Did you like Little Games and the Page-era Yardbirds?
I did. I think everybody’s heads were just so messed up at that time and it just didn’t happen. A weird thing happened over that period of time. When the Yardbirds packed up in 1969, Jimmy owned the name. I got three telegrams which I still have actually-two from Peter Grant and one from Page. They said, “There is very good news for you and would you please contact the office immediately?” I did and Jimmy told me, “I want to take the New Yardbirds back to America and are you interested?” I said, “No, I’m not, because I’m making my own album!” [Laughs.] And that’s what happened.
You would have joined the New Yardbirds as a second guitarist?
I don’t know. I don’t know what his plans were at all at that time. But I actually just said, “No.” People think that’s really weird but there you go.
Do you ever . . . ?
Regret it? I think history may have been different, but I think probably I would’ve been very much like Eric. I’ve had some wonderful opportunities to play. I left music for 17 years and went back to it when I was 40. Jim and I met up again and formed the Topham-McCarty Blues Band. It was a good experience, but he wanted to go back and do the Yardbirds again.
You didn’t want to come full circle?
No! [Laughs.] I didn’t want to sit there and play Yardbirds tunes; I wanted to do my own songs.
Do you think if you had remained in the Yardbirds that you could have brought to the music what Eric did?
Yes, I think probably I could’ve done it. Because if you take guitar playing at that time, there was some pretty awful guitar playing going around; I mean, it was very basic. And yes, what he did was basic, but it was also incredibly exciting. Maybe what I would have done wouldn’t have been quite as subtle.