PRACTISING every day and keeping fit is proving key to keeping his drum chops perfect, says The Saints drummer Ivor Hay.

The 69-year-old musician reprises his role behind the kit on The Saints, ’73-’78 tour this summer, along with Ed Kuepper, and honorary Saints members Mark Arm, Mick Harvey and Peter Oxley.

It’s been 15 years since Hay last played the drums seriously, he says.

Hay confides it’s been an eyeopener getting match fit again to play the furious drum fills he was well known for in the ’70s.

“I am going to the gym twice a week and making sure I am trim and getting lots of rest,” he says.

Hay remembers his early days at Corinda High School when he met The Saints Ed Kuepper (guitarist, vocalist, songwriter) and Chris Bailey (vocalist).

Their pal, Ipswich boy Jeffrey Wegener, was there too – the highly regarded drummer who has been lauded by many greats like The Go-Betweens Lindy Morrison, The Dirty Three’s Jim White and Nick Cave.

“We were often in Ipswich because Jeff lived there,” Hay recalls.

“I remember the coal seams and the gas rising from the ground and lingering in the air.

“When we were hungry, we would head straight to Jimmy’s for hamburgers.”

Hay says honing his skills on the drums again for the first three Saints albums has opened his eyes to the band’s potent creativity.

“I didn’t realise just how much melodic wisdom, capability, and feeling we had; it was quite astounding how mature we sounded at such a young age,” he says.

“(Bassist) Alastair Ward was always so precise and imaginative.

“I used to play off Ed’s choppy guitar or Chris’s vocals and followed the accents and phrasing and when Ed played.

“I never came into the studio and laid down a beat for everyone to play to because we weren’t trying to be metronomically on the beat or to sound predictable.

“It was more a case of accompanying the vocals and guitar and then the bass would come in where it wanted to.”

Hay says people often now fantasise about the punk era but gigs for the band in Brisbane back in the ’70s were few and far between, and the feeling of isolation in Australia very real.

“Brisbane was still lapping up the disco scene – the clubs were full of glittering sequins,” he says.

“We would play gigs in Petrie Terrace to about 20 or 30 people but it wasn’t long before we were heading to England.”

When The Saints split, Hay learned music at college and wrote the first instruction manual for digital synthetiser the Fairlight CMI.

He followed that up with a career in the Navy, writing operation manuals for laser guided gear.

“If you are in a band you have to contribute and communicate and be constructive, and that is a great grounding for being successful in a career,” Hay says.

The drummer says he now enjoys playing the drums more than ever.

“This time round, I am concentrating on what I’m doing and thinking about the importance of every single note.

“Back in the day, I was whacking the drum the best way I could.”

The Saints’ four-LP (I’m) Stranded boxset is now available.

The Saints ’73-’78 have added a third Brisbane show – November 25 – after the previous two nights sold out in record time.