Starr turn Edwin's 40 soulful years
By Simon Ashberry (This Is Bradford - 2000)
Soul legend Edwin Starr had precious little control over the record that took him back into the pop charts. His collaboration with Leeds-based dance act the Utah Saints earlier this summer saw him riding high in the Top 30 UK singles for the first time in more than 20 years.
But Edwin made it clear that he was not the driving force behind the success of the record, which was called Funky Music.
"It all came about through my management," he said."They were contacted by the Utah Saints and they expressed a desire to put a song so I went into the studio and did the vocals and then left them to their own devices".
"I thought it was really good. I had heard of the Utah Saints but I wasn't really familiar with them. It was quite exciting being back in the charts."
The last time Edwin was properly in the charts was in 1979 when his disco hits Contact and H.A.P.P.Y. Radio both made the Top Ten. But even though he has not been releasing new material regularly over the past two decades, he has continued to be a big draw on the live scene.
Edwin was born in Nashville but now lives in the Midlands and has been busy playing festivals all over the UK this summer.
As well as being in demand on what could euphemistically be described as the nostalgia circuit, Edwin found himself thrust back into the limelight at the trendier end of the spectrum, thanks to his collaboration with the Utah Saints.
He performed with them at the Glastonbury Festival and the recent Carling Weekend in Leeds and Reading.
Edwin is perhaps best known for his 1970 hit, the politically outspoken War, which went to number three in the UK and reached the top spot in the United States.
"People come to see our show because of the familiar songs and we do it right. I still get the same buzz from playing songs like War. If anything it's even more exciting because young kids are into it because of the movies it has been used for like Small Soldiers and Rush Hour," he said. "The song is getting exposed to a completely new audience".
"It's the definitive political message song. Some people says politics and music don't mix but I don't think most people feel that because two and a half million people bought the record."
But after more than 40 years in the business, Edwin is still striving for more than just re-living past glories.
"What I'm doing at the moment is sitting down and preparing to start writing again," he said.
"I have been listening to a lot of stuff and I kind of like the direction that Madonna and Janet Jackson have gone in. What I am thinking of is not that far away from what they actually do but it's quite contemporary too."
"I'm hoping to have a new record done in the next two to three months."
Edwin is proud to have assembled a formidable backing band called The Team who are much more than session musicians.
"It's the same group that have been with me for the last few years. It's good to know that people can look on stage and see those familiar faces," he said.
"“It makes for the show to be extremely tight because it's not the same if you chop and change with the musicians you work with. Some of the guys have been around with me since the early days."
It was as long ago as 1957 that Edwin formed his first band, The Future Tones.
It was only in the mid Sixties that Edwin first started to make a name for himself, first with the Ric Tic label and then with Motown. Even then, it must have been hard for him to have imagined that he would still be performing come the 21st century.
"I probably inwardly had hoped I would be around for a while because I don't think anybody gets into this business with short-term expectations," said Edwin.
"The fact I am still doing this is a testament to the music and to the people who enjoy it."
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