An Interview with Clive Gregson - Any Trouble

Clive Gregson was the original guiding force behind Any Trouble, a British rock band with a cult following on both sides of the Atlantic in the early 1980s. The video for their single “Second Choice” was seen frequently on the fledging cable channel MTV; yet success, which seemed assured, eluded the band and they disbanded in 1984. A reunion of Any Trouble was propositioned on the 25th Anniversary of the band’s creation, however, and after some false starts has resulted in a new CD, LIFE IN REVERSE, which is as fresh and new as if the band was newly wrapped and minted. Music-Reviewer.com’s Joe Hartlaub recently spoke with Gregson from his home in north Houston, Texas, to find out how the reunion came about, what is planned for the band, and how a stalwart British musician finds himself living in the Southwest.

MR: What was the impetus behind the reunion of Any Trouble and the recording of LIFE IN REVERSE?

CG: We never really fell out to begin with, actually. In 1984 our commercial prospects had run their course; we thought we’d just pursue other projects rather than grinding down. We never fell out, though. I moved to the States in 1992 but would return to England once or twice a year and would get together socially with the guys once in awhile. So we were always in touch.

2005 marked the band’s 25th anniversary and we thought, why not mark it by doing another disc together. We all had a few things going on, however, so that one thing led to another and we had a few delays. Finally, in April 2007 I was in England and we were all together and we got LIFE IN REVERSE recorded in just three weeks. I had been working as the band leader for Dennis Locorriere’s tour (Dr. Hook) and a couple of the guys were on that tour as well so it was an ideal time to get it done.

MR: One of the things that really stands out on the Any Trouble releases in general and on LIFE IN REVERSE in particular is your ability to create deceptively simple pop songs, immediately familiar, instantly memorable, yet always unique. I won’t ask how you do it, but rather, how do you keep doing it?

CG: (Chuckles) Oh, if I knew the answer to that I’d bottle it and sell it! Actually I’m writing all the time, even when I walk around the block I might be writing a song. Then it’s just a matter of getting it down onto a recording medium. I can use a guitar or a piano, it doesn’t really matter. Of all of this, I like writing music the most. It just comes naturally.

MR: Were the songs on LIFE IN REVERSE compositions you had been working on over the past couple of decades, or were they created once you had decided to give it a go with a reunion?

CG: I started writing in 2005 when we first decided to do another CD and had been writing songs for the project since then. We recorded the basic tracks for seventeen songs in five days and then gradually whittled that down to 13 tracks.

MR: I understand you have some British concert dates scheduled. Do you have any US tour dates planned?

CG: We have one show booked in London so far, just to see what the response is from the public before we go and book a whole schedule. We’re all doing different things, separate projects, so it’s not easy to block out the time to do a full tour. We haven’t played together as a band for 23 years so it’ll be interesting to see how it works out. We did get together and played for a video a few weeks ago and it was just great, a lot of fun, so we’ll see, 1 show in London so far, haven’t played in 23 years we’re all doing different things.

As far as U.S. dates go, again, it will depend on what sort of reaction the record gets from the audience here.

MR:I hear you have a boxed set coming out as well. I haven’t seen it yet, though.

CG: Actually, that’s a Stiff Records boxed set, a compilation of all of the many things that Stiff has released over the years, Wreckless Eric, us, things like that. We have three or four songs on it.

MR: What sort of reaction to LIFE IN REVERSE have you received?

CG: Well, it’s a bit early since the disc was just released a few days ago, but initial responses we’re getting have been great! People are dropping us notes and visiting the website quite regularly. It would be a bit much to hope for that we might have a greater commercial response than we had the first time around…

MR: I don’t know, I’m amazed at the people I run into who remember Any Trouble and “Second Choice” so fondly, and wonder where you went to. I actually saw you in 1986, with the Richard Thompson band in Columbus, around Halloween...

CG: I remember that show! We came out in costumes and masks and such, and had bats hanging from the microphones

MR: Yes! And the woman I was with couldn’t believe it when I told her that you -- or as I put it, the guy from Any Trouble who sang “Second Choice” -- was up there in the band. People do know you, so you might be surprised.

I have to ask, given your British background…how did you wind up in Houston.

CG: Well, my girlfriend lives here! And actually, I’ve been in the States for quite a while, I moved to Minneapolis in the early 1990s, then spent several years in Nashville. I’ve done quite a bit in Nashville, I toured with Nancy Griffith for five years and have done a number of other projects there. I still do quite a bit of work in Nashville, actually. They have many wonderful musicians up there, a lot of very good studios with a lot going on.

MR: John Wood produced LIFE IN REVERSE and of course produced a great deal of your previous work. What was it like to be working with him again?

CG: (laughs) Oh, I never stopped. He’s great. He sits there and pays perfect attention to everything that’s going on in the studio and if there’s a sound made he somehow gets it. He’s been producing records and dealing with sound recordings since he was 17, literally his entire life. He was given a tape of a classical recording and a razor blade and told to edit it down. He’s been working miracles ever since.

MR: There have been some amazing changes in recording techniques since you recorded the first Any Trouble CD, WHERE ARE ALL THE NICE GIRLS. What was it like recording LIFE IN REVERSE, as compared to recording in 1980?

CG: Well, in 1980 we were recording on an analog 16 track machine using 2 inch tape. An analog deck is the size of a washing machine, cumbersome, and finding the tape for one is a bother since they don’t make them. We cut LIFE IN REVERSE digitally on pro tools. Now, on the positive side you can edit and move pieces around, and it’s wonderfully convenient and all since it’s a time saver. Soundwise, however, it’s a step backwards. The best you can hope for with digital is that you will get the sound exactly as recorded, while with analog you could get something more than that. What we try to do now is record digitally and then try to get back to analog on the master.

When WHERE ARE ALL THE NICE GIRLS was released, the primary media for music was the cassette. And it was wonderfully convenient because you could take a tape with you anywhere, there was the Walkman and cassette players for the car and the like. But the sound was not as good as it was with a phonograph record. And mp3s are the cassettes of the digital age, from a sound quality standpoint. The sound isn’t as good as a CD. And people are accepting this.

MR: What music are you listening to these days?

CG: Everything! Lots of country and folk music in general. Also older rock and mid-period rock, everything from Eddie Cochran and Elvis to the Beatles and XTC to Dylan and Roxy Music. I’m trying to learn how to play jazz so I’ve also been listening to lots of Django Reinhardt.

MR: Is it too early to ask what’s next?

CG : Probably! The album was just released this week and we’ll see how it does. I wouldn’t rule anything out, though! We’ll see how this one does and if the audience likes it we’ll do a follow up. If not we had a lot of fun doing this one!

MR: Well, LIFE IN REVERSE sounds great and I’m sure it will do well for you. It’s great to have Any Trouble back. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

CG: Thank you! I enjoyed it!