I must admit Bill Buford is a very eloquent speaker and impressive drummer. He has such a great sense of humor and just great and thoughtful answers to the questions. I really enjoyed this interview!! Thank you for posting.
As I listen to Bruford talking in this interview, I actually was at that first Yes tour and it brings me back to another place in time.......... very moving to my heart..............
Great interview - just the right mix of anger, disdain, artistic conceit, insight, imagination, patience, empathy, eloquence,culture, class, self-awareness, and vision...
He had, by this time, earned the right to speak so confidently. Some might even consider his style of speaking condescending, but I thibk it's just intelligent speak with a very English accent. For a drummer (I am one), he is an extraordinarily interesting interview. (that is because he is a musician which is a broader term).
He is dry, not condescending, and very articulate. He is also somewhat posh, but that’s hardly his fault. Yes encapsulated the British class system in one band, from the working-class, northern Jon Anderson (and, later, Alan White) to the lower middle class likes of Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman to the upper middle-class and privately educated Bruford and Squire. Pretty unique, really.
@@67Parsifal The English, especially, bely their upbringing by their accent, or lack of it. If you have had a public school education, or have had the misfortune of leaving a state school earlier than recommended, you wear it like a scar for the rest of your life.
Who else can say that he played drums with the _crème de la crème_ of the so called progressive rock bands? Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, UK, etc. Only the great Mr. Bill Bruford.
@@AboubacarSiddikh no, actually he wasn't, wrong. he SAYS he was a jazz drummer who got into rock bands, but the TRUTH is he WANTED to be considered a jazz drummer and never really was or is. Just because he started playing via listening to mostly jazz drummers THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOU A JAZZ DRUMMER. Ok? Even in his most recent Earthworks bands one could absolutely argue that those bands weren't really jazz groups etc. In fairness to Bruford, he did become more jazz-like as his career/playing moved into the 1990's-2000's BUT, he was still never a BONAFIDE jazz drummer. Sorry, that's the TRUTH. He is/was a GREAT PROGRESSIVE ROCK drummer trying to MOVE CLOSER to jazz.
I couldn't stop watching...makes you rethink everything you thought, no one really knows unless you get a glimpse inside as we did here...very deep stuff
I don't spend much time analyzing these people, just enjoy hearing people who played the music that inspired me as a kid talk about their life in music,makes them human because back in the day they were like visitors from another planet who came down out of the sky played Music you had never heard before then disappeared into the sky again.
Bill Bruford is a master of his craft and his playing on Three of A Perfect Pair is classic, as well as all the his other contributions. It is refreshing to listen to a player of his caliber putting forth his articulate "take" on the scene
Awesome interview, Bill has always been my all time favorite. A different Drummer if you will. Love everything he has associated himself with. Class act.
Yes, i was blessed enough in my existence to first hear him live at the Shrine auditorium in 1974, with Crimson, actually his aggressive approach to drums back then was quite loud, almost scary! Flash forward to 1984 and i am the famous southern California piano tuner/technician , who tuning for his duo with Pat Moraz, Pat tells me,( at soundcheck), "John play a little piano so i can hear how the room sounds"... and Bill's already poised at the drums...i play my original composition coi im 6/8 time thinking I am a hot shot musician , he instantaneously gets it and then starts poly metering my 6/8 into something insane! I struggled to keep up with him...what and incredible experience in my life....saw him last in Portland Oregon during the Thrak tour....Thanks everybody, to hear Bill play on my track (King of the Dog Park) from 2015 go to Sir Real & Swami Pastrami "4th&Beyond" on RUclips.
Bill Bruford is my favorite drummer. He was always a jazz drummer, which benefited the bands he played with. I can`t find any reason to criticize Bill Brurford, he has provided me with hundreds of hours of pleasure listening to his music for nearly 50 years.
Bill Bruford was NEVER a bonafide jazz drummer, sorry. He WANTS to be thought of as a jazz drummer, but he isn't and never was. Yeah yeah I know, he says; "I grew up listening to Max Roach and Tony Williams" etc etc. Then why don't you hear almost none of their influences in his playing anywhere in a 40 year career? Bruford was a great progressive rock drummer, that is EXACTLY what he is and where his strength clearly lies. Earthworks, as it progressed throughout its lifespan, became more informed by jazz, but even that group was never really a jazz band through and through. Sorry Mr. Bruford, you are and have never been a true jazz drummer or jazz musician. Ginger Baker WAS a real jazz drummer that had far more of that actual background and GIG EXPERIENCE long before Cream ever happened, playing actual jazz gigs, than Bruford as an example.
No, Bruford was NEVER really a true jazz drummer. He was somewhat influenced by jazz, but he truly was ALWAYS a progressive rock drummer which was ALWAYS clearly his strength, not jazz. He deserves tremendous respect as one of the most forward thinking and innovative PROGRESSIVE-ROCK drummers of all time, not as a jazz drummer.
@@vbassone This is what turns people off the jazz. It's not a cool kids club, anyone can play jazz and be considered a jaz drummer. You don't need to cover the standards or wear a suit in a NYC coffee shop or something.
