Old habits die hard! Perhaps nobody knows this saying better than Pete Jupp, who after a stint holding down the beat for NWOBHM legends Samson, formed his own band, FM. Little did he know it would be the beginning of a musical journey that’s now gone for 40 years with no end in sight. While other bands have come and gone, casualties to the sands of time, FM has remained the eminent torchbearers of AOR, their torch burning brighter than ever on their latest album, Old Habits Die Hard. We sat down with Jupp to discuss FM’s latest musical offering, the tail end of the NWOBHM, and the possibility of FM ever playing America again. What lurks on the “Other Side of Midnight”? Find out!
Greetings Pete and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?
Pete Jupp: I’m doing great! I hope everyone else is doing as well as I am.
We’re doing great as well, and for good reason. We’re a few days away from the release of a brand new FM album, Old Habits Die Hard. How soon after the release of 2022’s Thirteen did things start coming together for this one?
PJ: We’re always writing songs. On this latest album, we had a few problems because Jem (Davis), the keyboard player, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Obviously, he had radiotherapy and all sorts, but the good news is, he’s fine. He’s clear and he’s back. He’s back good. Then, I don’t know if you know, but we sadly lost Chris Overland, Steve’s brother. There were a few little bumps in the road getting this album together, but we got there. I mean, really, a lot for Chris in his honor. He was a massive part of FM. He really was. It was a sad loss. It really was a sad loss. Bless him.
I send my condolences to you and the rest of the camp in that regard. In what ways did those events impact the direction of this album, whether it be the songwriting or recording aspects?
PJ: I’m not sure it really impacted the songwriting or the direction. It interrupted things a bit because we had to wait for the funeral and then Jem wasn’t very well. Like I said, it was just a few bumps in the road, but we got there in the end, that’s the good thing. Frontiers are very good. We kept saying, “Look, we’re not gonna be able to deliver on time. We’re very sorry, but X, Y, and Z is happening.” They were very understanding, so that’s great.
You mentioned a minute ago how FM’s always writing. I know with some bands who have been around as long as FM have, they’ll do an album, tour, and then take a year off or whatever may have you. Every band is different. In FM’s case, do you find yourselves always writing and workshopping ideas off each other?
PJ: Well, we’re kind of thinking, as we’re of a certain age, we probably haven’t got that much time to be hanging around *laughs*. So we thought we just better crack on and get on with it! We’re very, very blessed to still be doing what we’re doing. It’s a real honor to still be out playing live and everything. We do appreciate it, but like I say, the clock is ticking *laughs*. We’re getting as much time in as we can and as many songs in as we can.
FM is a band that, historically, has seen every member contribute equally to an album in a songwriting capacity. How does the band go about this approach? Does each member bring in a handful of songs beforehand and then collectively, do you decided on a group of 10 or so for the album?
PJ: Yeah, we pool all of our ideas. I’d say now with computer technology, it’s a lot easier to do demos of songs. You can do it at home, whereas back in the day when we first formed, you’d have to go to a studio. I think it’s a lot easier. So yeah, we just pool our ideas, go around someone’s house or into the studio, sit down, we play them, and then we put them all together. We might change some things and then the songs become the band’s songs. People have individual ideas, but then they become the band’s songs.
Furthermore, was there anything FM did differently on this album as opposed to past releases?
PJ: This album, I must admit, we weren’t all in the same studio at the same time very much of the time, which was…I don’t know. It was a bit of a pain, but it’s just circumstances. Hopefully on the next album we’ll be more together because you bounce ideas off each other. You can share files with people, but it’s not the same as being in the same room. Hopefully on the next album, it will be together a lot more in the studio.
In FM’s case, would you say being together is more fulfilling? In today’s age, COVID aside, I know a lot of bands record remotely because it works for them. Is it better for FM to be together?
PJ: I don’t know if I’d say it’s better, it’s just nicer I think. It’s nice to be with the guys and knock ideas around. It is a lot easier nowadays to record. You can do it on your own and send files. It’s totally different to how it was in the ’80s and ’90s. I don’t know whether that’s a better thing or not. I don’t know. There’s still good music being made. There was great music being made back in the day. I don’t really know. Whatever works for you, that’s what I think is good.
