Hardcore TNT fans had a shock in March when a story regarding Tony Harnell's decision to quit the band was leaked prematurely. Tony's official statement followed a week later, but this only served to confirm the rumour and allude to plans for a farewell tour. Meanwhile, TNT went into overdrive in their search for a new singer, and rumour and speculation were rife until the official announcement that Tony Mills would ascend the throne. Harnell's farewell performance was set for Polar Rock in Storsteinnes, coincidentally featuring Shy as support. Again, speculation was rife as to how this would work – two Tony's on the same bill, one of them Harnell's successor? However, by all accounts the festival was a huge success, and both Shy and TNT delivered top class performances. The TNT show even had to be temporarily halted as Harnell threw his jacket into the crowd and a scrimmage worthy of the rugby world cup final ensued. During the show, Mills got word that Harnell wanted him to join him for the encore, and Harnell officially introduced him to the audience with "I have never met this guy before, but, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Mr Tony Mills, the new singer for TNT". The appreciative crowd heralded much handshaking and hugging before the band ended the show with 'Harley Davidson', which they had not played live for 22 years.

I had the pleasure recently of spending a couple of days in Oslo with Tony, getting to know him and undertaking the interview he'd promised me from the outset. He is intelligent, articulate, grounded, a gifted songwriter and a talented vocalist. There is no doubt the boy can wail, but if you listen to the projects he has been involved with then you will appreciate the versatility of his voice and the diversity of styles that he is capable of, from sleaze to metal to downright soul! He has extensive knowledge about the music industry, of which he is one of life's survivors, and we discovered we had a common introduction to the world of music, in that Ziggy Stardust was the first album we began our record collections with. Accompanied by a few beers, we sat long into the wee hours swapping stories, reminiscing about the "old days" and laughing like drains. We finally completed the interview next day over copious cups of full leaded coffee!

How did the union with TNT come about?

Midas Entertainment, the promotion division of section of Z Records, gave me a call and asked if I'd heard the news that Tony Harnell was leaving TNT, and how would I feel about them putting me forward for the vacant position. I said I'd have to think about it, because at the time Shy still had some gigs to do, and I'd got a lot of other ongoing recording projects. I did think about it, though, and remembered a time years ago I was listening to one specific track "Tonight I'm Falling", thinking it had been me who'd done the session vocals on it, and I couldn't remember who the band was! Anyway, things were pretty limited on the Shy front, and it had been a real struggle for the past year, so I agreed to a meeting with TNT to see if we could get on with each other. Being in a band is like having a second family, and if you can't get on together, then it's going nowhere. Shy had a gig in Berlin, and TNT arranged to meet me at the hotel before the show. We got on so well that they decided to do a photo shoot there and then. They also came to see a very below par Shy performance thanks to a terrible sound, and I wasn't happy that they'd seen it, but they were professional enough to realise that the circumstances weren't perfect, and so we carried on from there. I rented a rehearsal facility in England so that I could rehearse the songs properly on my own through a PA system to get a real feeling of singing them live and what the challenges were going to be.

And are there any challenges?

Oh, definitely. Tony Harnell is an extremely capable individual! Some of the material is difficult, some is right on the money, and some is really easy. A lot of the songs were sung twenty years ago, and those years do take their toll, however I'm big enough to stand up and say that. So, it remains a challenge, but it's got easier over the weeks, to the point that now I'm performing songs that I wasn't prepared for a month ago, such as 'Everyone's A Star', 'Shine On' (I don't think it gets any harder than that – cheers for that legacy, Tony) but I have to say that TNT is considerably easier than singing for Shy, so the road forward is not as rocky as it might have been. Voice-wise, I'm always ready for a show the following night, which I never was in Shy, because my recovery time was longer due to the demanding nature of the songs.

Do you go through any particular routine to take care of your voice?

No, I never do anything. One thing I do strongly believe in, though, is being there for the sound check because the monitor system is of ultimate importance. If I can't hear what I'm doing, and there's an over ambitious musician who wants three million watts more than anybody else, I can nip it in the bud at the sound check. I used to do this with Shy, because they liked to be very loud on stage. But TNT are happy to turn down if they know that if the monitors can't be any louder. It's such a relief after all these years to work with people who appreciate that, because it's very important.

So had you ever met the TNT gang before?

Well, I didn't know anybody's name. They sent me some photographs of who they were, and obviously sent me some songs by mp3 as I didn't have any of their CDs. Also, Midas had already given me some songs to rehearse for an audition, but an audition never really took place. They listened to a lot of material that I've done in the past, they sent me some backing tracks with no vocals as well as the original songs so that I could understand how they'd been sung, and I just recorded the lead vocal at my studio at home and emailed it back. They seemed happy with what I'd done, so I guess I was auditioned by email! (laughs)

The turnover between Harnell leaving and you joining seemed very quick. Was that the way it happened?

