Gordon Brown
(Photo Used By Permission From Gordon Brown)
Gordon Brown – Recently, Gordon Brown has decided to step down as lead vocalist for Scotland’s Iron Claw. With nearly forty years since the last studio album was released by Iron Claw, Ripple Music signed them and A Different Game was released back in early October of 2011. Without anything to lose and a bounty of respect to gain, Iron Claw surely did claw their way into my Metal soul and tore it apart for the better. An amazing Hard Rock album with old school heaviness that featured the bluesy vocals of Gordon Brown and the seasoned musicianship of Jimmy Ronnie (guitar), Alex Wilson (bass) and Ian McDougall (drums).
Many (tried and true) legendary bands have changed lead vocalists over the decades of Rock, with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rainbow and Deep Purple being so prominently successful at it. Gordon Brown was not the first singer for Iron Claw, nor shall he be the last. The one thing I’m certain about is, I’ll miss the heck out of Gordon’s voice fronting this legendary underground band. Iron Claw will move forward and so too will Gordon Brown. I respect this band and Gordon beyond words can express for they’re a Hollywood script, proving that Rock and Roll dreams do come true. – Stone
This week, I asked Gordon Brown to share his thoughts regarding his recent departure from Iron Claw and what he is setting his sights on for the future. Here is what Gordon Brown had to say:
My reasons for leaving the band were really quite simple, it wasn’t working for me and hadn’t been for quite a while. My decision to leave was probably made not long after we finished recording, I thought things might improve over time (and) they didn’t! The thing is, if it isn’t right, it isn’t right and the best course of action is to walk away. There’s no acrimony (to my knowledge), (I) think the others probably felt the same way too in varying degrees.
The making of the album was fun for me, I thought that at age 51 it would never happen, I’m glad it did and I think we made a really good album. Much is often said about vocalists and guitarists, in Iron Claw the less well sung heroes are of course the drums and bass, I’ve said it before and will again now, with Ian McDougal and Alex Wilson you have a rhythm section that sounds like a panzer division on manoeuvres! They allowed Jimmy (Ronnie) and I to strut our stuff out front.
The reviews for the album are in the main very good and positive, hopefully people will get out and buy it. There was probably a section of listeners and reviewers who expected the Iron Claw of long ago to be brought out to play, it saddens me that they don’t enjoy this version of the band. One particular blog site didn’t think they’d had enough of a go in their review and decided to have a second go and that did kind of amuse me! There may have been expectations that regurgitating the early 70’s thing was how it would be, my personal view is that this album represents an older band doing what they love… and doing it well. Time will tell with the album. I love it.
There’s no real sadness or regret on my part in leaving. It would have been nice in some ways to have toured the album, but if it isn’t meant to be… I do hope the band find someone reasonably soon. It will however be a bit strange listening to my lyrics being sung by someone else but hey, that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!
What now for me, well, the future is looking bright. I’ve had a load of requests to collaborate on projects from the UK and USA, so I’ll be investigating that. Being involved in an album from the beginning and having a hand in creating the music as well as writing the lyrics is very attractive to me right now. The likelihood is that it’ll be a mixture of Blues and Southern Boogie with a hint of Bluegrass thrown in. Going back to the music I love best will hopefully allow me to create something that I’d want to release. At the end of the day though, if A Different Game ends up being my only ever released work I won’t be unhappy or unfulfilled.
Cheers, GB
LONG LIVE GORDON BROWN.
LONG LIVE IRON CLAW.
Stone.
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