AN EVENING WITH MICK TUCKER by Henrik

“You must come down and see Mick down his local tomorrow?”

It’s Elliott on the phone. This is a chance not to be missed. Having lost out on the original line up back in the 70s, but seen Andy and Brian with their respective Sweet line up in the 90s and met Steve at the Hard Rock Café at Brian’s tribute show, there was only one person left I had never met. Besides, how can I let Elliott down? Or Mick? 

“Bring anything that you want him to sign and a camera?”

I grab a plastic bag and my Sweet vinyl collection, a 70s book pop book with great colour shots of The Sweet, a talking point if I should get stuck, and my collection of music videos that Elliott is interested in. Elliott has the biggest music video collection that I have ever seen which is continuously expanding.

I decide not to bring a camera, firstly because I don’t want to be too pushy and I am sure that there may be another chance down the Angler’s Retreat very soon, secondly because my camera is broken.

“Don’t take all you sweet records will you?” shouts Sue, my wife  as I’m leaving the house.

“What do you mean all my records?” I retort feeling slightly embarrassed “I left my singles upstairs and…”

“You don’t want to go over the top and come across as some fanatic that lives and sleeps Sweet, I don’t think that he …whassisname, will appreciate that” 

“Mick Tucker”.

Whassisname  Come on, get a grip.

“Yes, whatever. And don’t get star struck either”

Sue is right of course. About the records I mean. Caught out, I should have sneaked those records out in the car earlier in the afternoon, however 10 records may just be a tad too many, so I spend the next 10 minutes or so shuffling through and reluctantly choosing those unlucky records that I have to leave behind.

I am not that sort of sentimental guy who is still stuck in the 70s, and I don’t think that it was such a great decade either, with unemployment, increasing football violence, oil crisis, strikes, Austin Allegros, tacky fashion and hairstyles, (my children laugh when they see my school photos, “look, daddy looks like a girl”) but I was oblivious to all that back in 1974. My mum and dad had reasonably well paid jobs, and I don’t think that I have ever been deprived of anything apart from not being allowed to watch the World Cup of 1970 in Mexico on TV, probably because the matches were shown well past my bedtime- and my dad had a VW Beetle, my mum a Mini 1000. No Allegros in our street, I assure you.

Anyway, The Sweet started it all for me. They were my first musical love affair, before I had ever heard Stones, Pink Floyd or The Who. I was hooked from that moment someone played Ballroom Blitz for me on their newly acquired tape recorder, one of those awful cuboid shaped thingies that can just master ½db if the batteries were new and had the habit of screwing the tapes up on their second listening, which was disastrous if you had just forked out 40 to 50 kroner or something, of your hard earned pocket money, on Desolation Boulevard. My bedroom was covered in Sweet posters and pictures that I cut out from music magazines. I happily traded my Abba and Slade posters for anything Sweet.

Something will have to give. I feel sorry for Desolation Blvd, Strung Up, Give Us A Wink and Sweet Fanny Adams as I put them back on the shelves. I settle for CATR (maybe I can get it signed by all 3 Sweet members, get it framed and hang it up in our study, Sue wont allow signed photos of “Mick Whassisname” in our lounge), my other copy of Level Headed (to get it signed for my brother Jacob), Identity Crisis (because it’s rare), Live at The Marquee (another relatively rare vinyl) and Off The Record. 5 albums altogether. Only FIVE. I hope that Mick Tucker will appreciate this.

Chorleywood is, as they say, picturesque. Anyone in need of a photograph for a tourist brochure wouldn’t go wrong here. It’s a very warm day, the sun is shining and as I pass the village green a cricket ball rolls across the road causing the traffic to stop. Cricket on the Village Green. What was it Ray Davies of the Kinks sang back in 1968 on their “Preservation Village Green Society” album? I mean, how more English can you get?

The pub is easy to find and I see the blue BMW convertible with the top down in the car park that Elliott mentioned the other day, indicating that The Man With The Golden Arm is here. No Volvo estate or sensible MPV here. What the hell, why not if you can afford it, and if you don’t have to do the school run anymore, taking garden rubbish down the dump or go visiting your parents in Denmark twice a year with 3 kids? In that case I would swap our Volvo estate for a convertible anytime, especially in Chorleywood on a sunny day with cricket on the Village Green. Get the picture?

I walk straight to the bar, gazing around and Elliott jumps up from his chair and comes up, shakes my hand thoroughly and says, “Come and say hello to Mick” and pushes me across to a table in the corner furthest away from the bar. There HE is. White leather jacket and the hair is the same, not the embarrassing 70s style of mine which my own children laugh at, it’s more like the Scott/Tucker’s Sweet of the mid to late 80s hairstyle.  I am introduced to Mick and his wife Jan, we exchange hellos and “how-are-you/not-too-bads”, before I insist on getting some drinks in. It’s important to get off to a good start, on a positive note. It’s a glass of the House’s white wine for Jan, Cider for Elliott, a class of Chardonnay for Mick and a pint of Kronenbourg for me.

