Ascension – An Exercise In Reflection Chances are you’re familiar with the name Ian Toomey. The guitarist founded B**ches Sin with his brother Peter in 1980, and reactivated the band with the release of the ‘UDUVUDU’ album in 2008. Material which fell beyond the parameters of the band appeared on Ian’s three Flashpoint albums, and in 2012 he launched a solo career with the release of the single ‘Very Soon Everyone’s Leaving’, a reworking of two tracks from the first Flashpoint record. Two further singles followed, and with ‘Ascension’ he has realised his ambition to release a solo album, although the decision as to whether it should have come out under his name or as B**ches Sin’s follow-up to 2011’s ‘The Rapture’ was as much a matter of fate as anything else. “Because of the strength of the singles released under my name and the great reviews they received,” begins Ian, “I decided to start writing and recording the first Ian Toomey album. This should have happened at the beginning of 2014, but sadly my producer and good friend Chris Tsangarides became gravely ill with the Legionnaires virus and so work was postponed until September 2014. I spent the downtime wrestling with the decision as to whether to record a new ’Sin album instead of a solo album, and in the end I decided to wait until the recording commenced to see how things unfolded.” B**ches Sin are one of those bands who tend to write and rehearse their material to perfection before going into the studio; in fact, they are legendary for the speed at which they are able to lay down a session. But this time that option had not been open to them, “so instead, for the first time in our history, we wrote and recorded live in the studio. Fortunately with so much creative ability in the line-up and the experience and guiding hand of Chris we managed to pull it off in style. However, it was certainly not my preferred choice as time was tight and within the band I carry all the financial risk.” The sessions were the first by B**ches Sin to feature Pete Toomey since the ‘Invaders’ album in the mid-Eighties, the guitarist having moved to New Zealand and not wanting to contribute to either ‘UDUVUDU’ or ‘The Rapture’. But, as Ian continues, “I took a few ideas down and Pete brought some too, and so the album was written and recorded. But during that process, as the songs evolved it became evident that while there was a thread of ’Sin in some of them there was none at all in the others, and in the end it was an easy and obvious choice to release this album as an Ian Toomey album rather than a B**ches Sin album.” There were original reports that following ‘UDUVUDU’ and ‘The Rapture’ ‘Ascension’ would form the final part of a loose trilogy touching on the ideas of death and resurrection, but such musings were exaggerated. “Well, yes,” agrees Ian tacitly, “it had become by default, and certainly through no planning on my part, a ‘loose’ trilogy. But, like many things on our journey through this life our own plans may not reflect the plans of others. ‘Ascension’ was initially only a title and would probably have remained so had it not been for Chris’s illness, the time at the studio, and my own growth through this creative process and indeed during the last couple of years. Now, ‘Ascension’ has become a mission for me, a vehicle for my playing, and a conduit for my soul to express through the most wonderful medium of music my message to the world. So I would offer that it has been my ‘Ascension’ and a move to a new plane.” As a result, ‘Ascension’ is a hugely autobiographical body of work. “Writing in such a way is fantastically rewarding to your inner self,” he points out. “Most people write about their life experiences, whether in poetry, novels, songs or journalism even. I have been fortunate in life and despite some difficult times feel I’ve remained true to myself. So with this album, whereas in the past you would most likely be weaving a ‘fantasy’ or painting pictures in the listeners’ minds, I’m merely offering the information and leaving it to them to paint their own picture, or to possibly look back and say ‘y’know, I understand why that happened’ or ‘I now realise what caused me to change to a different viewpoint.’ It’s a massive achievement but it requires both a high level of truth and the willingness to truly listen to the message. For this reason 90% of the lyrics have been written by me, and all of the songs have lyrics which refer back to parts of my life although the amount of reference does vary. One of the funnier ones would be ‘Superman’: at the time of ‘Flashpoint’ I was everywhere with what seemed like endless energy including achieving my Dan Grade in Judo, playing in the band, travelling and working twelve-hour shifts… On one occasion it was obviously getting on my father’s nerves despite the fact I’d left home ages ago and he would often remark, ‘who do you think you are? Superman?’ so the song and especially the chorus is for him. The track ‘Ascension’ is deeply personal and refers to the time – 29th September 2004 – when I suffered an attempt on my life that very nearly killed me. The lyrics tell of my journey. And finally I guess ‘Bad Blood’ which illustrates how one person, who refuses to lie down while his detractors gather and pursue him, has to change (for a while at least) into something he’s not in order to survive. This is a particularly important song on the album to me.” Although Ian’s various recordings have never made him rich some of his songs have been hugely influential, and in ‘Strangers On The Shore’ written by Pete, and ‘Ain’t Life A Bitch’ he’s recorded two of the most famous songs of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal; although that’s not a bad legacy in itself, Ian still feels he has unfinished business, musically. “Because of my own expectations – that is, I expect to be treated fairly; I expect to be paid for my work; I expect honesty when I’m dealing with people – I have found it almost impossible to commit 100% to live work. I would like to be able to play decent venues around the world to take my music ‘live’ and communicate directly with my fans so they can hear, and see, first-hand how much joy my music brings to me and how much fun it is to share live. Somehow I doubt this will happen, if I’m being honest; but as they say ‘I’m not dead yet’,” he laughs. Long-term fans will know that Chris Tsangarides has become an important and almost integral part of Ian’s music. Chris first became involved when Ian tentatively contacted him and asked if he'd be interested in mixing the 2006 ‘Flashpoint’ album, although the legendary producer had been on Ian’s radar for many years. “We were all big fans of the sound of Girl’s debut album ‘Sheer Greed’ [recorded in 1979],” Ian recalls, “and wondered how we could sound like that. We were on the point of calling Chris who’d produced it back then, back in 1981, but figured that we couldn’t afford him, or he wouldn’t be interested, or both! Years later, when I revealed this to him, he just said ‘well, you should have picked up the phone.’ “Chris is hugely important to me and my work. I love the guy so much because of his incredible personality and because of the way he makes everything just happen – and boy, it seems to just happen so easily! For me especially, in my own amateurish way, I will try and convey a sound or an idea or arrangement to Chris and it’s either just ‘there’ or he’ll say ‘yes; tell you what we’ll do here…’ and it sounds many times better,” he laughs at the thought. “I’ve learned so much too about recording. Not so much twiddling the knobs or moving the sliders but in the approach, the calm way Chris gets the best performance out of you. To say Chris is ‘just a producer’ is a bit like saying Michelangelo could paint a bit. We joke about this when we are recording together, but I maintain that Chris is the best, certainly in this Universe, and that’s why I feel it’s such an honour every time I work with him.” The relationship works both ways; Ian claims with tongue firmly in cheek that he only uses Chris’s studio because of the producer’s extremely tasty home-made rock ‘n’ roll soup, while Chris refers to the guitarist as ‘Two-Takes Toomey’. Ian laughs again. “Yes… Many of the takes when I record are first take, especially the guitar solos, and rarely if ever do I need more than two takes. Chris finds this hilarious, hence the nickname! I think if I had a time machine the one thing I’d do is go back to 1981 and tell myself to call Chris. If I could meet the young me, I’d say ‘don’t put that phone down and walk away; make that call to Chris Tsangarides. After all, you put the work in to get his number and you know what? He might say yes.’” The years between then and now have educated Ian well. “Life,” he says, “has taught me the importance of being that soul that has chosen this particular journey. I think the message is to listen to and act on your instincts, and just because whatever you’ve wished for hasn’t arrived when you’ve expected it to, doesn’t mean that it won’t at some time in your life. But, most of all, what I’ve learned is never, never lie down for anyone if you know what’s in your heart is the truth and that no matter what anyone else might say you know you are right. There’s nothing more important than that.” John Tucker April 2015