MTV: What was the first record you bought?
David Gray: "I Don't Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats, in 1979. I just like it. Ridiculous song, really, but there you go.
MTV: What was the first concert you went to?
Gray: The Smiths in 1985, the Meat Is Murder tour. Morrissey was throwing plants around on the stage. I had a piece of weed that he had thrown into the audience, which I treasured for years — until I suddenly realized it was just a dried-out bit of weed.
MTV: Were you a big Smiths fan?
Gray: I was. I don't think they've aged very well. I was a big fan at the time. Everyone used to say, "God, it's so miserable, Morrissey's so miserable." And I would say, "No, it's brilliant." But I listen back and I think, "God, it's so miserable." Bands from that sort-of Manchester scene, like the Fall and New Order, aged so much better than the Smiths have. But I was a massive Smiths fan at the time, as most people were. It's almost like an underground cult thing now, the Morrissey fans. It's a bit like Cure fans — who are they? But there's loads of them.
The Smiths did a few brilliant tracks. "How Soon Is Now?" is an absolutely fantastic song, and a couple of the ballads that were far more stripped-down — "Back to the Old House" was a really good one. But when you hear something like "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want," you think, "Wait a minute, you were a pop star, with loads of money, playing big shows. What are you talking about?"
MTV: The experiences you went through, ultimately recording White Ladder out of pocket at home, would have made a lot of people to quit.
Gray: It wasn't so bad. It was a bit grim, that's for sure. But what can you do? I wouldn't want to do it again, but you've just got to come through it. I sort of lost sight of why I was making music, as if it is something that's connected to the commercial world. But I thought, "That's wrong; you just make music for music's sake." When I got back on track with that, it all started going well. But some of it was quite soul-destroying. I don't think I really admitted to myself how much I was hurting at the time. It would just manifest itself in these angry, edgy performances. [laughs].
MTV: Inspiration happens when things go wrong. It's probably toughest to write when things are great.
Gray: I don't go along with that at all. I think music will inspire you whether you're up or down. You don't become incredibly focused and creative because everything's going so wrong. I certainly was quite prolific while I was having a bad time. I was trying to make something positive out of the bad things that were happening, writing all of these very sad songs. But I don't think I'll be held back because everything's going so well when it comes to sitting down and writing. [RealVideo]
