Jeremy Spencer interview 1974

[bretonbanquet]

I recently came across a copy of the British NME magazine for October 5, 1974. Inside there is an interview with Jeremy Spencer and he talks about various things including his departure from Mac and his involvement with the Children of God. I'm not sure if any of you guys have ever read it, or if it's a common thing, but I thought I'd pick out a few things that he said. I thought it was interesting because it seems like a real 'dark period' for Jeremy between his 'Children of God' album and 'Flee'.

The interview took place in London, where he'd moved to in July 1974 after living in Texas, LA and Seattle, and he was hanging out at The Poor Boy club, a Children of God meeting place in Finchley Road. With him were members of his latest band, Jeremy Spencer and the Mountain Children. All were American and members of the cult except the drummer, who was an ordinary English kid. Apparently none of them tried any conversion tactics on the interviewers.

On "Then Play On": "It wasn't complete. It didn't have that humour. It seemed to be where all the intellectuals were. That's why it didn't sell as well as the first one over here." But didn't Peter Green say it was the best thing he'd ever been involved with? "He said that about everything - it's what you have to feel about your latest thing, otherwise what's the point of going on?"

On his 'Children of God' album: "It's awful. It's horrible. For a start they mixed it on huge great speakers that had bags of treble. Finally when the record was pressed, it had no presence at all. It was just like mud."

On Elmore James: "I don't listen to all Elmore James any more. I used to think he was the end. I still like him but it's with more perspective."

On the "Kiln House" songs: "They were just... one was about the Lord. That song called 'One Together'.

On the Mac split: "I don't know what happened 'cause you see he (Green) didn't want to ride on a sinking ship. Like there was 'Albatross' and there was 'Man of the World' and there was 'Oh Well' which was like a peak. Maybe it wasn't a commercial type song but...really the peak was 'Albatross' in a lot of people's eyes. That's all they knew Fleetwood Mac for. Then there was 'Green Manalishi', his song about the devil. Generally people want music to lift them up. I don't think people want music that is down. If they did, blues would be in the top ten.

"He (Green) didn't want to be associated with Jesus really, and I think the rest of the band didn't want to have much to do with it. A lot of things they wanted to do clashed with my outlook on life, not just things they said. We got these disagreements over certain issues, moral things. That's the reason for the split.

"I don't know why he left exactly. It looked like it was coming up. He met some of these people in Germany - I didn't in fact have anything to do with it - but we took some acid and played some music. It was pretty weird. I didn't like what he was playing. He was jamming away kind of like on 'End of the Game'. There was no point in trying to stop him leaving. He wanted me to take over. I didn't feel I could do it... it was just too much."

On Mac after Green left: "There just wasn't the agreement. Everyone tried but it just wasn't working. All I could play was rock 'n' roll. Peter was a developed musician. I couldn't do the stuff everyone was coming to expect us to play. Danny could play, but he didn't have the stage presence that Pete had - to make people turn round."

On Los Angeles: "That's the worst place I've ever been in. I cursed that place - the rotten, stinking, filthy ****hole."

On the day he left: "I was at the end of my rope. We got to the hotel and I was just in a world of my own. I couldn't relate to the rest of the band. They were really nice to me. They really were concerned, but I just couldn't explain to them how I... what I was going through. I couldn't even explain to my wife."

Then came the walk to the bookstall, when Spencer was approached by a member of The Children of God. "This boy Apolus came up with a guitar and asked me if I wanted him to sing me a song. Of course I thought here's someone trying to push a song. He knows who I am. But he'd never heard of Fleetwood Mac. His band was the Beatles and that was it. He didn't seem like a regular freaked-out doper. There was something pleasant about him. So he sang a song, and said, 'Do you believe in Jesus?' I said, 'Yeh'. He said, 'Have you ever asked him into your heart?' and I said I hadn't - but I had a few times."

Spencer then prayed on the street with Apolus and went to a nearby skid-row mission where the Children were hanging out. "I just had the feeling that was it. He talked to me all evening and all my questions were being answered by the Bible." He says he realised that it was getting near the time he was due on stage at The Whisky but he nevertheless stayed at the mission. "By rights I really should have phoned."

He talks about the scene where Clifford Davis and the two roadies found him five days later and tried / failed to convince him to come back to the band. He didn't see the rest of the band till nine months later when they were doing a gig in Seattle. "They were OK. Mick was quite sweet."

"Last time I saw them they were recording 'Mystery To Me'. They were happy. I talked to them, gave them some of our literature which I think they get regularly. That's when I saw Pete. That was really sad. He could hardly play. He picked up a guitar to try and do something. He was totally out of it, just smoking and drinking." Have you seen him since? " No." Spencer sounds very despondent. "I talked to him a few times about the Children of God but he just doesn't want to know. It's almost like a they're-not-going-to-get-me attitude. He's Jewish and he thinks because he's Jewish any faith in Jesus is impossible. He probably thinks he can get enlightenment by doing lots of things. Doing things like working in a hospital, or digging graves or helping old ladies cross the street."