George Clinton Says P-Funk Will Continue After He Retires from Touring
When George Clinton announced his retirement earlier this year, he suggested that it wouldn’t necessarily be the end for Parliament-Funkadelic. In a new interview he revealed he was working on a solid foundation for the collective to continue without him after his final shows in 2019. “They’ll still be funkin’ long after I stop,” he’d said in his statement at the time.
Clinton elaborated in a new interview with SFChronicle.com, saying: “ I’m going to get a movement going with the new kids in the band, some of my grandkids. We got the group geared up. It’s a project. I’ll be doing the records and working with them from the studio. The kids have so much energy, they make me have energy.” He added: “the group will still be there. I’ve got my grandkids, their friends, and my daughter and son in the group. I’m on the P-Funk All-Stars now.”
He said he’d been changing the band’s focus onto a “whole new thing” for the past three years, noting: “I follow them now.” He continued: “You know, I just had my 77th birthday. I’m about to be 78. It’s a good time. We got them on a roll. I’ve got new inspirations for the studio. I got a pacemaker put in so it’s time to sit my ass down.”
Parliament recently released their first album in 38 years, Medicaid Fraud Dogg, which deals with big pharma and a threat to individuals presented by its corporate policies. Clinton said the theme had motivated him to continue pursuing it in future studio material. “After getting off drugs myself, I can see how clearly the industry and the government work,” he argued. “They’ve taken over all the patients that were on the street and made the whole public into willing participants of drugs.”
He recalled of his own experience of cleaning up: “I got a lot of energy. I figured the only way I could fight for the music is by being relevant. If you’re doing all right, then they have to pay attention to what you’re saying. I’m still here. That gave me energy. All it took was being enthusiastic about catching people off guard who thought it was over. I’m not going out like that.”
Clinton's current confirmed tour schedule is detailed on his website, with further dates to be added in due course.