I have the good fortune of a great radio station to listen to, the non-com AAA station for Philly, WXPN. It was there I heard The Beat and the original version of "Hanging On The Telephone" by The Nerves. If you’ve never heard it, it’s worth seeking out on You Tube. It’s different than what Blondie did with it, and I like it. L7 covered it in 1995. I like their version too. It complements both the original and Blondie's version.

Paul Collins, as you’ll read here, is one of the best known members of the Beat, as was Peter Case. Pauls was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: For any who don't know who you are, could you give a short history of your career in music? Who are your influences?

Paul Collins: My first band was The Nerves back in 1974, that's the band that created "Hanging On The Telephone." Then I had a band with Peter Case, The Breakaways. They were short-lived and finally got a record released 30 years later on Alive Records. Then I started The Beat probably my biggest band. We were on Columbia Records and managed by the late great Bill Graham. We toured all over the US and Europe and that established me pretty much worldwide. After two albums we lost our contract and from then on I was a DIY artist. I released a lot of records as Paul Collins Beat and then as Paul Collins. I also toured constantly, sometimes with a band and sometimes just with my acoustic guitar.

I lived in Spain on two different occasions, in the 80s and in the 2000's. I have been here in New York since 2008, and I have been releasing records all along, first with Alive Records in California, and my most recent record is with Jem Records, who I also released To Beat or Not To Beat in 1982. My influences are from all the great rock and roll and pop music from the late 50s and 60s. I listened to WABC and WNEW while I was growing up here in Long Island and New Jersey.

AW: I like your Americana/power pop a lot. What made you decide to change direction from your earlier work?

PC: My work is really all based on trying to write what I consider a good song. As you try to write songs for a long time you start to drift all over the stylistic map, so to speak, of all the different types of music you have grown up with. For me that’s everything from Hank Williams and Ray Charles to The Beatles and The Stones.

AW:  I also like how mature your lyrics are. Do they reflect your mindset now?

PC: It's all about the song for me. Some songs that you might think reflect me now were actually written many years ago. For example, "That’s When I Think of You" is one of my earliest compositions, written in San Francisco around 1975.

AW: Is “Liverpool” a true story? Is it about the city (which is nice commentary about it) or just a state of mind? 

PC: I spent three crazy days in Liverpool with my host Andy from Pink Moon Records. It's a true story about my impressions of being there in the rain and going from pub to pub every night!

AW: The anti-nostalgia of “We Can’t Go Back” is great, but is it also a political statement? 

PC: Songs take on different meanings as time goes by. Originally it was about when we relocated form Spain to America in 1987. When we got to California after being gone for four years we saw how different everything had become. Then, in time, it also reflects the feeling of not being able to go back to the life we had before everything in the world changed.

AW: Do you plan to tour? 

PC: No it's too arduous for me now. I will do isolated shows but no long tours.

AW:  What would you tell someone just starting out in music?

PC: Practice, practice, practice and if you believe in yourself don't give up. It’s a very hard profession, you have to really love it.I have the good fortune of a great radio station to listen to, the non-com AAA station for Philly, WXPN. It was there I heard The Beat and the original version of "Hanging On The Telephone" by The Nerves. If you’ve never heard it, it’s worth seeking out on You Tube. It’s different than what Blondie did with it, and I like it. L7 covered it in 1995. I like their version too. It complements both the original and Blondie's version.

Paul Collins, as you’ll read here, is one of the best known members of the Beat, as was Peter Case. Pauls was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: For any who don't know who you are, could you give a short history of your career in music? Who are your influences?

Paul Collins: My first band was The Nerves back in 1974, that's the band that created "Hanging On The Telephone." Then I had a band with Peter Case, The Breakaways. They were short-lived and finally got a record released 30 years later on Alive Records. Then I started The Beat probably my biggest band. We were on Columbia Records and managed by the late great Bill Graham. We toured all over the US and Europe and that established me pretty much worldwide. After two albums we lost our contract and from then on I was a DIY artist. I released a lot of records as Paul Collins Beat and then as Paul Collins. I also toured constantly, sometimes with a band and sometimes just with my acoustic guitar.

I lived in Spain on two different occasions, in the 80s and in the 2000's. I have been here in New York since 2008, and I have been releasing records all along, first with Alive Records in California, and my most recent record is with Jem Records, who I also released To Beat or Not To Beat in 1982. My influences are from all the great rock and roll and pop music from the late 50s and 60s. I listened to WABC and WNEW while I was growing up here in Long Island and New Jersey.

AW: I like your Americana/power pop a lot. What made you decide to change direction from your earlier work?

PC: My work is really all based on trying to write what I consider a good song. As you try to write songs for a long time you start to drift all over the stylistic map, so to speak, of all the different types of music you have grown up with. For me that’s everything from Hank Williams and Ray Charles to The Beatles and The Stones.

AW:  I also like how mature your lyrics are. Do they reflect your mindset now?

PC: It's all about the song for me. Some songs that you might think reflect me now were actually written many years ago. For example, "That’s When I Think of You" is one of my earliest compositions, written in San Francisco around 1975.

AW: Is “Liverpool” a true story? Is it about the city (which is nice commentary about it) or just a state of mind? 

PC: I spent three crazy days in Liverpool with my host Andy from Pink Moon Records. It's a true story about my impressions of being there in the rain and going from pub to pub every night!

AW: The anti-nostalgia of “We Can’t Go Back” is great, but is it also a political statement? 

PC: Songs take on different meanings as time goes by. Originally it was about when we relocated form Spain to America in 1987. When we got to California after being gone for four years we saw how different everything had become. Then, in time, it also reflects the feeling of not being able to go back to the life we had before everything in the world changed.

AW: Do you plan to tour? 

PC: No it's too arduous for me now. I will do isolated shows but no long tours.

AW:  What would you tell someone just starting out in music?

PC: Practice, practice, practice and if you believe in yourself don't give up. It’s a very hard profession, you have to really love it.