WITH a string of outdoor festivals behind them already this summer, The Animals come to Okehampton this Saturday for the town?s Battle of the Bands final. Founder member drummer John Steel says even after 40 years the band still enjoy playing live and putting on a show for fans young and old. John said he was excited to be playing alongside a lot of new bands at the event in Simmons Park. ?We get a lot of young guys and girls who come along to see us play live, and lots of people come up afterwards and say ?We are just starting out?. ?I feel kind of sympathy for the young bands these days. When we first took off in the sixties it was such a fresh thing, particularly in the UK.? John said though the band?s line-up had changed over the years, the essence of The Animals remained. ?We have always been flying by the seat of our pants and I get off on that. If we want, we take off and make a number last for 20 minutes. We have always been a free band like that,? said John. John met original singer Eric Burdon at Newcastle College of Art in the early 1960s, where the two shared a love of jazz, blues and rock and roll. The pair were joined by Alan Price on keyboards, Chas Chandler on bass and finally Hilton Valentine on guitar and The Animals began creating a stir. John said the early days of the band starting out in their native North East were very exciting. ?They were some of the best times of my life. It was all so exciting. We suddenly found ourselves the best little group in our area, then the Beatles showed everyone the way and suddenly the world was a possibility, not just your local area. Record companies were falling over themselves to sign the next Beatles.? The band moved to London at the end of 1963, quickly secured themselves a record deal and an agent and by the following summer, they had a worldwide hit with House of the Rising Sun. That song still ?gets everyone on their feet? said John, and fans coming along to the concert in Simmons Park can expect to hear it plus all the other hits, and a few lesser-known gems. The band now play mostly in Europe, but also further afield. Recent performances have included shows as part of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and the Wickerman Festival, plus an acoustic set at the Nantwich Festival.
