Ride Interviews

To promote the new OX4 album, various members of Ride have been interviewed across a whole spectrum of publications, websites and other music journals. We'll aim to try and bring you the best of these interviews as they appear.

The Ride story: part three

BBC Oxford online finally published the final part of their Andy Bell interview:

In the third of three articles, Andy Bell talks about his new new career in arguably the biggest band in the world.

Noel Gallagher did not need to look far for a replacement when plodding bass player Paul McGuigan quit Oasis in 1998. The band's Creation stablemates Hurricane#1 were disbanding leaving Andy Bell available - a musician that both Gallagher brothers held in high regard. Within days Bell was signed up to Oasis.

"I was immediately playing in front of 15,000 people which was amazing. You don't feel it can get any better. Ride were a big band but not on the scale of Oasis."

Oasis are currently recording their new album, which will likely be released next year. Bell believes the new tracks will put Oasis back on the musical map. "It sounds fantastic and it's a real rock and roll record. I totally believe in it," he said. And Andy also revealed that the album will include a song penned by himself and sung by Liam. "The song's called Thankyou For The Good Times. Liam's done such a good job with it. I only write two or three songs a year nowadays but I'm really proud of this song."

Bell has also moved on in his homelife. Two years ago he quit his Union Street home and moved to Sweden with his Swedish wife. The couple, who married ten years ago, have also had a baby. "We had seven good years living off Cowley Road but we felt it was not the right environment to bring up a baby," he said. So is one of Oxford's most important musicians still up-to-date with the Cowley Road scene? "Rock Of Travolta? Never heard of them. But the scene's not important. If there are people who want to do it there is always a chance that Oxford could produce another big band."

Ride - Where Are They Now?

This piece is featured in the November 2001 edition of Q Magazine

That badly-titled Ride best of, 0X4, reminded me of how brilliant they once were. Andy Bell we know is now the butt of Oasis jokes, but what of pouty Mark Gardener and the other blokes? Did they really hate each other by the end?

Frank Bachup, Auckland

Andy Bell (guitar/vocals): "We started recording our fourth and last album in January 1995, right after ourAmerican tour had been pulled because of poor ticket sales. I wanted Ride to be a rock band, but Mark was doing a lot of raving, getting into dance music. About three-quarters of the way through the sessions, he went to NewYork and did some collaborations with Paul Qakenfold. That summer we had a meeting and Mark said, 'Oh, by the way, I'm leaving' . It was a bombshell, but he agreed to do the remaining gigs. I took my solo demos to Alan McGee at Creation and he persuaded me I'd be better off as the songwriter/guitarist in a band, but not doing the singing. He was basically trying to manufacture another Oasis. Hurricane#1 came out of that.

Those guys were great, and it started well, but by the time of the second album ideas were running thin, and it went sour after we got the Match Of The Day goal music (Hurricane#1 single Step Into My World), which set our manager off looking for that kind of stuff. Eventually it just cheapens the music being used to advertise The Sun newspaper was the complete nadir. By the third album, I hit writer's block. I moved to Sweden with my wife Idha because we'd had a baby, Leia, but before I could startwriting, at the end '99, I got the call from Oasis to be their bass player. They've made me feel like I'm in a real band, not just an employee."

Mark Gardener (guitar/vocals): "Me and Andy went through a bad patch at the end of Ride but six months later he was round my house to borrow my amp, so there's no bad feeling. When I came back after New York, I started working with another songwriter Kay Denham, on solo work. We were a great combination but I shelved those songs because I really wanted to be in a band. That's when I formed Animalhouse with a producer friend, Sam Williams. We got signed to a BMG subsidiary label, Boilerhouse, and they were fantastic, but the suits upstairs were a nightmare, which is what destroyed that band and we split last year. Last Christmas I broke my wrist snowboarding in Lake Tahoe. I was reading a book about letting go of the past, which seemed pretty relevant to me. It's set in Borrego Springs in the Mojave Desert so, rather than waste the holiday, I went there, kind of re-assessed my life and decided to leave Oxford because, as long as I stayed, I would always be that guy from Ride. At the start of this year I moved to Garonne in France. I've got a studio in a barn, the mice run through it and I'm enjoying making music again. There's no plans, but I wouldn't rule out playing with Ride."

