“Dare I say I deserve it”: Martin Barre shares pride in the “controversial” Grammy Award Jethro Tull won over Metallica
“To me it doesn’t just represent one album; it represents years and years of a band putting something into the system.”
Image: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Martin Barre, former guitarist for prog rock band Jethro Tull, has shared that he still feels “proud” of the time the band won the first ever Grammy Award for the Best Hard Rock/Metal performance.
Jethro Tull won the award in 1989 for their album Crest Of A Knave at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards, beating Metallica who were expected to win with …And Justice For All.
Speaking to VRP Rocks, Barre reflected on the situation and how he feels the band deserved it not just for that album, but for what it represents and their hard work as a group.
“The record company didn’t think we’d get it. And they said that we stood no chance [laughs]. They said, ‘Don’t go.’ I mean, I really wanted to go. Even as a loser, I wanted to be there,” he begins (via Blabbermouth).
“So I have to say it was their mistake and their lack of confidence in the band. But, yeah, what a shame, ‘cause at the biggest moment possibly ever in my career and maybe Ian’s and the others’, it was lost forever and it didn’t come across well that we weren’t there. It just looked really bad.
“But despite that, I’m proud of it, and it’s a big, big deal. It’s a big deal for me because essentially it was me, Ian, and Dave Pegg that wrote, arranged and recorded that album. So I feel a big, big part of it. And yeah, dare I say I deserve it,” he explains.
“I don’t have a problem with it. Because to me it doesn’t just represent one album; it represents years and years of a band putting something into the system. And I think that year, whoever it was, recognised that we needed a little bit of a nod. And it was a good album to choose.”
Watch the interview clip below: