It’s early Friday afternoon and the Quay Theatre in Sudbury looks deserted – with the exception of flamboyant T.Rextasy frontman Danielz getting ready for his ‘Unplugged’ show.
Before rehearsing, however, his time is dedicated to our all-exclusive Music-News interview and me – with percussionist John Skelton joining later on.
Hidden away in his dressing room, Danielz is all smiles, all charm and all talk during our one-hour session – unplugged and uninterrupted.

DANIELZ INTERVIEW

Music-News:
Danielz, compared to the usual ‘full-on’ T.Rextasy gigs, your ‘Unplugged’ shows are not a very regular experience to enjoy. Why is that?

Danielz:
Because it’s very difficult for venues to accept an acoustic show upon hearing the word T.Rex, because that conjures up glam rock – rightly or wrongly! People just think, “Oh, but so why are you playing acoustic?”
So that’s the first hurdle we got to get over. The second hurdle is that it’s very difficult to play good venues just with myself on guitar and John (Skelton) on congas. You know, we don’t go out for free, we got to have a certain amount of costs involved and to get that back is very difficult because venues find it hard to understand what we’re going to do. Which is playing our usual music in acoustic style, but with the same kind of gusto and enjoyment as full-blown electric.

MN:
I understand, but don’t people remember that acoustic and folky is how Marc Bolan actually started of?

Danielz:
Yes, but they’ve forgotten! Some people haven’t forgotten, I mean tonight will be great, the show sold out! That is the first theatre for us that actually sold out, which is nice. And I think the size of the theatre is always relative to the place you’re playing. Plus, it’s great to play in a little theatre in Suffolk where we have never played before, but the fans have seen us before in other venues around Suffolk when we played electric! So they know what they’re going to get. They know it’s T.Rextasy unplugged. As I said, it’s only John and me playing songs that are very stripped down and it’s very intimate. Really it’s a great shame that the acoustic versions of T.Rex songs aren’t always as appreciated. Because hearing them like that, it goes to prove how great these songs are when you can play them acoustic – and it still comes across strong! It also shows what a good songwriter Marc Bolan actually was.

MN:
On your ‘T.Rextasy Unplugged – A Dream That Lasts Forever’ album you wrote in the info booklet that apart from putting your own slant on the tracks you also chose some unlikely songs to play. So instead of more obvious acoustic Bolan numbers like ‘Sara Crazy Child’ or ‘Warlord Of The Royal Crocodiles’ we get to hear tracks like ‘Ride A White Swan’, ‘Jeepster’ and ‘Dandy In The Underworld’. Why did you decide on those tracks?

Danielz:
For exactly that reason, because these aren’t the obvious numbers fans expect to hear on an acoustic album. And because I very rarely touch Tyrannosaurus Rex! I mean, Tyrannosaurus Rex really was like a different band. It was like Paul McCartney & The Beatles, and then he formed Wings! You know, it’s a completely different thing. Marc’s voice was completely different, it was very much Larry the Lamb… very strong vibrato and also a different style to his guitar play. So if I had to chop and change, I would think that I wouldn’t be true to myself and I would come across a little bit ridiculous. One minute I’ll be singing in a much higher vibrato and the next minute I’ll be singing in Marc’s T.Rex voice which has a more subtle vibrato to it. And once again it’s a different guitar style. Basically, I’m a rock ‘n’ roller and when we do our acoustic shows, I try to settle down but it comes out a little bit that I can’t help myself sometimes. Especially when I’m doing ‘20th Century Boy’ or ‘Jeepster’, I still go into one. It’s like sitting on the edge of insanity, haha.

MN:
How do you and John decide to what extent you want to stay true to Marc’s original compositions and how much you want to bring your own kind of touch into it?

Danielz:
Well, I suppose what I do is I sort out the set list and then give it to John. So we learn the tracks together but we learn it separately as well. But I’ve always wanted to be my own person, as well as singing Bolan songs in the style and spirit of Marc. That’s important and I think we got a way with it since 1992 and I’m very proud of that. We are one of the very few tributes that have got not only Marc Bolan fans but T.Rextasy fans as well. We have our own fans and that’s a lovely thing to have. Also, I always like to be a little bit left-of-field, you know. I’ve never been exactly playing a song like T.Rex played it but I always try to put a bit of my own soul into it. For example, the song ‘Dreamy Lady’ on our Unplugged album, we slowed it down to half of the original speed just to give it our own feel if you like. It’s such a good song and has got such a lovely melody; it lent it to our take whereas Marc played it very poppy. You know, little things like that. ‘Organ Blues’ for example, which is also on our album, that is a Tyrannosaurus Rex song. Doing a few choice numbers is fine, but I wouldn’t go full pelt and pick all the Tyrannosaurus Rex songs. That’s like another band and another world.

MN:
Which songs from Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex period are your favourites?

Danielz:
Well, I’m afraid that at the end of the day I’m a rocker really. Actually, I got ‘Electric Warrior’ first and then worked my way through Bolan’s catalogue backwards. Before ‘Electric Warrior’ there was nothing else. There was the ‘brown album’ of course and then you had the Tyrannosaurus Rex material. When I first got that, I listened to ‘My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair’ and I thought, “My god, this cannot be the same band!” Of course, it wasn’t. It was Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took. And I couldn’t get to grips, it took me years of growing up, getting older and then appreciate what Marc had done is his early career. Even now, I will listen to the odd track but I still go back to T.Rex! Although I do love the ‘brown album’ for it was a transition period really. And the one before that, ‘A Beard Of Stars’, which was a transitional Tyrannosaurus Rex album and had some great songs on it like ‘Elemental Child’. Call it Marc Hendrix or Jimi Bolan, whatever you wanna call it. It was really then that he was on the way to picking up that Les Paul and playing it. At that stage I thought, “Wow! This guy is nothing like anybody!” Totally unique, his image, the way he spoke, the way he projected himself, the way he did interviews, his intelligence. He was a poet, he was a rock ‘n’ roller, you know, he was everything into one. Even David Bowie – dare I say it and I know it's sacrilegious to say it – had only 99.9 %, whereas Marc to me was the only rock-star that had the 100% package. I probably get slammed for saying that but I do love Bowie as well.

MN:
Would you say that the fans that come to see your ‘Unplugged’ shows are different from the ones that usually come to see the ‘normal’ T.Rextasy shows, or is it mixed?

Danielz:
It’s mixed really. There are some people who will not come to see us in a rock venue. They like the theatre setting because in that kind of setting we are able to play two sets and some acoustic songs, but some electric songs as well. So they come because they want to hear us play something that sounds a little bit different from our usual shows. Other people don’t wanna see us in a theatre, so we have to play the full-blown electric set. But we also have a hardcore fan-base who will come to see us wherever we play.

MN:
So when does ‘T.Rextasy Unplugged’ come to London?

Danielz:
We get our work through agencies. I don’t go out and get our own shows, you know, we have agencies that promote us and get all our work. The trouble with London – and I lived in London for fifteen years – is that it has changed so much! Unbelievably. There always used to be so many good venues to play but sadly one after another is closing down, like The Standard is closing its doors in December. The council should be ashamed to shut down such an iconic music-venue, it’s been going since the 60’s! Now there seem to be lots of pubs to play, but we don’t wanna play in pubs! It’s not because of the money, it’s the venue. We grew out of playing pubs years and years ago, so it’s silly, even for an ‘unplugged’ show, to go back to that! It’s gotta be a music one and of course, there still are some nice music venues around. But even when T.Rextasy played the 100 Club for instance, we invited Tony Visconti and we publicised that Tony Visconti would be our special guest. He just had his biography out and we said, “Come on down, Tony, and be our special guest.” He came onto stage and played two, three numbers with us on bass guitar, then he signed his book for the fans and so forth. On that day we thought the place would be crammed, I mean, here is Tony Visconti, the legendary producer going to attend. And yet, the venue was still not even half full! So we’re hitting our heads against the brick wall unless it’s a really publicised event to the extend of a major band. Because there is so much to do in London, there are so many choices; you’re competing with about 200 things that are going on just on that one day. So unless it’s going to be a really special gig in London I don’t have any qualms about not playing in London. Really I prefer playing in smaller cities outside London where we’re competing with only a fraction of other acts that perform that same night.

