Nine Songs: Suzi Quatro

It should come as absolutely no surprise that after talking Suzi Quatro for nearly an hour, the kickass spirit of rock-and-roll is alive and well here, or specifically Majorca, as we speak whilst she’s on her Spanish holiday.

Quatro’s importance as a female pioneer in the macho, male dominated world of ‘70s rock is beyond question. After all, when you rock the stage with classics such as “Can the Can”, “Devil Gate Drive”, “Stumblin’ In’”, toss in global recognition with striking a number one in several countries, without even starting on the small matter of selling more than 50 million records worldwide. You get your own seat at the big table sitting next to Joan Jett, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.

Quatro starts our conversation by reflecting on the differences to come between her most recent album, 2023’s wonderfully versatile collaboration album Face to Face which featured Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, a fellow female pioneer who made her breakthrough with Eye to the Telescope, and where she is today.

It has been more than 50 years since the eponymous swagger of debut album Suzi Quatro and come the release of her latest, the aptly titled Freedom, Quatro explains that she sees it as an opportunity to “Strip everything back, and go back to our roots, all of the sass and the energy”.

Peering behind the curtains a little bit, Quatro shares a poignant memory centered around the creation of this new album. “My son actually told me that he used some old-fashioned equipment in the studio to create that iconic sound again, and the most wonderful thing happened”, she tells me.

“When my original drummer passed away during the Covid years, he was on all the original records. I bought his drum kit from a partner and that equipment is on the new record! He’s still here and still playing.”

Quatro’s upcoming tour sees her returning to UK soil from April and will see her rocking around Glasgow, Gateshead, Manchester, Bournemouth and special focus on a trip to London’s West End Palladium.

As an artist who has spent her life on the road, Quatro’s Nine Songs selections take on a similar theme, they’re a guided tour around her most special musical and life memories and experiences, a personal rumination on childhood, family, love, and unmatchable authenticity.

“When you are writing a song, it is like giving birth to something, you find the title, melody, the riff, and when it is done you have your creation in front of you. There you go, making music is just like creation!”

To listen to Quatro’s stories behind her song choices is like walking in her own footsteps. After our conversation I could have been the one that was sat wide-eyed in front of the television watching Elvis croon ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ or feeling the yearn of sunshine of The Beach Boys’ ‘Surfin’ Safari’.

Music has an ineffable power and magic, it can inspire you, it can be your best friend, it can be there for you in the darkest moments. And like the artist herself, it will always be there.