Another memorable experience came through his involvement with English folk-rock outfit Steeleye Span. Anderson is credited as producer of Now We Are Six but suggests he mixed their album and helped arrange a session featuring David Bowie on saxophone.
“Bowie turned up with a small entourage, did a run-through, nailed it in a take, and left in 20 minutes. Completely professional,” he recalls.
Years later, Anderson thanked Bowie for his work when they met in a German television studio. The memory still lingers. “He did it for nothing. No fee, no royalty. That generosity stayed with me,” Anderson says. “From that point on, I adopted the same principle. If someone asked me to play on their record, I’d do it for free. It's nice to be asked."
He also admired Bowie for something deeper: authenticity. “He didn’t fake being American,” Anderson says. “Why not be Ian Dury, Alex Harvey or David Bowie? They sang in their own voices.”
Anderson has tried to do the same. “Why pretend to be from Alabama when you’re not?” he asks. “The Beatles sang in their own voices. If they covered Little Richard, they leaned into it. Otherwise, they were themselves.”
The Tull frontman does recall a wave from Lennon when they were both on Top of the Pops in February 1970. Tull performed The Witch’s Promise while Lennon sang Instant Karma. Of Lennon, Anderson adds. “I was never a huge Beatles fan, but John was the one I liked most. He had originality and attitude. Paul was more polite, more of a crooner. John had a nasally twang to his voice and came up with great elements of the songs, which we were encouraged to believe they wrote together.”
“Some memories are good, some are sad,” he says. “Brian Jones was a really benign and modest guy, but he wasn’t in good shape."
It would be Jones’s final performance with the Stones before his death in July 1969. "He had been ostracised from the other members of the band as he was a bit doolally and not able to play.”
Anderson recalls Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts as friendly, Keith Richards as distant, and Mick Jagger as aloof and fiercely driven, while adding he has "huge respect" for the band.
“He [Jagger] didn’t want to come off second best to The Who,” says Anderson. “He pushed himself hard but ended up blowing his voice during rehearsals.”
Jethro Tull 2026 Europe and UK Tour
2/11 – Munich, Germany @ Isar Philharmonic
3/1 – Torino, Italy @ Teatro Colosseo di Torino
3/3 – Trieste, Italy @ Politeama Rossetti
3/13 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Coliseu de Lisboa
3/15 – Vigo, Spain @ Auditorio
3/22 – Dresden, Germany @ Konzertsaal im Kulturpalast
3/23 – Leipzig, Germany @ Haus Auensee
4/9 – Dillingen, Germany @ Lokschuppen Dillingen
4/11 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Liederhalle Beethovensaal
4/12 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Meistersingerhalle
4/19 – Perth, Scotland @ Concert Hall
4/20 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
4/22 – Edinburgh, Scotland @ Usher Hall
4/23 – Newcastle upon Tyne, England @ O2 City Hall Newcastle
4/25 – Bradford, England @ St George’s Hall
4/26 – Manchester, England @ Lowry
4/28 – Liverpool, England @ Philharmonic Hall
4/29 – Sheffield, England @ City Hall
5/2 – Stoke-on-Trent, England @ Victoria Hall
5/3 – Birmingham, England @ Symphony Hall
5/5 – Leicester, England @ De Montfort Hall
5/6 – London, England @ London Palladium
5/8 – Basingstoke, England @ The Anvil
5/9 – Swansea, Wales @ Brangwyn Hall
5/10 – Bristol, England @ Beacon Theatre
5/12 – Truro, England @ Hall for Cornwall
5/13 – Bournemouth, England @ Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
5/15 – Southampton, England @ O2 Guildhall
5/16 – Eastbourne, England @ Congress Theatre
6/27 – Butzbach, Germany @ Scholss Butzbach
7/10 – Pistoia, Italy @ Pistoia Blues
8/1 – Loket, Czech Republic @ Amfiteatr Loket
8/4 – Cambrils, Spain @ Festival Internacional de Cambrils
8/7 – Savonlinna, Finland @ Olavinlinna
8/9 – Tampere, Finland @ Tampere Talo
8/10 – Helsinki, Finland @ Kulttuuritalo
10/15 – Herning, Denmark @ MCH Herning Kongrescenter
10/16 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Gamle Scene
11/5 – Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
11/6 – Magdeburg, Germany @ GETEC Arena Magdeburg
11/8 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Kongresshaus
11/14 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Zorlu PSM
11/20 – Bregenz, Austria @ Festspielhaus Bregenz
11/22 – Linz, Austria @ Brucknerhaus
11/23 – Vienna, Austria @ Wiener Konzerthaus