Laurence Colbert (drums): "When we split, I went sailing with the Sail Training Association. We sailed to Guernsey, France, Holland, Ireland, That was fantastic, because it taught me about real teamwork. You realise how wonderful teamwork can be when people really are depending on each other. Ride was not a good example of teamwork. Now I stay with my girlfriend in Brixton and attend the Drumtech drum college in Ealing, which I'm loving."

Stephen Queralt (bass): "Stephen's still a friend" says Colbert, "His first thought was to open a record shop. I think he did some mail order from his home. Now, he's concentrating on his family, working in a big, upmarket furniture shop just outside Oxford."

Andy Bell Interview

Oxford based website 'Nightshift' have been talking to Andy Bell about the new `Best Of’ album and the reissue of the band’s influential back catalogue To read the interview click here

On Oct 1st, dotmusic.com featured an excellent interview with Mark and Andy. This also includes some very rare photos of the pair laughing! To read the full interview click here

Interview with Andy and Mark on Xfm "Studio 68"

You can listen to this interview by visiting the Ticket To Ride website.

Click Here

Mark and Andy: Ride

To listen to the interview click here

The seminal indie band Ride are releasing a new box set containing their best of, rare and live tracks. Their biggest hit was 'Leave Them All Behind, they also released 'Chelsea Girl', 'Like A Daydream' and 'How Does It Feel To Feel'. Danny O'Connor met up with band members Andy Bell (now of Oasis) and Mark Gardner to reminisce about the band.

Going right back to the inception of this project, whose idea was it, how did it come about and why now?
Mark: Towards the end of the 'Creation' days we were talking about it. A 'Greatest Hits' was one part of it but we also realised there were a lot of master tape recordings that we hadn't really delved into and looked at as well as the unreleased stuff... So I guess two years ago we pulled together, talked to 'Ignition'...
Andy: That was when 'Creation' was still going. It was going to be on 'Creation' at first but then 'Creation' folded so we did it on 'Ignition'.
M: It's been in the ether for quite a while.

What are your feelings looking back at the 'Greatest Hits' line-up?
A: Pretty proud of it. It's good stuff to have got under your belt by the time you're twenty-four.
M: We've got distance on it at last. You never have distance when you're right in it, so you hear it fresh for once in our lives, and I think it sounds great... you can never be objective about something when you're wrapped right up in it, which we were. A bit of time does a lot of good things. It's been really pleasurable just getting it all together again...
A: From my side when we split it was all really negative and the album came out in a cloud of negative vibes so it's good to do something now that's a last word on Ride and it's a positive one.

When you go through the various tracks are there ones that you think stand the test of time better than others?
M: I think most of it stands the test of time. I think some of the earlier tracks production-wise aren't all there but that's the beauty of them as well.
A: The early singles are like little time capsules of 1989/1990. We hit our stride with tracks like 'Dreams Burn Down' through to 'Leave Them All Behind,' and I believe that stuff really does stand up now. I think the music changed then; the production was still good but maybe the magic wasn't quite as present.

What's the situation with the other two lads? Are you in touch?
M: Absolutely. We had to all be in touch to pull all this together. Loz is in London somewhere, as we speak, and Steve is still in Oxford...

Million dollar question. Would you? One-off? One evening?
A: It might happen. You never know... It's not something I'd consider doing right now because I've got the Oasis thing going on and I'm a hundred percent into that and it takes up all my time. See what happens in a few years.

Oh go on...
A: That's pretty non-committal isn't it? Keep you guessing on that one!

