almost sort of sheepish smile where you just wanted to look after him… he was just so… like, a bit vulnerable. When I first met him, I thought he was really talented and yet he’s not doing himself justice… no way I’m gonna let myself get fucked up like Johnny… and that just goes to show how much I know (laughs).

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LISTENER-POWERED KEXP – WHERE THE MUSIC MATTERS

Only One Peter Perrett

Peter Perrett has only ever had two jobs : Rock star and drug lord.

He once had a snort-off with Keith Richards. He lived with his wife, his girlfriend and his unofficial valet while bankrolling his band, The Only Ones, by dealing high-quality hashish and later, pure Bolivian sniff. 

Having penned one of the greatest rock-pop anthems ever and survived the life of the louche in Forest Hill, he’s entitled to feel he’s South London royalty. But he would walk unnoticed among us, a slight man in his 60s, who hit more highs than a yodeller in tight pants.

You don’t need to have been around in 1978 to know Another Girl, Another Planet. With numerous re-releases, appearances on compilations and film soundtracks, a Vodafone ad campaign and covers by Blink 182 and Babyshambles, the Only Ones have been rediscovered more times than the chip butty. 

Their first single, Lovers of Today , might have been self-released amid the explosive bloom of punk but there was nothing DIY about it. These boys could play, the song was artful, decadent even, and, according to John Cooper Clarke, sung with ‘A voice that aches like the yearning snarl of a jaded child’.

They never quite fitted in with punk, which had a surprising number of rules for a movement about anarchy. The Only Ones were unforgivably old (in their late twenties) and their guitarist was blatantly balding. They just didn’t look the part. Perrett did look like a rock star though, either from the past or the future, it was hard to tell which.

While the critics gushed over the eponymous debut album, it failed to sell in serious numbers. And it was only after reading Nina Antonia’s superb biography The One and Only: Peter Perrett – Homme Fatale that I found out he had income from other sources. 

Peter was born in Camberwell and grew up in Forest Hill. Expelled from two schools for fucking about, he ran away at 16 with his then girlfriend, now wife of 50 years, Xenoulla Kakoulli (Zena), from Catford. If that suggests a life of domestic bliss, don’t be fooled. Peter was quite the naughty boy. ‘I’ve treated Zena terribly,’ he told Antonia in his incredibly honest biography, ‘But I was a child then.’ 

An apprenticeship of slogging your band round pubs in hope of attracting the attention of someone in the industry was not for Peter. His first band, England’s Glory , were named after the matches he used to light his spliffs with. Hash sales paid for rehearsal rooms, studio time and the pressing of an album to take to record companies.

One observer remarked: ‘Peter’s consumption was ridiculous. I’d worked with Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and they didn’t smoke as much dope as he did. I don’t know how Peter functioned half the time.’

But function, he did. The band shared corridors with David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop at Underhill Studios in Greenwich and, instead of sending demos to add to record labels’ cassette mountains, they had vinyl. They hired Anerley Town Hall to play their first gig to an invited audience of about 300. 

Though the band faded, Peter had announced himself to the industry, while Zena was making a noise in fashion, making clothes for Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn and designing fetishwear with Vivienne Westwood. 

Peter and Zena moved to Blackheath, sharing a house with Glenn Tilbrook, soon to be of Squeeze, and Christian Pope, a roadie who became a kind of butler to Peter. He also moved Lucinda in, one of his girlfriends. ‘I suppose the main attraction was that she loved drugs as much as me,’ he said.

Despite getting busted, the drugs business flourished and would involve deliveries of 60kg of hash at a time. Now a connoisseur, he liked to keep a selection at hand for personal use: Columbian grass, Nepalese Temple Balls, Afghani and Lebanese hash. Then he met some ‘importers’ who introduced him to pure cocaine. He found the stuff quite moreish, struck a deal and, even at £14 a gram made a massive profit. 

Peter gradually put together the Only Ones and moved back to Forest Hill with Zena. The band recorded in Tooting and started gigging constantly.  Lovers of Today quickly sold out and had to be hastily re-pressed. It brought them radio play, a John Peel session and a queue of record companies eager for their signatures. Keith Richards wanted to produce them, and, while their meetings were most notable for competitive coke snorting, at least something got done.

It’s easy to say with hindsight, but maybe a ten-album deal with CBS wasn’t what they needed then, when their contemporaries were working with sympathetic indie labels. Everyone loved Another Girl, Another Planet and the music press raved about their album but neither made a ripple in the charts. Something wasn’t right.