I was listening to the latest single, “Don’t Need Another Heartache”, and the one thing that leapt out at me was Steve Overland’s vocals. Can you talk a bit about his vocal style and how impactful they are to the FM sound?
PJ: Well he just does everything I taught him. I was his vocal teacher for years…I’m lying obviously *laughs*. He’s just a lucky person. He was born with that voice and he’s still got that voice, and that voice is the sound of FM. We’re very, very lucky to have him. He’s a great guy. There’s nothing more I can say. He’s just one of the best singers there’s ever been, in my opinion. Without him, I don’t think there would be an FM because he’s such a part of the sound. Don’t tell him I said that. He’ll get big headed *laughs*.
We’ll keep it under wraps! Another thing that set FM apart from their peers is there was never an album that drastically veered away from the band’s core sound and identity. Was there ever a point in the ’90s where a record company or other external forces tried pressuring the band into doing so?
PJ: In the ’90s, we were recording the albums and licensing them to record labels, so there wasn’t really any record label pressure. We just made the albums. We had, in the ’90s, when we recorded Dead Man’s Shoes, that album was a real struggle. We didn’t have a lot of money. We recorded it in a community center in Slough, which is in the UK, and we borrowed equipment. We borrowed a recording device from Pat Cash, the tennis player *laughs*. We were begging, borrowing, and stealing all we could, and that album was a real struggle to make.
Then, the grunge thing was coming through. We just became the most unfashionable band on the planet overnight. That was a difficult time for us, and that kind of lead to when we just thought we’ll take a break. I don’t know if we really split up. We just took a break. I’m not sure what we did. There was no animosity. We always stayed friends. It was just becoming so difficult to continue going, so we just thought, well, let’s just knock on the head for now. Luckily, we’re back!
Not only are you back, but you’ve released a string of albums that many would argue are as strong as the classic albums of the ’80s and ’90s. When did FM reconvene again? Was it 2007 or ’08?
PJ: It was…I’m terrible with dates. I think it might’ve been 2006 or 2007. That was the Firefest and that came about…Kieran Dargan, who used to put the Firefest on, he would ask us yearly, “Come on, when are you gonna get back together? Just get back together! Do one show!” “Nah, nah, nah. We’re not doing that.” Then, one year, it was just like, oh, maybe we should. We had a chance and it was like, well it’s gonna be now or never. We weren’t allowed to do any warmup shows. It just had to be the Firefest. That was it.
So we hadn’t played together for 12 years. We got some rehearsals together. Basically, we were thinking, it’ll be a good laugh and everything. We’ll have fun and then we’ll just go away from each other. We’ll just go our separate ways. The Firefest sold out for the first time ever, so there were 1,500 people in Nottingham Rock City and it was just the most amazing atmosphere. It was like The Beatles had reformed or something! It was really strange *laughs*. I’m not trying to big us up too much, but I can’t really explain it. I was sat at the back playing drums and I was filling up. I had tears in my eyes because just look at the fans. They were so happy that we were back, and we were really just trying not to embarrass ourselves too much after 12 years *laughs*.
We thought, “Let’s just get through the show. Get through the show!” We came offstage and had no plans at all about what we were gonna do after the show apart from probably get drunk. We came off and it was like, “Blimey, that was amazing! What are we gonna do? Well, we better make an album! How do you do that then?!” It just went on from there. It just started to steamroll. That’s what we’re still doing, carrying on going. Like I said, that’s the honest truth. We had no plans further than that night and here we are.
The way you guys were able to do that, it almost felt seamless.
PJ: It wasn’t, I can assure you *laughs*. We just got back into it. We wrote some songs. We did some recording and stuff and we came up with Metropolis. We released Metropolis and people seemed to like it, so it was like, “Good!” Like I said, that’s it, we’re just carrying on because we feel so lucky and we feel so blessed to still be doing it even now. I remember we were in Ireland, playing with Foreigner and Journey. I stood on the stage just thinking, “You’re a lucky man. You’re a very lucky man. Don’t take this for granted.” And I don’t. None of us do. It’s great. We’re very lucky.
Before forming FM, you held down the beat for NWOBHM legends Samson. How did you end up getting that gig and what are your memories of that magical era?
