Ian Anderson, the frontman of Jethro Tull, has revealed that he was never a fan of the legendary rock band The Beach Boys, which was founded by Brian Wilson. While noting he has nothing against the late Brian Wilson, Anderson explained why he never liked the band’s songs.
According to Far Out Magazine, Ian said, “With all respect to Brian Wilson and his recent passing, I was never a Beach Boys fan.” He went on to recall a time he was reluctantly taken to see the band perform: “I did actually go, I was dragged along by someone at Warner Brothers to see the Beach Boys at Madison Square Garden, I think the night before we were playing there.”
Ian added, “I really didn’t want to go because I knew of The Beach Boys. It was that sort of tinsel, sort of rather fake happy happy, you know, Californian thing. It just didn’t appeal to me at all.”
Despite attending the show, his opinion of the band remained unchanged. Anderson said The Beach Boys’ tracks are overly cheerful, which is why they often come across as “fake happy.”
“He persuaded me to go, you know, ‘Come on you’ll enjoy it, they’re really great, great harmonies, great singing’ I lasted probably half a dozen songs and had to slip away into the darkness because it just wasn’t for me,” the Jethro Tull frontman stated.
