April 2015

MARK KNOPFLER - In the ideal condition

We're meeting Mark Knopfler in London. More precisely, in the district of Chiswick, in the southwest of the English metropolis. This is where the British Grove Studios are located. Owner: Mark Knopfler. Here he also recorded his latest solo work "Tracker". The 65-year-old Briton, who was not always a grateful interview partner in the past, talks about these in detail and with growing enthusiasm. And he is so relaxed that he also answers questions about the complex of topics Dire Straits, which has been closed for him for a quarter of a century, in a friendly and patient manner.

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30 Years GUNS N' ROSES - Size and Madness

If you approach this band from the supposedly safe distance of a quarter of a century - so long ago lie the great successes of Guns N' Roses - you feel as if you were discovering the gigantic carcass of a whale on the beach: although you know that the mighty mammal is dead as a mouse, you exercise the utmost caution out of sheer fear that the monster might still move and kill you with one of its mighty tail fins. Guns N' Roses were, to stay in the picture, the blue whale among the rock bands. And they were unpredictable. If not completely crazy.

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VAN MORRISON - Revised

When Van Morrison asks fellow musicians to join him in the studio, it is usually a matter of course for them to follow this call. The great Northern Irish bluesman's coat itched again. He has been searching through his song catalogue and re-recording 16 of his old numbers - together with renowned artists such as Mark Knopfler, Taj Mahal and Steve Winwood. We met Van Morrison on the sidelines of an appearance in Glasgow to talk to him about his recent collaborations.

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RITCHIE BLACKMORE - 70 years old - and a little quietly

When Richard Hugh Blackmore was born on 14 April 1945 in Weston-super-Mare in the English county of Somerset, he did not even allow himself to be sworn into a bourgeois life. At the age of eleven - the family now lives in Heston near London - he is given his first guitar and wants to become a musician. He takes lessons from studio guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. His career as a musician began in 1963. The most important experience: the show lessons of Screaming Lord Sutch. He heard Ian Paice for the first time during a stay at a star club.

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GROBSCHNITT - Sometimes the universe releases something again

A small inconspicuous town near Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area. On the way to the studio of remaster expert Eroc, editor Marcus Wicker and author Walter Sehrer as well as photographer Lutz Diehl meet Gerd Kühn-Scholz alias Lupo, original guitarist of Grobschnitt. The Schalke fan carries a laptop in his blue and white sports bag. He is an event manager today and still slender as a crop. He has prepared well for his first interview in a quarter of a century. In the studio a good-humoured Eroc awaits us and serves us coffee and cake.

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VON HERTZEN BROTHERS - Family Affairs

In their native Finland, the Von Hertzen Brothers have long been veritable superstars. Two of the last five albums by Kie, Mikko and Jonne Von Hertzen reached the top of the charts there, and also their current album "New Day Rising" was in the first week of the show as a matter of course on the top of the charts. When will the three brothers finally succeed in their long earned breakthrough?

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THE BOOMTOWN RATS - Punk Forever!

Never say never, did the Boomtown Rats say to each other two years ago and unexpectedly looked for the spotlight of the big stage again - after a break of almost three decades. Created during the punk-dominated upheaval of rock music, Rats singer Bob Geldof still stands for the attitude of the beery iconoclasts - and immediately follows suit against progressive rock.

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STEVE HILLAGE - Farewell to big brother and teacher DAEVID ALLEN

STEVE HILLAGE reminds exclusively in eclipsed of his friend and band mate DAEVID ALLEN, who died in March...

eclipsed: What was your first impression of Daevid when you met him?

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BJÖRK - The self-healer

Those entering the Museum of Modern Art in New York these days will find themselves in a picture and sound installation in which Björk can be heard and seen from headphones and on canvases, on monitors and in picture frames. 50 in November, more than half of this time she shaped the pop world with a fascinatingly headstrong style, in which futuristic and archaic elements merged with each other in a natural way: organic-looking electronica, burst beats, mercurial melodies and a voice that became the flagship of pop "made in Iceland".

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SEASICK STEVE - Rebel in dungarees

73-year-old Californian Steven Gene Wold lives on a farm in Norway, builds guitars from scrap metal, plays dirty blues, records in the kitchen at home and still sells millions of albums. A slap in the face for the music industry - just like his latest work "Sonic Soul Surfer". Because despite success and celebrity friends: The former hobo remains true to his principles.

eclipsed: You have had a real dream career, but continue to be down-to-earth and unadjusted. Is that marketing strategy or are you really such a lateral thinker and nostalgic?

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