PJ: I kind of joined at the end of it. I wasn’t caught up in the whole NWOBHM mania because Bruce (Dickinson) had left to join Maiden. We had Nicky Moore. He was singing, so there was Paul (Samson) and Chris (Aylmer) from the original Samson. I had known Paul for quite a few years. He said, “We might be changing drummers. Do you wanna come down, check us out and see what you think?” I’m like, “OK then!”
They had this guy called Mel Gaynor playing drums, this black guy who played for Simple Minds. Mel is the most incredible drummer. He’s just off the scale brilliant. I went down to the Marquee in London and I saw them. I was like, “Oh my God! They want ME to replace Mel? Woah! What’s going on here?!” *laughs* We had a rehearsal. Paul was playing me demos that they’d recorded. I just remember saying to him, “Yeah, I think I’m just gonna simplify the drum parts a little bit. Just make them a bit more solid.” *laughs* But it worked!
We went on to do two studio albums. The first proper tour I ever did was with Samson. We were opening for Blackfoot. That was great, Rickey Medlocke, you know? He’s got the strongest handshake in the world. It’s like, “Hi, my name’s Rickey Medlocke!” *crunch* “AHHHH!” *laughs* That was great! They were a fantastic band. We did a tour with Accept in Germany and we travelled around in a little, I don’t know if you’d have it in the States, a Ford Cortina?
I can’t say I’m familiar.
PJ: It was a real box standard car. We travelled around in that. We did the whole of Germany in this little car. I think the car was called Roger. I don’t know why *laughs*. It was great. We had such a good time. They were a great bunch of guys. Paul was one of the funniest people I ever met. He was a real character. Great guitarist, great songwriter. We had Nicky who had big shoes to fill with Bruce gone, but he just made it his own because he had a much bluesier voice than Bruce. He was great. I thank them for letting me join.
It’s funny you mention that about Rickey. Having met him for the first time last month, I can vouch for that handshake.
PJ: He shook your hand?!
Yep, and I thought I gave a firm handshake. My hand was sore for 2 days! I almost had to get the icepack out.
PJ: And it was everyday! He’d come into the dressing room like, “Hey guys, how are ya?!” *shakes hand* *laughs* He was great.
The release of Old Habits Die Hard coincides with two very important anniversaries for FM, the first being the band’s 40th anniversary. What events took place that led tot he band’s formation and is it hard to wrap your head around such an annviersary?
PJ: Yes, it is very hard. I’m just glad that we are celebrating it. The band got together because Merv (Goldsworthy) joined Samson when I was in the band. We were coming home from some shows in Ireland. We were on the ferry and it was really rough crossing. Merv doesn’t do rough crossings on ferries. He just said, “I had enough. I wanna do something more melodic. Do you wanna try and get a band together?” I said, “Yeah, of course!” That’s when we got the initial FM together. It was Merv, myself, Andy Barnett, and then we just tried a whole bunch of different singers and it didn’t really get off the ground. It just kind of fell apart. Andy went off to Canada with Corey Hart, so nothing really happened.
I think I was actually having a bath or something, having a shower, and I thought, “We need a singer and guitar player.” I had been in a band called Wildlife with Steve and Chris, and I thought, “Ah, I wonder what they’re up to?” So I just gave Steve a call. We went to Steve’s house. He lived in Norfolk, which is about 100 miles from London. Merv and I went up there. We had a few drinks. Merv threw up in the toilet *laughs* and we got through rehearsals together. Our whole plan was, we’ll do four songs and if we get a deal, great. If we don’t, we’ll forget about it. So we did the four songs and we got signed to Portrait, which was a subsidiary of CBS, which then became Sony. And that was it! We were on our way *laughs*!
And it’s been a party ever since!
PJ: Yeah, pretty much! A pretty good party *laughs*!
You mention setting out to be more melodic coming off the heels of the NWOBHM of the early ’80s. Another thing that stands out to me, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, but just from reading old magazines and watching footage of the English metal scene of the mid ’80s, it wasn’t uncommon to see on a “metal chart” the likes of Venom and Metallica, but also Russ Ballard and FM. Sure, it was opposite styles, but it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. To me, that’s awesome, especially in today’s age where there’s so many “rules”. Being only 25, I grew up in this era of “You can like this band, but not that band.” Whereas I’ve always been like, “Shit, I like FM and Venom too. Why can’t I like both?”
