Since he burst onto the British music scene in 1977, singer/songwriter JOHN OTWAY has truly been a complete ORIGINAL.
Known for his exciting, spontaneous and emotional performances, his songs are EQUALLY as exciting as his performances!
John graciously sat for a chat with us while enjoying a MUCH deserved vacation in sunny Greece!

John Otway

Shirley: John, without a doubt you are one of the busiest artists I've ever seen; you seem to be on TOUR for much of the year!  Are there any places you haven't been to yet that you'd like to in the near future?

John Otway: Most of the rest of the world apart from the UK-I did try and do the rest of the world last year-but that didn't work out too well.

SP: What was your initial reaction when you found out that you'd been voted "Lyricist of the Millennium"? Speaking for myself I enjoy YOUR lyrics a lot more than I do those of Dylan. Yours are a lot more FUN!

JO: I knew a few of the fans had been voting for "Beware of the Flowers" as the fans had chosen what to vote for on the fans' web group. The first I knew about getting voted No. 7 was when I got an e-mail from a fan who had been to the recording of the program. It seemed to be a battle between the Otway fans and Robbie Williams fans. My first reaction was to wonder if there would be some kind of press backlash-as it turned out the press (apart from Q Magazine) were very kind.

SP: Your "physicality" during your performances literally takes my breath away! Have you ever been SERIOUSLY hurt during a performance?

JO: No hospitalisation-a number of bruises though.

SP: I simply LOVED your brilliant plans for the Otway World Tour: gather a large group of devoted fans together and fly with them on a seemingly NONSTOP world tour, while documenting the whole event on film! Exactly what was it that prevented this from happening?

JO: Possibly it was a bit too ambitious-it was a 1.1 million pound project and I hadn't a bean-we managed to keep the project afloat up until four weeks before we were due to go-what killed it in the end was Air Tahiti finding an 80k bill they had forgotten.

SP: I've heard different stories on how you came to write the lyrics to "Bunsen Burner". How did that song come about?

JO: The story about my daughters chemistry homework is largely true-I did start work on it for that reason-I finished it off lyrically when we were looking for material for the hit.

SP: I LOVE the sheer JOY in your "Top of the Tops" live performance of "Bunsen Burner"! How did it feel returning to the show after all those years since the last hit ("Really Free")? Had the show changed significantly since you were there last?

JO: When I was trying to get the second hit, the thing that mattered most to me was not the chart position but being back on Top Of The Pops-I just felt that being on that program summed up what a Hit was more than anything else. What was strange was that when I did it in 1977, everyone mimed and we did it LIVE and in 2002 everyone was doing it live and we were MIMING. Loved it and in the end we got both a great chart position and TOTP.

SP: You and "Wild Willy" Barrett were surely one of THE most inspired pairings ever to grace the stage! How did you two meet?

JO: It was inevitable-we both came from Aylesbury and unfortunately for Willy not a great pool of musicians to pick from.

SP: I LOVE the two promo video compilations of yours that are currently seen on "YouTube"! Is that sweet little white-haired lady seen there discussing your singing abilities really your MUM?  She is adorable! What year was that filmed?

JO: ATV made a documentary about me in 1978 called "Stardustman" because I used to be a dustman in Aylesbury-they filmed my parents as part of that program.

SP: As an ardent AMERICAN fan of yours, I really wish you were better known here in the States! At this time it seems that you are only well known in the EASTERN half of the U.S. Do you have a "game plan" to conquer the REST of the U.S.?

JO: I did have a game plan to conquer the world-I've gone back to the drawing board-ask me again in a few months time!!!

SP: Are there any plans to gather together a collection of your music videos for sale? So far, I've only been able to watch bits of them on the promo videos we discussed earlier.

JO: I've put together a bunch of stuff on DVDR but it's in PAL form; I can get that to you if you have a machine to play it.

SP: Sounds like a DEAL, John! THANKS for taking time to chat with us; I hope to see you HERE in the States again SOON!

Note: This interview took place in June 2007.

Thanks again to JOHN OTWAY for taking time to chat! John, YOU ROCK!!!