Interview with Tim Howar (Mike + The Mechanics) in Leipzig 2025

After we had finished the interview with Mike Rutherford, we were able to do an interview with Tim Howar as well. Tim had already recognized us when we were led into the backstage area by the tour manager after the sound check. A humorous small talk quickly developed, centered around the never-ending story of his solo album. Finally, we were able to sit down to talk and found a very cheerful and talkative Tim Howar.

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GNC: So, Tim. Here we are again. Earlier today, we discussed your possible solo album briefly. And the funny thing is: after our interview with you back in 2012, you said something like it’s out in 2 years.
Tim: It’s been 20 years or so. I know I said that. The thing is – life catches up with you. I have two daughters, 22 and 20 and my son turns seven soon. And so being a husband and a dad is one of the reasons and since 2011 we went on tour all the time and I got back home and then life catches up. There suddenly were the school runs and all this other stuff that comes with bringing up kids.

So it was all delayed and put aside. But now my daughters are grown up, my son is at school, things are somewhat stable and I thought – maybe I get back to this now. I mean to finally finish it and then it’s out. And then I can do another one and go on with that.

GNC: Is it a problem for you that you are can’t work on your own music properly?
Tim: I do not complain. I am very fortunate to be included in this Mike + The Mechanics and Genesis world. I am the lucky guy in the show who sings the Genesis stuff. Sometimes I just go “is this really happening?” you know singing Land Of Confusion and all this stuff.

“We wanted to include Ripples in the acoustic set…”

GNC: Did you discuss further Genesis tracks?
Tim: Yes, we wanted to put Ripples into the acoustic set but in the end it was decided not to go that far. But that’s very hard stuff to sing. You forget how high Phil sang in those early days and even Peter. That was probably the way it was done in those days. It probably also was the type of sound they wanted. But it is great stuff to sing. It’s a treat.

GNC: If it’s too high, you could always change the key, like Phil and Genesis did on later tours.
Tim: The thing is with Mike – he wants to do it in the orignal key. Which is of course quite nice but it scares the shit out of me. Like in the Royal Albert Hall, I saw Phil there and had a conversation with him and then I thought – I sing his songs in the original key with his son drumming.

GNC: How did you feel?
Tim: It was a bit like the first ever Mechanics show we did. It was on Mike’s 60th Birthday [2nd October 2010]. We went to this little club in London called The Gallery Club. He rented this 15 years ago and I looked around, and there I saw Billy Wyman, Ringo Starr, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Lou Gramm from Foreigner … and from stage I looked at the room – Brian May was also there, Roger Taylor was there literally seven feet from me.

“Singing with the Mechanics was a tough job to get into“

And I thought if I fuck up it’s going to be horrible. But then Lou Gramm came to me after the gig and said “man, you’re a really good singer” and that was so cool! I mean try to sing like this guy. A legend. So, looking back from today’s perspective, my voice is ready for this stuff now. But it was scary when we started and a tough job to get into.

GNC: How much did you spend with older Genesis music then?
Tim: There is a reason why Genesis is so big. You can tell by their early stuff – they were improvising a lot and then put it on tape and on an album. Tracks like The Cinema Show are really amazing. And Peter sings it so well. Who makes this stuff up? Genesis did. Trying to recreate it is cool, but it originally came from those guys. So we wanted to include some of their stuff in our set, the later stuff. We know there are Genesis fans in the audience. The Mechanics are s super lucky band. We have the chance to do this stuff. And of course all the cool Mechanics songs.

GNC: You also play new Mechanics songs.
Tim: Yes, we also do some new stuff. Mike never runs out of ideas. He has something like 400 ideas on different hard drives.

GNC: Sounds a bit like Peter Gabriel …
Tim: Yes, exactly. But this is the thing. You should never retire. I’m not saying you shouldn’t slow down and enjoy life, but this is part of your life. So what could Mike do when he retires? Unless it’s something better than this? You would turn off a part of your soul. That’s not good. But Mike’s killing it! We did a few songs and I sing a new song live [East And West Of The Sun] and Andrew sings another one [Song For You, Song For Me] and people like it.

