Ian Anderson on David Letterman show 1982 Part 1

[robcas631]

Oh boy Letterman went from lost to gone in 1.3 seconds.

[robcas631]

@robcas631 my pardon it was just a verbal reflex! Won't happen again!

[robcas631]

Ian is a kind and gentle man.



[Easleytee]

Letterman is a certified TWIT!

[2patero]

I wish Ian had done something with Frank Zappa!

[JDL2112]

Ian has an IQ that doubles Letterman's....they are barely on the same planet.

[poodleenvy]

@MultiMikey9999 this was just after Margaret Thatcher broke from socialism..and at this point 30 years later Ian anderson is one of the largest producers if not the largest producer of farmed Salmon in all of the United Kingdom

[Fiendhorn]

Good lord, people, they seemed to have a nice conversation and seemed to get along warmly and well. Let's not get so high handed.

[littlequeen64]

Letterman is a dumbass in comparison indeed.Embarrassing......

[ottofischer52]

well,you colonial us-people....

[nedladdy]

A snail would outperform Letterman

[MOSKII58]

all's i can say is Ian is quite the consumate gentleman and i'm afraid to imagine what he is thinking of Letterman and us good ol americans..can't Dave come up w/ more interesting subject matter to discuss than "the loch ness monster"..this is almost embarrassing..

[CarlloLombardo]

Funny stuff.

[ChiroQuacker]

ian makes joe cocker look like a matinee idol...dont think too many teenage girls fantasized about ian and joe....both look like they dont bathe or use deoderant and i sure as hell wouldnt leave kids around these two

[rebekka6]

Ian Anderson is quite down to earth. This isn't that long ago, but interviews don't get this interesting on late night anymore...much less anywhere else...

[TULLYNOL]

The Truth Be Told.... Ian Anderson Is Far More Intelligent Than Mr. Letterman .

[posthumanhero]

@TULLYNOL oh blow it out your ass.....the idea that something has to be inferior to something (or someone0 else in order for them to exceed expectation is a crock of shit.........i respect both of them in terms of 'intelligence'...........funny that word.

[TULLYNOL]

@posthumanhero Maybe you should get some " funny that word ' ......

Really lady ..... you sound like a badly confused person.

I can easily see why you respect both of them in terms of intelligence .

One more thing lady..... Your reply is not even relevant to my comment . Get Prozac... get laid or something .... your reply speaks volumes .

[posthumanhero]

@TULLYNOL i was referring to the word linguistically (i.e. the type of people that seek out information via social engineeing0....i'm not a fruitloop and probably eons more 'intelligent' than you....but the mere fact of saying it is as pathetic as even letting you rent space in my head......i have no time for pompous ian anderson fans.......go suck his cock, drink his cum then fuck him up the ass (which, metaphorically, you have already done).......i am done with you.

[TULLYNOL]

@posthumanhero LOL You are fucked up lady ....... Rent Space in your head ?

I posted one comment and you retaliated like the bitch you are . I can easily tell how intelligent you by your response. You need help !!! Really ..You respond to my comment posted like some crazed malcontent.??

I am sure you will be thinking of me later..... ( being I rent space in your head ) ....While your rubbing one off. GET HELP BITCH ...... you are a mess for someone so intelligent. LMFAO

[tall32guy]

I think that Nessie exists, and others like her. I think she is just a "leftover" from the dinosaur age, what would be called a "plesiosaur", that have long necks and flippers, pretty much made for the water. It would be cool to see her someday. :)

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

david letterman is an idiot who looks for cheaps laughs, horrible interviewer and has no other talent whatsoever!!!

[nialljamesbuckley]

@BLUESMANRONCHICAGO - that's silly

[posthumanhero]

@BLUESMANRONCHICAGO what do you want him to do, suck ian anderson's toes?.......my god, ian anderson fans are more pompous and obnoxious than gg allin fans

[twostrokeornill1]

Not to beat this to death but Letterman and the crowd here ARE disrespecting this true gentleman. Yea, his on stage "alter ego" can very well make him seem somewhat of a joke or a plain weird-o, but Alter ego is the magic term here. I hate to see disrespect like this.

