Zachary Alford (The Psychedelic Furs / The B-52’s / David Bowie)

Having seen The Psychedelic Furs at the Forever Now Festival at Milton Keynes Bowl and subsequently at the iconic London Palladium I was lucky enough to catch Zachary Alford the groups legendary drummer whose has previously worked with The B-52’s and David Bowie. Check out his fascinating story below.

Hi Zachary, how are you today?

“Hi, Natalie, I’m fine thank you.”

What is your favorite meal in America and what is your favorite meal in England? Have you ever experienced a British Indian curry?

“I mostly cook at home as that’s one of my passions. But if I go out, my favorite is roast duck in Chinatown, or a good soul food dinner of Ox tail, mac and cheese, collard greens and yams! I have had excellent curries in London at some fine restaurants.”

As an American, how on earth did you find yourself in the iconic Psychedelic Furs?

“I first met the Psychedelic Furs in 2000 on a B-52’s tour of the US. It was a co headline tour with The Go Gos, who were reuniting. At the last minute, the Psychedelic Furs jumped on as the opener and I got to know them. Fast forward to 2019 and they called me out of the blue because their drummer, Paul Garisto decided he didn’t want to tour with them anymore. They had just finished their newest album, Made of Rain and needed to go on the road to promote it. Unfortunately the pandemic hit, and everything was put on hold for a year. So, even though I didn’t play my first show with them until 2021, I was already a member for a year! Most of the band had actually lived in the states for decades already.”

You were in the B-52s and were absolutely fabulous as you provided those funky rhythms. What were they like to work with, and how did that come about?

“That was really the start of my career. I had played around on the New York scene for 10 years building a reputation, and when the B-52’s finished their 1989 album, Cosmic Thing, they were looking for a drummer to go out on the road. The drummer they wanted was Charlie Drayton, who played on Love Shack, Bushfire, June Bug and Channel Z, but he declined the offer (sensing a pattern here?). Now, I had recently been playing shows with my band, Bodybag at a little club called the 308 Bar, located alongside New York’s Port Authority off of 9th avenue, and the band that often played with us there was the Raging Hormones. The Hormones consisted of Steve Jordan, Charlie Drayton, bassist Sara Lee and a rotating cast of singers, since they were still searching for “the one” to be their front person. Sara had recorded with Charlie on Cosmic Thing, so she knew the situation and her ears perked up when she heard me play. She asked me if I would be interested in auditioning, and I was like, definitely!!! I had been a fan of the B’s since their first record, which was a favorite at high school parties.”

“At the time, songs like Rock Lobster, Private Idaho and 52 Girls were iconic, but only on a cult level. They weren’t mainstream by any stretch of the imagination. Bands like the B’s, Talking Heads, DEVO and others were alternative, although the term didn’t exist yet as a music category. So for most people, it was considered New Wave, for lack of a better word.Working with them was like a dream! Here were four really interesting, progressive people who were responsible for creating a new sound, and they were just having fun! I was used to playing with musicians who had extensive knowledge of jazz, rock, funk and avant garde, and took their music and themselves very seriously. And here were people who just wanted to have a good time and laugh as much as possible. They didn’t really consider themselves “musicians” and were super easy going about everything. But it was exactly that carefree attitude that made their music so unique and irresistible. That the songs happen to be brilliant was kind of a fluke, which to this day I don’t think anyone can figure out.”

“There was a magic that happened when the four of them put their heads together and let it rip. Because they all loved music passionately, and had listened to so much soul, R&B, classic rock, but also really eclectic off-the-beaten-track stuff like Nino Rota, who wrote music for Federico Fellini, the Velvet Underground, composers like Henry Mancini, and writers like William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, their music had a hidden depth that came through. But what made my time with them even more special is that I got to experience that rock and roll dream of tasting success, as the tour mushroomed into a worldwide phenomenon right before our eyes. We went from playing clubs and theaters to arenas and massive festivals. They rode a tidal wave of fame and celebrity that they never had before, and I was right there with them. For me it was an eye-opening experience because they already had been a band for a decade, and so they knew the road, knew the cities, and navigating this success was easier than it would have been for a first-time band.”

