Rock Sound Interview: Gavin Rossdale
Ex-Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale is due for a return on June 9 with his debut solo album ‘WANDERlust’ through Interscope. Rock Sound talks paparazzi, Bush, Gwen Stefani and more…
Why do you sound so agitated on the album when you probably don’t have too much to be agitated about?
“I’m only really interested in conflict and real life. Everyone’s life is complicated I think, and while songs like ‘Frontline’ – which is about the war – is very far from my reality, it still affects me and I still think about it.”
How do you feel about the bad press Bush used to get in the UK?
“It wasn’t all bad, but you couldn’t take it seriously because it was so extreme. You can’t really sell 1.5 million records and be the critics favourite. I think people who were afraid to not be a part of the gang who criticised me wrote a lot of it. When you see the same thing written again and again it just seems weak because it’s clearly not an original thought. There were a lot more people who liked me than critics who didn’t and I’d rather have that than have Everett True think I was the dog’s bollocks.”
How did you deal with it at the time?
“Some of the criticism made me more combative. I went through a phase of phoning people up and having a go at them, but I never wanted to be one of those people that gets a bit of success and then gets upset because the critics hate me. It’s like, ‘Shut up, you’ve got a great life, just deal with it.’”
How do you deal with life in the public eye and being known mainly for being Gwen Stefani’s husband?
“It can get frustrating being hounded by that culture and not being seen to work, but the solo album is already creating a buzz so hopefully that’ll change. People have started writing to me saying it’s good to hear me making music again and I’m like, ‘I never stopped!’”
How does it affect you personally?
“It’s hard to do normal things with your kid when there are seven photographers at your door. My mum likes some of those pictures though! She always says things like, ‘Well it’s nice to see you looking so well!’”
Have you ever lost your cool with any of those paparazzi types?
“You can’t do anything about it, so it would be an empty fight. ‘Pissing into the wind’ is the phrase I think! You just have to accept that if you have a privileged life no-one wants to hear you complain. Plus, Gwen doesn’t like it if I get a bit aggressive or say something, even if I’m defending her. Now that I have a son there’s another incentive to keep calm.”
Do you and Gwen ever give each other musical advice?
“Inevitably, we hear every song we do from the demo stage to the end. I just try and be supportive and say nice things or nothing at all as you do with anyone you care about. The thing with Gwen is that she doesn’t really like rock music. I’ll put on something like Fugazi and I’ll be swimming in a sea of ecstasy, but she’ll say something like, ‘Oh my God, put the reggae back on.’ Our paths meet somewhere in Jamaica but that’s about it.”
Rock Sound
Why do you sound so agitated on the album when you probably don’t have too much to be agitated about?
“I’m only really interested in conflict and real life. Everyone’s life is complicated I think, and while songs like ‘Frontline’ – which is about the war – is very far from my reality, it still affects me and I still think about it.”
How do you feel about the bad press Bush used to get in the UK?
“It wasn’t all bad, but you couldn’t take it seriously because it was so extreme. You can’t really sell 1.5 million records and be the critics favourite. I think people who were afraid to not be a part of the gang who criticised me wrote a lot of it. When you see the same thing written again and again it just seems weak because it’s clearly not an original thought. There were a lot more people who liked me than critics who didn’t and I’d rather have that than have Everett True think I was the dog’s bollocks.”
How did you deal with it at the time?
“Some of the criticism made me more combative. I went through a phase of phoning people up and having a go at them, but I never wanted to be one of those people that gets a bit of success and then gets upset because the critics hate me. It’s like, ‘Shut up, you’ve got a great life, just deal with it.’”
How do you deal with life in the public eye and being known mainly for being Gwen Stefani’s husband?
“It can get frustrating being hounded by that culture and not being seen to work, but the solo album is already creating a buzz so hopefully that’ll change. People have started writing to me saying it’s good to hear me making music again and I’m like, ‘I never stopped!’”
How does it affect you personally?
“It’s hard to do normal things with your kid when there are seven photographers at your door. My mum likes some of those pictures though! She always says things like, ‘Well it’s nice to see you looking so well!’”
Have you ever lost your cool with any of those paparazzi types?
“You can’t do anything about it, so it would be an empty fight. ‘Pissing into the wind’ is the phrase I think! You just have to accept that if you have a privileged life no-one wants to hear you complain. Plus, Gwen doesn’t like it if I get a bit aggressive or say something, even if I’m defending her. Now that I have a son there’s another incentive to keep calm.”
Do you and Gwen ever give each other musical advice?
“Inevitably, we hear every song we do from the demo stage to the end. I just try and be supportive and say nice things or nothing at all as you do with anyone you care about. The thing with Gwen is that she doesn’t really like rock music. I’ll put on something like Fugazi and I’ll be swimming in a sea of ecstasy, but she’ll say something like, ‘Oh my God, put the reggae back on.’ Our paths meet somewhere in Jamaica but that’s about it.”
Rock Sound
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