When you re-visit these tracks on the 'Greatest Hits', now with mature ears, do you feel nostalgic or does it sound like a different band altogether?
M: It's odd. It's quite nostalgic. For me the great thing about Ride was the gig thing. The shows were very exciting, pretty haphazard, and that was the beauty of it. I miss that feeling, definitely. That's the part of it that I miss. There's a lot of other stuff that went on, business-wise, which I don't miss at all; the Spinal-Tap-isms...I don't miss that part of it at all.

Did it actually become a monster that ate itself, in a way?
M: In a way... I think we tried to keep everyone happy and you never can, really.

Where does 'Twisterella' fit into the grand scheme of things?
M: It was a single that 'Radio 1' started playing at last.
A: That was when 'Radio One' got on to us. Which was nice.
M: 'Leave Them All Behind' was the most successful in terms of chart position, but I suppose it helped getting more people interested in the band. But it doesn't stand out to me as a particular moment or anything. I think all the singles have their own place in time.

Is there a particular affection for 'Chelsea Girl?'
A: I think my favourite track is 'Dreams Burned Down' out of all the songs we've done. I know yours is 'Leave Them All Behind,' isn't it?
M: Yeah. And 'Vapour Trail' to me still sounds great. But I think 'Leave Them All Behind' was great because it was our 'Bohemian Rhapsody'; it was long, it was top ten, and it wasn't meant to do that.
A: That was a perfect moment, because it was our biggest single and it happened without radio play. That really meant something to me.
M: Down the line a lot of those sort of things happen. It was breaking new boundaries. When you feel you're doing that off your own back that's a great feeling.

Going back to 'Dreams Burn Down,' personally Mr. Bell, was that the dream guitar solo from heaven? The intros of all intros?
A: It's the drums really. They're mega. And there's a nice Rickenbecker sound in it, like a twelve-string sound. Everything on it is really good. The bass is really heavy and dubby, and all the guitar sounds are really spaced out... I was just saying to somebody else we rehearsed it in Oxford and couldn't get our normal place so we ended up using the club that's now the 'Zodiac.' So we were in a massive hall playing this new tune. I think that's where it got its big sound from. We put loads of reverb on the drums when we recorded it to try and get that feel of being in that rehearsal place.

What are your memories about the decision abut putting in the live Reading gig? I certainly remember that day...
M: We remember at the time that it was a phenomenal gig. But you think that about a lot of gigs, then you go back and listen to the tapes and think 'No, that was just dreadful.' But luckily we went back to those tapes from Reading and it was really strange because I only heard it when I did it. Nine years on, pulled the tape out, mixed it with Alan, and I thought it was brilliant. I was really impressed with it. It's not the most technically brilliant performance but that's actually why it's great. It works really well. All the rough edges are still in there. There's no polishing up on it at all, it just fades up...Great memories. It was one of my favourite gigs, definitely.

So the whole idea of having a compilation record out, how does it make you feel? I mean, you've both been making music since, you haven't been away and just crawled out of the woods...
A: The compilation is the seal that you're in a proper band. Ride meant something to some people, therefore there's a 'Best Of'.

Lots of compilations suffer from having two or three tunes and then lots of fillers. I suppose in this one everything is justified...
M: All killers no fillers. Hopefully!

But each tune stands alone...
M: It's our chance as well with the luxury of hindsight to put on songs that maybe should have been a single but never were.
A: There are album tracks and B-sides... We've used two tracks from the first EP.

Have the guys in Oasis or in Hurricane One or the guys in Animal House referenced or been intrigued by the Ride years?
A: You have these conversations and you tell old stories and try and make people laugh. That's happened a few times. There've been some funny things that have gone on that make good dinner time stories. You get on to a subject and you talk about the old days and a lot of the time you find real common ground . The Oasis guys have been through pretty similar things that we all have in bands...

Is there still that air of reverence around Oxford?
M: We haven't been back there for a while.

