If you had taken the media coverage of Jethro Tull in the 1980s at face value, you would have believed that these leading lights of British prog had begun the decade in turmoil and acrimony, and then ended it bathed in glory tainted by controversy. In between times, though, there was more good music than is often assumed.
When they moved on from the folk-rock triptych of Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch to forge a shiny, forward-looking new sound and ruthlessly overhauled line-up with 1980’s A, not all of their fanbase seemed inclined to join them. But by the time they won a Grammy in 1989 (for 1987 release Crest Of A Knave, confusingly) they seemed to have reinvented themselves as an enduringly relevant force in British rock, clad in more contemporary sonic clothing but still capable of making intelligent, idiosyncratic rock records that still sounded like no one else.
Some fans would continue to hanker after a return to the early 70s Tull sound, but since even that regularly changed shape, it should have been no surprise to see the band continue to reinvent themselves in the new decade.
Still, it must have been a shock when pop pickers scanned their newsagents’ shelves in the summer of 1980 to find Melody Maker shouting from its cover: “Jethro Tull – Big Split”.
The full story was rather more complicated. But the upshot would be that only Ian Anderson and Martin Barre would remain from the band that bore that name for most of the 1970s.
Changes had already been afoot in 1979 when Anderson fired bassist John Glascock before the end of making that year’s album , chiefly due to his unreliability related to “lifestyle” issues. These were having an adverse effect on his health, and later that year he died tragically early. His friend and Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow would later complain that he was forced to pay for the penniless bassist’s funeral, indicating that his late bandmate wasn’t paid enough for his services, and this discontent surely contributed to what would transpire after the Stormwatch Tour. Meanwhile, Anderson has since said of that period that the band were suffering burnout after heavy touring, and Barlow wasn’t the only one considering their options – he points out that John Evan’s “heart wasn’t really in it anymore”. “Everybody had interests outside the band, either musically or personally,” he says, “and I think we just desperately need a break.”
