That Ten Years After would surprise us again with a studio album could not necessarily be assumed. The troupe was already stamped as their own tribute band on a perpetual greatest-hits tour. "Evolution", the weak predecessor, has nine years on its back. However, since guitarist and singer Marcus Bonfanti and bass legend Colin Hodgkinson joined the band in 2014, the mood in the band has changed so much that the Ten Years After veterans Ric Lee and Chick Churchill could no longer say no to a studio stay.
eclipsed: In our last interview with band co-founder Leo Lyons, he explained that he had left TYA with guitarist and singer Joe Gooch in 2014 because he finally wanted to record new songs instead of playing the same old slats live over and over again. And now with "A Sting In The Tale" there is a new album.
Ric Lee: It's true again within the band. That's why a studio album makes sense now. The last years with Joe and Leo weren't always fun. Nobody drove them out of the band, but it was clear that if you play at TYA, the TYA dates have to have priority. And as far as I know, they still play many old TYA classics with Hundred Seventy Split.
eclipsed: Was the weaker album "Evolution" also a reason why you didn't go back to the studio so quickly?
Lee: Yes, even if I think the predecessor "Now" is a bit better, I have to admit that these songs can't compete with the songs from the sixties and seventies.
