Glenn Hughes has lived about nine rock star lives. Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, solo records, near-death experiences, and now, improbably, he’s the anchor of the Dead Daisies. The man who calls himself “The Voice of Rock” says the new record Holy Ground is exactly what they brought him in for: “They wanted a songwriter, a singing songwriter who was more influenced because I’m a 70s guy. They were primarily an 80s sounding band before I joined. They wanted me to have a 70s approach.”
It’s not nostalgia, though—at least not for him. His lyrics, written before the world shut down, landed with eerie relevance when fans finally heard them. “Isn’t it crazy, Kyle, but these lyrics that I wrote pre-pandemic…they’re pandemic-style lyrics. Like ‘Come Alive’—I’m thinking, we’ve got to come alive, we can start over. They go over so well.”
Hughes has been pushing the same theme for decades now: letting go of attachments, living in the moment, dropping the idea that you control anything beyond right now. “As young men and women, we think we got all the control—and we don’t control anything. The only control we have is this moment, like this conversation I’m having with you. In a second it’s gone. I’m trying to convey that on the album. Consciousness exists only in this moment.”
This would sound like woo-woo guru talk if he didn’t have the mileage to back it up. Hughes doesn’t exactly downplay what he’s walked away from: “I’ve stepped too many miles through minefields and overcome every addiction you can imagine. And I’m still here doing what I do.”
He’s still paying tribute, too. The Dead Daisies cover “30 Days in the Hole,” which Hughes says was less a band choice than a personal one. “Steve [Marriott] was a good friend of mine. I’ve known him since 1971. So when we did that song, for me it was my honor to do something for my dear friend.”
And because it’s Glenn Hughes, there’s already another record written. “I kind of gave you an exclusive now, Kyle. I wrote a whole new album last summer, ten songs. We’re planning on recording it at the end of the year. It’s pretty amazing stuff.”
For a man who’s played bass for Joe Satriani, fronted Deep Purple, and survived being shaved by Ozzy-era hijinks, he’s still incredulous about the basics: being alive, still singing, and still having an audience. “Looking out my window in New York at Central Park, thinking how wonderful it is to be alive on our planet—a planet that has gone through so much crap these last 20 months. We’re still here doing what we do.”
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