Laughing and joking throughout our interview, it is no wonder that Paul Carrack has an avid following of fans, many of who will be able to catch up with him in the south this week.
Although his music career has spanned four decades, and has included tremendous highlights playing in a number of hit bands – Ace, Squeeze and Mike and The Mechanics – as well as numerous successful solo albums, he remains adamant that a solo career is his current concentration.
And when he plays at The Brook in Southampton on Friday (November 23) he is keen to showcase songs from his latest album Good Feeling for his die-hard fans and to reflect across his career back to the 1970s and re-live his soul influenced pieces.
Paul Carrack
“The album prior to this latest one was a complete diversion to this one,” he says. “I made an album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra called A Different Hat in 2010.
“It had classic ballads and was a wonderful experience, but now I’m back to my bread and butter, my normal mould, which is a kind of more rootsy soul-influenced pop. Having had the diversion and coming back to this now, it has – I believe – a freshness about it and I’m very pleased with it.
“We’re coming to The Brook in Southampton which is a different kettle of fish altogether and that will be more of a stand up rock and roll event and probably a lot more fun than doing it in sit-down theatres.
“It’s not that it’s better, it’s different and we enjoy a bit of variety; so we will probably change our normal concert set and we’ll probably keep it a bit more up-tempo and more groovy. It is a more relaxed situation. People have a couple of pints and get into it.”
The show will cover songs from the album – a mix of originals and covers. Paul co-writes with his old Squeeze pal Chris Difford and another talented British songwriter Charlie Dore, and shows his great versatility by interpreting both Nick Lowe and Bruce Springsteen.
He takes a similar relaxed approach to constructing his songs – and just has a “mess about” – writing and recording about a dozen songs a year, usually for a new album, at his home studio near to Watford in Hertfordshire.
“I’m not one of these guys that gets up out of bed and writes a song,” Paul says.
“Generally speaking with my own compositions it usually begins with a musical idea, I go in my studio and start messing around. Something comes off the top of my head, I start singing, and then I’ll try and make some sense out of it.
“Unfortunately I don’t do the sensible thing, which is to think I’ll write a song about such a thing. I very rarely do that. I just kind of go in and improvise and something subconsciously comes out and I start to try and make sense of it.
“For instance, the title track is called Good Feelin’ and it’s an upbeat song. At the back of my mind I was thinking sometimes about how simple work was in my life then.
“A little line would come to me in those situations like walking the dog, sweeping the yard and I’d think of another little line. I’d think ‘oh that would be a good one’. As long as I write it down I’m ok, otherwise I tend to forget.
“It isn’t innovative. We’re not reinventing the wheel whatsoever. My agenda is that I try to enjoy myself now. I’m trying to crack on with simple music that I enjoy playing and that people enjoy listening to.
“I think I’m much more expecting of myself. As you get older, you can’t win them all and you can’t please everybody. But if you try to please yourself and be true and honest with yourself then that seems to be when the best stuff comes out.”
Paul is constantly touring and gigging under his independent record label Carrack UK, where he self-promotes, plays most of the instruments and has had the same crew for more than a decade – who he says helps him to thrive in the creation process. But he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
“I wouldn’t say I was a control freak,” he says. “I’ve had a long varied career. And a lot of the things I have collaborated on haven’t been about me. They’ve been about contributing to other people’s projects, not least because I needed to keep a roof over my family’s head.
“And so in between those projects I have made solo albums but I’ve never really committed in such a way until now. And now I feel able and confident enough to endorse myself and to give myself that time.
“I’m fortunately in a position where I have a little bit of history and people know me, so now I can work on a realistic footing that enables me to do what I like doing, which is to make music and to get out there and play it.”
Having collaborated in the past with top artists including B B King and Elton John, Paul is set to add another legendary name to that list. He will join Eric Clapton to play organ and sing with his band in March next year.
“I really want to carry on focusing on myself and enjoying my own music,” he says – with a brief pause.
“But I have to contradict myself and make an exception because Eric Clapton is such a great artist and it’s an honour to go on the tour with him.
“I’ve been very lucky and I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of what I’ve done. I’ve done a lot of different things and I’m very thankful to have had those opportunities.”
The Sheffield-born singer who married a London girl and has lived in or around London for the past 40 years is a self-confessed “southern softy”. But with the band from his home city and his family still there that connection remains (as well as his loyalty to Sheffield Wednesday).
Despite living in the capital’s suburbs, Paul laughs: “I haven’t got a street attitude I’m afraid. My music is all about trying to spread good vibes.
“I know there’s awful things going on out there and it’s tough and I’m in a fortunate position, but my music’s never really been about anger or politics or anything like that. It’s been more about harmony and trying to spread good vibes.
“When I started out I was clueless. I taught myself to play, I taught myself to sing and I’ve survived all these years. I’m still doing it and still enjoying it so how can I have any regrets. I’m very, very lucky and glad to be doing what I’m doing.”
See Paul Carrack at The Brook. For details visit www.the-brook.com.