@@Ben-yy7io No moron, nooo. Don't even TRY that argument with me you know why?? BECAUSE I AM A PROFESSIONAL JAZZ MUSICIAN FOR DECADES. So NOOOOO, WRONG! Whether YOU or Dr. Bruford LIKE IT OR NOT, there are some inherent characteristics and REPERTOIRE that DO largely define what jazz is and is not. Ok??? If one isn't more than marginally steeped in some of these key aspects that, LIKE IT OR NOT, largely defined what jazz vernacular and context was/is, then you AREN'T REALLY A FKIN JAZZ DRUMMER. And just for your information, I have always greatly respected Bruford as a rock, progressive rock, and fusion drummer, BUT HE IS NOT, AND HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN A JAZZ DRUMMER.. Got it now??
I'm reading Bill's autobiography at the moment, and am 100 pages in after 24 hours. I was reading it in bed last night, on the bus this morning, at work (ahem), and on the bus home. I think I'll leave it in my backpack until Thursday, as I'm off tomorrow and if I don't, I'll finish the bloody thing. And we can't have that, can we? Nine English pounds and ninety nine pence well spent. Highly recommended!
@22:59 - I'll be playing drums when I'm 60.. tho' it turns out that's when he retired as he felt could hear what to play next.. Fabulous player tho', and now fabulous academic :-)
I love this guy a true artist who pursued music not compromising to be a pop or rockstar wanted to be different and be best at what he does and he was and still is amazing never sold out as most of us would have
As a Californian young guitarist,I moved to West Norwood,London from east Los Angeles and basically did the same thing as Mr.Bruford placing adverts in Melodie Maker.I still own two letters Bill Bruford wrote me in London,after hounding him to join his band.Sadly,he had the guitarist unknown John Clark in his band at the time.I was lucky to meet Peter Gabriel whilst rehearsing in a British band in his little village called Bath.Soon after that,I was very bless to join a Swiss progressive rock band called Flame Dream,that mostly recorded at Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz's Aquarius Studios in Geneve.Flame Dream recorded 5 albums on the Vertigo Records.
Dale Hauskins God, you were in Flame Dream! That's a gorgeous band that should have been known much much better! I had Flame Dream albums recorded on tape from a friend who owned them so sorry I don't remember the line-up and the tapes are somewhere in my attic now but I listened to your albums in mid to late 90s when I "discovered" them. Fantastic band. Kudos to your work! I am sure you would make an excellent guitar player to Bill (it's his loss!). Best regards!
Gokhan Aya Thanks soo much for your posisitve comments.Yes,this IS when a major record label would sign and support a Progressive Rock band.The Vertigo record label had some fantastic bands.These were mega splendid times indeed;specially when Flame Dream had 18 roadies;and 5 semi trucks for touring.Greetings from very hot Southern California.
I finally understand how Mr. Bruford became a jazz player and I'm so happy he did as much as I'm happy Alan White replaced him on YES. It all worked out well for YES, UK, KC and Earthworks, didn't it?
What a delightful upload! Thank you so much. I've enjoyed Bruford's work throughout the 70s. The King Crimson lineup of Bruford, Wetton, Cross, and Fripp is my favorite! Bill is anextremely creative musician. I bet he makes a great dad, too.
Man! Great interview--love the guy's comments (I wish the questions could be heard better, though you can infer them from the nature of Bruford's comments). And the guy is just one of the best drummers ever.
His point about mass audiences and radical music is interesting. The early 70's demonstrated that adventurous music could sell by the ship load. It is sad that things have become so safe.
I find him straight forth, honest, articulate and one of the greatest drummers to grace our planet... I've seen him many times with Yes and KC, and I've seen Palmer as well. I think BB is the better of the two artistically, and Palmer more of a technician.
It is impossible for me to overstate how important this man’s drumming is to me as a drummer myself. I don’t say this lightly but he is an absolute hero of mine. Inspirational. Influential. Formative even. Every time I sit at the drums I play something that I stole from him. And yet I find it shocking how little regard he seems to give bass players. I find bass players to be almost as influential as other drummers. Obviously in the context of playing in a group my relationship with the bassist feels primary. But in Bruford’s autobiography he barely mentions Chris Squire. He seems to have a much more positive attitude about him in this earlier interview. Perhaps his perspective darkened. And, unless I missed it, John Wetton’s name doesn’t even appear. I could understand if Bill didn’t mention Mike Rutherford because he just played one tour with Genesis. But the short shrift he gives both Squire and Wetton really kind of disturbs me.
This interview could not have been done more amateurishly (static camera work, invisible host out of audio range with bone-dry scripted questions), but he articulates his answers with such clarity and brilliance that I was absolutely captivated. That says a lot about the value of substance over style, I would guess.
What a class act. Jobson and Wheton v. Bufford and Holdsworth. Damn. I always said that and I remember my band mates back in the day laughing at me saying otherwise - and here is Bill proving me right....oh and that first UK UK album was A --fuggin-- Mazing.....then Eddy tried to take control and it went sideways. Even Allan - RIP - made comments about it. And he was such a gentle man. (met him once and had a glass of wine together - yes wine, not beer) Bill seems a little like he had a couple of pints here, but damn he is a very very smart man. I wish I could speak so eloquently even whilst sober.
