The Card King Sports and Variety Show Sept 27 2025 Guest Rick Hughes

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Card King here right come. Hello, music fans, music collectors
and all hobbyists. Welcome to the card King Sports and
Variety Show. I am your host, the Catman, Brian Kataquid
aka the car King. We are live on ABC's k
m e T fourteen ninety a m dot com. You're
number one spot right here for news and talk on
the West Coast. I thank everyone for tuning in this morning.

(00:36):
On the program of this Morning, I welcome in one
of the most powerful voices in heavy metal. He is
renowned singer of the legendary Canadian heavy metal band Sword.
We have with us the legendary Rick Hughes.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Rick.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Great to have you.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm great to be here. Great, thank you so much
for that nice introduction.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Absolutely, Rick, And you know I read the most news
on your latest work. The first Salvo has been released
in September last month, and it's quite an event in itself. Uh,
talk about that and give us what's what's happening, what's
going on in your life? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, I was recording this album in Vancouver and we
were looking for songwriters to help with the album and
a friend of mine, Jesse Bradman out of San Francisco,
suggests that that we that we listen to some songs
written by Brad Gillis. So we did, and I immediately

(01:36):
fell in love with a couple of songs. So so
he started to work on my album and that's when
we came about. I knew we were going to record
The real Me and that we needed them some big
league players for this song. So we we asked Brad
and Brad help us get the the two other guys

(01:56):
on the on the project.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
And of course, you know as Brad Gillis, Uh, now
you know you mentioned the Who's Classic The real Me,
and you know, I want to just curious why why
did you pick the Who's Classic The real Me?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Because I'm a big, big fan of the Who. I
didn't want to do a ballad and I was looking
for a song that was like The real Me is
the closest you get the Zeppelin. I mean by that
is that when you listen to the song like Zeppelin,
you hear the drums, you hear the bass, you hear
the guitar, you hear the voice. They all have their places,

(02:36):
it's not all mixed together. So that was the perfect
song to to to to record an aim for major
League players. So, like I said, with Brad Gillis was
our first choice, and the outbust recruit Rudy Sarzo and uh,
the legendary almighty Tommy Aldridge.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I mean that is amazing. We gotta remember this is
a reuniting after forty three years of Ozzy Osbourne's superband, right.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, forty three years and forty three years ago. I
was a kid and I would watch those guys on
stage and be in awe with their talent because there's
like a ten years gap between me and them, you know,
about ten years. So when they were twenty five, I
was fifteen years old and I would go watch them
at Montreal Forum, and I mean, those guys were my idols.

(03:33):
So fast forward forty years later, I'm an La Castle
Studio back in Burbank and we're recording the video and
I'm pinching myself.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, you know, we got to remember as well that
this it was the band that did the last leg
of the Diary of a Madman toward eighty two, right
after the tragic departure of the great Randy Rhodes.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Absolutely, Brad Gillis is a legend, you know, for fulfilling
those shoes. I mean, I remember when I was a kid,
I was such a big fan of Ozzie. I was
I was fan of his work with Sabbath. So when
he came about with with Diary and and and uh
and Blizzard of Oz, I was like, Wow, this guy
is so amazing. So when we heard here in Quebec

(04:24):
about Randy Rhoad's tragic death, everybody was going, what's gonna happen?
You know, what's gonna happen to Well, of course we
were very sad for for for Randie Road's family and
all his friends, but we're we're thinking what's gonna happen
to Ozzy? You know? So so next thing, you know,
Speak of the Devil comes out, and when we put

(04:46):
the needles on the vinyl, they went, I remember the sound,
the Brad Gilless sound going, oh is that you know?
So anyways, it's I I I think about that story
all the time because because it really happened, and and
and it's imprinted in my mind. The first time I

(05:07):
heard about Brad Gillis.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
And this is your first single, and also it's combined
with a video. The real me am I right on that.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Exactly, all right?

Speaker 1 (05:20):
So we have a little clip that I want to
air a couple of minutes. Let's let's tease the audience,
Rick on your fabulous work and the band's fabulous work.
Let's play a little sample. Let's hear it now, the
real Me.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
The.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
Weekend.

Speaker 5 (05:58):
Let me so, can't you see you? Dont you see docta? Wow?
Shut up?

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Swing back to my mother?

Speaker 5 (06:23):
I said, can't see mother? Help me? She said, I
know how this feel so because it runs in the family.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Can't you see.

Speaker 5 (06:37):
My mom's sake? Ro Can't you see you? Can't can't
see you? You can't you see me? Can't you see
the real name? You don't know me? You don't know me.

Speaker 4 (07:07):
Between fa in veins, know me from the wind the veins?

