In the aftermath of the announcement of FM’s concert in Greece and on the occasion of the band’s 40th anniversary and especially the release of another excellent album (“Old Habits Die Hard”), we get in touch via Zoom with Steve Overland to talk about the past, the present and the future of FM. The British band will play in Athens on November the 2nd.
Interview : Sakis Nikas
Rockpages.gr: Steve, congratulations on 40 years of FM. Who could have known, right?
Steve Overland: Oh, thank you…it’s quite an achievement, isn’t it? Hard to believe really…time slipped by so quickly. We’ve had such a great time…we still do, of course. We are very fortunate to still do what we love and have such a great following all over the world. I mean, we just got back from South America (ed. note: the interview took place on April, 16th) and it was just amazing. The fact that we’ve been doing this for 40 years and still have so many fans all over the world is absolutely fantastic.
Rockpages.gr: Did you think that after all these years, you’d be still doing this? If I had told you back in 1984 that you are gonna be around 40 years later, would you believe it?
Steve Overland: (laughs) You couldn’t really, right? Since Day 1 of FM all the Press and people like you were so supportive and positive that gave us strength really to carry on and try to make every record better than the previous one. We never rested on our laurels and we were always aiming towards the future and what should we do next. That’s our frame of mind even to this day.
Rockpages.gr: Let’s talk about “Old Habits Die Hard”. The album was done under some really difficult and sad circumstances: Chris’ death and Jem’s battle with cancer were actually really shocking to all the FM fans…
Steve Overland: It was a shock really for all of us. I’ve been away with the family for two weeks and I got back on a Sunday. Chris’ wife called me the next day and she told me that Chris had a heart attack…and that was it! He was not an old man, he was only 67, he was still fit, didn’t carry any weight. It was just one of those things…as you know, life’s not always fair and all you can do really is carry on with what you are doing as difficult as it may seem. 2023 was kinda a year that FM wants to forget really…Jem is back to normal; he’s got the “all clear” and that was one of the reasons why the album took a little bit longer than we thought. But at the same time these, as you said, difficult circumstances pushed us a bit further…a bit more to work harder on the record. We all wanted to make the best album and I am really proud of how the album turned out. I love it!
Rockpages.gr: You should be because it’s a great record and I totally mean it. How about the album cover? Whose idea it was?
Steve Overland: I came up with the title. I was searching for a title that summed up a band that’s been doing this for 40 years and we threw some titles on the table like “Legacy” and stuff like that. But there’s a saying here in Britain, I guess it’s the same in Greece, too…old habits die hard. We all thought it was a perfect title. Merv (Goldsworthy) came up with the image which is very fitting with the old guy with a guitar. I instantly loved it and it fitted perfectly with the title.
Rockpages.gr: Steve, from my perspective, the new album covers the whole FM musical spectrum. It has its AOR moments, the bluesy side, and the more rocking elements. Did you sit down with the rest of the guys and said “let’s celebrate 40 years of FM with an album that covers everything” or did it come out spontaneously?
Steve Overland: Well, it’s a good point…I am glad you think that because we wanted to do this, really. At the end of the day, though, when you sit down and write a song all your influences just come out…as you said, from melodic rock to blues…to everything. Everybody got involved in the writing and the truth is that we wanted to record an album that sums up those 40 years but we didn’t sit down and said: “we need to write a song like “That Girl” or “I Belong To The Night”. They just came out that way. It’s really amazing that almost all the reviews said exactly what you just described about the album. I think that with this one we really presented the best things of what FM is as a band, really. I am very pleased with the way it came out.
Rockpages.gr: The first single “Out of the Blue” went down like a storm. I am sure you have read the reviews and all the positive comments. It’s like listening a mix of Toto with Foreigner but in the FM style…
Steve Overland: That’s a great analogy…thank you! Jem (Davis) came up with the initial idea. I love Toto as a band; their musicality, the hooks…everything really. FM has that side obviously…of course we have also that Bad Company bluesy side. So, when Jem presented to me the groove of “Out of the Blue”, I absolutely loved it. We knocked it together really quickly and I believe that it’s a great opening track with a brilliant groove. To be honest, the reviews of the album and that song in particular had been off the scale. We can’t believe it. We couldn’t be happier that we are starting a long tour with a great album in our bags. Another thing is that every journalist picks up a different favorite song from the album which is great because it shows that the album is packed with good songs and not just really 3 or 4 ones. It’s a good rounded album.
