In a new episode of the ‘VRP Rocks’ podcast, former Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre opened up about his memorable audition for the band and how he came to take the role initially eyed by Tony Iommi, who would later find fame as the guitarist for Black Sabbath.
Shortly after the debut album ‘This Was’ was released in December, guitarist Mick Abrahams departed from Jethro Tull. Following Abrahams’ departure, the band was on the hunt for a new guitarist. It was at this moment that Martin Barre, who had previously auditioned alongside Iommi, came back into the picture. Reflecting on his first audition, Barre admitted:
“I didn’t fall apart, but I was rubbish. I was so bad at playing guitar that I said, ‘Should I play a bit of flute?’ I don’t know why I said it. So I played some pieces that I knew on flute, and that was really good. That was no use. They had a short list of me, Tony Iommi, and, I think, Mick Taylor. They went for Tony. Tony didn’t particularly meld with the music. It didn’t suit him, he wasn’t comfortable.”
Barre, recalling his conversation with Ian Anderson, said:
“And at the same time, I just called Ian, and I said, ‘Look, it was dreadful. I played really badly. What’s going on?’ because, you know, if there’s another chance, I’d jump at it. There was. We had a rehearsal in Angel, Islington, in a pub all day. I learned a bit of their music, they learned a bit of mine. And there we go.”
By the end of December 1968, Barre played his first gig with Jethro Tull at the Winter Gardens in Penzance. Recalling that day, he admitted he had a realization about their chemistry:
“I knew that was a gig, my gig. I don’t know why because I was very shy and not a very confident musician. But I just knew it was meant to be.”
Jethro Tull released their 23rd studio album ‘RökFlöte’ on April 23, 2023. For more recent news, Barre is currently on the road for the Aqualung 50th Anniversary show and ‘A Brief History of Jethro Tull’ show. You can get your tickets here.
You can watch the rest of the interview below.
