Martin Barre On The Split With Ian Anderson

[@obbor4]

I just saw Martin play last night. He was brilliant!!!

[@rightchordleadership]

His band is great

[@TheRockerxx69]

I saw Martin Barre s band July 27-2024. Absolutely awesome. Fantastic

[@EM-mw2qr]

I saw him with his band last week. It was literally the best concert I've ever seen. Holy shit do they rock hard!

[@RonPlacone]

@@obbor4 I saw them on the Aqualung tour, loved it!

[@2ChukBuk]

'Benefit' is quite possibly my favorite JT album. Martin's guitar work is very tasteful.

[@MarkRoss-v4y]

Completely agree, that's the album I come back to time and time again.

[@justgivemethetruth]

@@MarkRoss-v4y That's interesting I love Benefit as I do must Tull stuff, but it is not my favorite. It sounds too canned to me, but certainly good. I've never been too hot on Warchild, Too Old To Rock and Roll, or Catfish Rising, yet there are not really any bad songs on any of them

[@MarkRoss-v4y]

​@@justgivemethetruth I think I have a fair deal of nostalgia associated with Benefit. I had the album on cassette when I passed my driving test and began driving. A great time in life, and it soundtracked a lot of it. I like the songs and lyrics very much, agreed the production is somewhat lacking, but there's a charm that doesn't fade for me. I felt similarly about those albums you mentioned, (but do like the song and sentiment of "Too old to rock and roll") yet they're by no means bad pieces of work. I love 'A', which was another cassette I had in the car. Love the synths/vocoders on that album. Cheers

[@iindacrowther9559]

My first 2 albums I bought was Benefit and the island sampler Nice enough to eat😊john .c.

[@MsPittsburgh1]

So thankful I got to see JT 6x in the 70s when to me, the band was at their peak. 🎉❤👏

[@peterfraney7931]

Ms too 1977 and 1978 in London 😊

[@olafsrensen9578]

How much I admier Ians work. I belive Martins version .

[@NuntiusLegis]

I also don't think he's lying here, but also that this is not the whole story. For me, the bhig elephant in the room is always that Tull or Anderson, at this point, had not released a proper new albun for an entire decade, the band seemed stone dead as a creative force. Barre got replaced, fine new albums were made. Problems with Barre concerning new material or studio work may have been a reason for Anderson to change things or not, fact is, creatively, the change was dramatically for the better, and I am very grateful for that.

[@nsbd90now]

@@NuntiusLegis Sounds like something Ian's PR team would come up with.

[@NuntiusLegis]

@@nsbd90now Then I should add that, in case they should stumble on this: Feel free to use it, I won't charge any money.

[@NuntiusLegis]

@@nsbd90now They came up with Tull being stone dead creatively for a decade?

[@nsbd90now]

@@NuntiusLegis Um, do you understand time? Hard to tell with such awful grammer in a simple sentence. Tull's best work was before "A"... Evans and Palmer were there from the start. Evans and his piano teacher mom even before the start.

[@ijustgottasay1281]

It's a shame that a 40+ year collaboration had to end the way it did, but I have to admire Martin for being honest enough to speak out in this fashion. He's always been such a gentleman with nary a negative word to say about anyone, so for him to come out and say this now seems to be an indication of the hurt and pain he must've truly felt by Ian's decision. I've always loved and admired Ian, but in this instance he certainly treated Martin quite shabbily. And Ian subsequently discovered that promoters et. al. didn't want Ian Anderson, they wanted Tull, which apparently is the reason he released and toured "The Zealot Gene" and "RökFlöte" as Jethro Tull, not Ian Anderson, albums. Anyhew, keep on rockin', Martin. 🎸

[@siza6993]

True, but that's not just Martin. Ian has done that to almost everyone who's been in Jethro Tull. Just think for a moment; Who in their right mind would fire Barry Barlow, Jeffery Hammond and David Palmer all at once, just because you can?! As much as I admire Ian Anderson for his exceptional musical talent, I have come to believe he is a very difficult person to get on with socially.

[@ijustgottasay1281]

@@siza6993 Agreed. I also admire Ian for his musical genius, but his "people skills" are not anything to be admired. I don't think he intentionally has ever wanted to screw over these folks, he's just never really considered their thoughts and feelings before taking the actions that he has over the years. In short, he seems to think that he, and he alone, is Jethro Tull, which in a way is somewhat true, but doesn't excuse his behavior.

[@peterfraney7931]

​@siza6993 he didn't fire hammond Hammond he quit in 1975 he fired,Barlow, Evans and Palmer or rather he told them he was going on alone to make a new album called A. He retained Martin for that album. The previous bass player John Glasscock had died so a new player Dave,Pegg was added. Mark Craney and Eddie Jobson were secured as hired hands for the album and tour playing drums and keyboards respectively.

