No Ifs, No Butt
For the second time, the chance of a Destructors (1980-1983) reunion has floundered on the rocks. As ever, its cause is a lack of communication and deviation from the agreed plan.
Originally we were to tour Germany, playing as many gigs as we could to cover the cost of Neil’s plane tickets. However the tour mutated into the possibility of playing Rebellion followed by The Riverside Festival, Stamford. I’d brought a new bass and amp, so you can’t say I wasn’t committed.
Graham recently came back with a suggestion to play a festival in Berlin. He claimed we’d get flights, accommodation and wages. To make it worthwhile I suggested we use my band, with one of the guitarists dropping out to allow him to play. Graham agreed to this, but the next thing I knew he was contacting Neil in New Zealand again.
After speaking to Graham he agreed to go back to the original suggestion, which we would finalize once he’d finished the Janus Stark reunion. It was several months until he contacted me again, apparently our fee had been cut and we’d have to pay our own flights. Every time I’ve spoken to Graham about the reunion, the terms and conditions have changed. It’s like nailing jelly to a wall.
Earlier this year, Neil came to the UK to visit his parents. We met up in the Wortley Almhouses, for the first time in years and had a good chat. He told me that Graham had asked Mitch from The Black Marias to sing for The Destructors. I had never agreed to this, let alone knew about it and later found from Rob that this was the case. It’s obvious that Graham can’t stick to an agreement and, as I will not do a gig with Mitch singing, for a second time it’s all come crashing down.
I’ve not closed the door on an idea of a reunion and have plans that I will disclose when the time is right. Maybe going back to something that broke up so acrimoniously on September 24 1983 is a bad thing to do. But never say never and it’s something I’ll think about in the future.
From September 9 2009, having three original Destructors in the band, we have dropped the 666 and reverted back to our original name.
Current Destructors offer our apologies for those trying to make this happen. In particular, MAD Germany. We tried , honest!