But the music and the drugs continued to flow. Zena’s sister Koulla moved in with the Perretts. ‘One thing you’ve got to learn before you move in here,’ Peter told her, ‘is to skin up.’ Like any good landlord should. 

The more blunt the attempts at chart success became, the further away it seemed. Even the 12” blue vinyl release of probably the greatest song ever about a missing cat couldn’t propel them into the Top 40.  

By their third album, Baby’s Got A Gun , the writing was on the wall. It got a lukewarm reception and more disappointing sales. They were a great live band who were just never going to break through. They were heading towards a split, while Peter’s heroin use was becoming more than a hobby. 

They caught a break when asked to tour America with The Who, but got kicked off after a few dates, allegedly, because Roger Daltrey didn’t take to them on a personal level – surely a badge of honour given the shade of gammon he turned out to be. 

The trip became a disaster and included a drugs bust, a mugging, a near-miss shooting and finally, a parking incident. A car park attendant got stroppy with Peter and ordered him to move his car. He responded by running the cunt over. 

“He grabbed me by the collar. And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s big guys who prey on little guys like me.”

It was probably best that they headed back to Blighty, avoiding charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, for a final triumphant gig at the Lyceum. 

After the band split, Peter retreated to the crumbling, gothic house in Forest Hill’s Manor Mount, becoming a druggie recluse for the next 10 years. He re-emerged with a new band and album then disappeared again, battling heroin and crack addiction. 

He lost his great friend, Johnny Thunders , it is assumed, to drugs, and had an ill-fated association with Pete Doherty. He was particularly unimpressed with the company he kept.

Peter told The Guardian : ‘In my day, being a drug dealer was a respectable fuckin’ profession. Nowadays, it’s something you really feel ashamed to be associated with, the way most junkies behave.’

Incredibly, given health and acrimony issues the Only Ones reformed and toured in 2007 before another retreat from the stage. 

Peter popped up again to produce well-received solo albums in 2017 ( How The West Was Won ) and 2019 ( Humanworld ), displaying the same sure songwriting touch and a voice unwithered by age and the smoking of hard drugs. An unlikely survivor, he embarked on a successful European tour, backed up by a five-piece band that included his two sons, Jamie and Peter Jr.

All Music described Another Girl, Another Planet as ‘Arguably the greatest rock single ever recorded’ (though rock journalism is arguably the most hyperbolic medium ever recorded). Regardless, it was a cracker and is not the only one in their canon. The Only Ones influence dwarfs their brief reign, largely because of the songwriting of one South London rebel who has always done whatever the fuck he wanted, including losing decades to drugs. 

Peter now lives in North London. His first mistake.

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Peter Perrett – How The West Was Won

Only Ones frontman rises from the dead

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Film review: eno, cedric burnside – hill country love, brhym – deep sea vents, introducing the ultimate music guide to nirvana, arooj aftab announces new album, night reign.

In a career that has been brilliant and sporadic, heroic and thwarted, Peter Perrett has often sung about death. Even in his most exuberant, up moments, as on the almost hit single “ Another Girl, Another Planet ”, he registered a note of existential ambivalence, singing: “I always flirt with death/I look ill, but I don’t care about it”. His love songs were narcotic, so there was always a suspicion that the lover he was addressing, this intoxicating amorata, was heroin or crack, because for a time he was an enthusiastic user of both drugs, and even subsidised the early career of his band by working as a dealer.

Add to that the erratic nature of Perrett’s career since the split of The Only Ones in 1982 – an under-appreciated solo album (Woke Up Sticky, as The One) in 1996, and a couple of brief Only Ones revivals – and you’d be forgiven for surmising that the old vampire’s talent for ironic gravestone poetry had at last found its purpose. And then, ahead of this album, came the single, “ How The West Was Won ”, a song which managed to be both traditional and startlingly contemporary. Traditional, because the lyric seems to be freighted in on a “ Sweet Jane ” riff, though Perrett is at pains to point out that Lou’s song has an extra chord (“It would be a minor sixth, wouldn’t it?”), and is delivered with more of a country lilt, while “How The West…” is rocky. And contemporary because, well, though the recording predates the full hellish flowering of the Donald Trump stupidity cult, it sounds very much like the sound of a man shouting at cable news and finding himself infuriated with the inanities of celebrity culture. It is also refreshingly funny: it’s worth remembering that, for all his reputation as bloodless doomsayer, Perrett does enjoy a joke. So, yes, there’s a blunt critique of US imperialism (“Won, at the point of a gun/Like they’ve always done”), before the narrator confesses: “Just like everybody else, I’m in love with Kim Kardashian/She’s taken over from J-Lo as my number one/Even though I know she’s just a bum/In another timeline, I would’ve stared at her all day long/Without ever wanting to see her from the front.” It’s like Noam Chomsky doing bum puns to a Lou Reed tune. And who knew that could be so appealing?