Speaker 3 (07:19):
The girl I used to know this in this yellow house. Yes,
she doesn't want to know.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah, and we just heard a little sample. I mean
that sounds great, classic heavy metal rock real Me performed
by Rick Hughes, who is with us this morning, along
with legendary artists Brad Gillis, Rudy Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge.
I mean that sounds fantastic, Rick, especially that guitar playing by.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
Man like I said, this is a perfect song to
showcase the musicianship. I mean, Pete Townsend was is brilliant.
This songwriting is so clever and so I mean, there's
nothing much to say about this song. Just I was

(08:23):
when I was listening to the song with you guys,
I wanted I hoped that you didn't cut before the
part where it's only the bass, the drum and my
voice and then you hear all the drumming of Tommy Aldridge.
I mean, this guy, this guy's he's a master.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
I mean yeah, I mean just played with All you
have to know is these guys play with Ozzy. That's
all you have to.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Know, exactly.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah. Yeah. So you know, we have a lot of
people listening to the program, Rick, where can our listening
audience obtain this new release? Tell us where they purchase
your new singles?

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Well, there's many ways, but an easy way would go
would be to go and listen to the just to
watch the video on YouTube. They just type in Rick
huse off a show and they'll see the real me.
And on the YouTube page there's a link to Deco Entertainment.

(09:26):
That's my record label back in the US, so you
can order pre order the album. It's going to be
out on the twenty fourth of October, and there's many
surprise on the album. It's not a heavy metal album,
it's not a hard rock album. It's a rock album.
What I mean by that is that rock music is

(09:49):
a let's define rock music. The Beatles started what I
Want to Hold Your Hand and they finished with with
let It Be. You know, so there's a world in between,
say with led Zeppelin, let Zeppelin one and through the Outdoors.
Everything's there. You got rock, hard rock, You've got hard blues,
heavy blue, smooth blues, ballads. Everything's there. That's that. That's

(10:13):
how I defined my album.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
And Rick, you know, I just signed on to Deco
Entertainment and I see that. Uh, people, people can get
a limited edition bundle with seven inch singles signed by
all of you guys. Am I right.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
Exactly, yeah, I'm I'm holding it right now in my hand.
It's it's like a vintage forty five vinyl with with
the round in the middle, you know, with the and
it's gonna there's only on one hundred exam uh copies
that will be signed by the four of us. So
they're they're they're there are not many more left.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Wow, limited edition and rare.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
Yes, well, so now let's talk a little bit about
us Sword, give us, give our you know, our listeners
who may not know about Sword, talk about your band Sword.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well. Back in Sword is my first band with I
with my brother Dan dan Us is on drum, with
two friends from high school, Mike Cla Rock Myke Plant.
We recorded our first album back in eighty six called Metalized,
and it was it was well regarded in the heavy

(11:33):
metal community because back then, you know, old school metal
was like the flavor of the month. We were when
we started Sword as a band, the four of us,
we were mainly into classic rock, but then heavy metal
came took the front stage, so we kind of went
towards that way, towards heavy metal, but we always been

(11:54):
classic rock at heart. So that's Metalized in eighty six
and eighty nine. It shows that we were more than
heavy metal, than more classic crop than metal. Right there
and right after Sword, I recorded an album with Aldo
Novo which was called Satan Sinners. Maybe you guys remember

(12:18):
that project.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yep, No, I heard of it. I'm reading about it, yep.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
So that that brought me back home because back then
I wasn'to heavy metal, you know. But I was into
heavy metal like a priest Maiden Sabbath Ozzy Dio, which
was more of a mainstream kind of metal, if if,
if I can express myself like that, Later on metal

(12:47):
became very heavy and that that that is not the
direction I wanted to take with my voice. I'd rather
be a rock singer than a heavy metal singer. And
that that's again the shows on the album that I
I'm about to.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
Release absolutely so Sword they formed in eighty one with
Metal Eyed the Dead. In eighty six it was Sweet Dreams,
right or was that eighty eight?

Speaker 2 (13:15):
No? For yeah, well we forming eighty one. We released
our first album in eighty six, our second in eighty nine,
eighty nine, and I released Saints and Sinners in ninety two.
In ninety two, yeah, and after that I took I
took a long break, but I kept working in showbiz.
I was chorus for TV shows here, I was hired

(13:37):
gun for plenty of stuff. I kept working, but more
behind behind the cameras. So I did a couple of
albums solo French solo album here in Quebec in two
thousand and six twenty thirteen but now it's my big
comeback with this one. This one, this one's a real one.

(13:59):
I mean this was produced by John Webster. John Webster
worked with the A. C. D. Sierro Smith bun Job.
I mean, this guy's is the real deal, so he was.
It took us two years to build that album, so
I'm very, very proud of it.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, and you mentioned John Webster, who you guys collaborated,
if I'm correct, on Redemption, which was produced by John Webster.

