Tyketto Talk September 2024 UK Tour, ‘Wings’ And More

Apr 15, 2024 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Mark Ellis

Rock legends Tyketto, renowned for their timeless anthem ‘Forever Young’ are gearing up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic album ‘Strength in Numbers’ with an extensive UK tour alongside longtime friends, Little Caesar. Danny Vaughn kindly chatted to JLTT about the tour and much more:

Who is in Tyketto, what do they play and how did you meet?

Johnny Diteodoro on Drums & vocals. He and played in Waysted together beginning in 1986 Ged Rylands on keyboards & vocals. He has been with Tyketto for more than 12 years now. We first met when he asked me to do some guest vocals on his first “Rage Of Angels” album Chris Childs on bass guitar & vocals. Chris and I first met when I was asked to join The Illegal Eagles, a UK based tribute band, that he also played in. Harry Scott Elliot on guitar. I found Harry in a cradle, wearing nothing but swaddling clothes, drifting amongst the reedy banks of the Wye river with a tiny guitar made of matchsticks in his hands.

Tyketto will be touring the UK in September 2024 in a co-headline tour with Little Caesar. How did the idea for the co-headline tour arise and have you toured together before?

We have never done shows with Little Caesar before but I have been a huge fan of the band since their first album came out. I love the combination of the two bands because our styles are quite different but, I think, complimentary. After covid, we put together a great, 3 band package in 2023 with Tyketto, FM and Dare. People were still not only reluctant to gather in large crowds (who can blame them?) but covid also left most of us with our finances in a worrisome state. SO we knew we would have to offer bang for the buck. And we did. People loved it and I think this is the way forward. The more you can offer the audience in one show, the more of them will take a chance with their hard earned money.

Are there any venues/locations on the UK Tour that hold a special significance to you and the band? Any places that you have never played before?

There are a lot of venues that are meaningful to Tyketto for a wide variety of reasons. Nottingham Rock City, JBs in Dudley, The London Underworld to name a few. But the one that comes to mind first would have to be our very first ever UK show, which was in St. David’s Hall in Cardiff. We were opening up for White Lion on our first international tour and we had no idea what to expect. The crowd were amazing, knew all of the songs on our first album and welcomed us loudly and with open arms. There are a lot of places we haven’t played yet. How about the Royal Albert Hall? I’d love to do a show there!

One of your tracks is ‘Wings’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?

Being a young musician at the time I tried to write what I knew. Long distance relationships are de rigueur in my line of work. So writing a song of longing and love for the partner that you are missing was a simple choice.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

I have played 2 Gibson Chet Atkins SST 12 string acoustic/electric guitars on stage for the past 24 years. They are stunning instruments that Gibson doesn’t make anymore and they have been through the mill, bless them. I hope they can continue going as long as I can. Or vice versa.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I live in the south of Spain. “Un lugar de belleza perfecta”

In addition to the UK tour, Tyketto will be playing at Maid of Stone Festival in Kent in July 2024. How do you approach a festival set?

Normally a festival set will be shorter than the set we would do in our own shows so you have to come up with hit after hit, so to speak. Play your most popular and rocking tunes for the 60 or so minutes you are on stage and never let up. Leave ’em (and usually me) breathless.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

This is a tough one as I actually do some scoring. I think I’d go for Stephen King’s Dark Tower. That series has some many different moods, twists and turns and outright weirdness that you would always be looking to compose something different throughout the film.

Which Tyketto’s tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

1. Lay Your Body Down 2. Faithless 3. Standing Alone

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Yes, thousands of them!!! As a songwriter I love Don Henley, Tom Waits, John Hiatt , Stevie Wonder. As a performer there’s David Lee Roth, Mick Jagger, James Brown. As a singer there’s Glenn Hughes, Stevie Wonder (worth saying twice!) Steve Perry, Joe Cocker, Ricky Medlocke….I could go on.

Given your vast catalogue, is it difficult picking a setlist and do you have a specific song selection process?

There are a few songs that we have to play every time, no matter what. There’s no point in being precious about it. We are entertainers and we are there to serve the audience so there’s no point in trotting out half of a set of songs that are deep cuts. But you also need to keep things fresh so you’re not playing the same set all of the time. It’s a real balancing act and I do spend a lot of time trying to sort out which song lists suit which types of shows, etc. It usually involves a couple of late nights, a lot of crumpled pieces of paper and several cups of tea.

How do you look after your voice?

My main weapon has been diet. I became vegan almost 8 years ago at a time of crisis when I started losing my voice to a nasty form of acid reflux and it really turned things around for me. I don’t drink alcohol very much (less and less these days) and I don’t smoke. I treat my voice the same way a footballer would treat their knees. Without it I’m jobless!

What makes Danny Vaughan and Tyketto happy and what makes you unhappy?

How deep do we want to go here? The short answer (that will sound pandering but it’s true) is that what makes us happy is the wonderful relationship we have with our fans. I guess every band says this but I really feel that we have a very special community of fans. They not only support us in so many ways but they also support one another. They really are a kind and caring group of people and I’m very proud of that. What makes us unhappy? I can’t speak for anyone but myself but these days it’s the combination of ignorance and arrogance that seems to be rampant in so many people these days. Just look anywhere on the internet and you’ll see what I mean. We really are in the process of destroying ourselves through stupidity. And that does, indeed, piss me off. Now that’s a strange place to end an interview!

Tyketto

Feature Image Photo Credit: Mark Ellis 

Tyketto will perform on Saturday 20th July 2024 on The Main Stage at Maid Of Stone Festival in Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom. 

For tickets and more information visit: https://maidofstonefestival.com/ 

In addition, Tyketto have announced a nine-date Septembert 2024 UK tour with their long-time friends Little Caesar to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic album ‘Strength in Numbers’ which will visit the following venues:

12th September: o2 Academy Islington, London
13th September: The Junction, Cambridge
14th September: Rock City, Nottingham
15th September: The Birdwell, Barnsley
17th September: The Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne
19th September: The Garage, Glasgow, Scotland
20th September: Academy 2, Manchester
21st September: KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
22nd September: The 1865, Southampton

Tickets are onsale now here: https://www.tyketto.com/tour 

For more infromation visit their official website here: https://www.tyketto.com/