I presume until the turn of the 90's Oxford hadn't really imprinted itself and you guys did a lot of pivotal gigs. The big Ride gigs were always flagged up as Oxford.
M: We were definitely the first out of the blocks... Supergrass took the baton and charged further and then Radiohead took that baton and charged further... there were a few bands happening in the early days but nothing much really. That's why we were kind of surprised as well. We didn't expect it was possibly the best place to be based and be in a band because it hadn't happened to anyone else up until that point. But then it works well because it's quite close to London. I think people from London like coming down and it's certainly a happening place now...

Final couple of questions about what's going to be happening outside 'Ride'. What are you up to, Mark?
M: At the moment I'm in France and I'm wiring up a little studio and I'm going to start working on some of my material... under absolutely no pressure which is liberating and immensely enjoyable at the moment, so that's where I'm at.

Would you do that as a collective or solo?
Initially solo, but I will pull people around once I feel it's right. But at the moment I'm writing alone and I haven't had a chance to do that for quite a while.

Andy, I was speaking to Noel [from Oasis] not long ago and he was saying he needs to kick you up the ass to bring your tunes to the fore... So are we going to see some Bell contributions on this record?
A: I've got one tune on there. It's called 'Thank You For The Good Times' which I wrote on one of our tours in South America. Things are going well with the band. Just rehearsing for the tenth anniversary shows and then after that we just have to put the finishing touches to the album and then we're away.

And the time scale? Noel seemed to be saying it was New Year?
A: Probably will be New Year. I think we'd all just like to get on with it, but to get to putting it out you have to finish it first.

I presume most of the writing has been done, hasn't it?
A: Writing's all done. Most of the recording is done. There's some vocals to be done then we have to mix it.

And what are your thoughts about the tenth anniversary gig?
A: I'm really pleased to be involved in it. I've been a fan of Oasis for 6 or 7 years and in the band for 2 or 3. It's a celebration of the music and I'm happy to be doing it.

Good stuff guys. Continued success. Good luck...
A/M: Thanks a lot.

To listen to the interview click here

Interview courtesy of BBC Radio 1 Evening Session

The Ride Story: Part Two

It was Ride's first proper album Nowhere that brought them to the attention of a wider, global audience.

Concert dates in Japan sold out within minutes, while in Australia and America demand for the young band rose steadily in 1991. In early 1992 Ride retired to Chipping Norton to record their seminal piece, Going Blank Again - an album that perfectly fuses their teenage angst, growing musicianship and pop sensibilities.

The band scored its first ten top hit with Leave Them All Behind and the album went into the top five. A triumphant show at the Reading Festival followed. Ride were in their pomp, but the relentless schedule that got them to the top proved to be their undoing.

Bell said: "By the time the second album came out we were touring too much. We were tired. We then took time off, but it was too much time off. "These were good times but the music took second place. When we recorded the Carnival Of Light album we got indulgent."

Matters were not helped when Creation's new signings Oasis stole the limelight both within and without of the label. The pressure drove Ride apart. "We had always been close knit but Mark became more interested in dance music which he wanted to bring into Ride. I was not ready for that," said Bell.

The recording of the Tarantula album in 1995, was an unhappy time for all concerned. Bell was by now leading the band and Gardener walked out. Ride's demise was reported in 1996 in the same week that Tarantula was released.

"Some people say Tarantula was our best album but I just can't see that. It was a weird time for the band."

Gardener and Colbert went on to form Animal House with Supergrass producer Sam Williams. Gardener now lives in France, while if you catch up with Colbert in Oxford he'll talk with enthusiasm about local music. Queralt has helped put together the new rarities album but didn't pursue his musical career after Ride.

In 1997 Bell formed Hurricane#1. The group showed promise but even Bell's heart wasn't in it. Soon after they disbanded Bell got a life-changing phone call from a certain Mr Noel Gallagher....

