No introductions are needed here. SUZI QUATRO is a pioneering icon in the world of music and even at 75 years old, she shows no plan to slow down anytime soon. Before she released her latest album Freedom and embarked upon a tour, Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham caught a chat with her about Freedom, taking care of yourself on tour and her most memorable moments. Here’s what happened.
Hello Suzi, thank you for joining us today. It’s exciting to see the release of your single Freedom which is really cool. I love how it keeps that iconic sound you are known for whilst keeping up to date with today’s audience. I wanted to know if your song writing process has changed over the years or whether it’s stayed the same.
My songwriting process never changes because it just has to be real. So whatever I am feeling is real, I’ve been writing on the last three albums with my son a lot working with him; he plays guitar and produces. On this particular album which is called Freedom as well, we work a little bit differently; he would send me tracks and I would get my bass and lyric book up, headphones on and keep playing until something came out.
With the single Freedom; I was playing away, got to the chorous, sang ‘frrreeedooom’ and I thought ‘there it is’. It was right in front of me. So this whole album is about personal freedom and indeed freedom of the world, such an important word. The song feels and sounds like what the title is.
I definitely feel that when listening to it and like you said, particularly in today’s day and age with what’s going on in the world. You only have to read the title of this song and it’s in your head.
It’s an earworm and when I was sending it to the master mixes, the album was going to be called Choose Yourself; it was the title track for a long time and then as it happens, I was listening to the song Freedom and it kept punching me in the face. That’s what made think that this was the first single and the title of the album. It then all made sense and when you see the cover, it was my vision. Once I decided what the first single was going to be, I saw the whole cover in front of me. Then I put the feelers out and got it done, my friend Julie from Australia got a picture of me from the back on stage, we got Artificial Intelligence to put together how we saw it and then the art people at Chrysalis took it over. It’s Julie’s photo but it was exactly my vision, exactly what I saw; going down that road with a fist in the air.
Absolutely and there’s something freeing about being on motorbike. I’m not a biker myself but I know friends who are. Are you a biker just out of interest?
No, I always rode on bikes but was never a biker myself. When you get famous, you can’t do anything. They won’t insure you; I used to like to ice skate but that was denied me. There were lots of things I used to like to do and they said no; you hurt your hands, you’re done. You have got to be so careful on what you do, I’ve always jogged and gone to the gym. Even the jogging, I took a couple of tumbles five years ago during COVID and that to mean my body saying ‘don’t jog, go on the treadmill’. So I did a little nod to that, if you fall a couple of times, that’s your body telling you something. So I did a little nod to that, if you fall a couple of times, that’s your body telling you something. On stage, I have that exact same energy. I’ve been keeping fit with stage since 1964; it’s no wonder I’m fit from carrying that bass guitar all these years.
Your upcoming album Freedom, if I’m not mistaken this is your third album with your son?
Yes, the first one was No Control released in 2019 then it was 2021’s The Devil In Me. He then produced and played on the one I did with KT Face to Face. This is our third Suzi Quatro album together.
What was the most challenging aspect of recording the record?
I used to work with his dad who was in my band, they both have the same name so Quatro/Tuckey has not changed. The first album, we were getting our feet wet; we hadn’t worked together before so finding out how each other works. Second album, his confidence grew a lot. Third album, he’s in charge which is good. We do have artistic differences of course, there was a couple of times when creating this album. I am really big on lyrics, I don’t sing anything I don’t mean; it comes from my heart, I don’t write fiction. There were a couple of songs I sang the lyrics and he says ‘mom, dumb it down a bit’ [laughs] I am a wordsmith, I have three poetry books that are published. The clever thing was that I was able to dumb down the lyrics and still make them sound just as clever.
So it sounds like these creative differences, like, work really well together.
Yeah, we respect each other. There’s a golden rule; if you’re working with somebody and if let’s say you disagreeing about something. If I am sticking like glue to my point, there’s a good chance that I am right. And if Richard is sticking like glue to a point no matter what I say, then there’s a good chance that he’s correct. You know when somebody digs their heels in, then you have to respect that. Otherwise, you don’t get anywhere. But no, we don’t, we don’t have many differences.
Is there any particular songs off the new album that you’re looking forward to playing live? I mean from my understanding, probably want to play all of them.
I do. But you can’t play all of them. I do a two hour show already. Freedom is obviously going in and the next single will be Little Miss Lovely. So we’re going to do those two on the UK tour coming up. With the new album, you test the songs; sometimes they fit in and sometimes they don’t. I usually have a good feeling about what will fit in the programme.
