- 1987-1988
- With the album finished the band waited eagerly
for the record company to release it and during
February and March the individual band members
used the free time to sit in as guests at gigs by
Steve Wynn, Peter Case and Gene Clark and Carla
Olson. Towards the end of March the band returned
to the studio to record material for future
single B-sides. With a US tour scheduled to start
in mid-April, Island eventually released Two
Fisted Tales to coincide with the dates. The
album was arguably stronger than The Long Ryders'
previous album for Island, with a more polished
sound all round and several very strong tracks.
The opening track Gunslinger Man featured
sizzling guitar; I Want You Bad, a cover of an
NRBQ song featured two members of The Bangles on
backing vocals, whilst Los Lobos front man David
Hidalgo added accordion to The Light Gets In The
Way. The highlight of the album, live certainly,
was Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home, a song
about a black civil rights/Civil War heroine. The
album was well received by the US press and the
tour went ahead without any major hitches,
despite the fact that Island had again failed to
issue a US single from the album. The band then
flew on to Spain to begin a European tour. Two
Fisted Tales had only been released in Europe in
June and received little promotion from Island,
though a single I Want You Bad had been released
in the UK and Spain saw a promo release of
Gunslinger Man to coincide with the Spanish
dates. However, by mid-1987, whilst still a pop
ular live band, The Long Ryders were no longer
the darlings of the UK music press, though the
BBC still considered them worthy enough to record
their Newcastle concert for national radio
broadcast. The delay in issuing the album by
Island and the 18 month gap in between visits to
the UK cannot have helped the band's profile in
Britain and though the tour was a success it did
not help the album to emulate the chart position
of State Of Our Union.
The band returned to the States in June 1987 only to
face their biggest blow for several years when bassist
Tom Stevens announced his decision to leave the 'Ryders.
Though the decision was seen as amicable, later comments
suggest that had he not quit he may well have been asked
to leave anyway. Tom's desire to have more of his songs
featured on the band's albums appears to have been at the
heart of the decision, a desire which ultimately could
only be fulfilled by him pursuing a solo career.
Whilst this was doubtless as setback to the band,
especially coming as it did on the eve of another US
tour, the band again appeared to take it in their stride,
replacing Stevens with Larry Chapman, their guitar
technician for the previous 12 months or so. Within days
of joining The Long Ryders set off on the second leg of
their American tour which was well received, taking them
through to early August. On 15th September 1987, the day
the Pope visited LA, The Long Ryders played what turned
out to be their last ever gig at The Roxy, Hollywood. On
the second part of the American tour, in Toronto, Stephen
McCarthy had announced his decision to leave the band.
Largely motivated by the unwillingness of Island to
promote the band that they had signed with promises of
great success, McCarthy had decided to leave the rock
music business altogether. Though Griffin and Sowders had
tried to persuade McCarthy to stay on for one more album
(presumably the end of their contract with Island), his
mind was made up. The two principal 'Ryders decided that
The Long Ryders could not exist as a band without
McCarthy and the group officially ceased to exist 15th
December 1987.
What drove The Long Ryders to split is hard to
pinpoint. Tom Stevens' departure seems to have had no
adverse affect on the band's existence. Criticism of
Island Records after the split certainly suggests that
this was a key factor. It appears that no sooner had they
signed The Long Ryders, than the people responsible lost
their jobs and the band were left with a record company
that didn't want them. It is interesting to note that in
over two years with Island The Long Ryders failed to have
any singles issued in their own country, despite a wealth
of available material.
In June 1988 The Long Ryders' fan club issued Metallic
BO - a wonderful collection of studio outtakes, live cuts
and radio interviews. It was later to be voted one of the
albums of the year by Record Collector magazine and was a
fitting tribute to The Long Ryders - from the early days
at Scorgies, the Barcelona gig in front of 100,000
people, to the last gig at The Roxy, The Long Ryders
played their music from the heart. Thanks for the ryde.
- 1987-Present
- A Postscript (June 2004). Sixteen years after
that posthumous live release, more than seventeen
since messrs Griffin/McCarthy/Sowders/Stevens
played together the last time and something is
happening. Griffin founded The Coal Porters in
LA, refounded them in London when he moved there
in the early 90s, moved from country-rock to
bluegrass, released solo albums and introduced
the world to country'n'eastern in the shape of
Western Electric. McCarthy wrote and played with
Gutterball and The Jayhawks but his own solo
career stayed unreleased. Sowders moved into
music publishing and rarely played again. Stevens
moved back to Elkhart, Indiana and began a solo
career. Then, in 2004 came news that The Long
Ryders would saddle up once more. Prompted by the
best motivator of all - good old fashioned hard
cash - The Long Ryders would play some dates in
the UK and Europe. Frankly I couldn't believe it.
Tried to avoid mentioning it if people asked me
to confirm it, in case I jinxed it.
- September 2004 - The Long Ryders played gigs in
the UK and Spain in July, their first for over 17
years. They were met with almost universal
acclaim and though the band have no publicly
stated plans to record again or repeat the tour
dates, at this moment in time the band's profile
has not been this high for the best part of 20
years...the story continues...
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