Back in the middle of what we like to refer to here in Blighty as good old British Summer Time, I took a gentile stroll down to London's Covent Garden to enjoy some of the finer sights that the city has to offer a gentleman of my persuasion during one of the only weeks when it actually wasn't bloody raining. 

I did however have an ulterior motive for frequenting an area more renowned for its opera and art than its rock 'n' roll, and that was to catch a low key show featuring ex Bad Company guitarist Dave 'Bucket' Colwell, in action with his new solo project Bucket &Co (albeit tonight in an acoustic stripped down setting).  After the show I managed to grab hold of Dave for a few minutes (as one does) and the following was the resulting chinwag.

Okay I'm here at the Porterhouse in Covent Garden and its just started to lash it down with rain just as I'm about to catch up with Dave 'Bucket' Colwell.  That's our summer gone then mate. (Laughing)

I was fine until I saw this rain; I mean what sort of summer is this eh?  I think I need an American tour (laughing)

Yeah you're not exactly used to this having been in such bands as Humble Pie and Bad Company for most of your career.

I was sixteen years in Bad Company for me trouble (laughing) and those were really good times, but right now I've got my first solo album out, for which I called on all the help I could get from my good buddies.  There are twelve different singers on it including Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden, umm Danny from Thunder, Spike from the Quireboys, Steve Conte from Michael Monroe's band, just everyone I could ever wish for came down to do this record with me and I'm really pleased with it.

So let's talk about 'Guitars Beers and Tears' for a minute.  With a title like that I have to ask "were you a depressed man when you recorded this album?"

Well all the songs on there are pretty autobiographical and I just sort of looked at my 35 years in this business and having some ups and some downs like we all have you know.

Tell me some more about what we witnessed here tonight.  You've just finished a storming acoustic set in the company of Paul Guerin and Ronan Kavanagh who I have to say reminded me a hell of a lot of Jimmy Barnes

Believe it not I actually found him here.  Paul and me came here for the Down 'N' Outz beer launch and it was like two in the morning having a drink and Ronan just happened to say he could sing.  So we were like "oh yeah you got something we can hear?" and he just replied "yeah this is me with Jeff Beck" which immediately made us go "oh hang on" and it's worked out great.  And this last few weeks me and him have been touring the radio stations of the UK playing songs from the album.

It's been relatively easy as most of the songs were written on acoustic so its pretty much as it was tonight "unplugged".  He's a great singer and a lovely lad.

Tell us a little bit about his history. As he's a new name to me that's for sure.

He was umm funny enough we went to see The Faces a few weeks ago and I was in a band with Kenney Jones called the Jones Gang, I was speaking with Ronnie Wood, and it came out that Mick Hucknall had actually taken Ronan under his wing about five or six years ago and had him on tour with him as well.  So its all kin of "in the family" you know.  He's just a great singer and to have someone who can sing all the album when all these other guys have done it was what I was really looking for.  It's hard as a writer when you pen something so close to your heart to get a singer to deliver it as believable and Ronan does it.

Tell us more about the album then, its certainly been getting some great write ups in the mainstream press. But its still not out in the UK is it?

Nah, it's out in America its out in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, everywhere but England, umm times are tough I mean what can I say?  Its also what I want from a label and I simply haven't found one at the moment, and having put as much time a effort into this album as I have I just want it to be right you know.  I need a little bit more back up than simply making the product and sticking it out there so I'm kind of holding on until I get the right situation to release it.

One the songs on the album that people will no doubt recognise is 'Reach out' a track you did with Iron Maiden, how did that come about, coz it's not really an Iron Maiden style song is it.

At the time we were involved in a project that's Adrian and I called The Entire Population of Hackney which was a bit of fun you know, and we did a couple of gigs with Nicko on drums, the Marquee and a few venues in Kent and from that project Adrian's A.S.A.P band was born, because we wanted to take it up a few levels.  I remember Adrian calling me from Hawaii at like four in the morning saying, "the guys want to do these songs as B sides" so me and Andy Barnett and Merv from FM were all in with a shout of a B-side and they picked 'Reach Out'.  But when it came to this album I'd recorded the backing track with Harry from Thunder and Jaz Lochrie from Bad Company, and Adrian came down and was listening to it and said "hold on guys this si in E, I haven't sung in thirty years" (laughing) he has of course but we wanted it just like the original track I had written and he did a great job on it.

And that made the B-side of 'Wasted Years'.

