Here Comes The Rain
Mourning for Tony Clarkin – Magnum album released posthumously
Magnum founder Tony Clarkin (2nd from left) died at the age of 77 a few days before the release of the new album. photo
© Rob Barrow/October Promotion/dpa
In the dpa interview about the upcoming Magnum album, singer Bob Catley was looking forward to a planned tour in November and raved about his friend and bandmate Tony Clarkin. A few weeks later, Clarkin dies unexpectedly. “Here Comes The Rain” is his farewell album.
Guitarist founded over 50 years ago Tony Clarkin in the industrial city of Birmingham with singer Bob Catley of the band Magnum. The British also became very popular in Germany with their powerful, melodic rock songs. For decades they toured tirelessly and released new music.
But shortly before the release of their 23rd studio album, the band was struck by a stroke of fate. A complete surprise to many, Tony Clarkin died on Sunday at the age of 77. Magnum’s German record company SPV confirmed this to the German Press Agency, citing Clarkin’s family.
“I know that Tony has touched many people in so many ways through his music,” his daughter Dionne Clarkin wrote in a statement posted on the Magnum website. The musician died surrounded by his family after a short illness. “I really don’t have the words yet to express what he meant to me because the grief is still too fresh.” No further details about the cause of death were given.
Disease of the spine
It was only in November that Magnum canceled their tour planned for the spring with several concerts in Germany due to Clarkin’s health problems. On the website, the guitarist reported that he had an incurable spinal disease that made it impossible for him to give concerts. “This isn’t the end of Magnum, but the future will look a little different,” Clarkin wrote. “I hope to see you all again very soon.” Unfortunately, this hope was not fulfilled.
Singer Bob Catley in particular was hit hard by the news of Clarkin’s death, as was heard from those close to the band. He had made music with Clarkin for over 50 years. Even in the years between 1995 and 2001, when Magnum were separated, the singer and guitarist continued to make music together as the duo Hard Rain. “We just always got along well,” said Catley in an interview with the German Press Agency in November. “We’ve mostly always liked the same kind of music. He loves the blues more than I do, and I probably like pop more than he does. But together it makes Magnum.”
A new album every two years
The career of the band from Birmingham, which specializes in melodic hard rock or AOR, has been somewhat under the radar compared to other representatives of the genre for decades. But Magnum have a loyal fan base who buy their albums and attend their concerts. Until Clarkin’s death, Magnum mostly toured when they weren’t in the studio. A new album came out about every two years. “Here Comes The Rain” is the fifth studio album in ten years.
On Clarkin’s unexpected farewell album, Magnum serve up their tried-and-tested mix of gritty, powerful rock songs with strong melodies (“Run Into The Shadows”, “The Seventh Darkness”) and power ballads that border on kitsch (“After The Silence”, ” The Day He Song”).
The standout track is “Blue Tango”, a moody, rousing hard rock song with fat guitar riffs, atmospheric piano and a Hammond organ solo – and lots of groove.
“Here Comes The Rain” doesn’t come close to the great Magnum classics like “On A Storyteller’s Night” or “Vigilante”, but it is a solid work that even has a few little surprises in store. In addition to a saxophone, you can even hear a trumpet on one song.
songwriter of the band
The loss of Tony Clarkin is not only difficult for Magnum personally, but also musically, because he was not only their guitarist, but also their sole songwriter for years. “I love the way he writes songs,” Catley enthused a few weeks ago. “I love his music and his lyrics mean everything to me. It makes me really proud when I sing these songs on tour.”
At the time, the singer joked about the high workload. “This is Tony’s fault,” he said. “We’re making an album, we’re rehearsing, we’re going on tour. Bang, bang, bang! And then he’s sitting in his shed again, working on ideas for new songs. Other people take vacations, they go away, they take a break from music . But not Tony. He’ll go straight back to the studio. I think he’ll get bored otherwise.” It is at least questionable that Magnum will continue without Tony Clarkin in the future.