Jim, you are a respected songwriter, but before you became a songwriter can you tell us how you became a member in the Canadian band Prism?

Prism was formed in 1975.  It was a combination of two Vancouver bands: Sunshyne and Seeds Of Time.  I had been a member of Sunshyne, along with Bruce Fairbairn, who played trumpet. When Bruce formed Prism, he asked me to join the band.

What made you decide to leave Prism?

I've been reading a lot lately about the early career of the Rolling Stones.  They started as a Blues band ... but once Mick and Keith started writing songs, they quickly became a Pop band.  This caused a lot of tension between Mick and Keith, in one camp, and Brian Jones in the other.  Brian wanted to retain the band's Blues roots.  Mick and Keith wanted to write Pop songs and sell millions of records. Eventually, this tension led to Brian's departure from the band. 

I quit Prism for similar reasons.  I was writing Pop songs for the band, but guitarist Lindsay Mitchell wanted to take things in a Blues direction, in terms of "band attitude": less rehearsal and more jamming.  It caused a lot of tension between us, so I quit.

So what did you mainly do after leaving this band?

For a few years I worked as a studio musician, playing drums on lots of different sessions.

How did you eventually hooked up with Bryan Adams?

I met Bryan in a music shop.  I knew who he was, and he knew who I was.  Vancouver's not a large city, so all the musicians know each other ... or at least we know ABOUT each other.  We talked for a few minutes in the shop, and decided to get together and try writing some songs.

Where you beware that Bryan replaced Nick Gilder at one point in the band Sweeney Todd?

It was a big story in Vancouver when Nick quit the band.  At that time, nobody knew who Bryan was, so the story was more about Nick.

If you like it or not your name will somehow always be connected in a way to Bryan's biggest hits you wrote together, but you also toured played percussion, played piano in his band. During the "Cuts Like A Knife" tour in '83 you played in Holland in front of 75 (!) people and I believe Bryan also opened up for Journey in the U.S. .... can you tell us something about those experiences?

That's actually incorrect information.  I didn't play in Bryan's band on tour, except for four concerts in 1983, opening for The Police.  In Europe, I travelled with the band on the bus, but didn't perform. Bryan and I used the spare time to try and write songs, but there was very little spare time, so really, no songs were written.  In Amsterdam, there was a small audience.  More than 75, but still very small.  Regrdless, Bryan put on a great show for them.

How did you both end up on the Ian Lloyd's underrated Fast Forward album on the Island label in '84?

Bruce Fairbairn produced that album.  In fact, it might have been his first job as a producer (1979).  He asked me and Bryan to write some songs and play on the album

Do you still see or hear anything from Ian Lloyd?

I haven't seen Ian for 25 years. Lovely guy.  I'd like to see him again one day.

Any artists you wrote songs for which you thought they had the potential to make it 'really big' but somehow for some reason never sold any good and strangely enough disappeared from the face of the earth?

I thought "Shot Of Poison" (Lita Ford) was a good track, but it didn't get much attention.

Are you actually still in touch with Bryan?

Bryan and I trade emails several times each week.  We're still very good friends.

You also enjoyed writing with Rock legends such as Steven Tyler and Ozzy Osbourne? Can you tell us something funny about your work with both Steven and Ozzy?

Steven is a bundle of energy, like a 2-year-old who just drank a litre of Pepsi.  Steven's energy is incredible, and he's very intelligent and focussed. 

Sometimes he's TOO focussed.  If you drop a pencil on the floor, he'll say, "Wow. What was that sound?  Let's sample it and use it on the record".  He gets distracted by everything, because he finds everything so fascinating.  Like a child.  But a very gifted child.

Ozzy is also very intelligent.  People think he's "slow", but it's just not true.  He's a lovely guy, very warm and generous.  If he likes you, you really know it.  He's a great songwriter and a great singer. He's also the funniest guy I've ever met.  He'll make you laugh for hours, and once he knows you're laughing, he'll make you laugh even more.  I love Ozzy.

You recently mentioned you were a Donnie Iris fan, too bad you never wrote for him, are you familiar with his songwriter Mark Avsec and do you think of his work?

Yes, I know a little bit about Mark.  He's a songwriter AND a lawyer, which is an interesting combination.  If you believe in the "left brain/right brain" theory, it's unusual for people to be creative AND business oriented at the same time.  It's a rare gift.

What do think of todays new melodic Rock bands? Any favorites?

I'm afraid I don't listen to a lot of new music.  Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys.  That's my "cup of tea".

If you had to pick your two favorite songs you wrote back in time for a certain artist that you thought were fantastic songs but surprisingly didn't do as good as expected  which songs and for whom would that be?

"Shot Of Poison" / Lita Ford - same as the answer above.

And finally, What was the proudest musical moment in the life of Jim Vallance and why?

For every songwriter, the magical moment is the first time you hear your song on the radio.  For me it was "Spaceship Superstar", a forgotten song by Prism, but it was the first time I'd heard something of mine on the radio, back in 1977.  I was proud, but mostly I was excited.