The title track, of course, isn’t typical. But it does show that, at 65, Perrett is back, in decent shape, and fully engaged with the world. To anyone who has YouTubed The Only Ones’ 2008 comeback performance from Later… With Jools Holland , with Perrett looking insect thin and sounding vocally skeletal, it’s a relief to hear that he has re-learned how to sing; a not inconsiderable thing given the lung problems he has endured.

Musically, too, things are different. This isn’t an Only Ones revival. The peculiar chemistry of that band’s music was a product of time and place. They were non-punks who prospered almost in spite of their proficiency. The group’s drummer Mike Kellie had played with Spooky Tooth. Bass player Alan Mair had enjoyed local fame with the (almost) Scottish Beatles, The Beatstalkers. Guitarist John Perry was a member of Ratbites From Hell, a party band from the fringes of Glastonbury. And Perrett, though the same age as Joe Strummer , seemed to come from a generation that linked directly with what became viewed, later, as the roots of punk. He was one of the few who had noticed and enjoyed The Velvet Underground the first time around, devouring their debut album when he was 15. But when he was 13, something more important happened. He heard Bob Dylan’s “ Like A Rolling Stone ”. It changed his life. He began to understand something about the way lyrics could be primed to detonate. He sensed the power of sound.

Viewed from this distance, it’s clear that The Only Ones had very little to do with punk, and everything to do with that literate strand of late ’60s rock’n’roll. That strain of rock classicism means their records have endured, even though Perrett now confesses to preferring the eight-track recordings they did for John Peel over the band’s three LPs, as the pure power of the songs is more evident in a stripped-down format. That seems to be the template here. Yes, there are spectral harmonies, and – the Perrett thing – vocals that kaleidoscope between languor and submission, but the tunes are largely kept in check, solos rationed. True, “ Living In My Head ” explodes into a spectral jam, but the central instrument is Perrett’s voice.

The LP, though not exactly a concept piece, is deliberately organised, tracking an emotional journey from the self-mocking rage of the title track to something that sounds suspiciously like romantic contentment. There’s a tearjerking finale on “Take Me Home” in which Perrett finally submits: “I wish I could die in a hail of bullets sometimes,” he croaks, “but all I can do is sing and play, on the frontline.” The coherence of the sound is due to the fact that Perrett’s band ( Strangefruit in another guise) is pretty much a family affair, with Perrett’s sons Peter Jr and Jamie on bass and guitar, and his “sort of surrogate daughter” Jenny Maxwell on electric viola and backing vocals. Jake Woodward plays drums.

The material is largely new, and reflects the singer’s growing optimism as he adapts to a drug-free, healthy lifestyle. Most of the writing took place after Perrett played a handful of shows in the summer of 2015 and became reacquainted with his guitar. Writing “ An Epic Story ” convinced him he still had songs in him, but the broader mood – which pervades all the material – is of a man growing used to the unusual sensation that he has a life worth living. The lovely “Troika” is a tribute to a lifelong romance, and it manages to achieve emotional grace while flirting with the structure of a Phil Spector teen ballad. Clearly, given Perrett’s past, the positivity wears dark clothes, so there is a heavy dose of gallows humour. On the half-spoken “ Something In My Brain ” he compares himself to a lab rat, given the choice between food and crack. “Well, the rat he starved to death,” he croons, leaving a couple of pre-punchline beats, “but I didn’t die/At least not yet/I’m still just about capable.”

Old habits being what they are, Perrett can’t resist the temptation to write in a way that conflates chemical craving with romantic dependency. There’s more than a hint of the Velvets’ “Heroin” on the album’s highpoint, “ C Voyeurger ”, Perrett’s gentle, vulnerable tribute to Zena, his wife and partner of 48 years. The words were written in 2004, when Zena was diagnosed with a serious illness. The tune swings slowly, thawing from numbness into little spirals of energy. It ebbs and flows, as Perrett coaxes himself out of lethargy and into the dawning realisation that he has something worth keeping, something to lose. It’s about craving; and here, in this moment, the usual ambiguities are reversed. Love, after all, is the drug.

