Trailblazer Suzi Quatro had no idea she was paving the way for Debbie Harry and Joan Jett
Suzi Quatro didn't realise she was "unusual" enough to inspire other female artists to be unique.
Suzi Quatro had no idea she was paving the way for artists including Blondie's Debbie Harry and Joan Jett to embrace being "different".
The 74-year-old musician - who scored a number of hits in the 70s, including 'Can the Can' and 'Devil Gate Drive' - didn't realise the impact she was having on fellow female artists until after the release of the 2019 documentary 'Suzi Q', which documented the way she helped redefine the role of women in rock 'n' roll when she broke out in 1973.
Speaking to the December issue of Uncut magazine, she said: "I didn't know I was unusual. I come from a musical family and I play the bass and I play rock'n'roll. I didn't realise I was breaking ground for lots of women until the documentary [2019's Suzi Q] came out. Woman after woman kept coming out - Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Tina Weymouth, KT Tunstall, Joan Jett... I was talking to my friend Cherie Currie from The Runaways over the phone from LA after, and I said, 'I just realised something - by doing what I did, I gave permission to women all over the world to be different.'
"There was this long transatlantic pause, then she laughed and went, 'And you only just got that?'"
The former Pleasure Seekers frontwoman was asked if artists like Taylor Swift "have it easy" with their big globe-trotting tours, as bands in her day were used to playing several shows a night, and she said she would jump at the chance to be in the pop superstar's "shoes tomorrow".
Suzi insists the key to surviving the road is "no sex, drugs and rock and roll", looking after your voice and getting "at least nine hours'" shut-eye after a gig.
She said of Taylor's 'Eras Tour' - which is the highest-grossing tour of all time, spanning five continents and 149 shows - that: "I would be in her shoes tomorrow, no problem! My generation grew up learning our craft on the five-shows-a-night circuit, which was pretty normal. But she will have it tough in her own ways. Within her three hours, she has dancing bears and jugglers and costume changes - she builds in her breaks, which is smart. But whatever size you are, you have to watch your voice all the time. Even in hot weather, I have a scarf around my neck.
I can't have air conditioning as it dries out the throat.
"And no sex, drugs and rock and roll - can't do it!
"Gotta get a minimum nine hours' sleep after a show, or the first thing that happens? Your voice goes."