What is happening at the moment? One moment Woody asks me if I would like to go and see Elliott something-or-other who apparently plays Sweet songs, I agree mainly in order to catch up with HAT and chums, I can't really be bothered with tribute band nonsense, and what happens? Next thing I know, I'm in Elliott's house eating curry, watching rare Sweet footage, talking to Steve Priest and Frank Torpey on the phone, next day in a pub with Elliott and Mick Tucker and his wife.

For those who are unaware, Elliott was married to Steve Priest’s daughter Lisa that makes him Steve’s ex son-in-law I suppose. Elliott knew Brian for more than ten years and via Steve befriended Mick. Elliott told me before hand that Mick is an easy going guy and easy to along with, and now they are jamming on the odd Sunday at the Angler’s Retreat in West Drayton. Elliott is also rehearsing with Sweet’s first guitar player Frank Torpey and all three of them will be playing together soon down at The Angler’s. Elliott and Steve remain good friends as well, and speak regularly to each other on the phone, so if someone somewhere could draw me a Sweet-rock-family-tree….

“Have you got that Who video for me?” ask Elliott.

 Elliott Tuffin band are planning to incorporate a couple of Who songs in their repertoire, and Mick chips in quickly with a story about once asking Keith Moon for his autograph before he was famous on a snip of paper, which he unfortunately has lost. Mick continues:

“We were once staying in a hotel for 3 days in Germany with the Who. We drank constantly and had nothing to eat, I wasn’t feeling too good”.

I believe him. Surviving 3 days in hotel with The Who, just the thought of  “sleeping” in the room next to Keith Moon would fill me with nervous tension. Maybe Mick could write a manual “How to survive 3 days with The Who?”

“Was Keith Moon really that mad as everybody says?” ask Elliott. The reply follows promptly.

“Yes”.

I’m easing up now, I can relax in this company, as if this is something I do on a regular basis. Cool. This is the man who provided the backtrack to my childhood, his accurate solid beats on the drums just as reliable dependable as the Deutch Mark, or the clock watch on the tower of Big Ben or ……let’s face it…..a  Volvo estate. I am beginning to regret that I didn’t bring my whole Sweet record collection.

“You have to look at this book that Henrik has got. It’s full of some great colour photos of the Sweet,” says Elliott to Mick.

It’s one of those books that were published around Christmas time which made for a nice little stocking filler, I believe there aren’t that many left as most teenagers at the time would have pulled the pictures out and pinned them on their bedroom walls only to discard them all for the benefit of the dustbin a couple of years later. I found my copy in a second hand shop some 15 years ago or so, and though the pages have come loose, the photos have never been put up on some ones wall.

Mick looks through the book and tells us where most of the shots were taken.

“I think Henrik would like you to sign his records”. Steady Elliott, steady, we have got plenty of time. Elliott gets another round of drinks in I am having a great time.

Mick looks at the Identity Crisis album cover. I ask Mick if he felt it was finished in the sense of being completed and he replies that he felt they had done as much as they could with it. I have also always wondered about the cover for years as the character bare some resemblance to Brian

”The cover has nothing to do with Brian, it depicts a character with no identity, which sums up the feeling in the band at the time.”

Mick looks at the track list on the back.

“New shoes, I had just bought some new shoes and they felt very comfortable. I sang “Own up, take a look at your self”, and he begins to sing the first couple of lines of this not so well known Sweet tune.

Mick fills us in on Heartbreak Today. “Andy and I were working on a song his place before going into the studio the next day. It was getting late and we were getting nowhere fast. I insisted that we had to come up with something. A newspaper had fallen down on the floor and a headline spelled out Heartbreak Today. I have no idea what paper it was or what the article was about, but it inspired us and the song evolved from there.”

I ask what he thinks of Queen and Mick replies that he admires Brian May but doesn't, to my surprise, think too much of Freddie Mercury. Mick echoes Andy’s and Steve’s view on this that Queen "borrowed" a lot from Sweet and went ahead of them (my interpretation). Queen took the Sweet's fans at a time when Sweet were appealing to 12 years old girls but trying hard to capture a more mature audience. I don’t agree with all of this but I don’t feel inclined to argue about it here.

I return to The Who. Mick admires The Who and would have Roger Daltrey in his band anytime, along side Elliott, needless to say. On the Charlton gig that never was "Do you know where I was that evening? I was in my back garden putting up a shed and I took all my frustration out on it, thinking that I should be behind the drums now". I wonder what this poor shed looks like with dents and all.....

Level Headed is the next album that comes out of my plastic bag. I ask him to sign it for my brother who is coming over to visit me soon. Mick doesn't like this one much, so I had to challenge him. I point out some of the highlights e.g. Brian's vocal on Lady of the lake. Elliott adds that Silverbird is a great tune as well. I am getting more confident and I add that I am not particular impressed by the lyrics on the album as a whole, meanwhile Mick studies the front cover.

