Neil Carter of UFO, Wild Horses and Gary Moore
Neil Andrew Carter (born 11 May 1958) is an English musician who has worked in diverse genres throughout his career. Classically trained, he became a professional rock musician at the age of 17 and initially had his first "mainstream" experience with singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. He subsequently played guitar and keyboard for the hard rock band UFO, Gary Moore, and Wild Horses featuring Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy and Jimmy Bain of Rainbow.
Todd Houston: Tell us about your first big break Wild Horses and how you landed the gig. (With Jimmy Bain (Rainbow), Clive Edwards and Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy).
Neil Carter: After Gilbert O' Sullivan in 1978 I was very eager to join a band that had some chance of success. Working with Gilbert had given me a taste for playing bigger venues than my other band Wilder (who backed G O´S) had done and I went for a number of auditions. I saw a gossip column snippet in Sounds magazine that said Brian, Jimmy and Kenny Jones were forming a band and they wanted a young fresh guitarist to complete the line-up. Me, me, me (I was just 20 and hungry for it)! I contacted their office and went for an audition which went really well and after a few weeks of painful waiting they rang to tell me I was in. At the time both Lizzy and Rainbow were big and I could see this band had possibilities. When I started rehearsing with them the band didn’t even have a name and it was quite embryonic at that stage however, it was the sort of music I enjoyed playing, I’d always liked the harmony guitar thing, and it also got me known. I am eternally grateful to Brian and Jimmy for giving me the opportunity and although it wasn't always easy and towards end I was looking to move on, everything that came after was made possible by them.
You then got a call from UFO's management asking if you would be interested in replacing Paul Raymond in 1980. What were your initial thoughts on joining?
Yes, I was getting a little disillusioned with the Horses as it was often chaotic (a bit like UFO became later) so when I got a call from Phil Mogg I leapt at the chance. It was a massive step up for me and I was, instrument wise, exactly what they needed after they parted company with Paul Raymond. There was a very tight deadline as they were headlining the Reading Festival in a few weeks so it was fortunate that I am a quick learner and I could do everything that Paul did. That said, my strengths lay more with the guitar and vocals then so I had a bit of work to do keyboard wise. My leaving Wild Horses was a little uncomfortable, these things are never easy, but over the years I kept in contact with Jimmy and Brian and it was all fine between us.
From what I understand, UFO's The Wild, Willing and Innocent album was mostly completed before you came onboard. I think I remember reading that you contributed Sax, vocals and some keyboard. Were you at all a fan of the band before you joined?
Yes the album was at the backing vocals and tidying up stage so, although I was there as a band member, my physical input was relatively small. To be honest I had only seen UFO once, when Michael was in the band, and I think I had the live album but I wasn´t a fan as such. However, I loved their sound and the songs and it seemed a really good ´fit´ for me. We also got along really well. Even years later I got a real kick out of playing the classic stuff, for me it’s still very fresh.
Did anyone take you under their wing when you first joined and maybe said "Neil, this is the way we do it here."
The funny thing about UFO was, and still is years later, their approach to the work is very laid back so I could form my own way of doing things and nobody said ´no, it´s like this´! I think you also tend to adapt to the situation you find yourself in. Paul Chapman was very welcoming I must say, and we spent ten days together going over the songs before my first gigs which was a great help. We then had scant rehearsal with the others and off we went. They weren’t massive fans of over rehearsing and that in turn made for greater spontaneity.
You were a big contributor to the songwriting of the next two UFO albums, Mechanix and Making Contact. Some would argue that these albums showed a more radio friendly song writing approach. What were your favorites off of those albums?
It was inevitable that someone new would be a catalyst for doing a few different things and I had lots of ideas to unleash on the world. I know many UFO fans consider only the Schenker years matter which I can appreciate, and I agree that the classics are firmly from that time, but when people leave or the line-up changes you have to look forward not back. Some folk really love the Chapman era albums and, yes, there was a bit of pressure to come up with radio friendly material for the US in particular. A lot was driven by radio back then, with some very produced and catchy songs, which is why the likes of Def Leppard did so well and probably why Gary Moore didn´t quite hit the mark radio wise in the 80’s. We did get radio play in the US but not nationwide so there were areas we didn´t quite crack open and others we did really well. My favourites are probably ´The Writer´, ´We Belong to the Night´, ´Blinded by a Lie´ and ´Diesel in the Dust´ from that era.
During the Mechanix Tour UFO did some shows with Rockford Il. natives Cheap Trick. In a previous conversation with Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, he said "Too many sunrises were seen on that tour with UFO. We tried to out drink each other almost every night" Thoughts?
I agree it was pretty wild! There was one memorable bus journey when Robin, Rick and Bun E Carlos came on our bus going back to Rockford. Chaos ensued with Pete and Rick as the ringmasters, and it was quite a journey!