[@siza6993]

@@peterfraney7931 yep. My mistake. He fired them nonetheless....a and been doing this since. 1978 lineup (Bursting Out era) was, in my opinion, the zenith of Jethro Tull.

[@peterfraney7931]

@siza6993 agree on 1978 being their best year. I was there Rainbow 🌈 May 1978. Anderson was going to release A as a solo album however it turned out to be a Tull album. I just think it was a line up change, be it right or wrong ,it is between the band members. The Rainbow gig was the best gig I ever saw and I have seen over 1000 gigs in my time ( seen Tull about 30 ) John Glasscock was their greatest asset in that period and his untimely death was just tragic.

[@dominiclarosa489]

There is no Jethro Tull without Martin Bar .. it becomes a Ian Anderson album without him .. Those last two Albums Ian did are seen as Ian solo stuff not accepted as a Jethro Tull to me ..

[@Johnalucard-jo3yi]

Martin my favorite guitarist of all time,ever!!!!!! The guitar growled pureed screamed sang wow just so many great great great moments.

[@MarkRoss-v4y]

What a gentleman.

[@justgivemethetruth]

When he says Ian was planning Thick As A Brick, does he mean Thick As A Brick 2? That album had some great music on it, but the themes and the lyrics dragged it down, at least for me. I can understand Ian being fed up with rock audiences, I've always like Tull live, but the rude audiences, and then the problems with Ian's voice kind of ended concerts for me too. I still miss the original Jethro Tull ... or the several original jethro Tulls, the Benefit one and the Aqualung one, but I have to admit I still love Ian's stuff and probably always will - though every time a new album comes out it always takes me a while to make sense of it during which time I kind of get depressed until I notice myself humming or singing some of the songs. Martin is so cool and such a great guitarist. I like that Trio Instrumental jam on the I think it is the A anniversary edition.

[@seethroughhead505]

Ian was planning to tour TAAB as a live show and tickets were already on sale before TAAB2 was announced.

[@johncaverly2228]

Seen both up close a few times now...Martin's band is far superior..especially in the energy level..Martin's hands hold the sound of JT, Dan crisp has done an amazing job..does not imitate Ian.does it his own way and it rings true..you can tell the band love's Martin and JT Music..Alan fantastic player and gentleman..love him..Ian's band..just doesn't have the intangible lock in the groove..Also once you've met Martin and company you have an overwhelming gratitude for his benevolent passion sharing his body of work to all us guys getting through life in need of a lift...

[@EM-mw2qr]

I saw Ian Anderson and his now so-called Jethro Tull band recently and I also saw Martin Barre with his band recently, and Martin's concert was so much fucking better I can't even tell you.

[@ranjitverdi5702]

What a gentleman he is.For me Tull without Martin is simply not Jethro Tull.

[@portcullis5622]

Ian Anderson "Wanted to do his own thing" until he realised that hardly anybody was interested in Ian Anderson solo albums and tours. So, he soon started using the Jethro Tull name again, when he saw sales plummeting! He now seems happy to damage the legacy of the band with some very ordinary material, really weak vocals and hired hands, under the Jethro Tull name. I stopped going to see the band in the early 2000s, as I found myself just willing Ian to get the singing parts over with and get back to the flute. I bought all the Tull albums (and Ian's solo albums) up to and including the 'JT Christmas Album'. The last decent album was 'Roots to Branches' in my opinion. Such a shame that the band ended the way it did, but they had a good run.

[@peterhodgkins6985]

I saw Tull in 2011 around the time this 'dismissal' took place. It was unlike any JT show I'd seen in all the years I'd been attending concerts. There was no interaction, no band intros, and nobody even looked at one another. Martin stood in the shadows all night except for when the spot was on him. I knew then and there that Tull was finished.

[@jasomkovac9115]

Well that would explain it. I saw 9ne of the last shows and didn't even realize it. The show was horrible. So bad I never even bothered to pay attention to what the band was doing. Wasn't till many yrs had passed that I was even wondering if they made anymore albums. And didn't know Martin was thrown out.

[@jublaim]

It was happening in 2009 as well at 40th ann tour; the music was performed well but the interaction between the musicians was minimal. No fun.

[@zopilotesky3014]

I'm so glad Martin is opening up about this subject. Yes, Ian was the leader of the band, but obviously those first 3 lineups were the most successful...and he gave them a one year notice either after, or during, Stormwatch (the fool!). I'd be interested in knowing how Martin survived. Was it because he was the only one willing to come back when the label wanted "A" to be a Tull record, after being let go? Obviously it wouldn't have been a Tull record if the whole band was shit canned. It would have been an Ian solo with studio musicians...which it really was anyway. He tried to make it Tull again with Broadsword and the new band but...too little too late. Ego has killed many a good band, so Ian isn't alone there. Still, very disappointing that it all happened. Was it because Ian wanted ALL the $$$... How much is enough to keep one from screwing over his mates? I'd really like to know.

