We talk to legendary Saxophone player and one of the founding members of the Liverpool supergroup ‘SUPERCHARGE’ Albie Donnelly about growing up in 1960s Liverpool, being a session musician for Bob Geldof, and The Boomtown Rats, and opening for the band QUEEN at the 1976 Hyde Park Festival!

ALBIE has led successful tours all over Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France, Poland, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, working with big names such as Ray Charles, Fats Domino, B. B. King, Chuck Berry to name but a few, confirming the bandleaders’ consistent popularity. His soulful voice and unique horn sound attest to his R’n’B roots and his being steeped in the music of the all-time greats.

NSG: Hello Albie, how are you doing? How have you been? 

AD: I‘m fine but the last two years have been a drag because of Covid and all the restrictions.99.9 % of my gigs have been outside of the UK for about 40yrs so Travel has been a nightmare.

NSG: So you grew up in Liverpool’s Huyton area in the 1950s and 60s? I’m a bit of a local history buff myself and have seen the massive changes the city has undergone over the years. What was it like growing up in Liverpool during that period?

AD: I grew up in Dovecote, loved it as of 17yrs started playing in bands, in those days early 60‘s lots of gigs, fun, no big drug Problems, very little money for Alcohol, all quite innocent, I also never wanted to be a Beatle, I liked more Jazz and Bluenote R&B. Liverpool was dead on Sundays now the weekend starts on Monday and just seems to never end, still the same problem as years ago for musicians though( Getting paid).

NSG: How old were you when you started playing the saxophone? What made you choose the sax over say, the guitar or drums? 

AD: I got really interested in music when I was about 10yrs, Bill Haley, Gean Vincent, Elvis, etc, etc then I discovered Jazz, Kapow !!!! I Heard Charlie Parker and decided that I must have a sax, of course, I couldn’t play so I joined various beat groups and soul bands, The Terry Hines, Sextet, The Fix, The Clayton Squares, The In crowd, The Shufflers sound, Bernie’s Buzzband, Sinbad…… Eventually Supercharge.

NSG: You formed the now legendary and extremely successful band SUPERCHARGE in the early 1970s singing and playing Saxophone? How did the band originally form?

AD: Supercharge has taken up most of my career. It was originally a Funk/Rock band, Virgin signed us, everything was going well then Punk came in and we got dropped, it’s what happens… anyway we got a new deal, TV, and Promo in Germany, and that started the never ending European tour that still continues…

NSG: What do you think makes a good song?

AD: That’s a very difficult question to answer, for example, most music these days is mindless in my view, but what do I know, I like Billie Holiday, Earth, Wind and Fire and John Coltrane. obviously, I have no taste.

NSG: Before you formed Supercharge you were a session musician, playing on recordings by Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats and with Graham Parker to name but a few? How does a kid from Huyton end up playing and working with Bob Geldof? Any fun stories from that time?

AD: I got to play on Records with Bob Geldof, Graham Parker, Deep Purple, and lots of weird bands, During the period I was signed to Virgin, Mutt Lange was our producer and I was his saxophone player of choice for many of his other productions. When Bob Geldof told me how much advance he had been paid I advised him to stick it in his arse pocket and F**k off back to Dublin as the Music biz was a joke full of conmen and liars…..anyway……

NSG: I’ve read that you have toured with Ray Charles, Fats Domino, B. B. King, Chuck Berry, and Queen during your long musical career! The Stuff of dreams! You must have some amazing memories! Who was your favourite to work with and who was the hardest to work with?

AD: Supercharge have Toured with lots of my hero‘s all over Europe, I think my favourite was B.B King, super friendly and a great band, The Gig in Hyde Park with Queen was fun, in General, we got very good reviews, went down a storm, it was all filmed, I did see our segment but it’s never been shown, it’s a pity as about a month later we got dropped by Virgin, six months later we had a hit in Australia, we toured twice, the concentrated on Germany and Switzerland.

NSG: The pandemic hit the music and arts scene hard! How did you get through it not being able to tour and how do you feel about the lack of support that was available to artists during it?

AD: No Pandemic help from this UK Government, but I HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP. Germany has been very decent.

NSG: What does Albie eat for breakfast?

AD: Anything.

NSG: If you could invite and cook for three people from history who would they be?

AD: Ava Gardner, Dave Chappell, and Charlie Parker.

NSG: You have a lot of talented family members don’t you, from actors to other musicians, has the family historically always been drawn to the arts?

AD: Liverpool is Full of talented people, you have to follow your dream, sadly sometimes it doesn’t work out but it can be fun on the way.

NSG: You opened for Queen at the 1976 Hyde Park Festival, What do you remember about that day?

AD: I didn’t stay to watch them.

NSG: You’re 74 now and still touring! How do you do it? lol. How’s the rest of 2022 looking for you?

AD: Simple, I love it and gigs are coming in, bloody great….

NSG: Thanks for your time man, anything else you’d like to add?

AD: When I‘m home I love wandering around my old haunt guzzling and talking rubbish with my cronies. It’s hilarious…

One thing I forgot to mention which is important. Supercharge is the most multi-ethnic band Liverpool has ever had, over the years the lineup has included apart from the normal Liverpool mix of English, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish but also German, Dutch, Swiss, American, Afro/American, Chinese, Polish, Egyptian and African. I should have called it The R&B League of Nations.

All the best!

Albie