Ian Anderson has described his work as Jethro Tull as "historical" and said he's quite happy to leave it that way.
And he’s underlined the fact that he never liked the band name in the first place.
He’s just released his second solo album, Homo Erraticus, which sees him using his Gerald Bostock character for the third time. It first appeared on 1972 Tull release Thick As A Brick, then returned on Anderson’s_ Thick As A Brick 2_ in 2012.
He tells Billboard: “To me, Jethro Tull is the vast body of repertoire – the record catalogue, the music.
“If we look back on it, it kind of came more or less to an end during the last ten years or so, with a couple of live albums and a studio album of Christmas material. That might define the last albums under the name Jethro Tull.
“It’s a body of work I rather think is now historical, since the weight of it lies back in the 70s and 80s. And I rather think it’s nice to leave that as legacy.”
He’s well known for having disliked the Tull monicker. It was chosen at random by the band’s agent as one of the many guises used to secure as many bookings as possible.
Anderson says: “If you’d asked me 20 years ago, did I regret anything about my musical career, my answer then, as it is today, has always been the name of the band.
“I can’t help but feel more and more that I’m guilty of identity theft and I ought to go to prison for it. It’s almost as if I watched old Jethro Tull at the cash machine, leaned over to check out his PIN, filched his card from his back pocket as he walked away then fleeced his bank account. It doesn’t make me feel very good.”
He adds: “I never paid much attention in history class so I didn’t realise we’ve been named after a dead guy until a couple of weeks later.”
Anderson tours the UK with his solo band starting at the end of this month:
Apr 28: Brighton Dome
Apr 29: Southampton O2 Guildhall
May 01: Salisbury City Hall
May 02: Liverpool Philharmonic
May 03: Birmingham Symphony Hall
May 04: Oxford New Theatre
May 06: Bristol Colston Hall
May 07: High Wycombe Swan Theatre
May 08: Guildford G Live
May 09: Cambridge Corn Exchange
May 10: Ipswich Regent Theatre
May 11: Leicester De Montfort Hall
May 13: Derby Assembly Rooms
May 14: Manchester Palace Theatre
May 15: York Royal Opera House
May 16: Gateshead Sage Theatre
May 18: Edinburgh Festival Theatre
May 19: Perth Concert Hall
May 20: Aberdeen Music Hall
May 21: Inverness Eden Court
May 24: London 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
May 25: London 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
