We recently had the pleasure of interviewing legendary drummer Clem Burke ahead of his huge Cavern Club gig with The Tearaways on Thursday 30th November. Widely regarded as one of the best drummers of all time, his eye-watering career has seen his achieve success of the highest order with Blondie, whilst also performing with The Ramones, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Iggy Pop to name a few.
A true force of nature, Clem effortlessly embarks upon multiple projects and side projects — from receiving honorary doctorates for his research on the physical and mental-health benefits of drumming to performing in multiple bands at the same time. We talked to him about The Tearaways, returning to Liverpool and his illustrious career….
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LVL: First of all, how are you and what have you been up to?
CLEM: I’ve just arrived in Liverpool after doing a gig in Bristol with The Tearaways, seeing my friend Fred Armisen perform in Brighton as part of his UK tour and then London. I travelled with my mates Andy and Debbie Harris who have a band called Bootleg Blondie and we’re in the middle of creating a big rock opera with 40 songs called The Big Smoke.
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LVL: So, you’re playing at the iconic Cavern Club with The Tearaways this Thursday. What can we expect on the night?
CLEM: We’ll be showcasing our latest album called For Our Next Trick that we produced with our friend Ed Stasium in LA. He’s worked with everyone from The Ramones to Talking Heads. If you’ve not heard us, we’re influenced by music of the 60s — The Beatles, The Stones, The Hollies, The Beach Boys.
LVL: When was the last time you played here in Liverpool? Have you played The Cavern Club before?
CLEM: The last time I was here was at The Cavern Club with a group called Lust For Life that’s a homage to the the music of Iggy Pop with Katie Puckrik as the frontwoman. Myself, Kevin Armstrong and Glen Matlock from the band have all worked with Iggy. We’re playing again at The Cavern Club next year actually. And then of course I did the M&S Bank Arena with Blondie a couple of years ago.
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LVL: How have you found the city during your times here? Any stories from your visits here?
CLEM: It’s a great city. In fact, it’s thanks to Liverpool that I ended up joining The Tearaways. They were performing at Liverpool Beatle Week and needed a drummer so asked me to join them for the gigs — we played at The Cavern Club and The Adelphi. We’re all huge Beatles fans and it’s great to be back here with them.
LVL: How much of an influence has The Beatles been for you, particularly Ringo as a drummer?
CLEM: Seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show in the U.S as a kid was incredible — after that television performance the world changed for them and many people. I was about 10 years old and my world changed too. The Beatles made us Americans remember the great rock and roll from the 50s such as Little Richard and so many American musicians were inspired by The Beatles. Similar to what The Stones did, bringing back the likes of Muddy Waters.
As for Ringo, he is one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time and again he is an example of taking the sounds of classic session musicians such as Hal Blaine and making it his own. In turn, he has inspired the likes of Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Dave Grohl. The list goes on and on — Ringo is just the greatest.
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LVL: Looking back on your career are there any favourite gigs, memories and moments?
CLEM: There are so many such as playing at The Reichstag outside The Berlin Wall. The opening acts were Tina Turner and Joe Cocker. It was a massive concert and then the wall came down afterwards. The Cavern Club is always so special of course. Working with people such as Bob Dylan and Pete Townshend. Too many to mention.
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LVL: What other projects do you have going on at the moment other than Blondie and The Tearaways and what are your plans for 2024?
CLEM: I have several projects. I have a book of memoires coming out, I know that’s a little cliche as everyone seems to have a book. It’s being published by Collins in the UK and it’s coming out this time next year. There’s the Rock Opera called The Big Smoke I mentioned with Bootleg Blondie. There’s be more Lust For Life gigs next year. Blondie will also be back in the UK next year in June and when our album is released.
I’ve also been heavily involved in The Clem Burke Drumming Project which is the study of the mental and physical aspects of drumming and what it takes. I’ve been honoured to received two doctorates, one from Gloucestershire University and one from Chichester University. There are many people involved now and the project goes into schools to work with kids with autism.
The Tearaways / The Cavern Club, Liverpool, Thurs 30th Nov, 7.30pm
FOR TICKETS TO THE TEARAWAYS CAVERN CLUB GIG CLICK HERE
