The Rose of Avalanche has always been one of the most unique bands in the Goth scene. With strong influences from Lou Reed and The Doors, the Leeds-based band added a classic touch to the sound of the era. After facing serious issues with their record label, Fire, The Rose of Avalanche created their own label, Avalantic Records, where they released their debut album, Never Another Sunset. Sadly, the band split up in 1992, leaving many fans wanting more and paving the way for Paul James Berry’s solo career. They returned in 2019 with a new and powerful lineup, which we enjoyed in Paris just before the pandemic. They will be playing all their classics in Madrid this weekend at the Santuario festival.
Cover photo: Viona Ferne
—According to Wikipedia, the reason of the name of the band comes from “The rose for the beauty and the “avalanche” for the power”. Is there also a reference to the Leonard Cohen songs?
—There is no reference to the Leonard Cohen song!
—The band started with three friends from school, Phil, Paul and Alan. How did you decide to start a band? Because you shared the same love for sixties music?
—Yes, we all liked The Beatles and when John Lennon got killed, that was intensified even more.
—The first single, “LA Rain” has a strong Lou Reed influence and “Velveteen”, released a few years later, was dedicated to Nico from Velvet Underground. Was the Velvet an important influence for you? Nico died just two years after the release of the second song.
—Yes, The Velvets were a big influence, along with other bands of that like – such as The Stooges, MC5, Hendrix, THE DOORS.
—Instead, both b-sides have a more Goth sound. How did the apparition of bands like the March Violets Sisters of Mercy and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry influence you? How did these lovers of sixties pop and rock saw the beginning of the goth culture?
—We weren’t really influenced by the likes of The Sisters or The Lorries, but we certainly liked them.
Goth culture was more about the look in the early eighties. Musically you could say The Stones were a goth band if you listen to some of the lyrics Jagger came up with (“Paint it Black”, “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Gimme Shelter”)
—Phil, you used to sing with an American accent, did you think it would help the band reach the American market or was it just a consequence of the music you listened to?
—Cliff Richard’s singing style was a big influence on mine! He always sang in an American accent!
—How was the Leeds that saw The Rose of Avalanche been born? The band used to go the Warehouse. How important was it for your musical culture?
—Leeds had loads of bands wanting to make it, some of us did and some didn’t. The Warehouse was ‘the’ place to play, it’s where we played our first ever gig, and were lucky to be able to play there a number of times.
—At the beginning the band had a drum machine, like other famous Leeds band, the Sister of Mercy. When did you decide to have a drummer and why?
—Good drummers were hard to find at the time, so we had to wait for the right one to come along, which luckily didn’t take too long!
—And how was your relationship with John Peel? He was a big support from the beginning, wasn’t he?
—Yes, John was a huge supporter of ours. We were very grateful for the break he gave us after hearing “Parkside Shivers” and asking us to play a session for BBC Radio 1. In 1985 he put us in his ‘Festive Top 50’, above bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure and The Smiths.
—The band said that they were “too rock for goths, too goth for rockers”. How was the public that followed the band during the first years?
—We’ve always had a mixture of fans, including goths.
—What happened with Fire Records, the band had a lawsuit with them of around one year and a half, right?
—I don’t really want to go into the Fire Records situation, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth!
—In Rock was released by Fire Records without your permission with songs that were unfinished. Can you please tell us more about this? Have you thought of doing the right version of the album?
—That’s not quite right, the songs we did for ‘In Rock’ were recorded for another EP that didn’t have a title. When Fire got hold of the recordings, they remixed some to get two songs out of one. We’ve never thought of re-recording it, because the songs were finished as far as we were concerned.
—Never Another Sunset was the first proper album of the band. How do you see it in hindsight? Do you think that you should have released it before?
—The Never Another Sunset album couldn’t have been released any earlier because of the lawsuit with Fire.
—From the second album, String ‛A’ Beads, with a more “rock” sound. Even the cover reminds me of 60s psychedelic bands. What made the band move in that direction?
—The move to a more rock sound was a natural progression, it wasn’t something we discussed – we just evolved.
—And the last album was I.C.E. What do you think of it? The band never played songs from that record, right?
—We did play some of the songs from I.C.E towards the end, including “Ride The Storm”, and “Two Time Baby”. I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but I think there’s some great songs on there.
—Why the band split in 1992?
—We split in 1992 after Paul left. Glenn came back and we did a final gig, playing some new songs and with plans to continue under the name ‘Diversion’. Unfortunately, we just ‘fizzled out’. Diversion songs are available to download from our website.
—What did you do during the time the band was not playing?
—After the split, Paul went on to write his own material and released some albums. Glenn and Mark ended up back together, playing in several other bands. I stepped away from the music scene altogether after said bad taste left after the Fire situation.
—And why did you decide to play after some many years?
—We were asked by the promoters of Tomorrow’s Ghosts festival if we’d reform and play the festival in 2019. The wonder of the internet made us realise that there was still an interest in our music and a fan base that had never really gone away.
—How was it to play together again after a 27-year hiatus?
—There was no awkwardness, and the songs had stood the test of time, so it just felt like it was the right thing to do
—We saw you live in Paris at Le Gibus Live in 2020. Just one week later, we had lockdown. How did you feel after reuniting and just a few months later having to stop because all the Covid situation?
—It was extremely frustrating at having to stop again, just as we’d got started! But there wasn’t anything we could do about it.
—What happened with the BBC session and Chapter 22 Records?
—Don’t really want to talk about Chapter 22, but we sorted it so that we could get the record out as promised. We had a lot of pre-sales and didn’t want to let our fans down.
—What are the band’s plans for the future? Maybe a new album?
—We’re working on new material and have finished several songs, two of which are on the LA Rain 2025 EP – which is available from mid-November.
—Since Summer 2022 David ‘Wolfie’ Wolfenden has been part of the band and also Ade Clark has joined later The Rose of Avalanche. What do you think that they have added to the sound of the band?
—Wolfie and Ade have fitted straight into the band and brought their own twist to our songs, which has refreshed them. We even include The Lorries’ “Walking on Your Hands” in our live set now, which fans seem to Love!
—What can we expect of your concert at Santuario Fest?
—You’ll get to hear old and new Rose songs, with a new energy brought to them (albeit with less hair now 😂). It’ll be like we’ve never been away!