MN:
Would you consider doing another ‘T.Rextasy Unplugged’ album at some point?

Danielz:
Yes I would, but it’s time. Thing is, if it was the old days were you had a pen, paper, a stamp and a telephone… fine! But now in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and various other websites… if we’re not gigging then we’re at home working on all the other stuff and update information. I also do a journal on the T.Rextasy website. Not as much as I’d like to, but that’s because of time as well. Sometimes we’re gigging and doing shows for the whole week, at other times we’re ‘only’ doing two gigs per week for instance. But people don’t realise that when I’m not gigging but I am at home instead, I’m working for the band as well. Also, I do a lot of radio interviews – I must have done fifty or sixty interviews last year. I also did special guest appearances although I stopped doing them now because of all the other work. So there is always something else to do. Yes, I would like to do another T.Rextasy album, not an ‘Unplugged’ one but a full electric one, but once again it’s finding the time. We did the ‘White Christmas EP’ the year before last and we did ‘White Christmas’, ‘I Love To Boogie’ and ‘Hot Love’ and that was a struggle! Because we had to do that in between gigs and of course, you lose your momentum when you’re recording. You just wanna stay in the studio and do it, but we had to do it in between, and I had to do the vocals in another studio. But in the end it came out great and we got a nice deal with Madman Records. As for a full album, of course I would love to do a new one, we all would. Especially John, who is always into recording.

JOHN SKELTON INTERVIEW:

Having just recovered from a near heart attack – courtesy of a sudden digi-recorder malfunction – I was more then relieved to get the thing working again in time for my interview with T.Rextasy drummer John Skelton. So was he! Not only would it have been utterly embarrassing had the micro-sized recorder snuffed it, but I sure would have missed out on some great stories from a great guy who’s been here and done that.

Music-News:
John, you played with and for so many acts, including Eddie & The Hotrods, Dr. Feelgood, The Only Ones and even with Roy Orbison!

John Skelton:
With Roy Orbison, I didn’t back him with my band but was the house drummer at ‘The Talk Of The South’ which was a top night club that had all the famous stars of the time. We’re talking probably 1972/73ish.
When I played in Eddie & The Hotrods we did a lot of gigs with Dr. Feelgood, as we shared the same bill.

MN:
So what was it like when you entered the world of T.Rextasy?

JS:
Different, haha! I nearly didn’t do it, you see. I had a call from Len Tuckey (ex Suzi Quatro guitarist), who is an old mate of mine. He always said to me “Oh, you want to gig with a rock ‘n’ roll band” and I would always say “You find me a rock ‘n’ roll band and I’ll join!” Anyway, Len phoned me up and informed me that T.Rextasy were lucking for a drummer. But I didn’t really know T.Rextasy, because till then I was playing different styles and always playing with very different kind of bands. Although T.Rextasy and one of the bands I played with, The Chicago Blues Brothers, might have been on the same bill years ago, I can’t remember really. I said to Len, ”Oh… I don’t know… I don’t think I want to play in a tribute band…” But then another guy, one of the PA guys, phoned up and he knew Danielz. And he, too, said, “Oh, T.Rextasy are looking for a drummer. It’s right up your street, why don’t you have a go?” and there was me thinking again “Oh… tribute band, tribute band…” All the while bearing in mind that I was doing that Blues Brothers band, which is of course a tribute band! I was indecisive. Then Danielz phoned me up! Obviously, they told him about me and mentioned that I would be good for the job or something. T.Rextasy had two imminent gigs coming up, the one in Hyde Park which was a Proms gig, and the Shepherds Bush 30th Anniversary show. All within the next couple of weeks you see. So I said that I would give it a go and do those two gigs, and see how it goes. And you know, it went really well! I was kinda blown away by the passion of the band I suppose, and the interest of the fans. And I was blown away by the fact that T.Rextasy isn’t really a typical tribute band although they are a tribute band, but really it’s a band in it’s own right. Well, and so I joined!