[posthumanhero]

@twostrokeornill1 what are they doing that's so wrong?..............after watching some ian anderson interviews i'm starting to be really put off by him because of the sheer delusions of grandeur his fans sem to uphold for him...........so he's levelheaded -- levelheadedness and clarity account for so much of what u perceive as 'intelligent'

[Spanish3Honors]

you people need to relax. this is what david letterman does and has always done, and always will do. ian anderson is awesome and he knew what he was getting into going on the letterman show. this was not at all unique to ian anderson, and letterman didn't even insult him. you people are nuts. invest in a sense of humor, willya?

[PollaroEros]

Guthrie Govan

[bigabesr1981]

Ian Anderson is a true scholar and a gentlemean...David you should be ashamed of yourself...insult the man for a cheap laugh...what a douce...

[aristotled1]

Did you see the look Ian gave the butterfly brained ape when ape asked him about the trailer park? LOL! Ian slayed him with it! Then said, "that's really quite slimey, isn't it?" yes, Ian, the ape is slimey. LMAO. the ape tamed down after that. that'll teach you ape!

[meowandmeow]

what a class act. Anderson, i mean.

[datoobster75]

Typical of Letterman asking oblique questions for a cheap laugh, but as always, Ian Anderson is a gentleman and very well-spoken. Tull rocks!

[jamo387]

Letterman is such a douche. Love Ian Anderson though. Thanks for posting.

[Imat00l]

@jamo387 get off the hate wagon dildo. It's not like he was really looking forward to interviewing Ian. He's just doing his job.

[jamo387]

@Imat00l Was he doing his job when he banged half his staff? BTW, if I was a dildo, wouldn't I be buried in yer wife's snatch?

[diegofuente1]

The live Aqualung clip comes from 'Slipstream' - which was a bonus dvd with the 2004 re-release of the album 'A.' "Slipstream" was the first music VHS I ever bought - I had to special-order it after I saw a review in 'Heavy Metal' magazine.

[TheGeneLightShow]

a genius being interviewed by a monkey.

[TheConnord12]

lettermans a douche.

[wassermansg]

Is it going to be a trailer park? Letterman you fucking twat.

[MrLuigiFercotti]

My god, these are the best questions Letterman come up with? What a doofus.

[HarrisonBergeron215]

Alfred E Letterman is the consumate moron. Only he finds his jokes funny - everyone else is laughing AT him.

[jtarver65]

Is the video they showed at the beginning available?  I love that version but I can't find it anywhere anymore.

[brucekirk89]

it's a plezeasauros or what ever

[papawx3]

Letterman is such a dick. I remember when he was our local weather man many years ago, even then he was always trying to be funny. And just like now, failing terribly.

[daddysevenpointfiver]

"A Jethro Tull fan probably owns at least one piece of camoflauge clothing." -- IA

[lambcrawler]

Ian is an incredibly well spoken eloquent man. I would kill to talk like him. Very interesting to listen too. Not very funny though.

[mikedrud]

Remember when people smoked on talks shows?

[johnnyboync1]

ian anderson=cha ching!

[TitaniumByFire]

How ironic that a leftist tool like letterman would lecture Ian now about smoking and pretty much step on Ians right to choose like a good little liberal puppet.

[612franklin]

Davy meets the honest man

[612franklin]

That's the Cat. Davy meets goliath. 

[Caljamscott]

I'm thinking of going to the New York show. See my video. I'm the only one who matters in music thank you.

[IvanMoshkov]

what a bloke

[bearmare]

A was supposed to be Anderson's solo album. The record company didn't care for it, so Anderson released it as a Jethro Tull album. Anyway, the album was crap.

[TheRONPAUL2012]

ian andersen an interesting man .......love the music

[filmerado]

Nice of Ian Anderson to tolerate Letterman for 15 minutes.

[khashayar44]

@filmerado Haha that's awesome man!

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@filmerado nice of anyone to tolerate Letterman, he is a dork and not very funny!!! never understood his appeal!!!

[Kedbuka]

Ian's barely tolerating Letterman in this interview. And all Dave's doing is helping him sell records. Love Tull but always thought Ian was a pompous ass...a funny, wacky, artistic pompous ass.

