Laurie Mansworth has been part of the British scene since the late 70s. He joined NWOBHM band MORE, writing and playing on their 1981 debut album, before forming AIRRACE, and later moving in to production work, notably THE TREATMENT (which includes his son Dhani). More recently he’s formed MANSWORTH. In this exchange Laurie answers my questions about the bands and recordings he’s been apart of over the past (near) 45 years. *Check out the clips included, as well as the links below!
Can you give me a few of your own favorite guitarists, bands and albums from your youth, that lead you into performing and recording?
Well definitely AC/DC, I loved music from a very early age, especially all the glam bands like Slade, T-Rex and The Sweet. I am also a massive fan of Jeff Lynne and ELO, but I would say AC/DC are the main reason I wanted to be in a band.
Do you recall how MORE came together? I had read initially it was more of a blues band. Did you know any of these guys prior to?
I joined MORE when their guitarist Paul Todd left. It was before we signed to Atlantic and the band were just a straight forward heavy rock band by then. I auditioned at Ezzee Hire in Marker Road in north London. I never knew any of the other guys but I immediately clicked with Paul, Brian and Frank. It was the loudest band I ever played in and I’m lucky I still have great hearing.
How did the band end up getting signed to Atlantic, and then get put together with Al Nalli & Henry Weck? Were you familiar with either from the Blackfoot and Brownsville Station connection?
Phil Carson label boss at Atlantic heard the band on the Tommy Vance Rock Show. He came down to a gig and we signed a massive deal with Atlantic soon after. The label put us together with Al Nali and Henry Weck. I wasn’t familiar with Blackfoot at the time but me and Al still remain in touch. Ricky Medlock and Al stayed at my parents place in London when they were playing a festival in the UK in the 80s so we all got to know each other well. Al’s sister Rene Nali signed Airrace to Atco in the US, I also stayed with Ricky when I visited Al on a couple of occasions.
Songs were credited to the entire band then. Were they band really band collaborations? Any that originated from you?
I wrote a lot of the MORE stuff with Paul but I was only seventeen at the time and green behind the ears. Let’s just say I was relieved of my song writing royalties by a few of my other associates.
Who’s idea to cover Arthur Brown’s “Fire” ?
That was the label’s idea. Some bands were getting initial successes with cover songs so that’s what we did. I was a fan of the original version but not completely sold on ours.
What were some of the biggest gigs and support slots did you guys play?
We did the Killers Tour with Iron Maiden throughout Europe, that was big. There were so many supports Krokus, Ted Nugent, but the biggest was opening for Foreigner at the Nuremberg ring. The audience was huge as far as the eye could see. Soon after we were healing decent size venues like the Rainbow in Finsbury Park on our headline shows. It was an exciting time.
You left the band, presumably from Kenny Cox wanting to do it without you(?) Did you have any further contact or connection with any of the guys?
Kenny was a not a pleasant man to be in a band with, I loved playing in MORE with the other guys but it was a dictatorship, as I was writing most of the material I wasn’t too sad to leave and do my own thing. Paul left soon after for the same reason. I have always kept in touch with Brian and Paul. Sadly as you know Paul passed away recently and I was so glad we got a chat about old times a week before he left us.
What was Peter Grant’s involvement early on with Airrace?
Yes, Peter managed Airrace for a short period we moved on.
Beau Hill, at that point, had produced the first RATT album. How did you guys get put together with him, and how did you like working with him?
Again it was the label. Beau had made a couple of hit records and they thought he would do a good job.
Shaft Of Light has a very 80s production, with the keyboards, the drum sound….were you happy with the overall finished album?
Not really, . I always felt that the Airrace album wasn’t as good as the demos we did with Tony Platt. Beau Americanised the band and I personally feel we should have stayed more guitar based like foreigner. The AOR fans still see it as a classic so I’m not complaining. Personally I would have rather made a much tougher sounding record.
What sort of opportunities did Airrace get early on – any opening slots or big shows?
Yes, we supported AC/DC on the flick of the switch tour and also Queen on The Works tour. We had some great shows, It doesn’t get much better than opening for Queen.
Was there any official videos made at the time (being the MTV era)?
No videos unfortunately, Atco really dropped the ball with Airrace. There were a lot of internal problems at the label during the time we were signed to them. It’s a shame as the band should have done a lot more.
Back To The Start sounds great! Much livelier than Shaft of Light, a very good album, but it seemed to get a very limited release (CD only through Frontiers). Might there be a chance of reissuing this one?
I’m sure it will be rereleased at some point. It was a good album, much more like the Airrace live sound. The drummer Simon Dawson who played on that album is now in Maiden so it may well have get another release in the near future.
Were you happy with Back To The Start? Why did it not lead to a 3rd album sooner?
Overall yes. I only had a small budget to make the album and I always feel I we could have done better. I think it went down well with the fans of the band and that’s the most thing. Frontiers have been a great support in my career and I still work with them with the Treatment.
On the 3rd album, you changed the entire band, really, including singers. Why was that?
Many of the old lineup had moved on to other things so I had no choice. I must say Untold Stories had the most chart success across the globe that any of the others. It made even made the to 40 in Japan which was a nice surprise. I was very happy with who that album went down.
You put Airrace to rest after that, and formed ‘Mansworth’. What’s been going on with this project? Will there be a record anytime soon?
We have recorded a Mansworth album that I love. Not sure when it will be released I’m still looking at the options. I’m taking sometime out at the moment. I suffer with fibromyalgia and it’s something I’m trying to get to grips with.
You are also involved in production, especially with The Treatment. Are you more comfortable these days as a producer than as a performer?
I would say yes. I like performing but my main role for the last 16year has been working with the Treatment. It been great touring with my son and the Grey brothers are like family, we have had some amazing times with that band.
What projects are you working on these days?
I’m taking it easy at the moment but I’m sure I won’t stay quite for too long 🙂
*photos courtesy of Laurie Mansworth.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082819030219
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