Q&A PETER PERRETT How are you? Great. I feel full of life. And having some new music to talk about is even better than just talking about the old days, which is like ancient history, two or three lifetimes ago. It feels like I’m starting off on a new adventure.

The album sounds like that – it’s not a valedictory whimper. No. 
It was just the whole process of getting 
my head straight, appreciating life and what it has to offer. The main thing it 
has to offer is the ability to play music, which not many people of my age are privileged enough to experience. So I’m making the most of that, and being focused on it solely, rather than on the distractions of youth, has made it a really enjoyable experience.

Was it easy to get healthy? Yeah, no, it was just a decision. I have super-human willpower which I didn’t engage, because I didn’t actually feel I needed to or wanted to for a long period of time. But once I make a decision, I find it very easy.

What did you have to give up? Everything. I’ve given up smoking, as well. The last time any smoke went into my lungs – cigarettes or joints or anything – was April 8, 2011. So it’s over six years. I’ve given myself a chance to breathe again. I don’t like talking about health problems. It’s an old person’s thing. That’s why it’s great having the band be a different generation, because I can forget about it. It’s only when I play football or look in the mirror that I realise I’m not 25 anymore. The thing is to not look back and have regrets about how long that decision took to make. That’s negative, and I’m enjoying life so much that I can’t see the point in having any regrets at all. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t lived the way I lived. I would probably have had a career and be more jaded and be on a never-ending tour doing Frank Sinatra covers.

Your voice sounds strong. You had lung problems before, didn’t you? My lungs barely function at all. I’ve had to learn how to sing again with them. Consequently, songs like “How The West Was Won” where there’s lots of syllables in quick succession, or a stream-of-consciousness song like “Something in My Brain”, I have to do in a half-spoken conversational delivery. If I’m going to sing more, like on “An Epic Story”, it’s got more space, so I have to pace myself. But I’ve got my voice back into shape over the last few years by just trying to live as healthily as possible and not rely on steroid inhalers, because they were actually damaging my voice box. The healthy thing started ’cos I didn’t have any choice. It’s like a survival instinct kicks in at the last minute. You think, ‘This is as far as any human being can possibly take it.’ I just woke up one day and thought, ‘Right, I’m gonna live healthily.’ I’m at the point where, when I was in Berlin recently, I had some non-alcoholic beer, and my tolerance is so low, I get drunk on that. That shows you how clean I am.

There’s ambiguity in your songs. At first they seem to be about mortality and death, and then they can seem romantic, upbeat, optimistic. It’s meant to be ambiguous. I’ve always used humour, whether it’s gallows humour or ironic humour. So when I do touch on mortality and things that you think about in later life, it’s still done in a humorous way. I don’t think I’m ready to record a really depressing album yet. I have got songs for it. Like I’ve got a song called “Epilogue” which I’ll put out eventually, but not for a first comeback. I feel like I’m a newcomer. I feel like what I’ve done before, that was a different person. I feel like this is the first album that I’m making. That’s why I’m doing it with passion. And I feel that I’ve been able to control things better. Before I used to just do things and think they were perfect because it was me that did them. Now the whole process of recording and mixing I’ve paid detailed attention to. Every note is the way I want it to be. I think as an album it’s my best, because it’s a complete journey from beginning to end. Every track is another step on the emotional journey.

Do you think you’ve always been a bit out of time in your career? It was the right time. It was great in 1977 to be in a new band. It was a time of opportunity for all new bands, and it was easy to stand out. Our name, The Only Ones, was reflective of how I’d approached my whole life, not wanting to be like anybody else, just wanting to be totally individual. The originators – the Sex Pistols, people like that – when they happened, they were individual, but pretty quickly it became a fashion, a uniform and formulaic music. So if you looked slightly different it was easy to stand out. I like to stand out, so I feel I was fortunate at that time. I like not fitting in – that’s what gives me great pleasure. INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR McKAY

The September 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring Neil Young on the cover. Elsewhere in the issue, there are new interviews with Mark E Smith, Nick Lowe, Iron & Wine and Sigur Rós, we remember Dennis Wilson and explore the legacy of Elvis Presley. We review Grizzly Bear, Queens Of The Stone Age, Arcade Fire, Brian Eno and The War On Drugs. Our free CD features 15 tracks of the month’s best music, including Randy Newman, Richard Thompson, Oh Sees, Lal & Mike Waterson, Psychic Temple, FJ McMahon and Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band and more.