[@christianmeyer9560]

Martin Barre and Dave Pegg,played on what was supposed to be Ian's solo album in 1980 anyway so that made it easier to just rebrand it Jethro Tull I guess. And then the rest of the former line up was out.... Very strange, but I believe that's how it happened. I guess it could be true that the other three were pretty tired of Tull anyway, but I suspect they'd like to leave the band on their own terms and deciede when.... Ian has made som questionable decisions as a band leader. I think there's similarties with what happened to Martin and Doane 30 years later.

[@seethroughhead505]

Arguably the fourth and fifth line-ups were more successful in terms of ticket sales and concert tours.

[@zopilotesky3014]

@@seethroughhead505 Based on the albums from first 3 lineups? Many Tull fans couldn't get to prior shows until they came of age had jobs that facilitated the ticket purchase, myself included, and with no internet information about current band lineups we were clueless about band member changes. Album sales tell the story quite clearly of their success, IMO. Just my take.

[@seethroughhead505]

@@zopilotesky3014 Excellent points. Certainly the short lived 'Aqualung' (3rd) line-up remains the most successful in terms of sales of a single album, but it was after this that the band had two number one albums in the US and became a stadium headlining band for many years.

[@TimBarr-e8p]

There is a Marked Difference in the Albums put out by Jethro Tull since Martins departure. The Songs are just sort of Flat...No Edge...Sorry to say because Jethro Tull was my Favorite Rock Band and that by Far...No more Songs from the Wood...Is a bummer...My thanks to Martin and Ian and all of Jethro Tull through the years...

[@stephenbrown7545]

The sweet spot for Jethro Tull pretty much ended in 1979...only sporadically brilliant after that point.

[@justgivemethetruth]

To bad for you I guess.

[@TimBarr-e8p]

@@justgivemethetruth So "Just give me the Truth" Are you a born again follower of Jesus Christ? I ask this because He said He was the Truth...

[@huskytully3887]

​@@stephenbrown7545 Rubbish ... 😏

[@Innerspace100]

@@stephenbrown7545 I agree. Jethro Tull became another thing entirely after the big split in 1980. The magic simply wasn't there anymore.

[@turnsout5061]

Going to see A Brief History of Tull next week and I’m so stoked. It’s a shame they split up, but on the other hand, Ian going down his own path and honestly, I think the stuff Martin is doing and not just the tributes/covers is a lot more fun.

[@gostrum1]

Sounds similar to the way Frank Zappa Disbanded the Mothers Of Invention

[@cockymoor]

I think it’s true that Ian was tired of performing as Jethro Tull and wanted to pursue a solo career after their album in 1999. I also think it’s true that after a long break Ian decided to start performing again as Jethro Tull . I think this was a mistake as there can be no JT without Martin Barre in the same way there can be no Led Zeppelin without Jon Bonham . However commercially it did keep JT music alive and maintained sales in their 70s classic albums , so some good came from it .

[@tommy..980]

What I get out of all the interviews and readings about this subject Ian sounds like a total Dick not just to Martian but a lot of the past members of JT.. It’s to bad cause JT was my all time favorite band second to none

[@stevejones8660]

^This👍

[@aschule5684]

I agree and it's very much tarnished my feelings towards Ian greatly. I once had massive respect and admiration for the man, this has all changed that forever.

[@rightchordleadership]

Martian 😂

[@aschule5684]

@@rightchordleadership that's funny I never caught that until I just read your reply 😂 Martian LoL

[@christianmeyer9560]

In reality Ian just didn't wanna play with Martin anymore, but didn't dare to sack him. That's what I believe and I believe it even more after hearing Martin here. If Ian was so tired of Jethro Tull and the rock scene, it makes no sense to first make "Thick as a brick 2" before eventually releasing two more albums under the name of Jethro Tull in the style of prog rock...Oh well. If Ian would just replace the current singer in the current Jethro Tull, I'd forget all that and still go see them....but for some reason Ian keeps him;-)

[@justgivemethetruth]

Well TAAB2 was released under Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. I believe the claims that he did not like the rock audiences. They are rude and annoying - but it seems like that is who he gets anyways whatever name he plays under. Maybe Ian just wanted name recognition because after all however the band worked it was mostly Ian.

[@nsbd90now]

@@justgivemethetruth He has solo acoustic stuff he never performs live such as SLOB, Rupi and Divinities if he was sop sick of his rock fans who pay to see him live, particularly when he can't sing any longer.

[@nsbd90now]

So, not only does Ian treat his childhood friends and bandmates awfully, but he also just insulted all the fans... "I'm fed up with the rock audiences, the noise" indeed. Well, given that he can't sing, I haven't been in the audience since the early 1980s. So there! lol!

