Belatedly, these four solo dates promote your solo album 3 that came out in 2014.
[Laughs] Yeah. But it’s more about me finally getting to appear solo in the UK again. I haven’t been back since a one-off show at the 12 Bar [in London] fifteen or twenty years ago.
Are the dates a one-man show?
Yeah. I play acoustic guitar and piano – and sing, of course.
What sort of a set-list should we expect?
I’ll pick from 3 and my previous solo records, plus some Utopia songs and a few covers.
You played bass on Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell. Thirty-nine years on, how does that make you feel?
Well, when I finished my work on that record I was certain I’d never hear it again. Eighteen months later my car radio was on, and after scratching my head I thought: “Didn’t I play on that song? How sweet they made it onto the radio.” And it was the beginning of the explosion.
When you were in Utopia you wrote and sang Set Me Free, their only US Top 40 hit. Did its success upset Todd Rundgren?
He probably wasn’t overjoyed. But I must stress that Todd’s brilliant production helped to make it the song it became.
You’re now the bassist with Blue Öyster Cult, who no longer record. Is it fulfilling?
Because I really like the guys, yeah, it is. It would be lovely to record some new music with them, but at this point in their career they’re comfortable playing the songs they’re known for.
Is it liberating to step out of the shadows?
Yeah. I’ve always looked at myself as more of a singer-songwriter than a sideman, but unfortunately sometimes life gets in the way [laughs].
The tour starts in Gloucester on November 30.