Pete Way ends up leaving after the Mechanix album in 1983. Bass guitar player Billy Sheehan comes in for some shows but says he's had enough after witnessing someone in the band backstage taking a swing at his girl. Was the writing on the wall by this point in time?
Without doubt, poor Billy he was with us at a very bad time, everything was suffering. I look back at 1983 and all I can think is ´well at least we all survived the tour´ as it was going south rapidly. The debacle in Greece is well documented and the final UK tour was sometimes painful but it was all just a bump in the road looking back.
After leaving UFO you hooked up with Gary Moore. What do you remember, if anything, about playing East Troy Wisconsin's Alpine Valley Music Theater in June of 1983 with Krokus and Def Leppard? Rumor has it an attendance record was set that day for just over 32,000 people.
Actually I do recall the Gary gig but my memory of playing there with UFO and Rainbow is far clearer. I can see us on stage and remember standing by Don Airey watching Rainbow play. Amazing that attendance figure, Def Leppard were really on a roll in 1983. I had met them five years earlier in Sheffield when they were the ´humpers´ at this tiny little gig called the Limit Club. Joe Elliot and I had a shared love of Bowie and Mick Ronson. A lot happened in those five years!!
Fast forward to April 2019. Paul Raymond suffers a fatal heart attack just after completing the UK part of the tour. Tell us what you remember about getting the call again from the UFO camp to rejoin and finish the Tour with them.
I went to see them play in London as I was working in the UK and as I knew it was their final tour I was fascinated to hear them one last time. It was such a great experience and the warmth of the crowd was amazing, I just sat there with a daft grin on my face throughout the show. I had to leave early so didn’t get to see them in person which was a shame. Now bear in mind I had emphatically said ´goodbye´ to that part of my life after my brief stint with Gary in 2010 so I had no thoughts of returning to it whatsoever. Back home, I was sitting in my car and up flashed the news about Paul which was truly shocking and I wasn’t sure they would carry on without him. A couple of weeks later Phil called me and asked if I would consider finishing the tour with them. I didn´t even own a guitar, but I thought it would be a fun thing to do (if I could actually do it). So I bought a guitar, practised hard and realised muscle memory is a real thing, then headed off to Germany to rehearse. Had I not seen them live I probably wouldn’t have agreed but it was serendipity.
What was it like being in a room with Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker again after such a long time and what was the first song you played together after rejoining?
It was a complete joy and the old shared sense of humour was still there. It felt very natural and I think we started with either ´We Belong ´or ¨THTH´, without Vinnie as he was coming from the US a day later. We had four days rehearsal planned but in reality we only needed one or two and we were good to go. I think they were relieved as it could have been much harder
given the circumstances. I so enjoyed playing with the band I can´t put it into words. Coming at a time when I was sort of ´winding down´ it put a new fire in me which then made the pandemic such a bitter blow. There was a lot more planned which had to be shelved but I am so glad I did it and very grateful I had the chance, albeit unexpectedly.
Favorite beer, wine and or Pub food?
Well I am more of a rosé wine man but I love Mexican food so I would gravitate towards that all the time. I live in the Canary Islands and we don't have many pubs, at least where I am, so usually its a local Spanish bar if we do go out.
Randy Rhoads .
Wow what a super talented guy he was, and who knows where his career would have gone. Those first two Ozzy albums are excellent and his work shines through. I used to chat with him on and off and was impressed by his work ethic and professionalism. It was truly awful what happened and I can remember how we all felt when we heard the news.
White Gibson hollow body guitars or strange looking Washburn guitars? Pick one.
Most definitely the Washburn. They were fun to play (and free)! That white Gibson was an idea Phil Mogg had as he thought it would look cool on me. It was a nightmare to play, badly set up and stuffed full of tampons to stop it feeding back. We played at a very high volume back then. I now have a classy Duesenberg, with Mogg approval, which is semi hollow and sounds excellent with no feedback (and the stage volume is much lower).
Favorite breed of cat?
I bred Persian cats for years so I would have to say that breed, however in my judging career I really got to love British Shorthairs and Siamese. If I had a cat now it would be a British.
Favorite movie of all time?
So difficult. I am a great lover of black and white classics so maybe 'All About Eve' with Bette Davis. I also love the films of Pedro Almodovar and he has produced some classics. Actually no, ‘Blazing Saddles’!
What's next for Neil Carter?
Well, during the pandemic we started working on Phil´s solo project, Phil, myself, Tony Newton, Joe Lazarus and Tommy Gentry, and it is finally coming out this September. We are all really excited about it and have done a couple of videos to help promote it. There could be some live shows but who knows. It sad for me that UFO may not play live again but doing this has been very satisfying. What I did in the years between 1989 and 2019, both teaching and focusing on mainly classical and jazz music, has meant there are more layers which I could explore and have fun with. It´s a very grown-up album it but rocks hard! Other than that, maybe, just maybe, I may get my own album done. I do have a lot of unused material so it’s a possibility but working in a band situation is more my thing. www.neilcarter.org