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Peter Perrett

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Peter Perrett is an English singer-songwriter. He fronts the recently re-formed 1970s band, The Only Ones. Perrett appeared on stage with The Libertines in April 2004. Perrett is married to Zena and has two sons, Peter Jr. and Jamie. His two sons are also musicians, and both were in the original line-up of Babyshambles.

Name Peter Perrett

Full name Peter Albert Neil Perrett

Born 72 years, 8.Apr 1952 London, England

Instrum. Guitar, Vocals

Latest visited sessions Acoustic session, Mexico (Carl Barat) The Garage, Uplands, Swansea (Peter Doherty) Grace/Wastelands (Peter Doherty) Up the Bracket (The Libertines) Carling Live 24 (Babyshambles) Rough Enough Stuff (The Libertines)

Latest visited songs What Have I Done (Carl Barat) The Whole World Is Our Playground (Peter Doherty) You're My Waterloo (The Libertines) After Hours (Covered songs) If You Love a Woman (Dirty Pretty Things) He Will Fall (Babyshambles)

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The Only Ones: Drugs, Keef, car crashes and an odd Bon Scott connection

13 Things We Learned From The Only Ones book

If ever there was a band ill-suited to an internet listicle it’s The Only Ones. If The Only Ones had written this list they’d have written two amazing entries before punching your girlfriend in the face and falling backwards on the settee in an opiated haze while the best guitar solo you’ve ever heard played in the background.

That’s the story of The Only Ones: amazing feats of brilliance ruined by an anti-social, self-destructive streak that makes Mötley Crüe look like a bunch of guys who just liked a pint.

Formed in 1976 and coinciding with the dawn of punk, The Only Ones’ only real connection to that musical movement was time, place and a genuine nihilism. Singer Peter Perrett was marinated in drug culture. A user and a dealer, he was a genuine outsider, barricading his house to keep out the police and in constant trouble with the law. His caustic world view was balanced by a vocal delivery that is almost twee and child-like and matched with a veteran rhythm section and the elegant, effervescent guitar playing of John Perry.

Their story is captured in The One & Only: Peter Perrett, Homme Fatale by Nina Antonia, first published in 1996 and now updated and reissued.

Here’s what we learned from it…

Peter Perrett lost his virginity on the night of the moon landing: 20 July 1969. If you’re expecting us to make some kind of Another Girl, Another Planet joke out of that, prepare to be disappointed. He’s still with that same girl – Xenoulla ‘Zena’ Kakoulli, his wife and manager – and the moon isn’t a planet, you idiot, it’s a satellite.

Which shouldn’t give you the idea that Perrett and Zena have lived a sweet and romantic life of domestic bliss. Perrett strayed regularly, moving his lover Lucinda in with him and Zena, and in the book describes a threesome he had with Lucinda and another girl in plain terms (although, weirdly, in the third person): “Lucinda’s lips were around his penis and Jill’s tongue was exploring his anus. She was a friend of Lucinda’s and a birthday present to him.” Aw, how sweet.

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There’s an interesting Bon Scott connection. The night Bon Scott died, his drinking partner was one Alistair Kinnear. Kinnear had gotten himself and Scott into a club night at the Music Machine in Camden (now Koko). Bon Scott later died in Kinnear’s car and Kinnear fled the country, never fully giving his side of the story. In fact, Bon Scott biographer Clinton Walker concluded in 2007 that the name was most likely an alias and that no-one called ‘Alistair Kinnear’ had ever existed. Not only did he exist, he was a former lighting guy at the Roundhouse and, in 1972, the original guitarist in Peter Perrett’s band England’s Glory. Fellow band member John Newey remembers: “He was a bit of an acid casualty and pretty spaced out most of the time.” The night of Bon’s death, the person who got them both on the guest list at the Music Machine was… Zena.

Guitarist John Perry used to live with… a pre-fame Douglas ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ Adams.

