At 66 years old Suzi Quatro has seen it all in show business.
This means she’s more than qualified to divulge her opinion on the state of the modern music industry.
And Suzi – famed for hits such as Can the Can and Devil Gate Drive – didn’t hold back as she discussed the changing landscape.
She told MM: “I think that it’s been altered, and not necessarily in a positive way, from the days when you had to work to get known.
“You had to do the gigs and you had to pay your dues. Now you’ve got your reality shows and people are famous overnight just to be famous. I don’t think that this is the longevity of the business.
“I’ve been around a long time and I learned my craft by learning my craft and playing all the shitty gigs. I think that element is missing.”
Later this year Suzi will share the stage with a string of other ‘70s icons when she embarks on the Legends Live Tour at the Manchester Arena on October 19.
Just some of the acts she’ll be joined by include David Essex, The Osmonds and Hot Chocolate.
While Suzi and the aforementioned musicians followed a difficult path to stardom, she believes that aspiring artists are now taking the easy road of reality television.
She vented: “I think you need to have the tools to deal with success because it’s not easy. You have to have stamina and you have to have your feet on the ground and these kind of people are just, ‘Oh, I’m a star’.
“That’s not how it is, you’re not a star and you’re never a star. Maybe for five minutes but you’re always this person. It’s not how real stars are found and you shouldn’t be in it to be famous.
“You should be in it because you love it. I’m in it because I love it.”
Suzi continued: “You can blame reality shows for that because people are famous overnight and that’s just crazy. A guy working as a waiter in McDonald’s and all of a sudden he’s on nationwide television with all the production. What did he do to deserve that? What?”
Having sold more than 55 million records over the past four decades, Suzi has found a level of success that many in the entertainment business crave – as well as a longevity that very few can boast.
The chart-topper believes her skills and attitude were borne out of a tough childhood coupled with a life of travelling and hard work, something she thinks is lacking in modern entertainers.
Suzi is adamant that growing up in a working town like Detroit gave her a hard shell and an unyielding attitude, and she sees that reflected in places like Manchester, built on the back of industry and labour.
The mum-of-two explained: “All industrial cities have this desperation in the drinking water to make something of yourself.”
Suzi moved away from her family in 1971 and came to England to work with renowned record producer Mickie Most.
While it was difficult to leave her relatives, she knew she had to take the risk.
Suzi reasoned: “It was lonely but the choice was staying there and maybe sinking without a trace or going off and being a solo act, which is what I always was.
“So it was the right thing to do business wise and very hard emotionally. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
The gamble paid off and Suzi was hugely successful in Britain with 18 hit singles to her name.
However, the lessons of life on the road have never left her.
“I’ve always been a gypsy. I went on the road at 14 and I’m now 66.
“I think when I get to heaven I’m going to have a rolling bag. Otherwise, I can’t get in the door.”
Clearly Suzi’s attitude has helped her break down barriers and blaze a trail in such a tough industry.
It’s also what’s led to her exceeding expectations on a whole manner of projects outside of singing – from acting on Happy Days to presenting her own show on BBC Radio 2.
*You can buy tickets to the Legends Live Tour here.
