GLENN HUGHES Explains BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION Name Change

EspyRock recently conducted an interview with legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, TRAPEZE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION — his project with drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN),Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) and blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa — being called a "supergroup":

"You know, well, here's the deal, if you have one part DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH, one part LED ZEPPELIN, one part DREAM THEATER and one part rock blues titan, then you're going to be labelled a supergroup. There is a part of me thinking, 'Well, dammit, I should be in a supergroup,' and that's what it says on the tin, isn't it?! — supergroup."

On BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's self-titled debut album:

"All I am doing is fiercely promoting this project. I wouldn't call it a product because I have never liked being a product so it's a project, it's now called a band, it's a logo, it's a taste and it's a feel, it's BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION; the flag is planted firmly into planet earth and our music is BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. It's an album for your readers to have and place it up there next to an AC/DC album, place it next to 'Zeppelin IV', place it up next to BLACK SABBATH, place it next to [THE WHO] 'Live At Leeds'. This album is big and bold and it's a big British rock statement."

On BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION being forced to change its name from the original BLACK COUNTRY:

"Well, when I Googled 'Is there a band called BLACK COUNTRY?' the answer came back no, but there is a BLACK COUNTRY BASH BAND. There is the Black Country in the West Midlands, the industrial area, 1800 circa, smoke stacks and stuff so I said, 'OK, we will call ourselves BLACK COUNTRY.' Of course, Jason is doing an interview in Los Angeles on the telly and the next thing we know we get a cease-and-desist letter from this band called BLACK COUNTRY from Baltimore, Maryland. So for the last three months we have been trying to negotiate a fee to buy the name from them but they wanted half a million dollars! I told them very nicely, "Are you out of your fucking mind?' So I just added the word 'communion' to the end of it and it you look at the word communion, it's not a religious term. I just wanted to have a real '60s vibe, hippy-sounding last word for our name and communion is that. I like the name communion. If you look at the logo also, it's 'Black Country' and in the scroll it's 'Communion.' I've been working on that logo for three fucking months."

"The thing is I didn't want a lawsuit, I didn't want to call it THE BLACK COUNTRY, BLACK COUNTRY BAND or BLACK COUNTRY BOYS because it could have been a lawsuit. The lads from Baltimore were really aggressive with me saying, 'We're no LED ZEPPELIN tribute,' trying to play down who we are, but they were saying, 'Our music is very influenced by Tommy Bolin,' not realising Tommy Bolin was in my fucking band in DEEP PURPLE! They are silly and I wrote back to them, I said, 'Guys, I never meant to steal your fucking name; you can have your fucking name, but I am going to call my band BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, end of story.' They thought because of all the records we have sold and all the stuff we have done that I would just have a half million dollars in my back pocket just to give them. It's just rude."

Read the entire interview from EspyRock.