PJ: *laughs* Right! I can’t remember, but we did a show somewhere near Birmingham. Lars (Ulrich) was there from Metallica. This was in the really early days of Metallica. He said, “My girlfriend loves your band. That song “Frozen Heart” is driving me nuts! It’s driving me completely nuts! I hate it!” *laughs* But then on the other hand, there used to be this club just across the road from the Marquee in London called the St. Moritz. It was where you went for a late night drink. Lemmy was always in there playing the slot machine. I was stood with him and he said, “You’re in FM, aren’t you?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “I love your band. Lovely harmonies!” So there you go *laughs*! Then he went back to playing the fruit machine *laughs*.
Considering Lemmy’s two favorite bands were The Beatles and ABBA, I can’t say I’m surprised he picked out the harmonies.
PJ: He was a very interesting guy. Very, very, very clever. Very knowledgeable. He was a good man to talk to…when you could get him away from the slot machine *laughs*.
2024 also marks the 35th anniversary of FM’s classic sophomore album, Tough It Out. What did the band set out to achieve with this album as opposed to Indiscreet and what are your favorite songs off of it?
PJ: Tough It Out, we went through quite a few changes between the recording. We moved from Portrait to Epic, which was only really just moving down or up a floor. We were still within the Sony umbrella so to speak. We had a false start. We recorded four songs with a guy called Jeremy Smith who was involved with the Starship album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla. It just didn’t work out. We just weren’t happy. To be totally honest, the thing was, Epic said, “Record four songs in the UK and if we like them, you can go to LA and finish the album.” That was our dream obviously, a young band going to LA.
We got the mixes back from these four songs and we listened to them. We were just so underwhelmed. It was like, “Oh God, they’re just not right.” CBS were happy. We had a meeting with them and they said, “Alright then! You’re off to LA!” We said, “No, we’re not happy. We can’t carry on like this. We need to start again.” In fair play to them, they said, “OK!” And they did! They scrapped. It would’ve been a lot of money that these four songs cost.
Then, we went into the studio with Neil Kernon to record Tough It Out in London. He was a great producer. He was a real producer. He had great ideas and we came up with Tough It Out. We’d wrote some more songs as well after the Jeremy Smith sessions. Steve and Chris went and wrote with Desmond Child, enough said. We went into record and Tough It Out was the result. Favorite songs? I do like “Tough It Out”. Can I remember any other songs off the album? *laughs* I’m sure I can.
I remember when Merv and I wrote “Don’t Stop”. We were in a rehearsal room with Didge (Digital). That was kind of fun. We were just knocking ideas around. That turned out good. There’s a lot of good songs on that album, but I do like “Tough It Out”. That one stuck it out and I still enjoy playing that one. We had Nigel Greene mix it. He was involved with Mutt Lange. That was interesting. It was a good time for us. We had fun recording it. What Neil decided was, he said, “What we’ll do is we’ll have Saturday off because Sunday you can’t really do anything. So we’ll have Saturday off and then come in on Sunday.”
Friday night, we’d work half a day and then listen to what we did during the week, turn it up really loud, and also Neil had a copy of the first Dan Reed album. We were playing that up full blast and we must’ve been so unpopular at CBS Studios because we’d turn it up so loud we’d blow the speakers. You’d be listening and then suddenly one side would go dull because we’d blown the tweeter. It was like, “Well! Down the pub then!” *laughs* That was it! We must’ve been so unpopular. That was our routine: Play stuff really loud until we broke the speakers and then we go down to the pub. *laughs*
Being based here in the States, and considering “Bad Luck” was written alongside Desmond Child, I always wondered: What were the circumstances behind FM not getting a bigger push in America?
PJ: I don’t know. You’d have to speak to Sony about that. I think there were a lot of internal politics between the UK and the US. I think the heads, I’m not gonna mention their names, but the two heads of each side didn’t get on. I just think a lot of the bands were stuck in the middle of a feud really. I can’t say that’s exactly what happened, but also, I think when “Frozen Heart” came out in the States, it was doing quite well on radio. Then, “The Final Countdown” by Europe started breaking all over Europe. I think all the money went from us to them. These things happen. We’re not bitter at all! They’re a great bunch actually, Europe. We’ve done quite a few tours with them. You know, shit happens as they say. We’re still doing it.
