That’s how singer-songwriter Bryan Adams describes his journey. A rights crusader and part-time photographer, he talks about the Ultimate frontier of his music on his India tour in an e-mail interview with Saimi Sattar
A certain generation (and some of the more discerning ones who followed after them) will believe that love means “Everything I do, I do it for you” because they would always live by the anthem 18 till I die, thanks to a gravelly voice that originated across the globe in Vancouver in Canada. As fresh as the Summer of 69. So when the legendary singer-songwriter Bryan Adams announced that he would be embarking on The Ultimate Tour of India, where he would visit five cities, the excitemement among generation X immediately became palpable. A part of his 19th concert tour, the gigs would feature his current 21-track compilation, Ultimate, which released last November.
The aim of Ultimate was to condense Bryan Adams’ extensive back catalogue — 13 studio albums, five live albums, five compilation albums and over 75 singles — into a 21-track offering. Over an email interview, the 58-year-old, who brings everyone to their feet with hits like Run To You, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, Heaven, Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman and more talks about his music, love for India and his life.
What keeps bringing you back to India?
It’s always an adventure when I’ve been here. On our first trip to India, there were no cars to collect us. So Keith, my guitarist and I got in a taxi from the airport. The suspension was broken in the car, so we leaned over the seat to watch where we were going. Along the way we had to stop because an elephant had gone to sleep in the middle of the road. That story would not happen anywhere else in the world. It’s always an adventure when I’ve been here. This will be our fifth tour of India. I’m not sure many artistes have done that from the West.
You do a lot of film tracks often, how is your creative process for them different from the songs for albums?
The experiences were always interesting and pushed me to write things that I would never have written had I been on my own. So it’s quite different to composing for myself. I’d love to write for films all the time but you have to live in LA and I’m not the best at getting myself out there. I’ve collaborated with some of the best composers; Hans Zimmer, Marvin Hamlisch and my dearly departed friend Michael Kamen.
How would you consider your evolution as the music industry has changed from the time you started?
There are artists that will last for a long time and there are artists that are shooting stars and burn bright for a moment. That’s the way it is. I’m more like one of those space stations that floats along and every now and then an astronaut pops out and says hi.
Pretty Woman, the musical — what made the experience different? How has it enriched your journey?
It reminded me of writing for an animated film, for example, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmeron, where there were a lot of meetings on how the story was going to be told. This is unlike the standard making of an album, it was more like the making of a film soundtrack. I wanted to make this film into a musical for years, and when Garry Marshall started making plans for it, I put myself forward…two years later it’s on the stage!
The Bryan Adams Foundation — how hands-on are you?
I’m very hands-on with how the foundation is run, it’s one of my great joys. As a touring musician, the more you travel the more you see and the more you see the more you educate yourself about the world, and with that you want to try and help where you can. From my perspective, I didn’t finish school because I wanted to be a musician instead. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of people out there that would love the chance to have a better education — that is the motto of my foundation. Supporting the wounded and making sure that they’re not forgotten became the most recent focus for my foundation. And lending my name to it raised awareness and, ultimately, a lot of money. It may not be possible to ever change the world but you may be able to make it a little better for someone.
How did you decide to turn vegan? Any significant event in your life which triggered it?
It’s just my way of life. I know it worked for me, so if it worked for me, it will work for others. It’s all about having the knowledge on a healthier way to live. Eating animals is disgusting and dangerous for long-term good health. Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends.
A photographer of repute, how did you get interested in photography?
Quite early on in life, but I didn’t take it professionally until the mid-90s. I was too busy on tour.
What makes this tour significant?
We have a great show in store, our best work. We spent months preparing for this tour. It’s a long way from our first tour of India where the light switches were large levers beside the stage. I’ve been trying to get back to India for many years, I’m grateful to the promoters that are bringing us there.
Future plans?
I have an album releasing in 2019. My next photography book is called Homeless, based on people living on the street in London.
The Ultimate Tour is brought to the country by ENIL. Tickets can be purchased on www.bookmyshow.com. The dates are as follows: October 9 in Ahmedabad; October 11 in Hyderabad; October 12 in Mumbai; October 13 in Bengaluru; October 14 in New Delhi.