Yeah and around that time they were touring 'Somewhere In Time' and I was in Paul Samson's Empire who opened for Maiden.  As I say its all family you know (laughing)

Going off script here for a bit Paul Samson was a great guitarist, sadly no longer with us though.  Tell us about those times.

Oh, I'd know Paul for years, my first band opened for hi, and over the years we got to be friends then one day he just said "come and play with my band" and he was such an instrumental guy.  I remember once he nodded to me to take a solo and he walked around behind me and kicked my right up the arse screaming at me "get up the front of the stage when you play a solo" and he always wanted me on eleven when I was doing that (laughing).  He was a fantastic bloke he really was.

And then of course there was Bad Company, how did that all come about?

I have always been a massive fan of Mick Ralphs, I got slung out of school for following Mott The Hoople on tour, then I was at the very first Bad Company gig right there in the front row.  So when they finished Bad Company Mick put his own band together and through word of mouth he got to find out about this "mini me" of him that of course was me.  Word got through to me that he was putting this band together and I was asked to go along and try out.  Funnily enough Diesel Martin a good friend of mine from a band called No Dice and a guy from Cheetah all went down to try our hand. 

I went down to Nomis and they asked me to listen to these two songs on a tape so I went to my car listened to them and then went back in and had to play them.  I remember the drummer was Chris Slade and the bass player was Pino Palladino and I'm like "oh my god" and I started playing these songs when suddenly everyone stopped and just fell about laughing.  I had no idea that in the room was Brian Robertson, Dave Gilmour, Phil Lynott and they were all laughing, so I've thought "I've blown this" but they screamed at me "NO! Play on little Mick! (laughing). Mick wasn't even there and they were like "we got the guy".

Then I played with Mick's band for about a year, then they put Bad Company back together with Brian Howe on vocals and Mick decided not to tour, so he said "Oh go out and be me if you want" (laughing).

So you fell into Mick's shoes and suddenly you found yourself playing arenas in America?

I was playing the Mug and Handbag in Fulham on the Friday and then 60,000 people in New Jersey on the Sunday.  It as all a bit like "''ello what's all this then?" (laughing)

That first tour off the back of 'Holy Water' was a really big record for us, and it sold something like 1.9 million copies or something like that, and that tour lasted something like seventeen months, it just went on and on and on, which was great.

With all the stars/friends you've assembled for the Bucket and Co project I have to ask you what is your secret.  What is your secret?

Umm I guess its more of that we've all been through the same thing over the years you know. We all started out in the old pub rock days, Adrian was in a band called Urchin, I don't know what to say other than that really (laughing) barring they all must like something about me (much laughter)

OK so where did the 'Bucket' bit of your name come from?

I really don't know you well enough to tell you that Mark...no offence  (laughing) No, no, no, no, no I'm not saying. But I can tell you its nothing to do with fluids wither internal or external, believe me (laughing)

So with the album hopefully out soon and tonight being a bit of a low-key taster for us fans here in London I guess the future is looking good.

Yeah we're just trying this thing out and me personally I'm just trying to build my reputation as an independent artiste you know, rather than being the bookend you never hear from.

So what about a proper tour from you guys?

Well I've got a fantastic band all rehearsed up and ready to go and I'm talking to two bands doing tours towards the end of 2011 and they are mates of mine again and I'm trying to get that sorted you know.  Again as a new act it would be great to go out and open so you have a captive audience so to speak and have it all going in the right direction of people who will get the music.... hopefully.

So Paul Guerin who played with you tonight will he be in your band or is he too busy with the Quireboys?

He's so busy with everything he does, I mean Paul's a fantastic guy, I've know him for so many years ever since he was in the Red Dogs, and I've done so much work with him.  I tell ya if there was any guitar player I would like to play with it's him.  He plays what I think you know.  We play that well together.

We did an album with Spike actually 'It's Great To Be Alive' which me and him played on and we had such a ball doing that I can tell you.

And of course you're not exactly the same height as Paul are you (laughing)

Ha, no, the lack of guitar tech on stage didn't exactly help us hide that here tonight either (laughing).

Well Dave it's been great talking to you.  All the best with Bucket and Co 's 'Guitars Beers and Tears'.

Yeah remember kiddies you can still get this on Amazon in the UK or if you prefer it is available via iTunes as well and the Facebook site could do with a nice plus if you guys would be so kind...(laughing) Thanks guys

https://www.facebook.com/bucketandco?sk=wall&filter=12