Prog Rock Musicians of the late 60s early 70s really pushed their luck....they struggled to sell out to put food on their tables whereas classic rock acts had more profitable roads. The fact that Genesis made no real money until 1978...its EYE OPENING. I think Bruford got screwed in 1974 by Fripp at a critical financial point of his 20s. He is VERY SMART and tried to ride the wave the best he could. I bet he would have fitted in Academia just perfect instead of the rock and roll circus. He has a dicotomy of masters he serves. Tries to downplay rock music for a reason, he knows he was SMARTER than that...but lives with the consequences. He managed to retire at 60s, SMART MAN.
I very much agree with him when he said the bands of the past were all different from each other, while today, with some very welcomed exceptions, music seems standarized. King Crimson and Yes were so diametrically opposite back then that I think a better name for the former would be "No". Even the band leaders: Fripp is like The Antianderson and vice-versa.
⭐🍀🌿➕☔🌹 Been looking up to Bill Bruford since I was a young person early teens as a best drummer musician. Great footage from him here. Interested in his recollections and musings. Great form here. From when I was around 14 years old as I was watching him from interviews in magazines and his music. Honorable mention is Patrick Moraz and him acoustic piano and drums gig. Remember that from music interviews back then. Remembering Modern Drummer magazine.
Bruford is a great drummer no doubt and its interesting that he would quit Yes at the height of their popularity and join King Crimson... I very glad he did because Larks Toungues, Starless and Red are definitive Bruford and the best progressive music in my opinion. I find him quite intelligent, expressive and interesting. He has similar accent as Mick Jagger... London?
He definitely does not have the same accent as Mick Jagger. Mick sounds quite thick by comparison, not a cultured man. Whereas Bill Bruford sounds and IS very intelligent. Articulate as f*ck to be honest.
Although this interview was conducted many years ago, like 35 years ago, Bill Bruford is one interesting and intelligent drummer. I really dug this interview, and I was really impressed with the way that he approaches music, in the sense that he's always looking to create something new, using music, and namely Jazz, so that it doesn't get boring, and that to me is a really progressive way of thinking and in his case, having actually committed his life to following that idea, via his music career.
love the fact he mentioned "musician-man-ship" of Genesis as one of the great acts he has played with. Funny when he called Wetton a "pop star" as opposed to an artist - one can only imagine the arguments in UK given this damning statement. BTW I love Wetton
The Interviewer asks the same question about 8 times...and Bill actually manages to flesh out different responses...and then "What is your view of the 6o's,70'sand 80's rock scene?" again...aaaahhhhhh!
..."and the fact that some nauseous wimp had to sing on top about I love you, please hold my hand, didn't cut it either way for me..." 😂. My sentiments exactly!
The alcoholic drummer was Tony O Reilly form The Koobas. He also played with Yes at Newcastle City Hall with The Who, Arthur Brown, The Mindbenders, Free and The Small Faces - would you believe it!
So Yes started as a sort of eclectic blue-eyed soul cover band at the very beginning, before launching into the creation of original songs/sounds. Interesting, I’d have never guessed!
20:35 --- which prog musicians is he referring to that were hopeless? Any ideas? There were some excellent prog musicians of the time he is describing. Also, he continues to say it died of it's own excess. What excess?
Great drummer and quite a brilliant man but it seems to me that he tends to view the world as sort of an absolutist, which sadly, might even have contributed to him retiring so early. That he views the success of Yes in the '70s, for example, as some sort of "trick", is rather sad. He speaks as though the music contained nothing of substance and seems to compare everything to some ideal of objective greatness. I get the feeling that he reduces art down to it's more tactile components (craft) and then judges art based on that criteria. He played on Close To The Edge - one of the most wonderful records ever made, and I say that based on the emotional impact it has had on so many. And at the end of the day, isn't how music makes people feel the most important thing of all?
Yes, feel is everything and Close to the Edge is one of the most emotional records out there although it is often regarded more for its technical prowess.
I think he just doesn't care about success. His career supports that. He enjoyed KC not for the fame, but for the freedom and challenge it presented. His other pursuits with Bruford, Earthworks, etc. weren't for the money or the fame - it was for his ability to continue to hone his craft and have the freedom to play with others that helped him become his best. That was his pursuit. Not much unlike the words of Peart in Limelight. I think it's refreshing.
Bill Bruford at the age of thirty-five asseverating that he will still be playing at the age of sixty. As it turned out,, he announced his retirement from playing at the age of fifty-nine.
