With 26 years and counting as vocalist with r n’ b legends Dr Feelgood, Robert Kane is about to release his first solo album, which I’ve reviewed for RPM, natch. This seemed like the perfect time to put some questions to him about his 50-plus-year career, which may be more varied than some people realise.

After founding The Showbiz Kids in the 1970s alongside Olga (yes, he of The Toy Dolls), Robert became the singer with the reformed Animals, before joining Dr Feelgood in 1999. Some 1000-plus gigs later, he’s still happy on the road, and having seen the band recently in France, I can tell (see what I did there) that they are still loving it, and are very much on fire at the moment. Catch them if you can.

RPM: The press release says that you’ve had these songs sitting around for a while, from various periods in your career. Why did you choose this moment to release your debut solo album, and which is the oldest song? 

R.K: I write all the time, even if it’s just a line or two that might get used later, but a lot of finished songs don’t fit with what you’re currently doing, so if there’s no outlet for them and they just get left behind, languishing in a kind of no man’s land. One day, I was playing one of those songs at home and realised I’d never played it to anyone, and I thought, ‘Well, does a song actually exist if no one has ever heard it?’. It was then that I realised that I needed to get some of these songs together and get them out there. Originally, I was hoping to have the album out about five years ago and had got started on it when COVID came along and everything just stopped. When things opened up again, I was so busy with Dr Feelgood that it had to be put on hold until I had the time (and money) to get it done. And that time is Now! 

RPM: While the styles are slightly different, did you ever consider any of them for Dr Feelgood?

R.K: Well, Dr Feelgood is an R&B band and these songs are all rooted in R&B but there are many styles within the genre and I never heard these as Feelgood numbers. 

RPM: Tell us a little about the musicians that you chose to play on the album. What’s your history with them?

R.K: I worked with guitarist George Fearon in a band called The Alligators from 1989 to 1994, and two of the songs on the album were written with him. 

There are two drummers on the album  – Dave Dodsworth, who was also in The Alligators and Ian Hamilton, who is in great demand in the North East of England, where I live. 

Bass is played by Frankie Gibbon who also played some keyboard and even drums on one track. Also the recording was done by him at his studio. 

Steve Dawson played guitar alongside Hilton Valentine when I was in Animals ll from 1994-99 and he’s on a couple of tracks. He also did the mixing and mastering. 

Dave Chapman plays organ on one song and he was recommended to me by Steve Dawson. 

I play harmonica and rhythm guitar. 

RPM: I recently heard the first single by The Showbiz Kids, thanks to YouTube. I’m always fascinated by the history behind an artist. It’s a really good track, reflective of the era. Naturally, your voice and approach have changed over the years, and most singers take a long time to find their voice, which you clearly have now. What are your fondest memories of this time? 

R.K: It was a great time. I was young and ambitious and we really worked to try and make it.  We became very popular locally and worked a lot in London too but although we did our best to get a record contract it just didn’t happen for us. Good times though. 

RPM: While Dr Feelgood are pretty much always on the road, do you plan on releasing another solo album in the future? 

R.K: It has been mentioned, so I wouldn’t rule it out.

RPM: And, speaking of future releases, are you and Gordon Russell working on new songs at the moment, or do they just arrive when they’re ready to? ‘Damn Right!’ was such a welcome surprise; 11 great, new songs by Dr Feelgood that fit so well into the set. You obviously all had a blast recording them; it’s evident in each song. 

R.K: Gordon and I have got plenty of ideas but like all these things it’ll happen when the time is right. 

RPM: As a lifelong fan of Feelgood and a frustrated harmonica player, I have to ask. I read somewhere online that, during your audition, or perhaps just afterwards, the band gave you a nod during a practice, to tell you where the harp solos were. Your response was “I don’t play harp”, and they said “well, you better learn quickly, the tour’s coming up”, or words to that effect. Correct me if I’m wrong. And, how did you learn? After years of trying to ad-lib, I had some very technical harmonica lessons, which, as I had suspected, couldn’t teach me the ‘feel’ necessary for r n b. 

R.K: Yes, it’s true. When I auditioned and said I didn’t play, they said, ‘Can you sort that out for next week?’ My first thought was, ‘Does that mean I’ve got the job?’ 

Anyway, I had a harmonica with a busted reed, which I’d been given by The Alligators’ harmonica player but it had just been sitting in a drawer for years. So when I got home, I got this out and spent a few days frantically sucking and blowing and trying to get something out of it that sounded vaguely musical! By the end of the week, I’d managed to play a bent note with a bluesy feel to it and thought, ‘That’s it, I’ve cracked it!’ Of course, I hadn’t but I had enough to bluff my way through the songs. A few weeks later, I did my first gig with the band, and that was a bit nervy but it went really well. I never had any instruction or lessons, I just picked it up by gigging constantly, and twenty-six years later, I still don’t know what I’m doing! 

Buy Robert Kane’s ‘Blues Is Blues’ : Here.

Author: Martin Chamarette