GET TO KNOW: Paul Roland

There are songwriters who tell stories, and then there’s Paul Roland, a singular figure in British underground music who conjures entire worlds. Blending baroque pop, gothic rock, and psychedelic textures with a novelist’s sense of detail, Roland has long been the architect of miniatures that feel like sonic cinema: strange tales of plague doctors, cursed inventors, mythic seductresses and time-travelling misfits.

With more than 25 albums behind him, Roland’s music sits at the haunted crossroads of Bram Stoker, Hammer Horror, and H.G. Wells; a literary, labyrinthine universe crafted across decades of fiercely independent work. Now he breathes new life into one of his most distinctive records: Lair of the White Worm.

First released in the early 2000s, Lair of the White Worm remains a cult cornerstone, inspired by Stoker’s often-overlooked final novel and laced with lyrical nods to The Reptile, the London Plague of 1666, and classical mythology. Tracks like 'Master Boil and Mistress Sore' blur the line between grotesque satire and historical horror, while 'Leda and the Swan' and 'In Memory of a Time Traveler' reveal a softer, more elegiac side to Roland’s muse.

So with the new album available now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and influences over the years.

What was the first band or artist you fell in love with? 

Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex when he was still acoustic and writing beautiful paens to Pan and woodland sprites. I stuck with him for the early electric albums and the change of name to T.Rex because I heard a unique ‘voice’ and the preoccupation with wizards, woodlands and young beguiling witches which prompted me to try my hand at songwriting, though I only knew half a dozen chords and played acoustic.  

Did you ever form a band when you were younger and if so, what did they sound like? 

No when I started writing songs I was just 14 and recorded little albums on cassette in my bedroom with school friends who indulged me and thought I was a little touched, which I probably was. 

What has been your primary inspiration in writing music? 

I suppose my obsession with the occult and paranormal which started with out-of-body experiences as a child. The idea that there are other realities and that my characters find themselves facing the inhabitants of those other worlds be they ghosts or Lovecraft-like creatures continues to fascinate and inspire me. I don’t have any urge to share my ‘feelings’ with others and so many other artists do that so much better than I could. I’m more concerned with the worlds of the imagination and also historical periods and bizarre and grotesque characters. Someone called me ‘the male Kate Bush’ because of this and my use of orchestral instrumentation in both rock and acoustic songs and I think that’s a fair and useful description.  

What is a song you wish you had written yourself? 

So many! ‘Sonne’ by Rammstein and ‘Plug In Baby’ by Muse would be near the top of my list and half a dozen of the early songs by Marc Bolan. 

If there was any moment in your career you could relive, what would it be? 

It would have to be the recording of my first album, ‘The Werewolf of London’ in 1979. I was just 19 and had too diverse a range of influences so I was torn in several directions and should have focussed on one – the gothic and supernatural which might have made that album so much stronger. But so many people love it, so perhaps it’s just as well we can’t go back and redo things!

Which artist would you most love to share a stage with? 

Brett Anderson of Suede. I love his songs and he’s erudite and well read. He’s someone I respect a lot.

And is there an artist you would love to collaborate with as well? 

Too many to name – Dave Brock of Hawkwind, Mathew of Muse, Kate Bush!

Where do you see yourself in five years time? 

Writing more historical supernatural novels (I’ve only written three, so there are many more in me), writing and recording more albums but with a more prog-goth-psych tone and more horror-themed projects to follow my gothic ballet ‘Nosferatu’ and chamber opera ‘Carmilla’. There are so many incredible stories out there to adapt. I’d hate to have been limited to the 3 minute rock song!

Listen to Paul Roland's 'Lair of the White Worm' below.