MN:
You’ve been playing drums since the age of fourteen. So when did you learn how to play all the other instruments like congas, bongos, tambourines and whatever else there is?

JS:
When I joined T.Rextasy, haha! Actually, I did have a set of congas many years ago but I never played them.

MN:
For the ‘Unplugged’ sessions, do you orientate yourself on Peregrine Took and Finn, or do you do your own thing?

JS:
No, I just do ME! It’s the same with the band really. I mean Paul (bassist Paul Marks) isn’t Steve Currie on stage. We play what they play, but we kind of do it as us. We’re not acting out another person, do you know what I mean? And Mickey Finn on congas was a little bit away with the fairies most of the time.

MN:
Which drummers from the world of rock are your heroes?

JS:
Simon Phillips, who’s one of my long-time guys that I follow. I mean there’s loads of good drummers. I mean Bonham was a great drummer in his own way and also Keith Moon. I mean he was a lot better in the very early days of The Who, before he started being a showman. If you see some of the early footage of The Who for instance, Keith Moon was playing like Mitch Mitchell… very busy anyway because he was a busy player. It was only later when he got more drums – and more cocaine I suppose – that the focus shifted. Ian Paice is another one of my favourite players. As a rock drummer, he’s got the feel and the technique and everything that you’d want for that kinda playing.

MN:
Speaking of drumming: during your Unplugged shows, do you find it difficult to play in a restraint manner because surely there must be a point when you just want to go wild…

JS:
Yes, you have to check yourself I suppose. With me on the acoustic, I’m mainly following Danielz you see. It’s kind of the other way around because although as a ‘normal’ drummer I’m not centre stage of course, everyone follows my beat. But on the acoustic thing, if Danielz changes the feel of a song or wants to do it a little bit different, then I follow him to what he does. On congas and percussions it’s not the sort of thing you wanna go mad on anyway because it just sounds like a mess. It sounds like someone is throwing a lot of drums down the stairs if you’re not careful.

MN:
How much creative input do you have when Danielz arranges the acoustic versions?

JK:
I think something like that grows. When we did the ‘T.Rextasy Unplugged’ CD for instance, we did it in a friend of mine’s studio. I had originally phoned him up to ask whether we can have a couple of days in the studio, because we gonna do acoustic. I said we just gonna put congas in there and acoustic guitar and that’s it. It ended up us being there for about three months, because it grew, you know! We thought, “Oh, this needs this and that needs that”. Danielz was double-tracking guitar and then I played keyboards and we put this orchestration on. I mean, Danielz obviously knows these songs inside out and when we got on to the fact that we were gonna double-track everything he knew in his mind what he wanted. So we were following that path really, but I didn’t have anything to go by because there weren’t any acoustic versions of them. So I was just experimenting with what to do. The first time we played an acoustic set was in a theatre in Bristol, and that’s when I bought my congas and played them. I just played with what I felt came natural for the songs, really. So I didn’t sit down beforehand and did any special arrangements. And that’s how it is now as well, but it will also grow again.

T.REXTASY ‘UNPLUGGED’ review:

Let’s be honest: the very name T.Rex will forever be associated with glam rock and not with acoustic music. Alas, Friday week ago the ever-fabulous T.Rextasy were out to prove that Bolan’s greatest hits sound just as captivating if played – yes - acoustic!