Speaker 4 (14:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
Well Redemption is the title of my of my album
that's coming out on twenty fourth of October.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
Oh okay, yeah, yeah, and the album.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
Is produced by John Webster. So when you think about it,
this version of the real Me is John Webster's version,
because this guy's a mastermind. It's sim that that built
apart for Brad to have a solo and the sound
and everything the song was recording was recorded that Iconics

(15:00):
Hipposonic studio, which used to be Little Mountain Studio in Vancouver,
so it's like a legend there there is studio. So
so it's it's it's really recorded like like in the
old days, you know, with a real drum, with the
real board and everything. It's all the equipment from Little

(15:22):
Mountain Studio is all still there, the frames on the wall,
everything is exactly the way it was when Beryl Smith
worked there and all those guys.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
I I just have so many questions running through my mind.
I gotta ask you before you mentioned Pete Townshend, have
you have you spoken to Pete at all this Pete
know about this new release?

Speaker 2 (15:44):
No, but I'd love to see my phone ring and
and just look at it and it said Pete Townshend,
and let me tell you something, I would answer real fast.

Speaker 1 (15:54):
Wow. So yeah, because you know he he's the one
that sang the real mees. Wow.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
He's amazing, all right, So oh go ahead, Yeah, Pete
Townsend is amazing. He's the main songwriter of who. People
tend to forget that absolutely.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
So if if if Pete's listening somewhere, or someone in
his circles listening, we got to give Rick Hus a
call make sure that happens. Uh uh. You know, Rick,
I was thinking of this in the eighties in Canada.
Was was your dream one of your dreams was to
make it to the United States to play in arenas

(16:37):
in the USA? Was that a dream of yours.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yes, of course, that's that's what got me through, uh
through uh my teenage year. You know why, it's music,
it's going to see shows and dreaming about my future.
You know, I didn't. I couldn't see myself doing anything
else than via a rock singer. That that was my
main purpose life since I was twelve years old.

Speaker 1 (17:03):
And you know, I'm just wondering about the heavy metal
scene in Canada in the eighties early eighties. Was there
a lot of competition for you guys.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, but it was an altic competition. For instance, voy
Vod and Sword have the same manager, so we were like,
we did some shows together. We we would have hang
out once in a while together. Yeah, well, let's fake.

(17:34):
You know, there's a lot a lot of talent in
the USA, and there's a lot of talent in Canada too.
You know, it's it's we we have great musicians, great
comedian and same goes for you guys in the USA.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
And we're talking with legendary vocalists. Have sworn Rick Hughes,
he's with us this morning. During your career, Rick, you
must have played hundreds of shows and opened for so
many legendary rock bands. I read You've opened for Metallica, Motorhead,
Metal Church, Alice Cooper, bon Jovi. As you mentioned any

(18:12):
any stories that you can share with us that that
sticks to you ahead about any of those bands I mentioned.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Well, listen, one thing's for sure is that I got
plenty of stories. But I've been very, very very blessed
and lucky for for the names you've just mentioned, because
those guys are the real deal. You know, I could
have toured with with people that that don't have that
don't have the same morals. I have a guy like

(18:43):
a guy like Lemmy. Lemmy was perfect, you know it was.
I was a kid when I toured with with with Motorhead.
It was one of my first tour in the UK.
And and Lemmy was like a mentor because this guy
was a real deal. You would treat people icy he was.
He was already iconic back in the eighties. Let me

(19:05):
was there was there was one Letty, one aussy one
Lemmy and just to watch him, you know how he
would would be around with his crew with the opening act.
He gave me an example of how to behave later
on in life. Same goes with with with with Metallica.
These guys were great. They were fans of Sword. That's

(19:28):
how we got the opening slot. They were they were
coming to Canada and they got in touch with our
manager and they said, listen the guys there. They keep
listening to your album Sweet Dream Sorry Metalized in the
tour bus and they're coming to Canada. They'd love to
have you as an opening act. And the response was that, well,

(19:51):
we keep listening to a Master of Puppets, so yeah,
it would be a great mix.

Speaker 1 (19:57):
I mean, if that doesn't make you feel good metall,
they wanted you guys to open for them. I mean,
what an honor I know.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
And if you fast forward to twenty twenty three when
they came here, they did two dates at Montreal Stadium,
sixty thousand people each night, so that's close to one
hundred and fifty thousand people came to see them. So
just a month before the show, we got a call

(20:29):
and they invited us to be like the band for
the tailgate party before the happening. So at the stadium,
they set up a stage and when people arrived on
the Friday, because they played Friday and Sunday, it was
one show and it was Sword that was playing there
at their request.

Speaker 1 (20:52):
I mean right there, if it was me, I would
say to myself, I think, guys, I think we made it.
We made it to the big leagues.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
Exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
What what about bon Jovi? Anything you can share with us?