Bill Bruford: “how I spent the 70’s” ‘70 starship trooper ‘71 heart of the sunrise ‘72 Siberian Khatru ‘73 larks tongues in aspic pt 2 ‘74 starless ‘75 silently falling ‘76 cinema show ‘77 feels good to me ‘78 in the dead of night ‘79 fainting in coils
I seriously love the way portrays king crimson, I always felt there was something much different about them from the others myself, they just have that unmistakeable authenticity that you don't have with a lot of groups. They have a lot of similarities to the best punk groups and Hardcore groups, or honestly in many ways I see the most parallels between king crimson and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixker-Zavala of At the Drive-in and Mars Volta. For many of the same reasons their band At the Drive-In broke up for many similar reasons, they were seen as the "New experimental Nirvana from space" in a way in the late 90s/early 2000s, and they didn't want that kind of fame so they broke up and the duo went on to form the experiential group The Mars Volta, who definitely took influence from King Crimson but not in the "rip-off l" kind of way so many later "prog" bands did.
Bill Bruford is an institution. Here he is so articulate and eloquent, beautiful English. A real Englishman (I am from the UK, London born). I will admit, he's not my favourite drummer, I find his playing just doesn't take me there, almost like an anti-climax, leaving me wanting, but I genuinely love the guy and know of his contribution to the drumming scene. Maybe I haven't heard enough of his music and would be happy to explore. My tastes in the prog-rock scene are early Genesis (up to Seconds Out from that point on Genesis went downhill, selling out). I have Red, I have an Earthworks album, and that's about it (re-Bill). Great interview and I only wish I was as eloquent, articulate, and as relaxed as that in my life :)
Dig the interview, but thinking that Baker and Palmer were all there was in England during the late 60's and 70's falls flat when you check out Jon Hiseman, John Marshall, John Stevens, Mitch Mitchell, Phil Seamen, Robert Wyatt, Pip Pyle, Keith Moon, Tony Oxley and several others.
The man is super bright a true thinker ...a little strange to hear him say England has no drummers ? besides GB and CP. Well what about Bonzo Pacie powell ? and not one word of the biggest baddest of them all ZEPPELIN !!!.Bill is great 1 of the very best he reminds me Of Neil P has so must to say and plays as good as most of the drummers i listed .Bonzo at his best was the best anyway cool interview .
"My activities are ... the same as when i was 13 ... I look down between my legs and see a fourteen-inch... snare drum..."
Ha ha ha! So Brufordistically Brufordicious! Amazing Dr. William Scott Bruford - my favorite musician. Period.
You'd think "d'oh, pompous prog muso" --> then BAM! d1ck joke: hilarious. My fave drummer.
I must admit Bill Buford is a very eloquent speaker and impressive drummer. He has such a great sense of humor and just great and thoughtful answers to the questions. I really enjoyed this interview!! Thank you for posting.
As I listen to Bruford talking in this interview, I actually was at that first Yes tour and it brings me back to another place in time.......... very moving to my heart..............
@Satanic Panic Fun and Games Bollocks
@Satanic Panic Fun and Games he's not actually. steven wilson, that's a snob
Bill Bruford = bratty brit rich kid = obnoxious "stuffed shirt". HA, HA
Why is tha an “admission”?
Great interview - just the right mix of anger, disdain, artistic conceit, insight, imagination, patience, empathy, eloquence,culture, class, self-awareness, and vision...
He had, by this time, earned the right to speak so confidently. Some might even consider his style of speaking condescending, but I thibk it's just intelligent speak with a very English accent. For a drummer (I am one), he is an extraordinarily interesting interview. (that is because he is a musician which is a broader term).
He is dry, not condescending, and very articulate. He is also somewhat posh, but that’s hardly his fault. Yes encapsulated the British class system in one band, from the working-class, northern Jon Anderson (and, later, Alan White) to the lower middle class likes of Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman to the upper middle-class and privately educated Bruford and Squire. Pretty unique, really.
@@67Parsifal The English, especially, bely their upbringing by their accent, or lack of it. If you have had a public school education, or have had the misfortune of leaving a state school earlier than recommended, you wear it like a scar for the rest of your life.
Who else can say that he played drums with the _crème de la crème_ of the so called progressive rock bands? Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, UK, etc. Only the great Mr. Bill Bruford.
You missed out Gong! Don't forget hanging out with the hippies!
@@tb-cg6vd Yes! And National Health too. Part of that etcetera.
True, but he was never really a jazz drummer.
@@vbassone Actually, he was never really a rock drummer. He was more of a jazz drummer playing rock.'
@@AboubacarSiddikh no, actually he wasn't, wrong. he SAYS he was a jazz drummer who got into rock bands, but the TRUTH is he WANTED to be considered a jazz drummer and never really was or is. Just because he started playing via listening to mostly jazz drummers THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOU A JAZZ DRUMMER. Ok? Even in his most recent Earthworks bands one could absolutely argue that those bands weren't really jazz groups etc. In fairness to Bruford, he did become more jazz-like as his career/playing moved into the 1990's-2000's BUT, he was still never a BONAFIDE jazz drummer. Sorry, that's the TRUTH. He is/was a GREAT PROGRESSIVE ROCK drummer trying to MOVE CLOSER to jazz.
I like how light, open and humorous he is in this interview
Best Bruford interview ever. Most unique and talented drummer all-time.
I prefer to refer to him as a percussionist, not just a drummer!