Having said that, the show didn’t actually feature the full T.Rextasy line-up but only a stripped down line-up, just like the songs were performed in a stripped down manner. The band’s colourful frontman, Danielz, and his percussionist John Skelton treated the audience to an evening of T.Rex songs as you rarely get to hear them, and what a treat it was! You’d be forgiven to think that both tried to pull a Bolan/Steve Peregrine Took or early Bolan/Mickey Finn stunt, or indeed would dish out a repertoire based on early Tyrannosauraus Rex songs (for that was when Bolan did play acoustic!). But no! Almost all of the chosen songs were T.Rex hits, with only a few exceptions.
As Danielz explained to me during our interview earlier on that day, the choice of songs is a deliberate one and he would like to demonstrate just how brilliant a songwriter Marc Bolan was, “because hearing them like that, it goes to prove how great these songs are when you can play them acoustic – and it still comes across strong!”

Friday nights in Sudbury seem a rather quiet affair (then again, I’m used to the wild London night life), with bugger all to do judging from what I’ve observed during my day out ‘in the sticks’. Even the tempting looking restaurants in this picturesque little market town were pretty much empty when I passed by. Just what are the locals doing for kicks I began to wonder? Well, on this Friday night they all seemed to have gone to the Quay Theatre for the much-anticipated ‘T.Rextasy – Unplugged’ gig… for the show was completely sold out! Indeed, the lovely theatre and art centre seems to be the cultural haven of the area, with all sorts of entertainment on offer. Tonight, admirers from Sudbury but also surrounding areas squeezed into the tiny auditorium – and as usual during the band’s shows, the fan base consisted of young and alike.

Finally, the lights went dim. Danielz (sporting garish yellow pants and an ocean green velvet smock-top with decorative border) and John Skelton (wearing a goofy t-shirt and his trademark bandana) took to the stage. Skelton to the left, with assorted congas and bongos in front of him and Danielz to the right, sat on a chair with a guitar on his lap. “This feels weird, I’m always so used to be at the centre of attention” he quipped. The first number was ‘Organ Blues’ and it was an exception in so far that this really is an early Tyrannosaurus Rex song (from the ‘A Beard Of Stars’ album to be precise). It also set the right tone straight away, for although there is of course no organ to be heard anywhere, ‘Organ Blues’ is the perfect vehicle for percussion and guitar teamwork.

Next came ‘White Swan’ and once again, hearing this ultimate T.Rex ditty played acoustic sounded anything but a dying swan. The beauty of T.Rex songs is that they all have a distinctive rhythm to them. Take all other instruments away and you still will be left with an infectious ‘one guitar and percussion’ sound that transfers perfectly to acoustic renditions.
Things speeded up (only ever so slightly) with ‘One Inch Rock’ during which Danielz tried to animate the audience to clap along to, albeit with moderate success. Not because the song is bad or the performance was flawed, but simply because of a ‘this is a theatre and we’re watching a show’ kind of atmosphere. He also announced one his favourite songs, ‘Left Hand Luke’ which – surprise surprise – still sounded great even without the soul-tastic backing chorus and keys of the original version. Though I must confess that this is one song I prefer to hear with all the trimmings attached.

If ‘Left Hand Luke’ is one of Danielz’ faves, then next number ‘The Groover’ is one of mine and I was delighted it was part of the repertoire. “T.R.E.X.” shouted Danielz to Skelton who, with deadpan expression, was banging away on his congas. Suffice to say the acoustic version didn’t quite groove as much as the electric one, but nonetheless it was a joy to listen to.

When it came to ‘Girl’, both Danielz and Skelton shared a bit of a joke with the audience, revealing how actor Dennis Waterman makes a habit of singing theme tunes in every TV-show he’s been in over the past few years (ie Minder, New Tricks, On The Up etc.). During an episode of BBC1 cop show ‘New Tricks’ they played ‘Girl’ to great effect in a burial scene. “Thank god they played the actual Bolan version….” remarked Danielz amused. Then, looking at Skelton, he asked, “Can you imagine Dennis Waterman singing it?” Followed by roaring laughter in the audience.

