The Gods Are Angry' on their first album. It's one of the early numbers on their self-titled debut album. I also have two more songs that I'm really fond of. One is called 'Slipping Down'. It was made for a long-time girlfriend of mine. We were listening to music all the time in the band room when we were students, and she liked Bob Dylan. 'Slipping Down' started off as a Dylanesque song and turned into a more country-style song. The other one is called 'I'll Give It All Away'. I've never forgotten it. I've always thought it's one of the best songs I've written. It was only on our third album, which unfortunately was my last. Bob: What was your favourite place in Japan? Itai: I loved Kobe. I remember going there for the first time, and I didn't know what to expect. I was amazed at how warm and nice the people were. Bob: Do you still play live shows? Itai: Unfortunately not very often. We don't have enough time. My career in music is not very high, and I have to devote a lot of time to my three boys. Since I have a day job, I don't make any money at all from playing guitar. If I only had two years more in my career as a musician, I'd be a well-known guitar player. But as it is, I'm just struggling to make enough money to survive and to take care of my family. As far as my music career goes, I'm just a guy who wants to be a rock and roll star. It's not easy in Japan, especially since it's not an easy country to live in for people who don't fit in. It's so difficult to make a living as a musician here. Bob: What was your best gig? Itai: Of course it had to be our last show. It was at the Shibuya O-TOWER and it was a great night. It was held at the same time as the Oasis festival and it ended up being one big party with one band after another. Bob: What was it like on the album itself? Itai: The record wasn't a success, not surprisingly. This was my first professional album. So when people heard the first album, they thought I sounded like a poor imitation of Bon Scott. Of course, they didn't have that much experience with Bon Scott. I think I started to write lyrics after Bon died. This record was released on the same day as the other band's album that I had produced in England, and it really suffered because of that fact. I made the record before we came to Japan, and everyone thought we should release the album in the States and then in England. But we decided that it would be better to release it in Japan first, and then later release it in the UK. It sold only 200 copies. So in the end, we never made any money out of it. And the record company didn't do much to support it. There were some pretty good songs on there that weren't released. Bob: Do you still keep in touch with the other members of Motörhead? Itai: I've stayed in touch with Lemmy and everyone. Most of the guys I still speak with, and they say hi to me. They send me emails on and off about the situation of Motörhead. I always try to make sure they are getting paid the way they should be. It's a very strange thing to happen, but when Lemmy was sick for so long, it really affected my career and our relationship. He's such a fantastic person, and he made me realize that we have to be grateful for what we have. I don't think he liked the fact that we weren't getting our fair share of the money, and we shouldn't have made that much money. He was getting royalties and I wasn't. But it was just one of those things that happened. Bob: You're from Australia, so Motörhead is a very unique band, isn't it? Itai: Not many people know this, but we're all Australians. Bob: Even with a totally different culture, Motörhead is very popular. Itai: We always said we didn't want to be just a European band. We really wanted to have an international audience and a worldwide success. I think everyone else here in Japan knows that Motörhead is a great band. Bob: What do you think of Japan? Itai: I love this country. And it's only when I go back to Australia that I feel this very strange antipathy towards my Japanese life and towards Japanese culture. I think the Japanese people are much more kind than you think. They are very, very nice. They really opened their hearts to us when we came here. It's a very good place to live in. The government is nice to foreigners and that's why I enjoy living here so much. But most people would probably want to live in America or Europe if they had the option. Bob: Is it easy for you to be an Aussie living in Japan? Itai: It's not easy. I hate Australians because I don't see anything positive about the Aussies. I don't think there are any nice guys among the Aussies. In my life, the Aussies don't let me have any peace. Bob: What about Australians? Itai: I don't mind Australians. They're not such bad people. They have nothing against foreigners like Japanese people. Bob: How much do you miss Australia? Itai: When I get home to Australia, I don't think about Japan at all. I've lost a lot of touch with my friends. All my friends are still in Australia. If I go back to Australia and walk into a club and see all my friends, it would be great. But I just can't understand how the Japanese people can be so mean to foreigners like us. I understand them having problems with Japan because this country has such a huge history. But that doesn't mean they have to put foreigners on trial. It just means that they can't really understand the foreigners living here. Bob: How long do you plan to stay here? Itai: I'll stay until the very end. I can't leave now. I have a job that I need to support my family. But this is the most difficult part of my life, and this is my struggle, and I know that it's going to be hard to keep on living, but I'm not going to give up. Bob: What about you and Inoran? Will she come back here? Itai: That's very hard to say. If I don't work, I think she'd come back. It's funny because I love the place but I don't know how I'm going to manage without her. I want to go back one day and move back to Australia and be the one who writes the songs. But now I'm too old for that. I have nothing to do with my life here. Bob: How do you think your music would be received here? Itai: I think they will love it. There are a lot of people who will appreciate my music here. I think there are many people who are just like me, and who want to hear something new. There's a lot of good bands and a lot of new sounds, and I think they'll be appreciating it. Bob: Why is there so much of British music in Japan? Itai: I think it's a cultural thing. The Japanese love anything from England, especially from the 50s and 60s. They seem to really like bands like the Beatles and the Stones. Bob: What about today? Itai: But I'm not sure. Today, of course, there are a lot of Japanese bands that are doing great. They sound very good, but they're very weird. In Europe there are a lot of bands. But they don't come from England. They come from America, France and Italy. Bob: Are Motörhead thinking about writing a new album in Japan? Itai: I would like to do something like that. But there are always so many problems with music in Japan. A lot of people in Japan don't really care about rock and roll or metal music. It's all about the popular things here in Japan. For us, and for bands like us, it's difficult to break the door open, to have our place, but I'd really like to do that one day. But Motörhead is a band with 10 or more members, and I'm just one man. I don't think I'm the best guy for the job. If you think of Motörhead as a band, it's much more difficult for me to play music than it is for others. If there is any pressure, I just can't take