“They also opened my eyes to things I wasn’t really aware of, like environmental issues, the importance of voting, John Waters films and Fellini films, antique shopping and eating in great restaurants. I was thrust into a world I never would have had the courage or aplomb to penetrate, and it was a huge period of growth for me. Well, not thrust exactly — it blossomed over the course of the tour. To this day, I feel perhaps the most kinship with them. We shared Thanksgivings together, visited Graceland together, and I really found my focus as a person under their guidance. I was 23, and life in the city was easy.They were the ones — Fred in particular — who got me into reading books. Not that I’m an avid reader or anything, but I kind of owe it to them that I rediscovered books.”

5. Amazingly, you worked with David Bowie, and your work with the great man was superb and certainly helped his repertoire ring the changes.

“Thank you!”

6. Were you aware that the Psychedelic Furs were a favorite band of David Bowie?

“I was not!”

7. How did that particular gig come about, and what was the Thin White Duke like to work with?

“I received a call one day from my friend, Sterling Campbell, who asked if I was available for a tour. Sterling had been David’s drummer for a few years, and had recorded an album, Outside with David. Sterling and I grew up together, and learned to play drums together. Unfortunately, after David recorded Outside, he decided to take a hiatus for like, two years. During that time, Sterling joined Soul Asylum, which made him a band member rather than a hired gun. So when David resurfaced, Sterling wasn’t available — and he called me. Luckily for me, I was also in need of work! If working for the B’s was a dream, this was a fantasy. I had been Bruce Springsteen’s drummer for the past three years and never once had a starstruck moment — but when I met David, I was like a 14-year-old kid again. My jaw hit the floor. He soon made me feel at ease because he was so friendly and down to earth. Working with him was incredible. Very few artists have such an enormous body of groundbreaking work — Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis are on that level.”

“Musically, it was another dream come true. He gave you a lot of freedom to be yourself. David hated flying, so we spent a lot of time together on the tour bus. He was always happy to talk — quantum mechanics, modern art, history. The most fascinating person I had ever met. Onstage it was surreal to hear his voice in your monitor. He was in his “I’m not playing the hits” period, but we still played Heroes, Gene Genie, Scary Monsters, All The Young Dudes, Fashion, Moonage Daydream and more. I could have died and gone to Heaven.”

What are your influences, and how did you come about working with so many English artists? Are you an Anglophile at heart?

“Well, my mom was of English descent, so I guess I relate on some cellular level. I listened to a lot of English music growing up — The Beatles first and foremost. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Elton John, Bowie, The Police. But I was also steeped in soul, funk, disco, Parliament-Funkadelic, Motown, Stevie Wonder, jazz fusion, punk, post-punk, hip-hop beginnings. It was all about incorporating everything into a new form.”

You are sponsored by influential drum companies. Did you help design any of your kits or sticks?

“I’ve been a Yamaha drum endorsee since 1990. They approached me after seeing me perform on Saturday Night Live with The B-52’s. Zildjian cymbals as well. My relationship with Vic Firth is more recent, and their sticks are second to none. If it ain’t broke…”

What is it like working with Richard Butler?

“Working with Richard has been so much fun. He’s got such an iconic voice and encyclopedic musical knowledge – especially Bob Dylan. As a lyricist, he’s one of the closest to where Dylan was going, without imitation. He keeps his punk ethos and performs all songs in the original keys — quite a feat.”

What were your early drumming influences?

“John Bonham, Tony Williams, Ringo, Charlie Drayton, Omar Hakim, Stewart Copeland, Steve Ferrone, Jerome Braily, Steve Gadd, Dennis Chambers — plus my teachers Chandra Sharma, Poogie Bell, Tommy Campbell, and Kenwood Denard.”

If you weren’t a drummer, what would you be doing?

“Probably a graphic artist. I actually drew long before I drummed.”