Did the rise of punk alter the direction the Maps were going in? I know that Forest Fire from Waiting On Egypt was originally written in '75, and it's reminiscent of the New York Dolls / Roxy Music. Were you working more in that vein before developing the sound of Read About Seymour and all that followed? I'm just curious what, if any, effect the Pistols and Ramones, etc. had on you guys.

I first saw the Pistols at the Nashville Rooms on April 23 1976 - my reaction was that they sounded the same as what we were doing. The only reason that those early Maps' tracks (home recordings) will never be released is because my vocals are so out of tune - musically they sound very strong. Forest Fire was one of my earlier T.Rex numbers. Mind you I was also listening to the Dolls from 1974 on and they would have been influencing my writing to some extent. The trouble with punk was that it made most everyone speed up / play their songs too fast - and we were no exception. So if it hadn't been for 'punk' Swell Maps would probably have been better - but then, how long would it have taken us to realise that anyone could book a studio. We thought that only 'real' bands on 'real' labels could do that…

How did you discover CAN? I'm sure my email address gives away the fact that I'm a ridiculous fan. Were they known in Britain's underground scene?

John Peel used to play Can - as far as I can recall that would have been our first exposure to their music… Epic saw them once - I went to the Bowie / Iggy gig across town the same night! A great and hugely influential band. All of us loved all the great Can albums. Epic got to meet all of them. I'd still like to work with Jaki Liebezeit.

Did you consider yourselves as part of a scene with other experimental bands such as Cabaret Voltaire, This Heat, Throbbing Gristle, Joy Division?

Epic and I never liked Joy Division - neither of us liked the Doors either. The other groups were nice enough people but nothing more… We did a gig with Joy Division once - Jowe blew up Peter Hook's bass amp - so something good came out of it…

Or more straightforward rock / punk bands? I mean, the Maps are so unique they don't belong in any group. I'm mainly curious about your perceptions of music at that time.

We were grouped in with a bunch of our contemporaries but I think we were apart from them anyway - mind you, we were totally misunderstood at the time and probably still are! We hung out with other bands, the Raincoats, Delta Five, Red Crayola, Spizz, etc. - but we never had anything in common with them musically. The only 'punk' bands I still listen to are the Pistols, Clash, Adverts, Boys, Generation X and the Lurkers… I'm still listening to the same stuff I always have done - T.Rex, Stones, Faces, Fairport Convention, Groundhogs, Dolls, Dylan, Free, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Mott The Hoople, 70's Bowie - a few other influences came along later: Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee, Charlie Feathers, Hank Williams, GP, Primal Scream, you know the stuff…

As you've said before, Swell Maps were kind of a combination of T. Rex and Can… which is such a difference from the influences of your solo stuff. What was it that changed your direction from the more irreverent experimentation of the Maps to the more timeless… (forgive me for saying it!) classic rock? Any idea if the Maps would have gone in that direction if they hadn't split up in '80? Is that what you're referring to in your liner notes on Still Full of Shocks when you say it's, "The sort of song I could never do with Swell Maps"?

Back To The Coast, Cellar Door (Seven Lives Later) have that T.Rex / Can groove as do other songs I've written over the years. I think the interplay between Epic and myself had a lot to do with the way things worked. Still Full of Shocks was a ballad - and Swell Maps never really went in for ballads. With time we might have but one can't say that for certain. Quite a few tracks off Waiting On Egypt were originally written for the Maps - but they broke up… and so… I don't necessarily think of there being such a big difference between the Maps and my solo stuff - well, there's the obvious differences - but I wrote 95% of the Maps songs.

'Classic Rock' reminds one too much of FM Radio. As far as I'm concerned I play 'English rock and roll' which is a far more accurate description. And I still play Midget Submarines in the set - sometimes some other Maps' song gets in there as well. Marc Bolan is still a massive influence - on my new album there's two new T.Rex songs that I wrote…

If the Maps hadn't broken up who knows. I was always the main songwriter, but Epic's material would have come along anyway. I doubt if we would have carried on allowing Jowe a token song on each album. I think the third album would have been the best - we prefer Jane to Marineville. My favourite Maps album is the original version of Sweep The Desert, which Jowe and Richard vetoed! It included some more unreleased stuff and was almost entirely instrumental

I've played Chelsea Embankment for a dozen or so friends, and they all wear the same awestruck face at its end. Did the song strike you as anything other than just another song when it was written? A few people mentioned Leonard Cohen's name upon hearing it...was he someone you listened to? What led you to have Max Edie sing that particular track?