It was always strange to me growing up in a household where bands like Journey and Foreigner and Styx were played constantly. I’m from Chicago, so of course Styx is thee band for us. All of those bands are still huge here in the States and get played on classic rock radio constantly. The first time I heard FM, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why wasn’t this band as big?” Another thing I wanted to mention about the whole FM/America connection is back in 2018, when you guys did the Melodic Rock Fest out in Arlington Heights…
PJ: That’s quite near you then, isn’t it?
It’s very close, literally a half hour up Rand Road. I’ll never forget that fest because I wasn’t there.
PJ: Naughty boy *laughs*!
The reason being I was 19 at the time and the venue was strictly 21+.
PJ: Oh no!
I remember phoning the venue and trying to explain the gravity of this show. Man, I was this close to paying a degenerate friend a couple hundred bucks for a fake ID.
PJ: *laughs* Oh bless you!
I was legitimately weighing the options, “Do I see FM or potentially get arrested?” Going off that tangent, since that show, has there been any discussion of FM ever returning to America for a few gigs?
PJ: We would love to. We would come to America tomorrow, but it’s just so expensive to come over. It’s the work permits that are the killer for us, unfortunately. I think we can definitely do some shows, but getting the money, it’s a real problem. We’ve been trying to get on the Monsters of Rock Cruise in Miami. We’ve been trying to get on that, but they just don’t seem to want us, so if all of your readers can give them a bit of a g up and say, “Come get FM on there before it’s too late!”, that’d be appreciated *laughs*.
I have plenty of friends who set sail on that cruise every year and I know for a fact they’d love to see you guys.
PJ: Tell ’em to make some noise about it. I don’t know what it is. We keep trying to do it, but they just don’t seem to wanna book us, so I don’t know what it is. But we’ll keep trying.
We’ll make it happen! I’d be remiss to go through this interview without selfishly asking about my favorite FM song, “That Girl”. How did that song come about and who was “That Girl”?
PJ: Aah! Now I only found this out the other day, to be honest. We wrote it before Steve and Chris were in the band. It was Merv, myself, and Andy. “That Girl” is one of Andy’s ex-girlfriends. On the cover of, I think it was when we did “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, the single cover for that, there was a girl taking some jeans off. That is “That Girl”. Then, Iron Maiden covered it as well. I see you got the shirt!
Up the irons!
PJ: Exactly! The song changed. The Iron Maiden version is more the original version that we wrote. When it got FM-ized, the chorus changed. So “That Girl” was Andy’s ex. Now you know! *laughs*
In closing, what does the rest of 2024 have in store for FM?
PJ: Well, a lot of shows, which is great. We’re doing the 40th anniversary tour. Sadly, none in the States. We did get as far as South America earlier in the year and that was fantastic. We’d never been there! We didn’t know if people had ever heard of us. We did four shows. We did Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. We did that in March and we were shocked. The audience were a lot younger than we were. The audience were like you! You weren’t born when Indiscreet was released, were you?
Not at all!
PJ: No! That’s the thing. That was what the audience in South America were like! It was like, “You weren’t born! How do you know us?” But they went absolutely mental! We got to Bogota Airport in Colombia and you walk out from the customs bit into the terminal. There were 30 people waiting for us to sign things. It was like, “Woah!” It was great. It did our egos good *laughs*. It was really nice. It was fantastic. We’re going back hopefully next February, but we’re gonna keep trying to plug away at America.
It’s not because we don’t want to. We’ve done one show in 40 years *laughs*. We haven’t overkilled, that’s for certain. We really are trying, but it’s really down to finances to be blunt and it’s a real sad state of affairs. It’s like with the Brexit thing in the UK, that’s hit us as well. It’s hit all bands, especially at our level because all these extra costs. It’s not getting any easier, but we’re still going! That’s the thing.
The new FM album, Old Habits Die Hard, is available now on Frontiers Records. For more information on FM, visit www.fmofficial.com.