[@EM-mw2qr]

Us noisy rock audiences made him a millionaire.

[@uncleambient]

Martin gave 43 years loyal service to Tull, it was a good run which was gonna end sometime. It’s just that it wasn’t done in a particularly nice way by Ian but cest la vie. Both Ian and Martin are still playing live and doing ok.

[@Trenchant463]

… loyal service … - So Martin had/has no ownership in the Tull franchise? Wow - that’s a tough one.

[@joachimpaul3006]

Jethro Tull is done as Ian Anderson lost his voice.Seeing him perform today is distructive to the bands reputation.I believe Martins side of the divorce adecade afo.

[@loucontino4804]

Ian always regarded his players as dispensable. It was just a matter of time for him to cut Martin loose. I think it's better for Martin in the long run anyway. Having seen Tull live many times in the 70's, the death of John Glascock and the way Ian treated the matter was the last straw for me as a future Tull fan. Glascock, Barlow, Evan, Hammond and the orchestrations of Palmer were a huge reason why Tull never again came close to some of the music they created as a WHOLE through that period.

[@radiomindchatter7994]

Ian pulled the most overused tactic of all time...the old I'm dissolving the band but really not ruse. The only talent Ian has is getting rid of perfectly good musicians from a band he didn't even start.

[@davelogan676]

Ian sacked them all..and the Band suffered ..now it's just a Brand name not Band for last 12 Years

[@BladesInExile]

Shame we can barely hear martin properly

[@JerryHawkins-rr3ry]

Interesting.

[@Trenchant463]

Martin sounds like he didn’t own any part of the Tull franchise. In the tough business like the music industry, you should plan for, and include in contract language a contingency like this. If Martin is not an owner in the Tull franchise, why would he spend a part of his life keeping the Tull brand alive?

[@williamburgess8979]

Yes martin why did you stay with tull for so long nothing to do with money ummmm.

[@SaintKimbo]

Martin Barre is a great guitarist, but, really, that's all he was, sure he contributed to Jethro Tull, but any great Guitarist would have flourished in that band. Ian Anderson WAS Jethro Tull, he wrote the songs, he was the Lead Singer/front man, and one of the main instrumentalists. I've seen a few Martin Barre interviews, and he seems like a nice enough Guy, but he seems to have convinced himself that he and Ian were on the same level of importance regarding Jethro Tull, and that is clearly not the case.

[@aliengrey6052]

I like many others I looked forward to Martins playing on every jethro tull album as much as Ian’s songs and flute playing. Ian clearly is missing that inherent dynamism that Martins playing produced in the songs of Jethro Tull. It’s gone and with Ian’s voice gone so is Jethro Tull. Being in a band myself for a number of years certain people feel the need to express their superiority over overs whom they see as at a lower level than themselves. This is sad because it is often those “ lesser beings” usually contribute the dynamic essence of what makes a band great. Freddy Mercury found that one out to his horror. Martin wasn’t just a guitar player, he was a guitar player who cemented Jethro Tulls music and finished it off with the style and flourishes it needed at every stage which made the music monumental. Jethro Tull now is just a bare ghost of what it was. Ian has been incredibly foolish and has lied to boot. Not a good look Ian!!!!

[@BG-id2cv]

Been following Tull since 1972. For the 2011 Jethro Tull tour of Oz, I only went to hear Martin Barre's impeccable, unique and innovative guitar playing...Ian's voice was, and remains, shot. When "Jethro Tull" toured later on in Australia without Martin, I didn't bother as I saw all the KZbin videos of that line-up and IMHO it was and still is embarrassing. I'd go and see Martin's band any day over the present Jethro Tull.

[@raybrettman9618]

You speak the truth. 43 years of gainful employment, to put it mildly. That people paint Ian as some kind of ogre, a big problem for me. Of the 36 people who have been in Tull, Martin is finally someone who would likely never have been known had he not met Ian Anderson. Mick Abrahams had already established his name. And the various guys from Fairport already had too. Pretty much everyone else who has been in the band can say thank you Ian Anderson. Its late in the game. And time to do so.

[@aliengrey6052]

Wrong. That’s a simplistic childish view. Martin doesn’t think that at all. He lives near me

[@christianmeyer9560]

I don't have that impression. I have the impression that Martin knew that he was the only other memeber that meant something to the brand,or the image of the band. Not that he thought he was important for Jethro Tull's sucess, but he had been there for 40 years, so he knew was important for that alone. Also he was loved by many fans, as some kind of counterpart to Ian. The idea that it was a band, Martin helped make more believable. Anyway, that's not THAT important to me, but Ian's voice is so terrible I can't for the life of me buy a ticket to see that pathetic excuse of a "singer"destroy all that I love about Jethro Tull. Ian should go to jail for crimes against the Jethro Tull legacy! ;-)