I know LC's stuff but he was never an influence. Chelsea Embankment is one of my early attempts at a 1960's Regency London type of song - Play With Fire, Miss Amanda Jones sort of number. Chelsea Springtime (Howling Good Times) has the same sort of feel - you should play that to your friends - that and Sanctified from Treasure Island - When I hear those numbers I can't understand how we actually played them… Lizard / Max sang it because it conjured up some kind of Marianne Faithfull feel. There's a bunch of my songs including Chelsea Embankment and Stay Bruised which I think MF could do to perfection

Before I forget, what are you working on at present? I caught your show with Mercury Rev in NY at Irving Plaza… I wish I were as familiar with your stuff back then, but did you play much old stuff, or are you focusing on the newer songs?

I can't remember what numbers I played at Irving Plaza - probably around 60% old, 40% new. See attachment for details of Treasure Island, my soon come album…

I recall reading somewhere that two separate individuals wrote to you saying a certain album kept them from killing themselves (refresh my memory if you so desire). I guess that alone could make it all worthwhile, no?

That was Dead Men Tell No Tales. I got one letter from the States, one from Scotland - the same week telling me that every time they were about to kill themselves they put on the album and it stopped them. Maybe they succeeded later! But it saved them that time anyway… That is quite worthwhile, but remember I met the people - if I had have known them I might not have even liked them… Probably I would have. Personally I've never

You're also a very good lyricist. It's something I didn't immediately notice.

Writing songs - writing lyrics - whatever has always been pretty easy for me. I guess I'm blessed! Sometimes I don't write a song for two or three months - then one day I'll come up with three or four numbers.

On Robespierre's... version of Big Store, did Stephen Duffy rewrite both the music and lyrics...or that Television-esque guitar riff?

What 'Television-esque guitar riff'? Too me the riff is more Chuck-Berry-esque than anything! Yes, Steve wrote the song - though the riff went through Kusworth's hands en route to heaven!

At some point you were writing a novel, a book on Ronnie Wood, and compiling a book of lyrics. What's the status on that area of your life?

The Ronnie Wood book is 106,000 words down the road. I still haven't interviewed Woody yet, though he knows I'm writing the thing. Sometimes I wish I hadn't started it 'cause then I'd have a lot more time to spend on my life. I can't understand how anyone finishes a book! Unless you want to turn out a piece of pap it sees impossible to achieve. Making an album is so simple by comparison… All you need is a bunch of songs… and there you go… The lyric book is finished apart from a few recent songs. Again, this is a pretty easy thing to do - just write the songs and there you are. The novel, Albion Sunrise, is half-finished and will probably remain that way…

And speaking of Ron Wood...You said you recorded with one of the Stones recently. Can you divulge any specifics about that? How did you meet / befriend them? I imagine that would have been overwhelmingly exciting. What has their reaction been to your music?

Mick Taylor plays on two tracks on my new album. I asked him if he'd be up for it - he said as long as he liked the music, no problem. Same thing with Ian McLagan - it was such a dream for me to play with Mac! I've always loved the Faces and the Stones and here I am with two of my favourite musicians playing in the studio with me, and (hopefully) enjoying the music! You'll have to ask them to find out what their thoughts actually were…

There was a moment when my copy of Exile was lying next to Robespierre's… and I noticed the similarity of the covers (admittedly, I wasn't wearing my glasses!).... grey photo/s with dark red script. Both are double albums...with differing degrees of blueiness. And I realized that--- now you may crucify me for this --- but I realized that Robespierre's… is the better album! Exile has that wonderful heroin-addled atmosphere, but I've always been turned off by the level of derivativeness. And there aren't any of the tremendous hooks that abound such as Gimme Shelter, We Love You, Under My Thumb etc. etc. etc. etc. If you play Big Store or I Am Just A Broken Heart or you name it, the Exile songs just pale melodically, energy-wise, emotionally. Please, set me straight if you so desire.

Very strange reaction! Not unpleasant though! A friend of mine, Max Decharne, writes for MOJO and has been trying to get them to include Robespierre in their Buried Treasure feature. As far as the 'people who count' there think, the album is terrible! I find the record rather difficult to listen to… I like it apart from my vocals which are rather out of tune - most people out there don't even notice which is cool, and if it was anyone save for me singing I probably wouldn't have any problems with it myself… But it is and I do…As far as the Exile -v- Robespierre argument I'm afraid you'll have to leave me out of the debate on this one.