After ‘Jeepster’, ‘Cosmic Dancer’ and ‘Teenage Dream’, Danielz performed one of his own compositions, namely the excellent ‘Living In Dreamland’ – a song about human arrogance in our world today. The same version can be heard on the superb ‘T.Rextasy Unplugged – A Dream That Lasts Forever’.
Finally, the crowd began to act more enthusiastic during ‘Get It On’ and ‘I Love To Boogie’, singing and clapping along. To be fair, there is zero space for standing (let alone dancing) in the tiny venue. What am I saying! There isn’t even enough legroom to boogie at the edge of your seat! It’s just as well this was an acoustic concert, for anything else would have been a torturous physical restraint. At times it even felt as if Danielz was ready to break out of his restraint too, for I saw him twitch more than once, eager to go wild on the guitar and the congas. Within a split second though he remembered that his was an acoustic session, so he boogied on in sedate mode.

Thus came the end of the act one, sorry, I meant the first half of the set. After a brief break, the duo returned to the stage. This time, Danielz sported a silver-sequined stole complimented by an obligatory feather boa, while Skelton had changed his bandana and t-shirt (skull face with Native Indian headdress… where does the guy get his t-shirts from?). Re-arranging and fumbling about with the feather boa, Danielz matter-of-factly explained that it itches and irritates his sensitive skin. “I’ve had sensitive skin all my life” he said, with an expression that left you guessing as to whether he’s serious or whether he’s having you on.
‘New York City’, ‘Spaceball Ricochet’ and ‘Telegram Sam’ all received big rounds of applause and the audience got more and more into it – well, as far as the restricted space allowed them to. The acoustic sessions also gave Danielz ample opportunity to show off his accomplished guitar and vocal skills. That, by the way, also goes for John Skelton – a bona fide drummer and percussionist who’s worked with and for some of the biggest name in the biz… Roy Orbison, anyone?

‘Till Dawn’ is another song that I only had heard performed with full-blown musical arrangements and backing chorus, so it was a bit of an adventure to finally hear it bare. Unlike ‘Mystic Lady’, which I had heard unplugged before (and played by T.Rex), though it was still great to hear the T.Rextasy version, as Danielz always adds his own touch to all of the songs. After ‘Children Of The Revolution’ and ‘Cadilac’ (another great track for acoustic guitar and percussion teamwork) it was on to ‘Dreamy Lady’ a song that WAS MADE for acoustic! Absolutely gorgeous (and gorgeously performed by Danielz), it gets me every time I listen to it!

Detouring from T.Rex, the next number was actually the Eddie Cochran classic ‘Summertime Blues’ – seemingly a firm favourite amongst so many rock ‘n’ roll boys that I’ve reviewed over the years. But we were back in Bolan-land again with ‘Metal Guru’ and ‘20th Century Boy’. If the latter is a challenge as far as acoustic renditions go, then yeah, what about the metal guru? But hey-ho, it turned out to be one of the highlights, not least thanks to Danielz’ highly imaginative take on it. Honestly, he should feature in one of those Kronenbourg’s ‘Slow down the pace’ beer adverts. If Lemmy and Suggs can do it…

Well, that was the end of the second half, though not quite… for there’s always an encore of course. Two more numbers, ‘Life’s A Gas’ and ‘Hot Love’ (why is it always ‘Hot Love’ as an encore choice) but then the curtain dropped for good.
‘T-Rextasy – Unplugged’ was both a very special experience and treat and I hope the show will delight the band’s London fans at some point too!

But for now it was out into the cold night and back to London. On the way to Sudbury train station, the statue of local hero, painter Thomas Gainsborough, greeted me. Had Bolan lived in the 18th century, no doubt the flamboyant glam-pixie would have been a constant muse to the artist. And if Gainsborough would live today, then there’s little doubt he would equally be taken in by Danielz.