From his days growing up in Liverpool and watching early Beatles performances to performing with his band, Player as the opening act for Eric Clapton on the Slowhand tour, guitarist Peter Beckett has been privy to a part of music history. Together with Player co-founder Ronn Moss, the band struck gold of their own in 1978 with the chart-topping, feel-good smash, “Baby Come Back.”

Player slowed down in the 1980’s as Beckett focused more on film and television projects and Moss gained worldwide stardom playing Ridge Forrester on the CBS television series, “The Bold And The Beautiful.” In 2003, Beckett and Moss began performing again as Player; always featuring an all-star line-up of players that included (at various times) members of The Cars, Mister Mister, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, and Little River Band. Now, after a near twenty year hiatus, Player is back with a brand new album, “Too Many Reasons”. Featuring twelve brand new tracks as well as a new acoustic version of “Baby Come Back.”, the album showcases songwriting elements from various areas of the musical spectrum. It’s a welcome formula that’s synonymous with the band’s prior albums.

Player consists of founding members Peter Beckett (guitars/lead vocals/keyboards) and Ronn Moss (bass/lead vocals).

I spoke with Beckett about the new album, touring with Eric Clapton and a moment he realized that music was going to be his calling.

Read the rest of my Guitar World interview here