“After Mike broke his hip, I was really worried. But he’s doing fine!”

GNC: Mike had a skiing accident. What did you think when you heard about this?
Tim: Actually, Mike called us from the hospital after the accident and said ‘don’t worry the tour is going ahead’ and it felt like he was on morphine. I thought maybe you can give us a call when not, you know what I mean? I was really worried. He is such a sportsman. He’s always on his bike, always in the gym and his wife keeps him in a good shape and he also likes that. But this broken hip and then the hip replacement, that’s a big operation. We looked it up and it sounded really scary. They open the side, rip it off, put the replacement in, close the area again and then hope that it works.

GNC: It’s a real Mechanics thing, then…
Tim: Yes, exactly [laughs]. He did it for … just the fact. Mechanics tour with a hip replacement. No seriously, we weren’t sure but look at him. He is doing fine.

GNC: Do you also write songs?
Tim: Of course I try to come up with some ideas myself if I find the time, like on the last album Let Me Fly, there was Love Left Over and Not Out Of Love.

GNC: I also remember you recorded High Life in a hotel room here in Leipzig?
Tim: Yes, that one. I did not write big parts for that song, but we recorded it here. It’s a cool city anyway. I like Leipzig and this venue. It’s looks so intimate but a lot of people fit in.

GNC: Are you aware how many shows you have played with the Mechanics?
Tim: No idea…

GNC: It’s more than 400 already…
Tim: Amazing, isn’t it? But I am not finished. I actually asked myself during lockdown if there’s something else I could do. And no, I want to do this, being on stage, being in a band. Doing Musicals. There is a need for music. It doesn’t have to do anything with your age. It’s actually frustrating when you listen to Radio One, but watch what happens. 10 years from now they all go back to rock and true soul and prog. It will all come back.

“Germany just said: Mike + The Mechanics are back – great!”

GNC: You played a lot of shows in the UK already, now you are doing shows in Germany. Is there a difference between audiences?
Tim: You know the difference is – when we started with the Mechanics again, there was this feeling in the UK like – what is this, more like a tribute band? Whereas in Germany, it was “great” from the very beginning. So they just said “Mike + The Mechanics are back again” and never questioned it. They were just waiting for us to do the music right. And we did and they always liked it.

So if it wasn’t for Germany, I am sure we would not have gone this far and touring for so long. And some of the fans I have seen every time we play here since 2011. They do multiple shows and obviously are Genesis fans but they become Mike + the Mechanics fans now. And that was a bit different in the UK – at least is didn’t happen until five or six years of touring. It was a longer process there, but worth it.

“The people who buy tickets, there are paying my wage. I never forget that!“

GNC: But now you play a lot of shows in the UK
Tim: Yes we do and I love it. And of course it was hard for Andrew and myself in the beginning because people have a memory! They knew the band with Paul Carrack and Paul Young. And then they also remember Phil. And when we are doing those songs I always think how can I pay respect to those songs but still be myself. I am known for the guy in the band who has a lot of energy.

But the people who buy tickets, there are paying my wage. I never forget that. So I always give 150%. It’s the same when I saw older Gabriel and Genesis shows. I always think they really go for it. That’s my standard. To give the audience what they deserve. So that they want to come back and say that was totally worth it!

GNC: What’s the plan after the tour?
Tim: Well I hope Mike wants to tour forever, but I guess he wants to rest for a while. For me it’s a wonderful thing to tour with these people, they are my friends. It all sounds like a wonderful experience but it took a lot of work to get to this point. It’s ways a good thing. Even on the shittiest Mechanics days it’s always good.

“Hopefully I will be working with Luke Juby on my solo album after the tour”

GNC: Are you still doing a lot of musical stuff?
Tim: Yes, whenever they call me! I mean I love telling stories, like they do in musicals. I played the Phantom of the Opera for a while, also went to Athens etc. Later they did a middle east tour but I wasn’t going. The guy who did it since then had a little accident when they were back here. So the called me “can you get here tonight?”. I haven’t done it for two years!