Source: bbc.co.uk

GOING FOR A RIDE WITH ANDY

It's ironic that Andy Bell took over from Guigsy as Oasis' bass player two years ago. After all, Andy's old band Ride toured with Oasis on occasion - Noel Gallagher was a huge fan. And, for their first two albums in the early 90's, the Oxford quartet looked like they could be as huge as Oasis eventually became.

As Ride release their 'Best Of' album, Andy reflects on the demise of Ride and gives us a peak into life with Liam...

"We first talked about doing it two years ago" recalls Andy, who went on to form Hurricane#1. "It should have appeared on Creation Records - since they folded it's taken us until now to find a decent label to release it.

"I listened to the albums again for the 'Best Of', they sound even better than I remember them being. We didn't wnt to take the easy option of including an equal number of songs from each album." he emphasises.

"Some fans reckon Tarantula is our best album. That's fine, but I can't agree. It only brings back bad memories of the band falling apart - I hope fans appreciate our view on that album. "

"For our first two albums we were an unstoppable band. People forget how young we were - what I'd say to young bands now is make sure you have a good manager who protects you from record company politics." Andy says. "We had that, so for two years we were on such a roll, we seemed to be able to write a great song everyday."

"For the previous year, the four of us weren't talking properly - we went in to the studio seperately to record our own parts on the album. After a US tour was cancelled, we should have had a break, not go back to the studio when we weren't ready."

Since planning their 'Best Of', the four members of Ride met up twice to finalise the tracklisting. "It was surprisingly easy being in the same room - we speak fairly regularly on the phone now." says Andy who moved to Sweden two years ago with Swedish wide Idha and their young daughter.

"The only thing we argued about was the live album on our box set. I wanted it from various gigs, the others won - the album is our Reading '92 show.

Despite getting on well now - and the slow end to the original band - Andy says they won't reform. "I can't see it, even for a one-off show. I can't think of any re-union shows that can be as good as the band was originally. So why do it?" Besides, Andy is now happy in Oasis "Noel encouraged me to get writing again." he beams, "Hurricane#1 ended partially because I had writers block, but I've written six songs for Oasis."

"Oasis are on such a roll right now." he says. "There's the same enthusiasm and camaraderie as there was when Ride first got together. The new songs are instant, but they reveal more with each listen too. Oh, I don't know - I'm pulling words out of the air here mate. All I do know is these are classic Oasis. All five of us can't wait for everyone to hear them."

Interview courtesy of Channel 4 Teletext

The Ride Story: Part One

(part two to be published on the 21st September)

On October 1 (er..!!!), Ride are re-issuing their entire back catalogue together with Best Of, live and rarities CDs.

Former Ride guitarist Andy Bell told JEREMY STERN about the rise and fall of Oxford's first great band.

The Oxford music scene that Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Loz Colbert and Steve Queralt grew up in was very different to the one that has evolved in the past decade.

In terms of attiude, whereas now there is hope, then there was ridicule and small-mindedness. Most bands could not see beyond the Ring Road, and the national music weeklies thought of Oxford as a place where scholars and farm animals hung out.

"There wasn't much of an Oxford scene at all and what there was centered on the Jericho Tavern. If you played the Jericho you were cool and that was it. Not many groups had aspirations," explained Andy Bell. Bell took his inspiration from the numerous bands that passed through the city on tour. When he saw The Smiths play at the Apollo he knew what he wanted out of life.

"I was 14 and they definitely inspired me to get a band together. I soon realised you could do it and come from Oxford."

Ride formed at North Oxfordshire College & School Of Art in Banbury in 1988. First Bell got together with Queralt, then Gardener came on board with Colbert.

The novelty value of a band at the Art College immediately gave Ride an audience and by the time they played the Jericho there was a buzz about the band.

It took just 12 months for Ride to go from schoolboy dreamers to the top of every decent A&R man's talent list. The band's first EP convinced Creation to sign them up.

Bell said: "It happened quickly but I'd been preparing my whole life to be in a rock and roll band. It felt natural."

This interview is from BBC.CO.UK

Ticket To Ride

The Ticket To Ride website has recently interviewed Andy, Steve and Loz.