Is there any particular. Is there any cities or towns you’re particularly most looking forward to playing all of them?
I don’t play favourites. But, saying that the London Palladium has a special meaning for me because this would be the fourth time I’ve played there. In 1999, I was headlining a legends tour. At the end of my show, I was being the diva, because everybody was standing up and going nuts, and I’m doing all my bowing and all that, not realizing that Michael Aspel was walking onto the stage with the red book. [laughs] So there’s me taking my bows and I went ‘Oh’. It was hilarious. I don’t think we got home till about five in the morning. We went straight to the studio from the end of my show to film it.
Have there been any other moments like that, that spontaneous moments that happened on your tours?
Lots of things. There’s lots of highlight gigs. When I turned 50, they brought a big cake out in Berlin. There was 22,000 people there. What a way to turn 50.
Just recently, last summer, I think it was, did the Wacken festival in Germany, and it’s the biggest metal festival, outdoor festival in the world. 85,000 people. I smashed it. I told my husband before how nervous I was, he reassured me that I had done this loads of times to which I replied “I need to hit a home run”. I do a song on piano for every show and my son told me not to do it at a heavy metal show. Guess what? I did it and they loved it. It was actually a nice break for them.
So one of the things I wanted to ask was, what have you learned about staying well whilst touring?
I do have a routine and I stick to it. I take berroco, which is a immune system thing in my drink every morning. I take vitamin Z and zinc again for immune system every day. I take a colon cleanse in a drink which I’ve taken for years and years now. Just keeps everything flowing. I make sure I get my sleep. I’m not a sex, drugs and rock and roll girl whatsoever. I do a vocal warm up before every show. If I’m not on the road, I’m in my front room doing my show in my living room to my live cd. And I don’t mean I’m rehearsing it, I mean I’m doing it and then if I’m not doing that, I’m in the gym.
Do you have any kind of tips for anybody? Because your album’s about, freedom, like being comfortable in your own skin. So if somebody was doubting themselves and just needed that little booster, what would you say to that person?
I have a personal mantra. I actually say it on stage before I do shine a light which just goes down a storm. I say it to anybody and I say it to the audience that you all have a light. No matter who you are, where you are, why you are, what you are, you all have a light, go inside, find it, turn it on, and let nobody turn it off.
Do you have ways of keeping yourself grounded?
Oh, god yeah. I’m very approachable. I am very grounded. I don’t run on ego. I run more on gratefulness that I’ve been allowed to do what I love doing for so long. I have an Ego room in my home on the third floor, and it’s magical, but it’s a room. You go in and you look at everything. Awards, videos, clothes. Nothing but me. You sit there, maybe you’ll watch some things, and then you go out and you shut the door. So that’s how I stay normal. I have an Ego room, I visit it sometimes and I leave it there.
I mentioned to my mum today. I was speaking to you today. She was very excited. She wanted to know if you had a favourite cat suit or jacket.
I have a lot of retired ones in the Ego room. There is one particular one. If, when you get a chance, look at the cover of Rock Hard. There’s a great jumpsuit on that and, and a big red rich guitar and I have that up in my ego room. The whole cover is there. The jumpsuit and the guitar. So I think that’s one of my favourites.
So you’ve been in the music industry for a really, really long time. Excuse me for stating the obvious. What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed within the music industry?
I would guess the Internet, because it’s changed everything. I mean your record shops are closing all over the place all the time. People don’t buy music anymore. They don’t actually buy. They stream or they download or they whatever. Vinyl’s making a comeback big time, but it has changed the industry. Whereas before the artists made their money on record sales. You don’t know because there aren’t any record sales, there are streams. It’s a different thing, but it is what it is. You have to roll with the times, you know? You have to embrace it, you know, I mean, I’m on everything same as everybody else. So I do, I do Tik Tok, I do Facebook, I do Instagram. You have to, you have, you have to. You can’t ignore it. It is the way it is today.
Do you have a message for any fans or anyone reading this interview today?
Buy my album. There’s a message in there for everybody and the most unusual track on there because I’m famous for not doing gender. I don’t do gender. On this album I wrote a song, the girl that doesn’t do gender called a Woman’s Song. So I figured from the non gender point of view, I’m going do a woman song [laughs] and there’s a real mind twist for you.
Freedom is out not. Find SUZI QUATRO here.