[Stormwatch153]

@filmerado Indeed!

[poodleenvy]

@filmerado shame that the drummer shown in the clip mark carney died at such an early age ...he was a monstor

[jeevesthepunk]

asking Ian Anderson if he lives near Loch Ness because he lives in Scotland is like asking David Letterman if he lives near the Statue of Liberty because he lives in America. Ok, an exaggeration but its still a fairly silly point. Good interview none the less

[quirpco]

Ian is one of the most incredibly well-spoken people I've ever heard.

[naturalthing1]

He needs to make this same interview in 2010. It would make the left shut their mouth

[hektor6766]

@naturalthing1 You missed some very important things that Ian said. First, he thanked the audience for sharing their money with him-communal. Then He regarded himself not as an owner, but as a steward of that land for a time, and allows other people to use it. Again, very communal. Have a little more respect for the man than to try to use him as an ideological prop.

[evengodlovesamerica]

he reminds me of jack black for some odd reason

[klnine]

Ian the first greeny ..sting eat yr heart out !

[putdownan8dude]

that slo-mo martin barre move was tits!

[hyperguy61]

Letterman is quite an intelligent guy , but he clearly does not live in the same "IQ" neighborhood as Mr. Anderson.

[posthumanhero]

@hyperguy61 oh bullshit..........lettermen bashers are annoying.

[poodleenvy]

@hyperguy61 Ian Anderson has always shown his intelligence in the depth of Tull's lyrics...but then a high school level in education in the UK is the equivalent to the average top tier college in the US....I'm an american but I lived there for 4 years

[lowlypeasant]

@poodleenvy horseshit.

[stephenizzy1]

Having spent a week on a wild camping motorcycle holiday, and sleeping on lochs shores, I know where he is coming from when he talks about the Lochness monster and me being 48 and dismissing the monster as a folk myth, When getting out you tent at 2 o'clock in the morning for a piss, you start to think how deep the lochs are and what could be in them. Great music Ian.

[AvaVictoriaTeague]

He's such a BAD ASS!

[Draykus]

@AvaVictoriaTeague I agree.

[bstensland]

Awesome....Ian pre-fish-farm.

[ultrakool]

bloody capitalist

[666phantasm666]

thank you so much for posting this

[Ascaidh]

Scots wa hae!

[paperbacklou]

what is he holding up at the 5:35 mark?

[Poe397]

The album "Broadsword"....album's were vinyl recording's we old people used to listen to...they pre-date cassette's and c.d.'s. They can still be found in some ancient tomb's.

[Danzjohnny]

Fidel Castro playing the flute!

[Nationalism4Life]

I guessed it wasn't going to be the former National Front leader, Ian Anderson.

[Kohntarkosz]

I've never seen this before. I think it's interesting how they show a clip from Slipstream, and Ian talks a bit about it, but he never actually mentions the name of it. Not a very good salesman, is he? ;)

[Pattonfrodo]

Man Tull's Music is much to fun to play. Jethro Tull was the reason i got my first capo for my guitar! lol

[jlaw666]

it's so funny seeing his stage persona opposed to his normal demeanor.

[xpdnc2u]

I really love his long-term perspective, knowing that he really doesn't "own anything."

He (and we) are merely custodians of "things" for a while.

[xpdnc2u]

Also very funny quip of why there must be more than one Nessie: "otherwise, what do they do at night?"

LOL ! ! !

Classic.

[romeroisking]

I love that jacket.

[Mervelous100]

OMG Im in love...Ian Anderson, the most amazing guy....it is like going back to the greatest time in music, to see this now, 1009

[Obelisk2290]

salmon farmer

[AK2927]

I know he refers to himself as Scottish but I love his unadorned Lancashire accent - Tull have always been regarded as a Blackpool band.

[AK2927]

heh heh, smokin' a pipe on TV!

[muzzleflash7]

I remember watching this on it's first airing in May 1982. Saw him months later in Charlotte, NC on October 6th, 1982 on the Broadsword tour

[Fangalatic]

The last true genius of our era.

[drummerhere]

JETHRO TULL!!

[TheAnneelise]

what a wise, classy, sexy man Ian is :).

And how fun to see this. Thanks for posting!