Rockpages.gr: Speaking of favorite songs, mine is “Lost” which I thought it would be the second single but you chose instead “Don’t Need Another Heartache”…
Steve Overland: That’s fantastic. This is one of the songs I came up early on for the album. Once again the Toto influence is there but with a clear FM feel to it. I love that track, too. As a matter of fact, I think that you’re the first one that chooses “Lost” as his favorite song. That’s cool.
Rockpages.gr: Now that you are getting ready for the tour, I guess it’s getting harder every year to come up with a set list as you have so many great albums in your catalogue…
Steve Overland: Oh…you have no idea (laughs)! The British fans are asking us to play some more obscure songs because we are obviously playing in UK often. Obviously in places like Spain or Greece, the fans want to hear a lot of songs from “Tough It Out”; they love that record. It’s a big album, after all! We want to bring in at least 2 or 3 songs from the new album on this tour and maybe include some rarely played songs from the past. We had played “Bad Luck” and “I Belong To The Night” a million times and we need to mix the set list a little bit.
Rockpages.gr: Steve, you got to remember though that here in Greece and everywhere really, all the fans expect to hear “Bad Luck”, “That Girl”, “I Belong To The Night”. You know that…
Steve Overland: I know…I know! And we will…I promise you, we will (laughs)! We haven’t been in Greece for such a long time and the least we can do is play all the big songs!
Rockpages.gr: And I guess you know that you should also play “Synchronized” which is a relatively new yet already classic FM track.
Steve Overland: Of course, we will. That’s a set favorite.
Rockpages.gr: I was thinking the other day that FM had never done a proper US Tour in your career. It’s a shock really considering that you are playing a US style of music…
Steve Overland: Absolutely…I totally agree with you. We have a clear American sound. We’ve nearly been there in numerous occasions but for one reason or another we didn’t manage to do a tour there. I’ve been to America many times…I’ve done radio interviews, I wrote with Desmond Child…you know the song “Bad Luck”. Back in the day, it had to do with Epic, our record company here in the UK who wanted absolute control and the Americans wanted to take us there and arrange for us a tour in the States. It was really a battle between the UK and the American label which was a shame really. We are trying to rectify that now and we are working on doing a US tour in the near future.
Rockpages.gr: Steve, let’s make it a little difficult for you: “Indiscreet” or “Tough It Out”?
Steve Overland: Oh…(laughs)! Well, “Indiscreet” was the album that started it everything for us so I have a bit of a soft spot for it. It was a great time for the band. Having said that, I still remember when we were making “Tough It Out”, I instantly thought that it was a killer album! I said to myself that if this doesn’t shoot us to superstardom, I don’t know what will! I really believed in that album. We had Neil Kernon and Nigel Green on board which are masters of their craft and they have worked with some huge names like Def Leppard. We had a great team around us and everybody in the record company thought that it would be a hit record. They really thought that we were gonna be the English Bon Jovi. For me, “Tough It Out” is a classic album with fantastic songs on it.
Rockpages.gr: How about the most underrated FM album…which one would that be?
Steve Overland: Well, there are albums I don’t like very much (laughs)…but when we are talking about “underrated” by the press and the fans in general, there hasn’t been one really. “Metropolis” was a great record and that sets us back on track because it got good reviews and signaled our return to the music scene. I wasn’t that sure for that album because we haven’t been together as a band for 9 years so I was wondering if it was good enough, you know…but luckily it received a fantastic feedback and we are still together after 14-15 years since that day.
Rockpages.gr: Steve, last question…if it was up to you to organize the ideal melodic rock festival, which 4 bands would you choose? Steve Overland: Obviously, you are gonna go with the big bands, aren’t you? So, I’d choose Toto, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams and of course FM (laughs)!