And the greatest of all time in my humble opinion
I couldn't stop watching...makes you rethink everything you thought, no one really knows unless you get a glimpse inside as we did here...very deep stuff
Brilliant answers to bland questions
At least she gives him the space to speak as thoroughly as he does.
I don't spend much time analyzing these people, just enjoy hearing people who played the music that inspired me as a kid talk about their life in music,makes them human because back in the day they were like visitors from another planet who came down out of the sky played Music you had never heard before then disappeared into the sky again.
Very interesting and no doubt one of the best drummers ever.
Bill Bruford is a master of his craft and his playing on Three of A Perfect Pair is classic, as well as all the his other contributions. It is refreshing to listen to a player of his caliber putting forth his articulate "take" on the scene
Awesome interview, Bill has always been my all time favorite. A different Drummer if you will. Love everything he has associated himself with. Class act.
Yes, i was blessed enough in my existence to first hear him live at the Shrine auditorium in 1974, with Crimson, actually his aggressive approach to drums back then was quite loud, almost scary! Flash forward to 1984 and i am the famous southern California piano tuner/technician , who tuning for his duo with Pat Moraz, Pat tells me,( at soundcheck), "John play a little piano so i can hear how the room sounds"... and Bill's already poised at the drums...i play my original composition coi im 6/8 time thinking I am a hot shot musician , he instantaneously gets it and then starts poly metering my 6/8 into something insane! I struggled to keep up with him...what and incredible experience in my life....saw him last in Portland Oregon during the Thrak tour....Thanks everybody, to hear Bill play on my track (King of the Dog Park) from 2015 go to Sir Real & Swami Pastrami "4th&Beyond" on RUclips.
Bill Bruford is my favorite drummer. He was always a jazz drummer, which benefited the bands he played with. I can`t find any reason to criticize Bill Brurford, he has provided me with hundreds of hours of pleasure listening to his music for nearly 50 years.
Bill Bruford was NEVER a bonafide jazz drummer, sorry. He WANTS to be thought of as a jazz drummer, but he isn't and never was. Yeah yeah I know, he says; "I grew up listening to Max Roach and Tony Williams" etc etc. Then why don't you hear almost none of their influences in his playing anywhere in a 40 year career? Bruford was a great progressive rock drummer, that is EXACTLY what he is and where his strength clearly lies. Earthworks, as it progressed throughout its lifespan, became more informed by jazz, but even that group was never really a jazz band through and through. Sorry Mr. Bruford, you are and have never been a true jazz drummer or jazz musician. Ginger Baker WAS a real jazz drummer that had far more of that actual background and GIG EXPERIENCE long before Cream ever happened, playing actual jazz gigs, than Bruford as an example.
No, Bruford was NEVER really a true jazz drummer. He was somewhat influenced by jazz, but he truly was ALWAYS a progressive rock drummer which was ALWAYS clearly his strength, not jazz. He deserves tremendous respect as one of the most forward thinking and innovative PROGRESSIVE-ROCK drummers of all time, not as a jazz drummer.
@@vbassone This is what turns people off the jazz. It's not a cool kids club, anyone can play jazz and be considered a jaz drummer. You don't need to cover the standards or wear a suit in a NYC coffee shop or something.
@@Ben-yy7io No moron, nooo. Don't even TRY that argument with me you know why?? BECAUSE I AM A PROFESSIONAL JAZZ MUSICIAN FOR DECADES. So NOOOOO, WRONG! Whether YOU or Dr. Bruford LIKE IT OR NOT, there are some inherent characteristics and REPERTOIRE that DO largely define what jazz is and is not. Ok??? If one isn't more than marginally steeped in some of these key aspects that, LIKE IT OR NOT, largely defined what jazz vernacular and context was/is, then you AREN'T REALLY A FKIN JAZZ DRUMMER. And just for your information, I have always greatly respected Bruford as a rock, progressive rock, and fusion drummer, BUT HE IS NOT, AND HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN A JAZZ DRUMMER.. Got it now??
VERY blessed to see him play live 3x! My _absolute favorite_ musician! l LOVE Bruf! Always have ....always will!
This was a great interview with humor and insight. Everything he said is so smart and real. This is a man who is himself and he is a good man
I'm reading Bill's autobiography at the moment, and am 100 pages in after 24 hours. I was reading it in bed last night, on the bus this morning, at work (ahem), and on the bus home. I think I'll leave it in my backpack until Thursday, as I'm off tomorrow and if I don't, I'll finish the bloody thing. And we can't have that, can we? Nine English pounds and ninety nine pence well spent. Highly recommended!
@22:59 - I'll be playing drums when I'm 60.. tho' it turns out that's when he retired as he felt could hear what to play next..
Fabulous player tho', and now fabulous academic :-)
One of the most interesting interviews I've seen ever. Thanks for sharing.
That's right!! Hey Yuri, what's up!
I love this guy a true artist who pursued music not compromising to be a pop or rockstar wanted to be different and be best at what he does and he was and still is amazing never sold out as most of us would have
Wow, this is a totally different perspective than I've ever heard about Yes and King Crimson! Bill Bruford is very thoughtful.
