After eight long years out of the musical spotlight, Brooke St. James, along with his band mates Jimi Kennedy, Danny Vaughn and Michael Clayton, is returning to live action with the much loved Tyketto. With a November tour imminent Kieran Dargan availed of the opportunity to hook up with Brooke and find out just what he has been up to, and more importantly just what factors have led to the much anticipated reunion of one of melodic hard rock’s most respected bands...

So Brooke, for most of us the last time we saw you was in 1996 on the 'Shine' tour with Steve Augeri. After that you went silent so to speak. What exactly happened with Tyketto, and why did you decide to call it quits back then?

"Well, to be honest, it was a new direction for the band. It ['Shine'] wasn’t being received very well at all. Maybe that was Steve and I’s fault. We both love a different style of rock and roll, the really groove laden 70’s stuff and to be honest, that shone through. We didn’t sit down and think about it, we just wrote what we thought was really good stuff but it really wasn’t Tyketto, at least not the Tyketto that the fans had become familiar with. I am still really proud of that record as are all the guys, but, and I mean no disrespect to Steve, there was a certain magic with Danny in the band that was lacking with 'Shine'."

So was that it, the fact that 'Shine' wasn’t selling, or were there other factors?

"I sat with Mike and, you know, I told him we had ten fantastic years together and it had been a hell of a ride, but I felt I, no, we felt we needed to do different things. The 'Shine' tour was good, but the crowds were dwindling, the record sales were falling and it wasn’t fun anymore. We tried to do something different but it wasn’t received in the way we had hoped. I wanted to keep the great memories rather than hang around where we weren’t really wanted anymore. You know when the party is over and there is always somebody who won’t leave? Well I didn’t want to be that guy."

After Tyketto, you not only played but produced and wrote some material on the Lionsheart album?

"Well, initially I was only supposed to play on it, but it became apparent that the project was far from ready. I basically ended up writing, playing and producing the album. I had a great six months in the UK which left me with an unbelievable addiction to HP sauce. It was great fun working on the Lionsheart record, but after that I just went home and spent time writing my own solo record as well as playing with a band called the Toys, just locally. It’s great fun, lots of funky stuff like the Black Crows jamming with Humble Pie."

So you have been working on a solo record? Please tell us more.

"It’s been about four years in the making. Lots of things eat into the timescale, but I hoped to wrap it up by Autumn. I am playing all the guitars and keyboards as well as doing the vocals. I’m using lots of different drummers and it’s starting to sound really good. I keep scrapping it and redoing it. I think you learn how objective you are doing a project like this. I would like to think I have improved musically which is good, but now I have to make the decisions which is always difficult when you are so close to the process. It kind of sounds like a mixture of Prince and Lenny Kravitz but it strill has a lot of big, big riffs and hooks everywhere."

So you have finally been persuaded to come back to the Tyketto fold. Just exactly how did that come about?

"Well I had a call from Mike completely out of the blue last October wondering if it was about time we got back to playing some rock and roll. I think people always had the perception that Brooke is a jerk because I was always the one who didn’t want to do it. Having been through what I have been through in my life your perspectives change, maybe it was only in my head that I had the wrong idea. I don’t mean any disrespect but I didn’t want to go back and be the grand daddy of rock and roll. None of us wanted to be flogging a dead horse, we didn’t want to kill our reputation. I didn’t know if people would want to hear us again. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it. You know, all the questions that suddenly jump out at you. I told Mike that I would be willing to give it a shot with the original line up. I haven’t seen anybody in years, especially Jimi who left in ’92, so it will be great to meet up with all the guys again and get back to kicking some serious ass!"

What are your thoughts on the forthcoming reunion?

"I have lost touch with the scene really, shame on me. It will be interesting to see how we will be received by the fans, but it will also be interesting to get in a room putting a set list together. People miss it, we miss it. It will be totally rocking, you can bet on that!"

Do you think the vision will still be the same now as it was back then?

"The one thing that will be the same is four guys out there on stage kicking ass for all we’re worth. We’re driven, you know... everyone. It will be a freight train rock and roll show. Danny and I are hoping to get together to start work shortly, as are Mike and Jimi. Essentially we all share the Tyketto vision, that’s what made us tight in the first place, and that old magic will still be there when we get together, it always was and it always will be!"

So now that the original band will be back together is there any chance that there will be new music or a new album?

"You know, lets take things one step at a time. It all depends on what responses we get…if any, haha!! No seriously, I would like to think that it would be possible. I can see Danny and I writing together anyway, we were always a good team. We had a push and pull thing going on, that’s what made the material so good the first time around."

Would you like to do a new record anyway?

"Yes I’d love to. I’d be very conscious to keep it raw, keep it as it was. You know that almost nervous raw energy. I think it would be a natural extension of who we are. You can’t copy what you have done, but you could keep it similar to it with a some newer influences, but there would be NO drop d tuning!!!"

The other obvious question is why now? I mean there have been efforts made in the past to reunite the band, why not three years ago, why not next year, why now?

"Well for me it goes back to me being uncomfortable with the idea of it, you know somehow degrading what we had done in the past, but as time goes on I have become far more comfortable with the idea. I guess I have grown more in my own confidence. It will be a great opportunity to play those old songs again. I have to re learn a lot of them though, haha. I haven’t played a Tyketto tune in years."

How much of a thrill will it be to actually play the old songs again? Are the nerves jangling?

"No, it’s like getting on a bike. It won’t take long at all to get into it. We all know each other so well. I know exactly what Mike or Danny will do at any particular point in a song and I’m sure they would say the same about me or Jimi. It will be Marshall stacks and Les Paul guitars as loud as fuck, and you can bank on that!"

Will this tour be a simple give them what they want performance?

"We are doing this for the fans really. Sure it will be great for us to do it again, but Tyketto has always had a strong bond with our fans and they are the primary reason we are doing it. People e-mail me all the time, I’m sure the other guys are the same, and I have to say I’m totally awful at replying but I hope this tour will repay them for their loyalty over the years and keeping the Tyketto name alive."

There are fourteen shows currently confirmed for the November tour and the reaction has been very positive from the fans. Are you surprised or delighted by that?

"I’m very, very flattered as well as totally shocked and delighted. Sometimes I think, my God, who wouldn’t want to be part of this, why didn’t I do it years ago.W ho wouldn’t want to be in my shoes? We are all amazed and flattered that people remember us in such a kind way. People have turned us into a cult band and we are very fortunate and thankful for it. We are all very, very excited and want to have a pint with everyone after the shows. It will be quite a rush!"