Graham Nash has rock-written history with the Hollies and Crosby Stills & Nash. Now the 81-year-old has released a new album. "Now" is the name of the game. An interview about King Charles, Joe Biden, his late friend David Crosby - and concerts in Munich.
Ten minutes left until the sound check. Graham Nash is performing in Buffalo, New York, that night. But the 81-year-old still has time for a phone call about his new album "Now" – his most personal, as he says. He is currently on a sold-out American tour. On September 6, the man who made rock history in the sixties with the Hollies and later as part of Crosby, Stills & Nash will play at Circus Krone. "I'm working really hard this year," he says, before talking about what inspired the new songs – and how he was once badly advised in Munich.
Mr. Nash, you've been an American for over 50 years – but as a native Englishman, did you watch King Charles' coronation the other day?
Of course! I sat in front of the TV for five hours. There are many people who believe that the monarchy is an outdated concept that has no place in today's world. But when I came face to face with Queen Elizabeth and spoke to her . . .
When she made you an Officer of the Order of the British Knights in 2010?
Exactly. Then I suddenly realized that I was seeing a woman who had the DNA of a thousand years of English queens and kings in her. And that's pretty exciting.
You are an icon of the hippie counterculture. What did this award mean to you?
Very much. I thought of my mother and father, who gave birth to me in Blackpool in 1942, and how proud they would have been of their boy.
Many musicians of a certain age tend to be nostalgic. But you called your new album "Now". A statement?
Indeed. I wanted to prove that you can still rock at the age of 81.
But that's what you do on this album. But did I count correctly that there are a total of five love songs on it?
And all for my wife, Amy Grantham. She is a brilliant artist and a brilliant woman. I open it with the phrase: "I never thought that I would love again in my life." And that's why it's certainly my most personal album.
+Live on stage: (from left) Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby in 2000
© Photo: dpa
Many know you as a soft singer-songwriter. But in "Stars and Stripes forever" you harshly judge the "Make America great again" mentality.
America is great, but it has its problems, which I may see a little more clearly as an immigrant. As artists, we need to reflect the times we live in. Need to talk about politics, the rise of the far right and autocrats. About climate change.
Currently, America is debating President Biden's age. He's about the same age as you, so do you think he's capable of a second round?
I think the man has a good heart – and an alert mind. I don't see anyone else who would be so popular.
It depends on the songs. Show me a really nice song, and I'm going to want to sing it.
Graham Nash on possible plans with Stephen Stills and Neil Young
But it gets a bit nostalgic on "Now": You recorded a song together with Allan Clarke, with which you were with the Hollies.
As you know, Allan was the singer of the Hollies, the voice behind "He ain't heavy, he's my Brother" or "The Air that I breathe". I always felt guilty for leaving the Hollies to start Stills & Nash with David and Stephen Crosby. Allan was my oldest friend, I knew him as a six-year-old. Now I don't feel guilty anymore. (Laughs.)
They sing the song "Buddy's Back" – a tribute to Buddy Holly.
I love the song. I wanted people to know what an unbridled love we Hollies had for Buddy Holly – damn, we had named ourselves after him.
You also had a long creative partnership with David Crosby – and you were at loggerheads for almost as long. Did you reconcile with him before he died?
I did. We were in e-mail contact, even made an appointment where we wanted to make a video call to see each other. I called and waited and waited. Then I learned that he had died. I will think of him every day for the rest of my life.
Did his death bring you and your colleagues Stephen Stills and Neil Young back together?
We have spoken, yes. But will we ever make music together again? It depends on the songs. I'm a musician – show me a really nice song, and I'm going to want to sing it. We don't have any plans, but you never know.
You'll be playing at Circus Krone in September – it's not entirely unknown to you, is it?
I know, of course. I played with the Hollies and also with Crosby, Stills and Nash. We had a road manager who spoke German. So I asked him before the Munich show: "Show me a German sentence that I can say to people." And do you know what he answered? "Say: Sit on my face!"
Oha!
And I dutifully followed that on stage. People laughed their heads off – and at some point they told me that I had embarrassed myself. Yes, we had a lot of fun at Circus Krone.
The interview was conducted by Johannes Löhr.
Tickets for the concert on September 6 at the Circus Krone under the motto "60 Years of Songs and Stories" at Münchenticket.
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