Quireboys' Spike celebrating three decades since hit album and love for the Black Country

He’s called it home for some years and you’re as likely to see him drinking in The Swan or at The Robin 2 as the next man. Spike’s band have re-recorded their seminal hit A Bit Of What You Fancy, a UK number two hit, to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. The album featured 7 O’Clock, Hey You, I Don’t Love You Anymore and There She Goes Again and it catapulted the band into the national consciousness.

To mark the 30th anniversary, The Quireboys will embark on a special UK tour from December 2020 to February 2021, where they will play the classic album in its entirety. The tour will reach Birmingham on January 29.

The record was re-released this week on vinyl and CD both on limited edition runs. The CD will include bonus live tracks.

Spike says: “A Bit Of What You Fancy is where it all began for The Quireboys. It was an incredible album that launched our career. However, the way we sound and play now doesn’t do it justice. Henceforth, it has been a pleasure updating it to our modern-day Gypsy rock & roll sound. I’m sure everyone will enjoy this new version in all its glory, marking its 30th Anniversary.”

The band have been locked down since March and were hoping to be playing as early as September, though that now looks unlikely.

However, he’s been spending the time wisely by recording a new record with Tyla, from Dogs D’Amour.

“I’ve just been on the phone to Tyla last night about the new album. We were actually on tour when lockdown kicked off. We’d been to America, Australia and back to America. We were due to go onto Canada but it was getting worse and worse with the virus coming. Nobody really knew what was going on. We had about two-and-a-half weeks left of the tour but we decided to get back. We had to go to separate places because of the quarantine. So I came up to Northumberland instead of Wolverhampton. I’ve been doing little gigs online and I did a thing for the NHS with a guitar, which was great, which raised a lot of money.”

In normal times, the Black Country is home. “We usually drink in The Swan, in Bilston. I’ll wait for that to open then nip down for a pint. This is the longest I’ve been off the road in 20 years. We reformed in 2000 and basically haven’t stopped since then. I had a few years off before that but I was still working. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think everybody is concerned. It’s so bizarre. There’s been bands doing drive-ins, where people drive in the car, which might be the way forward.

“You know the thing is, the crowd has always been like the 7th member of our band, that’s the whole part of the show. We’ve always tried that from day one, we used to have a bar on stage and bring the audience up. We just want to play. That is one of the major things, if you’re playing without an audience you miss all the interaction. When The Quireboys play it’s like one big party.

“I don’t think we can do shows without an audience. I don’t see how.” We’ve been doing our bit by asking people to donate otherwise the clubs will go under. In the late 80s there was the clubs and universities. I feel sorry for young bands, because these days there’s nowhere left to play.

“Back in the day, we played five or six years, going down the motorway in a Transit van and sleeping on the amps. We had a residency at the Marquee and supported everybody there. I opened a club in London for a while because there was nowhere to drink after hours, I had the only rock club in London.”

The anniversary of the band’s biggest album is a cause for celebration. “We had success all over Europe and the world. That became our bread and butter and it keeps us going.

“But we’ve done more albums in the past few years than when we were round first time.

“With covid, everybody has just lost a year. I’ve been playing all the time, I was doing a lot of things online every week or two weeks and obviously I’ve started doing the album with Tyla.

“I’m looking forward to being back in the Black Country.

“It reminds me of Newcastle when I was a kid. There was such a great rock scene and it was the same down in the Black Country, there’s still lots of rock clubs. You’re always bumping into Robert Plant or somebody.

“When I moved to Bilston, it was a bit like moving back to Newcastle. We love playing at The Robin but they haven’t opened nail bars yet so they can’t open gig venues.

“The majority of these places have sold out so you can’t social distance. I think a lot of people will be wary about coming to a hot sweaty club.

“I think it’ll be a while before we get back to normal. Rock’n’roll will survive. I said to John at The Swan in Bilston I’d do a gig outside his pub for a few friends if it helps him out.”