Snowy White: washing up with Peter Green and how to wind up Roger Waters
Terence “Snowy” White has always seemed like some random guitar hero. Raised on the Isle of Wight in the 1950s, the humble, now 74-year-old was a British blues boom disciple who tells us today that “the limit of my ambition was to play simple blues phrases over simple chord progressions – and still is”.
White has done much of the same in his four-decade solo career, which includes the ’83 hit single bird of paradiseand continues with this year’s Driving on the 44th Album. But fame also came, like it or not, thanks to peak collaborations with Pink Floyd and a disintegrating Thin Lizzy.
The lyrics of the new album often sound like longing for the road. How hard was it retiring from live work in 2019 due to your health issues?
It was difficult at times, but I had to admit that nothing lasts forever. My fingers these days don’t really do what my brain tells them to and it became more stress than fun. It was just time.
In terms of the studio, however, it’s obvious that you can still cut it.
Yes, but I can do a guitar part and then take a break instead of playing solidly for an hour and a half.
They were close to Peter Green. What is your fondest memory of him?
When he was staying at my parents’ house on the Isle of Wight. I didn’t realize how surreal that was until recently because he slept in my old bedroom where I sat for weeks studying his guitar phrases – you know, there was Pete snoring. He would also help with the dishes. I washed and he dried. My mother thought he was a nice boy.
How do you feel when you see Peter portrayed as this tragic figure?
Well, he turned into a slightly tragic figure. He ended up getting very weird. I would visit him and he was in a really weird way, his fingernails were so long they curled up. He would just let himself go. That was sad. But I accepted it as Pete’s way.
Roger Waters has a reputation among music journalists for being pretty wild. Did we misunderstand him?
Roger can be cruel. His mind gets stuck in places where he just doesn’t want to put up with shit. Which is fair enough. He doesn’t put up with fools or people who don’t get their way, and he gets a little mad at them. But if you work with him and do your best, you will be treated extremely well. He makes fun.
What makes you so good at working with superstars?
It’s because I really don’t care. With Pink Floyd [he first toured with them in 1977] I didn’t even know they were a particularly big band. I was pretty narrow minded. If there wasn’t a blues guitar solo in there, I wasn’t listening. I was probably the only person in the UK who had never heard of it The dark side of the moon. Someone said their manager tried to contact them and maybe I should call them. I didn’t care. I just drifted into the gig.
Not impressed by fame?
no And I can’t understand people who do that. I mean, after a long tour of playing stadiums and flying around in jets, I come home and within ten minutes I’m up there, unplugging the shower.