"When I first began to write, I was writing on bass, because I was thinking more Public Image, more dub"
About this Quote
The references do the heavy lifting. Public Image Ltd. signals anti-rock orthodoxy: music that distrusts guitar heroics and prizes abrasion, space, and attitude. Dub signals studio-as-instrument, the idea that absence (dropouts, echoes, negative space) can hit harder than constant presence. Rossdale is quietly aligning himself with a lineage that treats restraint as swagger. It’s a way of saying: I wasn’t chasing choruses; I was chasing a vibe with teeth.
There’s also a tell about craft versus persona. Rossdale is often remembered as a singer in a guitar band, but he’s describing an earlier, more architectural mindset: build the foundation first, let the hooks come later. Subtext: credibility matters, and so does influence. He’s placing Bush’s beginnings not in grunge’s flannel mythology, but in the colder, more stylized UK tradition where rhythm and texture make the emotions feel earned rather than announced.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rossdale, Gavin. (2026, January 17). When I first began to write, I was writing on bass, because I was thinking more Public Image, more dub. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-first-began-to-write-i-was-writing-on-bass-59881/
Chicago Style
Rossdale, Gavin. "When I first began to write, I was writing on bass, because I was thinking more Public Image, more dub." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-first-began-to-write-i-was-writing-on-bass-59881/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I first began to write, I was writing on bass, because I was thinking more Public Image, more dub." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-first-began-to-write-i-was-writing-on-bass-59881/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
