IAN ANDERSON
In 1989, Metallica were favourites to win a Grammy. No one had banked on Jethro Tull crashing the party
WORDS: DOM LAWSON
Jethro Tull won the Grammy… but fuck knows where it is
IAN ANDERSON: GETTY. MICHAEL SALOMON: COURTESY OF MICHAEL SALOMON.
Do you remember hearing about your Grammy nomination?
“I recall hearing about the nomination, quite a way in advance. It was nice to be thought of, but it seemed a little odd. That was the first year they had the category Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. It was a new category and, for whatever reason, Jethro Tull was included. But everyone said to me, ‘Oh, Metallica are going to win’, because they had a big album out […And Justice For All]. So the record company didn’t see any point in spending all that money to fly us out to Los Angeles to be there, in rented clothing, and then return on the next plane. So, quite sensibly, they didn’t bother.”