That is definitely the perception, and a lot of the fans felt it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction on the part of the band, and that I was only brought in because I sound like Tony Harnell. But it took longer than people think – actually closer to twelve weeks. I was laying down lots of vocal tracks, there was a lot of emailing tracks backward and forward, and then I rehearsed the full set on my own in England for about six weeks for setting off for Norway to rehearse with the band for a few days before our first show.

So how do you feel taking over the reins from Tony Harnell, and all that history?

To be honest, I'm still taking it a step at a time, because I'm facing the challenge on a day to day basis. However, I'm not at all daunted to be stepping into someone else's shoes, to use that over clich้d phrase. I'm far more turned on by the challenge ahead. Nobody can fault Harnell; he did his time, and I did my time with Shy, and I'm sure that whoever Shy decide to bring in as new singer will have their work cut out for them, too. But no, it's a gradual building process, and it's not as if I was thrown in at the deep end – I've had plenty of time to settle in.

How familiar are you with the back catalogue?

There are many songs by TNT that I don't know at all. I listened to 'All the Way to the Sun' on the plane back to England the other day, and it was hard to believe it was TNT. To me it sounds more like a pop album. They don't play many of those songs live, because they're not particularly rock-oriented, apart from 'Black Butterfly'. But even then, when I first heard that, I thought "Why are we doing this – it doesn't fit with the rest of the material?" It's a great live track, though.

What has the reaction from the fans been like?

Well, at the moment I've only done six shows. I think there was an initial reaction of shock by a lot of people that Tony had left, which is understandable, no more so than there has been with Shy, to be honest. But I was invited to talk to the fans on various forums, which I am quite happy to do, and they couldn't actually believe that I was talking to them. I'm a strong believer in contact with fans, and provided I don't get dragged away by some security guard after a show, I‘ll stand around to talk to everybody! The initial comments were that they were pleased I was available to talk to them, and none of the band had done this before. However, that's their professional standpoint, and I can understand why they wouldn't want to. Then a lot of them said they thought I'd been picked up by the band because of a similarity in sound. However, the overwhelming majority said welcome to the fold and thanks for keeping the dream alive. Well, the dream depends on not only the band, but the fans as well, and one doesn't work without the other, so in my opinion the fans need to be nurtured. They're an important part of the family.

What has the reaction been from Press in Norway?

Well, I've had no derogatory interviews or statements or anything like that. Most of the press has been websites, apart from in Norway where it's been major newspapers and the population waits with bated breath to see what's going to happen with the band. The concerts we've done so far have ranged from 300 people to 16,000, and I don't recall any disappointed people yet.

Had you been a TNT fan?

In 1983 I bought a copy of Knights of the New Thunder in LA. When I put it on I thought "Hmm, heavy metal" and never played it again, because it wasn't my cup of tea. Throughout the next 10 – 15 years I've listened to various compilations with some TNT songs on there, and I remember thinking "Bloody hell, he's got a high voice, God help his successor" (laughs). I distinctly remember 'Caught Between the Tigers', '10,000 Lovers' and 'Tonight I'm Falling', and that's probably it!

Are there any songs that you particularly like to perform?

'Downhill Racer' is great because of the sheer energy. 'Invisible Noise' is quite a commercial track, but it's a great song to sing. 'My Religion' and 'Give Me a Sign' are two very strong tracks, and it's a nice change to be getting off on singing rock songs!

Were there any opening night shenanigans – any tricks played on the new boy?

(Laughs) Well, the second show was at a biker festival, and they indulged in what they described as a tradition before a show where we all drank Irish Coffees. Actually there was more whiskey than coffee in those cups, and when show time arrived, I realised that was NOT the best preparation for my voice, and I've learned that lesson, and we won't be going there again! I've got Mr Le Tekro bang to rights about that one, and we understand each other now (said with a wry smile).

Yes, I'd heard a little bit of criticism that you weren't hitting the high ones that night...

I couldn't hit any notes (laughs). There were numerous people standing around in the audience saying that I couldn't sing a note, and other people were defending me, saying "Yes he can, the PA's rubbish". All I was thinking was "It's the bloody Jameson's!"

Now that you're a permanent member of TNT, will you be able to maintain your involvement with your other musical projects?

None of the session work I do will affect TNT because they'll be my priority and everything else will be fitted around it. Regarding what's up and coming, I'm in the middle of the second Winterstrain album. They're a great band - I've always said that their first album reminded me of a cross between Dream Theater and Rainbow. The second album veers more towards Queensryche in my opinion, and it lends itself to a lot of vocal arrangements, which is where I'm coming in. There's no hurry to do it – the first album took 15 years to write, after all. But a lot of the songs have been written over the years, so it'll probably be eight weeks' work while I'm darting in and out of Norway.

Who is Lasse Dale? How did you hook up with him?

Lasse's a great guitar player from Storsteinnes. Actually he lives close by Winterstrain. There was a barbeque party after the Polar Rock festival, and Lasse was there. When everybody had finally drifted off to bed, he asked if I'd like to listen to his music. It's very dynamic, very hard, very power metal with loads of balls, but he had no singer. So I thought, well I'll do it, then! It's the heaviest thing I've done in years, but I want to continue to work at the hard hitting end of the market as well as the more, if you like, acoustic end, which leads me to another new project ...

