We interviewed Garry Christian, the only original member of The Christians, with his distinctive soulful voice to talk about touring, Liverpool and the bands history.

Interview by Jane Howkins.

You’ve just finished a short U.K. tour, how did you find it? 

We tour constantly but I suppose because its not on national TV its slightly under
the radar but we probably play around 40 dates a year in select theatres as
well as private bookings.

Do you have any plans for a longer tour in the near future?

We are sure that would be received well! We are planning a massive tour for our official 30th next year 2017 (although we were signed to Island Records 30 years ago our album THE CHRISTIANS wasn’t released until 1987 so NEXT year is the big one.

The tour was in aid of your 30th anniversary together as a band, which
you officially celebrate next year. Did you ever expect to still be playing
together after 30 years?

We’ll be playing literally until I drop … which i hope will be in another
30 years time.  People say we have got better and better and I think the
more relaxed I feel in my shoes the better the show gets – we have many fans
who come to about 20 gigs a year.

How does it feel to know that you have managed to stay together for so
long with people still wanting to see you, all the while producing a body of
work as celebrated as yours?

Pretty good.  Our new album WE has been really well received – at first we
didn’t want to play any of the tracks because we felt like fans only wanted
to play the old stuff but now we get into trouble if we don’t play BIG RED
SKY (the tribute to the Hilsborough families incredible struggle for
justice) and also RISE is another favourite.

You’re from Liverpool, which has an immense musical history. When you
were first starting out, did you ever feel there was a certain pressure on
you to live up to the city and it’s expectations?

Not really we were so lucky – I came from a family of 13 and most of us
became renowned for our musical talents – people tended to seek us out we
never chased fame – we were just known as ‘those brothers who sing like the
temptations’

What is the music scene like in Liverpool now, and how has it changed
over the years?

Its still really vibrant – there are young bands everywhere … bands like
THE HUMMiNGBIRDS (Wayne Rooneys favourites) who are incredibly talented yet
so young.

You released an album last year called WE. Do you have any plans to
release any new music in the future?

Im not sure if we’ll do another album soon but Im working on a few tracks in
my new studio just built this year – so you can definitely expect a few
tracks per year being released on download or to be sold at gigs.

Who/what would you say you are most influenced by, and how have those
influences changed over the years?

Bob Dylan and The Beatles … I’ve never really faltered from that although
I also love Bowie and a few youngsters like Paulo Nutini, James Morrison etc

Are there any bands/artists you recommend our readers check out if they
enjoy your music?

Our multi talented guitarist and vocalist Joey Ankrah comes from a
ridiculously talented family – his brother Daniel Harkna (thats Ankrah
backwards) is enjoying a huge smash hit with SUNSHINE – he’s worth checking
out .. also a really young band called Shamona who’ve guested at our gigs a
couple of times and seem as popular as us!!! The Hummingbirds and my son
Miles is pretty awesome – look up Milo Tain

 Any last words for the fans? 

Keep coming to see us and we’ll reward you RICHLY!