“It’s like a lost my right arm”: Mike Campbell reflects on the death of Tom Petty
Mike Campbell has reflected on the loss of Tom Petty, comparing the impact of his death to losing a limb.
Petty suddenly passed away in 2017 due to an accidental overdose from medication he was taking for a number of health concerns, including a fractured hip. Campbell and Petty co-wrote a number of hits together during their time in Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, including Here Comes My Girl and Refugee.
READ MORE: Fender and Mike Campbell unveil the Red Dog Telecaster – a recreation of the Heartbreaker guitarist’s famed modded axe
In the new print edition of Guitarist, Campbell reflects on his grief: “Losing Tom was huge – and is still huge for me. It’s like I lost my right arm. It took part of my ability to be who I was with him, to some extent. But making music is too much a part of my being to stop. I felt depressed and sad carrying on without him, but I just did the best I could. It never once occurred to me to stop. It was not going to stop me from playing music. Nothing will,” he says.
Asked if he feels like anything was left on the table for The Heartbreakers following Petty’s death, Campbell replies, “Well, I don’t know. We had plans. His death was sudden. It was not expected. He was going to get surgery on his hip and we were going to make another record. That was the discussion that we had. But there’s nothing on the table because we used everything we had at the time.”
He continues, “Since Tom passed, I’ve had my own band [The Dirty Knobs] and I’ve been writing songs with them. That’s been a good challenge and fun for me. I don’t have any regrets. I mean… I look at my life and what can I regret? Everything that I ever wanted came my way, except for losing Tom. But I have no control over that. I wish he was still here. But since he’s not, I have to carry on. And there’s always a new song, you know? There’s always a new challenge to keep me going.”
Campbell’s new memoir, Heartbreaker, is out now. You can also catch Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs live this year.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