A very humble Man, considering his skills.
First time I've heard him speak.
He is amazing. Could listen to him for hours!
As a Californian young guitarist,I moved to West Norwood,London from east Los Angeles and basically did the same thing as Mr.Bruford placing adverts in Melodie Maker.I still own two letters Bill Bruford wrote me in London,after hounding him to join his band.Sadly,he had the guitarist unknown John Clark in his band at the time.I was lucky to meet Peter Gabriel whilst rehearsing in a British band in his little village called Bath.Soon after that,I was very bless to join a Swiss progressive rock band called Flame Dream,that mostly recorded at Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz's Aquarius Studios in Geneve.Flame Dream recorded 5 albums on the Vertigo Records.
Dale Hauskins God, you were in Flame Dream! That's a gorgeous band that should have been known much much better! I had Flame Dream albums recorded on tape from a friend who owned them so sorry I don't remember the line-up and the tapes are somewhere in my attic now but I listened to your albums in mid to late 90s when I "discovered" them. Fantastic band. Kudos to your work! I am sure you would make an excellent guitar player to Bill (it's his loss!). Best regards!
Gokhan Aya Thanks soo much for your posisitve comments.Yes,this IS when a major record label would sign and support a Progressive Rock band.The Vertigo record label had some fantastic bands.These were mega splendid times indeed;specially when Flame Dream had 18 roadies;and 5 semi trucks for touring.Greetings from very hot Southern California.
Me california native, Dale Hauskins.....
Dude you're a badass. Vertigo was an incredible label, musy be amazing to have your work printed out for many to hear.
I finally understand how Mr. Bruford became a jazz player and I'm so happy he did as much as I'm happy Alan White replaced him on YES. It all worked out well for YES, UK, KC and Earthworks, didn't it?
I personally think the best Yes music includes Bruford and Wakeman.
Excellent intel!
Thank you, Bill!!!
Great footage! Always nice to hear Bill telling it like it is, in his inimitable fashion.
Such an amazing drummer.
i dont watch interviews often but i watched this one all the way through. Bruford has interesting and sometimes funny answers
What a delightful upload! Thank you so much. I've enjoyed Bruford's work throughout the 70s. The King Crimson lineup of Bruford, Wetton, Cross, and Fripp is my favorite! Bill is anextremely creative musician. I bet he makes a great dad, too.
The world needs more straight shooters like this.
Thanks for sharing this great interview.
One of the most intelligent musicians that's ever lived. Adore him!
Me encuentro muy agradecido por que hayan subido ésta entrevista a Bill - I'm very grateful for this Bruford interview. Thanks!
Man! Great interview--love the guy's comments (I wish the questions could be heard better, though you can infer them from the nature of Bruford's comments). And the guy is just one of the best drummers ever.
Close to the Edge…. Best song ever!!!
Great interview!!!
Inspiring!
His analysis of the 7 year cycle and adolescents is brilliant.
His point about mass audiences and radical music is interesting. The early 70's demonstrated that adventurous music could sell by the ship load. It is sad that things have become so safe.
Impressive mind and quality speaker. Enjoy hearing the history and perspective.
I find him straight forth, honest, articulate and one of the greatest drummers to grace our planet... I've seen him many times with Yes and KC, and I've seen Palmer as well. I think BB is the better of the two artistically, and Palmer more of a technician.
Bill Bruford = bratty brit rich kid = obnoxious "stuffed shirt". HA, HA
Trouble is he is he is smarmy , thinks he is superior and right up his fundament for my liking
Bill is one of my favorite drummers of all-time! Yes was never the same after Bruford departed.
It was still good! C'mon
Great interview, and as a Bassist, am completely appreciative of, and understand his vantage point, and view, on music.
Love this guy's thinking.
It is impossible for me to overstate how important this man’s drumming is to me as a drummer myself. I don’t say this lightly but he is an absolute hero of mine.
Inspirational. Influential. Formative even. Every time I sit at the drums I play something that I stole from him.
And yet I find it shocking how little regard he seems to give bass players. I find bass players to be almost as influential as other drummers. Obviously in the context of playing in a group my relationship with the bassist feels primary. But in Bruford’s autobiography he barely mentions Chris Squire. He seems to have a much more positive attitude about him in this earlier interview. Perhaps his perspective darkened.
And, unless I missed it, John Wetton’s name doesn’t even appear.
I could understand if Bill didn’t mention Mike Rutherford because he just played one tour with Genesis.
But the short shrift he gives both Squire and Wetton really kind of disturbs me.
He did compliment Tony Levin, bassist for King Crimson.
@@robosborne5527 …but I don’t think there’s anything about Wetton.
@@robosborne5527 Best rhythm section KC ever had; Levin/Bruford.
Interesting!!!
"....Always play with better musicians than you...."
A) Absolutely right
B) Strangely enough, that's always been my case. Sad, but true.
still love it!
What a fascinating interview!
Not sure what musicians think, but Music attained perfection in 1973, with Prog Rock being Music's best expression.
Funnily enough DSOM was playing on a burned CD off Napster in my car yesterday. Multiple levels of nostalgia.