“This photo was taken in the studio during the recording session of the album. Normally we had to set the lights up, have make up on etc. etc. but on this one we were asked just to line up next to each other. Look, we are just wearing plain T-shirts”. It’s clear that Mick is not impressed.

“Did you all decide to wear necklaces for the photo shot?” I ask.

“No, that’s a coincidence, I have still got mine” and he pulls his out from underneath his shirt to show me and I compare eagerly with the record cover. He is right. It’s the same.

“How do you rate the Give Us A Wink album?” I ask, implying that it’s not my favourite, but if he’s putting down Level Headed, then I can I a go at GUAW.

“That was recorded in Germany and it’s a much harder sounding album.” He admits.

We compromise that Desolation Boulevard is great, “But the American version” he points out. I’m letting him have that one.

Mick looks at the Cut Above The Rest record cover. "I like this one. We were playing games and messing about at the time, whilst the studio time cost us £1000 a day. It was crazy. You have to capture the moment and get the tracks down while it's fresh" I believe he is referring to the Level Headed recording session as well. Mick confirms that The Desolation Boulevard was completed in one week.

“This cover was carved out of wood and I think that Steve owns it.” He turns the cover over and looks at the track list.

“Cacophony means terrible disharmonious noise and we hated disco music, so we took the two words and put them together, hence the pronunciation in brackets (Dis-kof-o-ne).”

I’m glad we got this one cleared up. According to Steve’s book, Mick dislikes “Call me” and Mick confirms his pap-pop statement. “Eye Games was written by Andy but I sang it”.

 “That is quite a nice tune” ,I add, but Mick shakes his head.”

On Paul Mario Day: I tell him that I am not a great fan of this ex-Sweet front man but Mick insists that he is a good singer," But maybe not the right guy for Sweet."

”What happened that day when Brian announced that he was quitting the band?” I ask

“He didn't. He was just too ill to continue. We tried a couple of things (as we all know from the Platinum rare CD) and it didn't work out.”

I tell Mick that this Ballroom Blitz drum intro must be one of the most well known introductions to a song and that nobody has never really mastered the drum pattern since. Elliott encourages Mick to demonstrate on the tabletop, and Elliott and I have to save our drinks before they jump off the table. The regular’s sitting at the bar turn around, but Mick pays no attention. Everybody knows him here.

"It's easy" and he begins to explain how to do it. Elliott and I are both having a go, but we get muddled up and decide to keep an eye on our drinks in case Mick should spontaneously inflict another drum solo on the furniture. No other drummer seems to get this drum pattern right.

Mick also demonstrates the famous one-handed twirl with a candle it doesn’t quite come off because the candle is too thick. Next time I’ll bring a drumstick.

“This is the best drummer in the world,” says Elliott.

“ Was, ” corrects Mick.

There is still a way to go, I suppose. It’s been a long time.

“It’s the same as asking someone who hasn’t been running for 10 years to run 10 miles. I was the fittest person in the band, each night was a complete workout, where you use every single muscle in your body”.

We discuss the importance of getting the correct balanced diet etc. and Mick and Elliott discuss the possibilities of recording a duet together. I hope Steve and Frank may get in involved in one way or another.

I ask about Steve and Mick explains that he still regards him as a great singer and bass player.

Jan left an hour ago and Elliott has promised to drive Mick home. Mick buys our last round, one for the road as it were- I opt for a coke with ice and lemon.

It is unique to have the ability to create your own sound, just like Keith Richards developed his riffs, Pete Townshend’s power chords, John Entwistle's power bass sound or just think about Keith Moon auto-destructive I’m-gonna-hit-every-drum-at-once-as-hard as-I possibly-can style.

 Mick’s playing has always been unique because he developed his own sound and style, he is single-handedly responsible for trillions of drumstick marks on desktops and broken desktop lamps as a whole Sweet generation drummed along to “The Man with the Golden Arm” with anything that could resemble drumsticks. He’s got a lot to answer for.

His drumming has his signature written all over it, those drum rolls are his trademark and he has rehearsed with The Elliott Tuffin band once or twice already.

“Elliott is a great singer” admits Mick, and playing with his band is a nice an easy way of getting involved with the music scene again, and I am sure we will be treated to some great guest appearances in the future.

He denies that he will start his own Mick Tucker’s Sweet type of band, as he is not interested in the tribute scene as such. One thing is to play Sweet songs on stage for fun on a Sunday night another thing is touring paying tribute to the Sweet legacy. Mick and Elliott are more likely to write their own songs, I bet.

The pub is closing and we say goodbye to each other in the car park, Mick must have enjoyed the evening as well because normally he leaves the pub about 9:30 for his supper. In lack of a soft top I open the sunroof and windows and the sound from my tape deck of Live for Today bursts out of my speakers, a suitable soundtrack to an enjoyable evening with Mick Tucker.