The Animals were a major force in the British Invasion of the 1960s, blending blues, R&B, and rock into a sound that has inspired generations. Their music remains as relevant and powerful today as it was back then! Still on the prowl, The Animals are still commanding great respect internationally amongst their peers as well as from fans of all ages – crowds still adore edgy anthems from The Animals catalogue such as the classics, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Boom Boom, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, It’s My Life and the bands’ iconic multi-million selling, and Number One worldwide, hit – House of The Rising Sun.
Do not miss your last chance to witness one of rock’s most influential bands take their last bow on Australian soil for what will be ‘’The Final Curtain’’. The legendary John Steele talks to Hi Fi Way about the tour.
This tour has been described as the final curtain. How do you feel about that being potentially the last time around?
Well, it feels like I’ve been here before and thought, I’m playing as good as I’ve ever played. The band is really tight, I love playing with a band. Why should I stop? So, I’m going to get through this year, and we’ll see what happens, but I’m not writing myself off yet, because I’m enjoying myself too much.
When you’re drumming that well, why wouldn’t you keep going? There’s plenty of love here in Australia for The Animals.
Yeah, indeed and as you say, drumming’s a good workout, that’s probably why I’m still fit and active and a couple of glasses of red wine before I start!
Each tour over the last few years it must be blowing you away with the level of interest and number of sold out shows?
It’s wonderful. I always reckon it’s the quality and the strength of the songs, because they seem to cross the generations, everybody seems to be able to identify with It’s My Life, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Inside Looking Out and of course House of the Rising Sun, everybody of every generation seems to identify with those songs. We get that in the audience, really mixed audiences come along to see us. So it’s a great way to make a living, innit?
It seems to be more than a show now, a celebration of a catalogue of timeless songs?
Absolutely, I’m convinced that’s where the longevity of the band comes from, the quality of those songs and how people can identify with them.
Is it the ultimate compliment when you look out to the crowd and see people of all ages singing these songs back?
Exactly, it’s a great feeling. I mean, I still get a tremendous buzz every time I come off stage after a show like that and think, wow, that was excellent. It’s a good sort of high, because I don’t… the only drugs I do these days are called glasses of red wine, and the rest of it’s just pure adrenaline.
Is it pleasing to see such a younger crowd coming to these shows now?
Oh, yeah! Whenever possible, we usually go front of house and meet and greet, sign autographs and things like that and some of these kids, boys and girls in their teens, say, “That’s the first song I ever learned on my first guitar, House of the Rising Sun. That’s such a great feeling.
Do you have standout memories from the last tour? Which shows were highlights for you?
I think the favourite club for us in the whole of Australia is The Gov in Adelaide. It’s just one of those venues where it’s not too big, but it’s big enough to have a good crowd. The technical part of it is all taken care of, the food’s great, and the crowd just enjoy themselves. We love playing there. But there’s so many gigs like that in Australia, it’s just one of our favourite places to tour.
Was it an easy choice to pick the Adelaide show for the live recording?
Yeah, it was, because we always get a really good vibe there. That’s the night to go with.
When you reflect over your career, what moments stand out as ones you’re really proud of?
One of my favourite memories is when we first went to the U.S., to New York. Beatlemania was in full swing, so any British band was greeted with hysterical fans. The record company had teamed up with a British motor manufacturer called Triumph, and they had a new two-seat sports car called the Triumph Tiger. Someone said, “Tiger? Animals? Oh, good.” So they put each of us under the back of this sports car and drove into Manhattan. Each of us were the model in a red bus with tiger whiskers and a tiger’s tail and a police escort. We drove all the way into Manhattan, looking at each other thinking, this is insane. But it was fun, it was really good fun.
What do you think of how music is evolving, less vinyl and CDs, more streaming, and even AI-generated music?
Well, at my age, I just don’t even pretend to keep up. What I do find encouraging, though, is that vinyl’s become very popular again. My daughter bought me a wonderful turntable deck and speakers for my eightieth birthday because my old setup had clapped out. I’ve got hundreds of vinyl albums, and it was brilliant to be able to play them again on some really high-tech equipment. A lot of people seem to be going in for vinyl again. I think that’s healthy. I like the feel of a vinyl album, you can read the sleeve notes, look at the artwork, even the smell of the disc.
Last time we spoke, you mentioned the possibility of new music. Has that come to fruition or is it still bubbling away?
It’s bubbling away. We were trying to arrange a session recently that we couldn’t quite get together because of gigs and other commitments. Danny, our lead singer and guitarist, said, “Why not do it in Australia again?” So when we get over there, we’re going to be recording some fresh stuff in Australia. I don’t know where the session’s going to be yet, but that’s the plan anyway.
And Barney’s not going to flash his butt to the crowd this time?
You can never tell with Barney. He’s great fun, but he’s a great, great player, so whatever he does is okay with me.
That’s got to be the highlight in itself. The band looks like such a well-oiled machine, it just clicks, and Danny’s an awesome singer. It works so well as a combination.
It does, absolutely. We really enjoy working with each other, and when everything locks together, it’s such a buzz. I always get a buzz playing with these guys, and when you come off after a great show, we just think, that was good.
So what is next for yourself? Is it a bit of a break after that, then see what happens going into 2026?
Yeah, we get back on November 25, we get back to the UK, and then we’ve got some gigs leading up to Christmas. I’m right in the middle of moving house. I’ve got my house on the market, so I don’t know if I’m going to be living in a different place before Christmas or in the new year. I’m in kind of a limbo land at the moment. I don’t know how many times I’ve moved homes, but I’ve lived in this house for fifty years, so it’s going to be a weird, weird change. I’m already in the process of sorting things out and thinking, what the hell is this? Where did I get this? Why am I keeping this? I’m packing stuff and sorting out what I’m going to keep and what I’m going to send to the charity shop. So that’s what I’m in the middle of doing just now. It will be a wonderful break for me to be on the road with the guys in the band again.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Catch The Animals on the following dates, tickets from Metropolis Touring…