Good lore and history, Bill always gives an articulate and interesting chat
Great interview!
My musical hero !!
watching this interview this xl weekend first thing in the morning.
This interview could not have been done more amateurishly (static camera work, invisible host out of audio range with bone-dry scripted questions), but he articulates his answers with such clarity and brilliance that I was absolutely captivated. That says a lot about the value of substance over style, I would guess.
I would assume this is just footage from one camera of an interview with the only mic being the camera mic.
What a class act. Jobson and Wheton v. Bufford and Holdsworth. Damn. I always said that and I remember my band mates back in the day laughing at me saying otherwise - and here is Bill proving me right....oh and that first UK UK album was A --fuggin-- Mazing.....then Eddy tried to take control and it went sideways. Even Allan - RIP - made comments about it. And he was such a gentle man. (met him once and had a glass of wine together - yes wine, not beer) Bill seems a little like he had a couple of pints here, but damn he is a very very smart man. I wish I could speak so eloquently even whilst sober.
I think Bill Bruford had 3 arms when he recorded Heart Of The Sunrise! Amazing drummer is Bill!
I saw him and Patrick, in the states, touring off the Flags album, so I'm assuming he's speaking of the tour he did for Music for Piano and drums.
Prog Rock Musicians of the late 60s early 70s really pushed their luck....they struggled to sell out to put food on their tables whereas classic rock acts had more profitable roads. The fact that Genesis made no real money until 1978...its EYE OPENING. I think Bruford got screwed in 1974 by Fripp at a critical financial point of his 20s. He is VERY SMART and tried to ride the wave the best he could. I bet he would have fitted in Academia just perfect instead of the rock and roll circus. He has a dicotomy of masters he serves. Tries to downplay rock music for a reason, he knows he was SMARTER than that...but lives with the consequences. He managed to retire at 60s, SMART MAN.
I very much agree with him when he said the bands of the past were all different from each other, while today, with some very welcomed exceptions, music seems standarized. King Crimson and Yes were so diametrically opposite back then that I think a better name for the former would be "No". Even the band leaders: Fripp is like The Antianderson and vice-versa.
I'm going to call KC "No" from now on, because that is just brilliant
⭐🍀🌿➕☔🌹
Been looking up to Bill Bruford since I was a young person early teens as a best drummer musician.
Great footage from him here.
Interested in his recollections and musings.
Great form here.
From when I was around 14 years old as I was watching him from interviews in magazines and his music.
Honorable mention is Patrick Moraz and him acoustic piano and drums gig.
Remember that from music interviews back then.
Remembering Modern Drummer magazine.
Bruford is a great drummer no doubt and its interesting that he would quit Yes at the height of their popularity and join King Crimson... I very glad he did because Larks Toungues, Starless and Red are definitive Bruford and the best progressive music in my opinion. I find him quite intelligent, expressive and interesting. He has similar accent as Mick Jagger... London?
He definitely does not have the same accent as Mick Jagger. Mick sounds quite thick by comparison, not a cultured man. Whereas Bill Bruford sounds and IS very intelligent. Articulate as f*ck to be honest.
Too bad she doesn't have a mic on her so we can hear the questions.
"When my wife chose to get pregnant" lol
Wow, where did this come from? Great Interview - Bill is as eloquent as ever.
Stephen Watt
MTV
IamKeyth you’d think MTV would have the budget to provide the interviewer with a $70 microphone
The progressive rock drummer who changed the way I listened to music during my high school years.
Although this interview was conducted many years ago, like 35 years ago, Bill Bruford is one interesting and intelligent drummer. I really dug this interview, and I was really impressed with the way that he approaches music, in the sense that he's always looking to create something new, using music, and namely Jazz, so that it doesn't get boring, and that to me is a really progressive way of thinking and in his case, having actually committed his life to following that idea, via his music career.
Wow, he knew Dich Heckstall-Smith; awesome!
love the fact he mentioned "musician-man-ship" of Genesis as one of the great acts he has played with. Funny when he called Wetton a "pop star" as opposed to an artist - one can only imagine the arguments in UK given this damning statement. BTW I love Wetton
I suspect the direction Wetton made with Asia likely confirmed his suspicions. I think Wetton is great, but Asia was pretty mainstream, in the 1980s.
where's the interviewer, in an alley down the road?
just several feet away; no mic
The Interviewer asks the same question about 8 times...and Bill actually manages to flesh out different responses...and then "What is your view of the 6o's,70'sand 80's rock scene?" again...aaaahhhhhh!
This dude has the most terrifying body of work of any drummer
he smiles exactly like robert fripp
Carol Kaye actually played bass on "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'", but, I digress.
Now all I'm wondering is where I can get my hands on this purple Japanese KC bootleg tie haha
Nice Tie
..."and the fact that some nauseous wimp had to sing on top about I love you, please hold my hand, didn't cut it either way for me..." 😂. My sentiments exactly!
As I live and breathe Id swear that’s Chris Morris
Was thinking exactly the same!
