The two most feared bandleaders in music, according to Ian Anderson
When people think of Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, the immediate image you get of him is that he’s probably an amiable man, easy to get on with, and happy to entertain plenty of friendships.
His antics on stage, such as standing on one leg while playing the flute and making all sorts of unusual facial expressions, give off the impression of a carefree man, one who has a sense of humour and who actively invites a sense of whimsy into his life.
However, this sort of personality on stage doesn’t always equate to that person also having the same attitude off stage, and certainly doesn’t mean that they’re the sort of person who will settle for any nonsense in their professional life. Anderson famously didn’t take any prisoners throughout his time as the bandleader of the progressive rock behemoth, and given that this was the case, it’s probable that a fair few of Jethro Tull’s former members don’t have quite the same positive opinion of Anderson.
When you consider that the band’s list of former members comes close to the ex-employee list of The Fall, there must have been plenty of rigorous shakeups that Anderson had to contend with as the ringleader. In fact, there have only ever been a handful of members who stuck around for a significant stretch of time, with guitarist Martin Barre being the only person to have survived more than two decades alongside the omnipresent Anderson.
When it comes to his approach towards choosing who stays and who goes from the Jethro Tull carousel, one might suggest that he comes across as more of a ruthless tyrant rather than an approachable lover, but his explanation of his decision-making process does make a great deal of sense when you have to consider just how important it is to remain at the top of your game all the time.
Speaking to The Aquarian in 2012, he revealed that it’s not simply a case of “getting rid” of people, but a case of maintaining relationships, both on a personal and professional level, and that this is something that’s always subject to change. “You come to enjoy, oftentimes, passionate friendships with other musicians whom you find productive for a while, but sometimes you go into it knowing this is not going to be forever,” he explained, before dismissing the notion that being in a band is like a long-term marriage.
He would go on to discuss how there are certain other musicians whom he likened himself to in the sense of being a bandleader who is tasked with making these executive decisions, but went as far as to suggest that they are perhaps a little more fearsome than he had the tendency to be. “Don’t get stuck in a rut by thinking you have to stick around me forever because I can manage quite well without you,” he continued.
“I’ve given that advice to more than a few people. I’m not a guy who hires and fires like buying a new member of a football team. I’m a band leader in the tradition of Frank Zappa or John Mayall. I don’t think it’s fair to say we ‘get rid’ of people just because they play a wrong note or something. We’re not that mean.”
While Zappa and Mayall may have both had certain reputations for being cold and merciless, they also had reputations to uphold as masters of their craft, and not having the right personnel there to assist them was always going to be an obstacle. In this sense, Anderson knew exactly what needed to be done and ran a tight ship with regard to steering Jethro Tull in the right direction.