To read the interview click here

Ride Away

Andy Bell spoke to worldpop this week about his life inside Oasis and why Ride, a hugely influential guitar band in the early '90s, have decided to release a Best Of album. Famous as a guitarist with Ride, Bell was asked to join Oasis as a bass player, a surprise for him and brought on he admits because Oasis were 'pretty desperate to find somebody to play bass on an American tour and they only had two weeks before they had to go on it.' He adds 'I got a phone call and the next day I was there trying out and then three days later they said I was in if I wanted it. I said, 'Definitely...maybe!' ha ha.'

Bell says his writing talent (and wit no doubt) has meant he's helped Oasis get a 'real group togetherness' back and he has helped Noel Gallagher write some of the songs on the new Oasis album. Although he would not comment on rumours that the band are returning to the sound of their first album he did say, 'There is a freshness about it, there's a band feeling to it...it's not finished yet but Noel will make an announcement soon about it. All I can say is that all you people waiting for it, it will be what you want.'

In being so busy with Oasis it has meant Bell has had little time to help put together the Ride collection OX4 - The Best Of which contains previously unreleased material and a live CD from Reading in 1992. He describes the collection as giving 'more to fans just a greatest hits' and also responsible for re-uniting the band members after their acrimonious split in 1996. He revealed to worldpop that Ride may have re-formed to play the Radiohead South Park concert in June but the band did not have the time to rehearse. The unreleased material spans the bands entire career and Bell's opinion 'deserves to be heard as few of the songs in that psychedelic rock vein have been bettered since.'

Interview with worldpop.com on the 17th Sept 2001

ANDY BELL PICKS HIS FAVOURITES

Andy Bell landed one of the most high profile jobs in music when he joined Oasis as a bass player in 1999. But first he made his name in the early 90's as guitarist/vocalist with the influential Oxford indie band Ride.

What sort of music did you listen to when you were younger?

My dad had some Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel albums that I listened to when I was really small.
When I was eight or nine I bought my first records - Blondie, Queen, Gary Numan, The Jam.
At 13 I started listening to Janice Long's radio show and got into The Smiths. At 14 I saw Aztec Camera and The Smiths play my hometown of Oxford. By then I knew I wanted to be in a band.

What was the last record you bought?

I just got a parcel from Amazon:
Sun Ra - Nuclear War
Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
Dion - Sit Down Old Friend
Sly and The Family Stone - freshLa Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf
The next one I'm gonna track down is that version of 'Handbags and Gladrags' from The Office on telly.

Have you tastes in music changed over the years?

Not particularly. I listen to a broader spectrum now but I still like the same stuff I liked at age 13, too.

Where do you most like listening to music and why?

In the car, it just sounds better spmehow.

Do you have a favourite music website?

Not really (what! - webmaster) I do order my Cd's from Amazon though, like I said.

Are there any songs that you can't listen to anymore because they iritate you?

Yes, the Santana one with that guy singing "Let's forget about it" was the latest one.

Which song by another artist do you wish you had written?

Looking Glass by The La's

Which song from the last 12 months is due to gain classic status?

Independent women by Destiny's Child.

What would be your dream line-up for a music festival?

The La's and The Stone Roses would have to reform... Oasis would still headline of course!

Looking back on your days with Ride, what do you think the band brought to the music scene of the early 90's?

We made really cool music with heavy guitars but with good melodies behind it, and we were a top class live band. Our first two albums still stand up ten years later.

Are there any songs that get Oasis fired up before going on stage?

Last tour it was Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, The Creation, The Bee Gees (early stuff), Terry Reid, The Pistols, The Stones or whatever everyone's just bought that afternoon.

How does life with Oasis differ from life with Ride?

It's hard to remember. In a way it's been a bit of a blur since 1989. It's pretty similar, only that Oasis are bigger and we're all older now.

This interview was posted on BBC Ceefax on the 17th September.