Oh, really, what's that?

There's a young lady called Marikken, from south of Oslo. I hooked up with her through Myspace, and she came to our hotel and played - she has a beautiful voice and is a talented guitar player. She's completely unknown in Norway, and I'll be doing vocal arrangements and producing her album at the end of this month - in between TNT shows. We'll get the vocals and guitar done in Norway, then I'll bring the files back to England and do the string and piano arrangements, then bring it back and mix it at Nyhagen. So that's pretty much all the stuff I've got going on in Norway at the moment, which is probably enough!

What about outside of Norway?

Well, Andrew MacNeice from Melodicrock.com contacted me a while ago to ask if I was interested in a studio project called China Blue involving a guitarist from Holland called Michael Reisenbeck and an accomplished keyboard player from LA called Eric Ragno. Michael sent me some songs without any lyrics, and I began writing a very AOR based record, very much in the style of Journey. Then the other songs came in and they sounded a bit more like Dream Theater and Spock's Beard. I got six tracks completed, but couldn't finish the rest owing to commitments with TNT. Michael wrote the rest, got a session man in to demo the vocals, then when I got back I re-sang the songs and finished the album only last week. It'll be mixed in LA and released through MTM and SPV.

I recorded an album called 'Crank It Up' with Linkan Andersson from Sweden, who I've never met. We did the whole thing by sending each other mp3 files. It was mastered in England by Mark Stuart, Magnum's engineer. The release has been put back to September, unfortunately, but it's a great high energy album. It sounds like the Stooges meets the New York Dolls. You can hear samples at http://crank-it-up.tripod.com/

Oh, and the latest news is that Dante Fox have just asked me to record all the vocal arrangements on their new album, so I'm going to be busy.

Wow, that'll keep you occupied for a while. On this basis, I guess continuing with Shy would never have been possible?

No, there was too much of a conflict of interest. It would have been very selfish and unprofessional of me, because I'd have never been available, and they'd have always been on tenterhooks. The rest of this year is shaping up to be fairly demanding for TNT, so I couldn't even commit myself to a gig with Shy this year. Also, there'd been no new material for a while, and they had no fixed plans themselves. So, after a long think I decided that 23 years had been long enough; I wasn't getting anywhere, and you can't survive on the past.

What was the reaction from the rest of the guys when you made your decision to quit?

Well, I'll never forget Steve Harris' response. He said "Great, mate, go and make us even prouder." Roy Davis wasn't happy because he wanted Shy to hang on as long as it could, but I wasn't prepared to do that, especially as TNT had already committed enough to find accommodation and organise a support network in Norway for me.

I believe '10,000 Lovers' is about to be re-released?

Yes, TV2 in Norway ran a series of programmes involving more established bands collaborating with different styles of music, and TNT was the first to actually release something out of this. It's a rap version of the song, featuring the Paperboys. It's out in Norway next week...

Well, this type of collaboration certainly didn't hurt Aerosmith.

Absolutely! I guess this is our "Run TNT" (laughs).

Can you tell us who your major influences were while you were developing your career as a singer?

David Bowie and Iggy Pop from the age of 6, then when I got older Rob Halford. With Rush I couldn't help but swallow up the art. Foreigner, Journey, Toto and Asia made quite an impact, and I spent a lot of time listening to Pink Floyd. I was never a great fan of the great "heavy rock" bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin – I didn't really come from that background, and you can only really grow with what you know. But I'm not so much a fan of the singers, rather how the stuff is performed. I was always more into the art.

What was your first band?

I sang for a Thin Lizzy styled band called Overdrive in 1980. We gigged a lot round England and worked with Chas Chandler. We also did some recording at Portland studios in London, but disbanded after a couple of years. Then I sang with a couple of heavier bands, Orion and Enigma in the 80's around the Midlands area whilst doing session work for various bands, one of which was Shy. They offered me the lead singer slot, and my career pretty much took off from there.

What's your fondest memory from your career so far?

Singing All the Young Dudes and Ships in the Night on stage with Mick Ronson at Worthing Town Hall.

The most embarrassing?

(laughs) I jumped off stage at the Edinburgh Players when we were supporting Meat Loaf, ran round the audience and never managed to get back on stage.

The worst?

Being knifed on stage in Rome which had nothing to do with music and everything to do with politics, which I know very little about.

No doubt you are looking forward to TNT's only UK performance this year at Z Rock. What other plans for TNT are under construction?

Well, we're going to try to do at least two shows per week. In between that we pursue our other projects and we'll start writing a new TNT album in September. Ronni writes in a completely different way to what I'm used to. Whereas before I was given a song and asked to write around it, now I have to write collaboratively with Ronni from the start, so that's going to be another challenge, but I'm looking forward to it!

I must say that the press I read during my visit contained nothing but laudable comments about the "new" TNT, and as I'd not been able to fulfil my mission to see them on their own turf owing to a schedule change, I shall definitely be at Z Rock.