David Soul talks exclusively to “Theatre World”

Theatreworld were invited to meet with David Soul, star of the seventies hit Starsky and Hutch and singer of hits such as Don't Give Up On Us and Silver Lady. David is currently on a tour of the UK.

TW What is it that motivates you?

DS Well, if performing is in your blood, then it's something that you can't get rid of it. I mean, what else could I do? Thankfully there is more than just that, obviously, but I care about what I do otherwise I wouldn't be doing it.

TW Which do you feel most at home in, theatre, touring or film/TV?

DS Put it this way, the other day I was asked to do an interview for something and I had to pick a field that I was an expert in and do something specific in that field. I declined to do the interview because I'm not an expert in anything. I'm sort of a jack of all trades. In the years I've been doing what I do and in my preparation and everything else, I guess I've become a kind of garbage can, a web site, if you like, where I've collected a lot of stuff. So I can't answer that question specifically because I'm really more a collector of disciplines and interests.

TW In this country you're probably best known for playing Hutch, do you resent in way the constant connection to a character you last played over twenty years ago?

DS No, because my experience on Starsky and Hutch has gone into my garbage can, ..my web site!

TW In your music, who do you count as your influences?

DS As a child my influences were classical because my family were highbrow, we weren't rich, in fact we were very poor but we were very classically orientated and we were introduced to the works of Schubert, Schuman and Bach. Popular music was something we had to sneak, in the way that you sneak a cigarette, we had to sneak a song. My parents' opinion on Elvis Presley was "How could someone with such talent waste it on such trash"? My opinion as first was that of my parents, until I got a little older and then I would think "I wish to God I could do that!" When I was older I went to school in Mexico and became friends with some of the students who were involved in the strategy to undermine the corruption happening in the Mexican government. It was the early sixties and after our meetings we would sit in cafes and play Mexican music and eventually I became the only blue-eyed Norwegian blond who could play and sing Mexican folk songs. Listening to Dylan, Mowtown and Blues also enable me to break the musical mould that I had grown up with.

TW You mentioned the Mexican Government earlier and I've read that since living in the UK you've become a supporter of Martin Bell. How did you get involved in his political career?

DS Well he was a guy that I saw on television and I thought that he had real integrity. So I called him and left a message, thinking that if he got it he would wonder why on earth would David Soul be calling and that he would call me back simply because he was curious, which he did. We then got together and became friends. So it wasn't so much the politics that I got involved in but more that I was supporting someone I believed in and trusted.

TW As a current resident of the UK, what would you say are the major differences between the English and the Americans?

DS Well us Americans are a lot more upfront. We always tell it like it is. The Brits are much too careful and will constantly ask you if you're happy doing this or that and are terribly nice. But that masks the behind the door back-stabbing that goes on in this country in a way that doesn't happen in the States, well certainly not to the degree that it happens here. However, I do like living in London very much.

TW I've read that since coming to live in London you've started watching football and have become an ardent supporter of Arsenal?

DS Yes, their ground is the closest to where I live and I thought why not go along and watch.

TW Do you know what "Off Side" means?

DS Oh yes. If our team is ahead of their team before we kick the ball it's off side! Last season I didn't miss a home match, however, this year I've been appearing in the West End, so it's a little difficult to get to all the matches.

TW What kind of music can your fans expect to hear at your concerts?

DS Well I'm not always contemporary with everything that's happening at the moment. I'll be doing songs by some of the artists I enjoy listening to, Bob Seger, Ry Cooter and Bill Withers. I like melody and a lot of "happening" music today is basically rhythm oriented, fewer cords, fewer melodic lines and so fewer changes and I like changes. I just like the flow of melody. I enjoy music with staying power. I'm not really drawn to anything just because it's happening now. My show has elements of a lot of different flavours, including things that are happening now but the overall feeling will be that the music is encompassing, involving us with time, memory, moment, past, future, our experience.