No Soul/No Control

Album: No Control (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lead single to Suzi Quatro's 2019 album, "No Soul/No Control" finds the rocker asserting her independence.

    You can't take away my soul
    You can't break me 'cause I'm in control


    In a Songfacts interview with Quatro, she explained: "It's been my mantra my whole life. All you really have is yourself and you shouldn't give that up for anybody - professionally or privately. All you've got is you. This is your little light, let it shine - nobody can take it from you."

    She added: "Everybody has had it happen before, where they've fallen into a situation or into a relationship where they try to take your soul and your control. And I say, 'No soul, no control.' Done. I'm me, you can't have this. This is mine."
  • Quatro was raised in a musical family and as a teenager was in a band with her sister, Patti, called The Pleasure Seekers. In 1969, they changed their name to Cradle and got the attention of the British producer Mickie Most, who offered Suzi a record deal. She took the offer in 1971, moving to England, where she became a star.

    With The Pleasure Seekers, Quatro had to follow the strictures of rock, which meant wearing skimpy outfits and playing more lighthearted music. Many of her friends simply gave up - she often told a story about a female drummer who could totally rock out, but whose parents convinced her to do something more sensible and ladylike. She did, and was miserable. Moving to England, Quatro found a more welcoming audience and proceeded to break barriers, landing two #1 UK hits before The Runaways even formed. She insists that a key to her success was venturing out as a solo artist instead of becoming a member of a band. That gave her control of her career, and her soul.
  • The majority of the material on No Control consists of collaborations with Quatro's son from her first marriage, Richard Tuckey. She recalled how this song originated:

    "We were busy as hell, buried in the songs. Richard had a new idea and showed me. It was very unusual and I liked it. A very basic guitar and drum track was put down for me to work on the melody and lyric. I went into the living area of the studio and about 15 minutes later, it was done. It flew out of its own accord, as the best songs do."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.