[rocjdj]

Ummmm! you get Ian Anderson on your chat show and you ask him about the loch ness monster!!! Paaaaaalease! tell me he isn't a real chat show host.

[AragornIsStrider]

Dave isn't exactly a music journalist. He's always off-the-cuff and asks goofy and quirky questions.

Sometimes it's ingriating, but I often find it more spontaneous and more real than Leno's canned bio questionaires.

Besides, this is Dave's early years. Cut him some slack. I grew up watching him in the 80's when I was still in diapers. (I would've been 2 years old when this aired, for example.)

[averageskill]

wow jamconnect.....your over flowing with envy.....maybe you should get your own network talk show...then you'll be less envious.....a deadly sin....

[lowlypeasant]

All these years I always thought that album was called "Broadsword and the Beast". I had it on vinyl. Its their last decent one actually.

[Hoskins91]

David Letterman is just trying to spice it up a little bit. I mean he is a smart guy but if you weren't a Tull fan this interview would be boring listening to him talk about buying land and such. Its his job to make it entertaining. That's what people tune in for, for him and what he'll do with all of these big celebrities.

[iluvflagunlaws]

I remember watching this live; scary it was so long ago.

[Jamconnect]

Wow Letterman.  What an utter waste of airtime you are. Interviewing Ian Anderson about Nessie. Were I to encounter you someday I would not remind you of this interview, because your sad brain would have deteriorated even further. What a fuckup made into a TV icon you are !

[lynus111]

Who said anything was wrong with anything, feeling persecuted, or are you crying about equality?

[joeamr]

Ian sounds like a professor for english literature,Letterman on the other hand who makes a living based on his oratory skills sound like a kindergartener.When I see interviews like this I know why I`ve been an Ian fan for so long.

[tiger2995]

Couldn't have put that better myself...very astute.

[lynus111]

He brought public land to improve it and KEEP IT PUBLIC. Thats not capitalist.

[Comicvajra]

Letterman's hair is like a football helmet!

[jstarang1]

he owns a salmon farm

[CarlloLombardo]

IAN ANDERSON don´t believe in God.I think he is all right!!!!!!

[beardfreak1969]

Lovely to see a piece of vinyl promoted.

[themountainviewguy]

thats a terrible clip for american tv

[beaverliqour]

one of the smartest business men in Rock

[kennyplay]

@beaverliqour him and all the guys in Neil, Alex and Geddy RUSH and Alice Cooper and Phil Collins

[twentyoutoftwenty2]

The 'Beasties' comment; Lore come in heavy in many great rock bands. Rush. Zeppelin. Tull. Genesis (squonk in particular). Yes. There is more

[terrivee]

great stuff...thanks for sharing...now, on to part 2

[blabbermouth777]

It is interesting that Ian Anderson is into farming considering the name of the band.

[vastplains]

Lokks like Reverand Jim from Taxi

[TheOverseer4003]

that's cause he's about 1000 times smarter than letterman and a funny bastard to boot.

[nigbeard]

1000 times smarter than letterman??? i really don't know about that, he might be funnier and more talented but letterman is a fairly intelligent guy and they both tend to ramble on a lot

[Synesthesiak]

Actually I think one of the many great things about Ian is that he doesn't just ramble presumptuous none sense he actually really questions, means and balances what he says; a sign of a true intellectual.

Letterman on the other hand is being very disrespectful and blatantly unknowing of Ian's career and respectability.

[CzechGuardian]

Mister Ian Anderson. The best of the best!

[rokyfireloadat32]

U bet man, he really is an amazing vocalist..I have sooo much respect for this man!!!

[Aqualung71]

great, just wish the quality wasn't so horrible.

[tullist]

What a trip to see this, (which I have had on tape since 82),again. I must say prior to the 3 visits by me to Skye, where twice I met IA, his comment of "don't take me up on it" did resonate with me, though I did not obey. Additionally, although I was aware of Letterman and knew he was something special, by this point I think he had already guested Captain Beefheart and Andy Kaufman with the professional wrestler which was truly classic tv.

[siggi5153]

My favourite band. Listen to my "Wondrin´aloud" version.

[uncleambient]

Good ol' Ian!! :)