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Bon Jovi is the same this guy. When I toured
with him for the Keep the Faith tour, so that's
back in nineteen ninety two. You know that there was
a lot of stories of people abusing drugs, alcohol, the system, others.
You know, rock music can be can be very ass

(21:33):
artists and but but bon Jovi was trained and narrow,
you know. So I would I would watch him and
I would go, Okay, that's how that's how he got
he got That's how he got those songs. That's why
it's so good, because this guy is down to work.
He's not playing rock star. And if somebody could have

(21:55):
played rock star, it's him. He was bon Jovi. But no,
he was not. One night, we were supposed to have
dinner as a group, but there was a snowstorm, so
they had a reservation in a restaurant and they canceled
that and they said, well, we'll pick a room in
the auditorium in the arena and we'll set up the

(22:17):
dinner there. So we said okay. So I was a
bit down and out, you know, because I said, ah. Well,
when it was time to go to dinner, they knock
on my door. They said, Rick, are you coming, We're
waiting for you. He says, yeah, I'm coming. So I
got out and John got out of his dressing room.
So we walked together to that place and there was

(22:38):
one table left, had two chairs. So I sat with
John and I had dinner with him and the rest
of the gang. But I was alone at the table
with him, so I had him to myself for at
least forty five minutes. And so he gave me a
lot of advice that I asked for, you know, because
he's not the kind of guy who tell you what

(22:58):
to do. But I wanted to know, so I asked
him a lot of questions, unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (23:04):
And finally, you know, so many others you opened for,
but I mean Anthrax, Marilyn Manson, Any quick stories you
can share about any of those two bands.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
Well, when I opened for Antrax, there was it was
a triple bill, it was a black label Society. So
I was really looking forward to meeting Zach so I did,
and uh, I was not disappointed. This guy's again is
the real deal.

Speaker 1 (23:34):
So cool.

Speaker 2 (23:35):
This guy is very very very cool. But you know,
just to finish on John bon Jovi ge Ahead, it's
worth it's worth to mention that on the album coming
out on the twenty fourth of October, there's a song
that is co written by me Aldonova and John bonjob.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
Really so so October twenty fourth, you have this new album.
What is the title of the album, Redemption? Redemption? All right,
so everyone listening October twenty fourth, the release of Redemption
by Rick Hughes.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yeah, it's a rock album.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
Unbelievable. Rick, I have a couple of minutes left with you.
Do you have a website that you can give us?

Speaker 2 (24:19):
Yes, just go just type Rick Hues dot c oh
and this is my official website. You can follow me
on Facebook, Rick Hues or like I said, on YouTube,
Ricuse official. And when the album is gonna come out

(24:40):
on the twenty fourth of October, I suggest everybody to
listen to it because there's plenty of surprise. For instance,
that we got Robbie Krieger playing on a song with
an iconic sound as he starts the song on the slide.
It's oh man, it's more and a dream come true

(25:01):
because I never even dripped that one day I would
I would have Robbie Krieger play on my album. I mean,
I'm a big, big doors fan.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
Amazing. And you know, Rick, you have one of those
respected and distinguished voices that's, you know, really easy to recognize.
I'm just curious. You know, all these years playing on stage,
and you know, forty fifty years of playing, how do
you keep your voice in shape?

Speaker 2 (25:28):
By staying in shape, making sure that I don't abuse
of anything. You know, as I got older, I tried
to stay balanced, you know, not too much of this,
not too much of that, and everything is fine, but
you know about the voice. I was asked before if

(25:49):
I had a professional training, and I always answer, you know,
my my my professors, my teachers were the ones that
I looked up to when I was fit, and I
had to learn to sing songs from Deep Purple, that Zeppelin,
A C. D C. You know, it was hard, but uh,
that's how I learned to sing.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, And you know, you know, Rick, I mentioned that
because I think that's so important. You know, it really
makes you stand out. Uh, you know as far as
your competition for me, that's what I what I noticed
hearing you.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
Thank you so much. That's uh my pride and George.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
So I have one minute. Oh go ahead, I have
one minute.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
I was gonna say, singing to me is my pride
and George, that's what I love to do most.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
And you must love performing on stage better than recording
in the studio, right.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
Exactly the reason for this album is to is to
get some gigs here and there everywhere in the USA
and the UK and Canada anywhere I'll go.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Well, I mean, you know, we're on USA radio, so
you know a lot of listeners, so everyone's hearing, so
hopefully you'll get a few calls listen. I really appreciate it.
And again for everyone listening, the real Me is out.
Rick Hughes, Brad Gillis, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge, anything you
want to add before I say goodbye?

Speaker 2 (27:16):
Rick, No, thank you so much for the support, and
I invite everybody to go and listen to the Real
Meat today on YouTube and Elsie it's something else with
Yeah

Speaker 1 (27:29):
Rick Hughes of Sword until next week, Happy collecting to
all