John Miles: Who Needs Dead Greasers Anyway?

John Miles: Who Needs Dead Greasers Anyway?

Natalie Wood

Who the hell is John Miles? Usually when reports start trickling in across the ocean about Britains latest Next Big Thing, they at least trickle . . . John Miles seemed to spring full-formed from the head of a London Records promo man. So far: Miles has spawned two full-page articles in the two top English weeklies. Melody Maker and the New Musical Express. He has supported no less than Robin" Trower, J ethro Tull, the Stones; and now in the States, Elton John. In England he was the subject of an intensive, rather awkward J ames Dean campaign by his record company; a week after the anniversary of Deans death a picture of Miles in leather with hair slicked back striking a poutish pose appeared in the English papers? The title of his new album was Rebel. Nuff said?

Miles seems to be ambivalent about the Dean hype that surrounded him in England. He admits to a fondness for the 50s look: "Short hair, tight jeans, leather jackets . . ." and he is a Dean fan. But he insists that the record company picked up on this liking and blew it out of all proportion.

All this is strange when you consider that Miles is no proponent of punk rock; to look at his album youd expect Johnny Ramone, or at least Nils Lofgren. Rather, he produces a melodic kind of music that calls attention to his real roots; Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, etc. I had a rather difficult time before attending his concert, with the leather boy image in my mind, trying to f igure out just what I was about to hear.

Before all of this happened, Miles had plodded through nine years of steady if aimless club work. He gave up what he calls pretty good money to move to London for a final try for the big time. If he didnt make it this time, he was thinking of giving it up and going back to the club circuit. But he was lucky enough to attract Decca Records in England. They signed him in March 1975, and by November of that year he had a hit in "Highfly," an unassuming pop song that didnt need to be connected to any of the Dean hype.

But. alas, the same ad appeared subsequently in the American trades, and potential lyrical-music-loving Miles fans were probably sent on their way by a picture that seemed to say pretty clearly > that this guy played HEAVY METAL, YOU SUCKERS, A'little more truth in packaging would have made all of this unnecessary, because the guy does have a way with a melody, and sings "Music." for instance, with 'a lot of feeling. There is an edge of get down rock ln' roll to his songs probably mined in all of those English clubs for all those yeqrs, so he would probably be best described as a "soft rocker." Perhaps not the stuff that million dollar ad campaigns are made of . . .

When Miles opened for Elton John at ,Pontiac Stadium this summer, he was operating as an almost totally unknown factor. A few radio stations were playing "Music;" but its questionable how many fans connected the name with the song. Perhaps riding the crest of his European success, Miles cut a very confident figure onstage, managing to work up an audience very clearly interested in feeding and amusing itself while waiting for Elton. In that order. Nonetheless, the crowd wasn't too stupefied to recognize a few of his songs, and react favorably to the rock classics he ended his set with. Towards the end of the show he adopted a down dirty rock “n roller pose, and carried it off rather well, causing the first five rows of people on the floor of the stadium to stand up and sway when they could very well have been stupefying themselves further with whatever theyd managed to get past the Pontiac goon squad.

An energetic performer onstage, Miles is quiet beyond a normal British reserve offstage, but hes weathered enough sessions with the English press to present a calm, communicative front. Still, he'll have-to emerge from the hype a little more and give the public a clearer view of what hes got to offer before the question can be answered: Who the hell is John Miles?