So I went, did a three hour rehearsal and jumped in for 14 shows. They then had a Christmas break until end of January and I was wondering if the guy was okay again to do the show. But they called me a few days before the Mechanics rehearsal so I needed to check with my wife as this was very close to the Mechanics rehearsals.

I went to Antwerp, played the Phantom a couple of times, took the train back and did a full eight hours rehearsal with the Mechanics and then I was just crashed. This is so crazy. But I love it. The thing is when they give you the opportunity to do something as big as that, of course you say yes. And with the Mechanics, we are doing this for so long now and we know the stuff. I am very lucky. And I try to do whatever I can. I am doing some concert work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra this summer and hopefully I will be working with Luke Juby if I can pay him enough and suck all the talent out of him. He is a really amazing writer, he always has ideas, also for the new Mechanics stuff.

GNC: What do you think about AI?
Tim: A lot of today’s music sounds like AI, to be honest. I mean it’s a great tool, but it’s only a tool. It’s not us. It’s not you or me. It doesn’t have a life … well, yet. Maybe one day, but not now. As long as we want to be creative … lock the doors and have fun doing music. And I also think that everything Genesis did was because they were having a blast. And that really awesome and difficult stuff. I sometimes wonder – how did they do this? It’s unbelievable music. And this is really hard to recreate. Even Mike would not play some of the old stuff – he can’t remember!

“There is something about the immediacy of now that will never go away”

GNC: That’s why Genesis always had Daryl Stuermer – to remind them how to play.
Tim: Yes – Daryl is awesome. When he opens his guitar case, it’s almost like going to a doctor. Everything is so perfect. The Mechanics are more like the younger brother, we sometimes just plug in and go “come play along”. We might be a bit more … loose. But then again, I think that’s how Genesis started as well. And they were so young. And with the Mechanics now – we somehow are still trying to grow up. As long as we stay young, that’s a cool thing. We all have our moments on stage and sometimes things don’t go right, but we all have a great time on stage. When things go wring, we look at each other and smile and laugh.

And then people in the audience go … “oh that’s live indeed” you know? This is the show, these people are doing this right now. There is always something about the immediacy of now that will never go away. And that’s why tonight is always the best show. That’s what we do. And even for people who come twice or more, we have to deliver and set the bars high.

GNC: So you listen a lot to Genesis and their solo stuff?
Tim: Yes sure. And I think, speaking about quality, they never did bad stuff. It is usually very complex, hard to sing, groovy, orchestral sounding and I like how Tony throws in those unpredictable chords and goes off in different directions. And you think – ok that’s what makes the band. They really set the bar high.

GNC: What music did you discover first when you grew up?
Tim: Actually, I bought the single Silent Running when I was 14. I loved that track and also wanted to have the album. And now I am in the band. How crazy is that?

GNC: How are the vibes in band off stage?
Tim: You know, yesterday myself, Andrew, Anto, Luke and Nic went to an Irish pub and then In The Air Tonight was played. And I looked over to Nic and he was grinning saying “yes, my dad’s song again”. I once sang that track with an orchestra in Ireland. But anyway, that was a really huge hit. And then imagine the pressure on Nic, being 15 or 16 and playing that track with his dad sitting in front of him and 10,000 people in the audience.

“Nic is a great drummer – he certainly IS a Collins”

But Nic is really amazing. He’s a great guy. And a great drummer. Not exactly like his dad, but he certainly is a Collins. Sometimes he does things when I think “that’s something your dad would have done”. Nic’s never trying to copy his dad, he’s just doing it. He’s also playing a great drum solo on stage. But anyway – the vibe in the band is great. We’re all friends and love to spend time with each other.

GNC: Ok, I think we’re done. Thanks a lot.
Tim: Yes, it was great to talk to you and to see again! And I will let you know about my solo album. Enjoy the show!

GNC: Thanks – bye

Interview and transcript: Christian Gerhardts
Photos: Carsten Hickmann

Check out Tim Howar’s official website to learn more about his projects.