"Eat my Drums!" 🥁🤡
OMG, finally someone said it
The alcoholic drummer was Tony O Reilly form The Koobas. He also played with Yes at Newcastle City Hall with The Who, Arthur Brown, The Mindbenders, Free and The Small Faces - would you believe it!
So Yes started as a sort of eclectic blue-eyed soul cover band at the very beginning, before launching into the creation of original songs/sounds. Interesting, I’d have never guessed!
20:35 --- which prog musicians is he referring to that were hopeless? Any ideas? There were some excellent prog musicians of the time he is describing. Also, he continues to say it died of it's own excess. What excess?
Great drummer and quite a brilliant man but it seems to me that he tends to view the world as sort of an absolutist, which sadly, might even have contributed to him retiring so early. That he views the success of Yes in the '70s, for example, as some sort of "trick", is rather sad. He speaks as though the music contained nothing of substance and seems to compare everything to some ideal of objective greatness. I get the feeling that he reduces art down to it's more tactile components (craft) and then judges art based on that criteria. He played on Close To The Edge - one of the most wonderful records ever made, and I say that based on the emotional impact it has had on so many. And at the end of the day, isn't how music makes people feel the most important thing of all?
Yes, feel is everything and Close to the Edge is one of the most emotional records out there although it is often regarded more for its technical prowess.
I think he just doesn't care about success. His career supports that. He enjoyed KC not for the fame, but for the freedom and challenge it presented. His other pursuits with Bruford, Earthworks, etc. weren't for the money or the fame - it was for his ability to continue to hone his craft and have the freedom to play with others that helped him become his best. That was his pursuit. Not much unlike the words of Peart in Limelight. I think it's refreshing.
"It was dusk to dawn, or death, whichever came first" hahah
Bill Bruford at the age of thirty-five asseverating that he will still be playing at the age of sixty. As it turned out,, he announced his retirement from playing at the age of fifty-nine.
Bill Bruford: “how I spent the 70’s”
‘70 starship trooper
‘71 heart of the sunrise
‘72 Siberian Khatru
‘73 larks tongues in aspic pt 2
‘74 starless
‘75 silently falling
‘76 cinema show
‘77 feels good to me
‘78 in the dead of night
‘79 fainting in coils
David Bowie a "past master?" In 1984?
Great shame it’s impossible to hear the questions !
"SMALL contribution..." the man is too humble
I seriously love the way portrays king crimson, I always felt there was something much different about them from the others myself, they just have that unmistakeable authenticity that you don't have with a lot of groups. They have a lot of similarities to the best punk groups and Hardcore groups, or honestly in many ways I see the most parallels between king crimson and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixker-Zavala of At the Drive-in and Mars Volta. For many of the same reasons their band At the Drive-In broke up for many similar reasons, they were seen as the "New experimental Nirvana from space" in a way in the late 90s/early 2000s, and they didn't want that kind of fame so they broke up and the duo went on to form the experiential group The Mars Volta, who definitely took influence from King Crimson but not in the "rip-off l" kind of way so many later "prog" bands did.
Bill Bruford is an institution. Here he is so articulate and eloquent, beautiful English. A real Englishman (I am from the UK, London born). I will admit, he's not my favourite drummer, I find his playing just doesn't take me there, almost like an anti-climax, leaving me wanting, but I genuinely love the guy and know of his contribution to the drumming scene. Maybe I haven't heard enough of his music and would be happy to explore. My tastes in the prog-rock scene are early Genesis (up to Seconds Out from that point on Genesis went downhill, selling out). I have Red, I have an Earthworks album, and that's about it (re-Bill). Great interview and I only wish I was as eloquent, articulate, and as relaxed as that in my life :)
Subtitles?
So smug and condescending. I love it. 😂😂
Genesis concert 1978, (San Diego Sports Arena), left after 40 minutes, what a bore. My date fell asleep.
Dig the interview, but thinking that Baker and Palmer were all there was in England during the late 60's and 70's falls flat when you check out Jon Hiseman, John Marshall, John Stevens, Mitch Mitchell, Phil Seamen, Robert Wyatt, Pip Pyle, Keith Moon, Tony Oxley and several others.
Yeah I agree.
I love bill but I am sure he demanded she stay far away when she asked the questions , brilliant men are usually strange.
I was talking about BB ,he is a brilliant man . How would I know you sir ?
Vinny D only because dealing with twats can be hard work lol
+Vinny D aftter After working for so long with someone like Fripp, you end up catching some of the weirdness
"As soon as the audience understands it, drop it" "The key to death is repetition" Explain AC/DC ?
The man is super bright a true thinker ...a little strange to hear him say England has no drummers ? besides GB and CP. Well what about Bonzo Pacie powell ? and not one word of the biggest baddest of them all ZEPPELIN !!!.Bill is great 1 of the very best he reminds me Of Neil P has so must to say and plays as good as most of the drummers i listed .Bonzo at his best was the best anyway cool interview .
Not to mention taking the drum stool for the first Genesis tour where Phil Collins fronted the band!
Bonham and Paice came a little later and didn’t have the technique and finesse of the others mentioned.
hes so fine
"Some nauseous wimp..." Yes!