Former METALLICA bassist Ron McGovney has doubled down on his claim that he has never lamented his decision to exit the band. Ron made the comment in response to a tweet from a fan asking him if he has ever regretted "leaving METALLICA and seeing them have overwhelming success." "I would rather have privacy and freedom over money any day of the week," McGovney replied. Last October, Ron told another fan on Twitter that he had no misgivings about departing the California metal group before the release of METALLICA's first album. "It's not a lifestyle that I could have survived," he explained. "In many ways." McGovney was a member of METALLICA during 1982 and appeared on the band's early demos. Tension between McGovney and then-METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine led to the bassist quitting the band and being replaced by Cliff Burton. He later told "Talk Is Jericho" that his exit from METALLICA wasn't upsetting to him because he was less into the band's thrash style, plus he was interested in being a motorcycle mechanic. In a 2004 interview with AllMetallica.com, McGovney stated about his time with METALLICA: "All of the songs that are found on [METALLICA's debut album] 'Kill 'Em All' were written in my garage and we played all of them when I was in the band. We also did DIAMOND HEAD covers: 'The Prince', 'Sucking My Love', 'Am I Evil', and 'Helpless'. We covered 'Blitzkrieg' by BLITZKRIEG, 'Let It Loose' by SAVAGE and 'Killing Time' by SWEET SAVAGE. All of those songs can be found on bootlegs, but I have a practice tape of us doing some of those songs. I did do some arranging of the songs, but I was never credited with anything. I played at least 28 gigs with the band in the first year." During the aforementioned "Talk Is Jericho" interview, McGovney said that Burton was always "really respectful of me for my tenure in the band" in the years after Ron left METALLICA. "I remember at that Palladium show in '84, I had a pass but it was just like a sticker pass," McGovney shared. "And I wanted to go in the back and talk to them but [security] wouldn't let me in. Cliff saw me [and] he gave me his laminate. I walked back there and their tour manager said, 'Why did you give him that?' And Cliff said, 'He was the first bass player for METALLICA.'"
I would rather have privacy and freedom over money any day of the week.
— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) February 15, 2020
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I would rather have privacy and freedom over money any day of the week.
— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) February 15, 2020
Continue reading...