Drugs are a recurring theme. They say ‘try everything once’. Peter Perrett tried it all – and discovered that he liked it all. “Up until 1975, it was basically just smoke and hash. I’d had odd bits of coke but it hardly did anything, it was too weak. The first time I tried it properly was when I got involved with these importers . It was 100% clean when it came into this country. I started doing a lot more coke. When you do a lot of coke, you can drink much more, so I used to drink a lot more alcohol as well. Smack was something I took once a month, and then maybe once a weekend.”

“These importers”? Oh those were just some Italian guys he knew who started bringing kilos of coke back from Bolivia. “I got into it and we became equal partners… We just had one wholesaler who we sold it to for £400 an ounce. The profit margin was approximately 700%. We were selling it for £14 a gram.”

Drummer Mike Kellie had played in Spooky Tooth , Peter Frampton’s Camel and done session work for Jerry Lee Lewis and Traffic.

Keith Richards attempted to produce them. On his first visit to rehearsals, with his 8 year old son Marlon, Keef obviously felt uncomfortable. According to Perry, he dealt with it “like shy teenage girls do, he emptied his bag on the floor and spent an hour going through it to avoid making any kind of eye contact. Once what he had was rearranged to his satisfaction, he split.” Their second meeting ended with Perrett and Richards trying to out-snort each other. Perry: “There was lots of coke being chopped out, and Peter was in competitive mode… Every line that Keith put out, Peter would say, ‘Zena, put some more out!’ It was like a poker game where Peter was going to match whatever Keith was doing, and raise him.” The collaboration came to an end when Richards was busted in Toronto for trafficking.

Supporting the Stranglers, bassist JJ Burnell came into their dressing room and spotted a guitar tuner. Remembers Perry: “His response was, ‘You fairies or sumfink, wot you need a tuner for?’” “We weren’t a very pally band,” says Perry.

Peter Perrett and fellow narco-nnoisseur Johnny Thunders were friends and Thunders even considered joining the Only Ones. Nick Kent: “Johnny loved Peter and saw him as a superior songwriter. At one point he even wanted to join The Only Ones as guitarist. Can you imagine?”

Another Girl, Another Planet failed to chart in the UK. The band never really recovered. “We were, and still are in some ways, shocked that Another Girl, Another Planet wasn’t number one. I think it took the edge off the band. It affected Peter deeper than he ever said.”

Perrett either almost killed or saved the life of Television’s Richard Lloyd, depending on how you look at it. Perrett: “I gave him a line about an inch long of smack. I know he’d been drinking. I think he’d taken some downers as well but even so, it was still a minute amount… Within 30 seconds his mouth had turned blue.” Unable to move him, and with Zena in bed with a threatened miscarriage, Perrett called Kellie who helped carry Lloyd to the car. “I drove at a 100 miles an hour to Lewisham hospital. Nellie jumped out, got the trolley people and told them what had happened. As Richard was being wheeled into hospital they had to start heart massage. He definitely owes his life to me because if we’d have waited for an ambulance it would have been too late.”

It wasn’t the only time he almost killed someone. On tour in America, Perrett got into an altercation in a car park. A parking attendant didn’t like how he’d parked, so gave the skinny Limey a push and demanded he move his vehicle. Perrett responded by getting back in his car and reversing right into him: “To begin with, he thought I was just going to to drive fast and stop at the last moment, but I didn’t… He flew back over the dustbins in a kind of backwards somersault. The last thing I remember was his feet going up in the air.” It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. (To be fair, the camel had been buckling for sometime: on the same tour, John Perry had met a woman but still flew his wife AND his mistress out “with lots of dope”. Caught dealing in San Francisco, his wife Suze was arrested.)

Perrett, says bassist Alan Mair, “was just a spoilt little kid, out of control with no one to stop him. The Only Ones had the best of everything except management and self-discipline. We started off at 150mph and ground to a halt. As far Peter, he just got too stoned and nobody slapped him.”

The One And Only: Peter Perrett, Homme Fatale by Nina Antonia is out now, published by Thin Man Press.

Scott is the Content Director of Music at Future plc, responsible for the editorial strategy of online and print brands like Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, Guitarist, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Total Guitar etc. He was Editor in Chief of Classic Rock magazine for 10 years and Editor of Total Guitar for 4 years and has contributed to The Big Issue, Esquire and more. Scott wrote chapters for two of legendary sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson 's books ( For The Love Of Vinyl , 2009, and Gathering Storm , 2015). He regularly appears on Classic Rock’s podcast, The 20 Million Club , and was the writer/researcher on 2017’s Mick Ronson documentary Beside Bowie . 

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