The man who put the style back in British music by slapping his arse
Where were you on 31 December 1989?
"I can't remember at all, actually. I normally avoid it all. I think it's a real pain in the arse, being forced to enjoy yourself [laughs]. I get into bed by eight o'clock."
Where are you likely to be on 31 December 1999?
"Probably in bed. When you think about it, it seems important, but I don't feel as if it is."
What were your general circumstances back in 1989?
"Pretty destitute. I'd spent three years at college, just going through the motions, while I was trying to get the
band together. Everything was geared around that. I was living in Ladbroke Grove, and when the band first started getting it together - even though, looking back on it, what we were doing was pretty turgid - it felt like there was a germ of something really exciting. Something was going to happen. The thing was, I felt as though there was a whole side of music that people had forgotten about: basic things like songwriting, elegance, style - they'd all been obliterated in the late '80s."
Would hearing 'The Drowners' now put a huge smile on your face?
"Oh yeah. I love it. And it did feel important. It was quite a turning point, something that encapsulated the way music should be going. It was a good record; it had a lot of guts and cheek. And there were the B-sides, too ['To The Birds' and 'My Insatiable One']. It was a whole package. No one else was doing that. When we first started, it was an essential part of what we were doing - that we didn't fit in and we were completely against the grain, and I think that's what generated a lot of the excitement."
There was also the small matter of your lyrics...
"Yeah. There's always some voice at the back of my head that wants me to stick a spanner in the works.
I've always been into getting that blend of pop melody and mentality, and a real edge. I always thought that 'Animal Nitrate' was a really successful record, in that it was a big commercial success and it got under the skin of a lot of people. It crept into their kitchens and bedrooms, but then it didn't sit very easily with something like Take That [laughs]"
Are you still fiercely proud of 'Dog Man Star'?
"Definitely. Looking back on it, it was a real creative peak in one sense. I really, really got so obsessed with writing, I was boiling over with ideas. But I tend to feel
proud about most of our records, there's not many I don't like. I don't really like 'Stay Together' I just don't
think the song's that good. It felt like something that achieved success off the back of earlier stuff we'd done. It's that typical example of a band's most successful singles sometimes being their worst. It's a funny one."
Did you feel any optimism about the election of New Labour?
"Oh, definitely. It's a massively positive thing. It's very easy to start criticising them, but it is a Labour government, which is important beyond specific, minor, niggling quibbles people have with their policies. It's important that the British government is seen to be
more caring. Where was I on election night? We were in Spain, doing a festival. We had Sky TV on, and we watched them all losing their seats. And laughing [laughs]."
What did you make of all the Diana hoo-hah last year?
"I thought it was pretty pathetic, really I couldn't get my head round it. I find it amazing that people felt so attached to someone they never knew. She didn't really mean anything to
me personally. She did a lot of good things and she had a positive frame of mind about life, and she probably made quite a lot of changes, but
I don't think it justifies all that grief. It was like everyone had gone mad. It was bewildering."
Do you think ecstasy has had a huge cultural impact on the last decade?
"Yeah I do, yeah. I think it was quite a major event. Every youth movement has to have its drug, and ecstasy was an important tool. It changed the way a lot of people felt. There's been a big comedown, but it was important. It made people feel goodwill towards each other: it was partly responsible for some of the stuff we were talking about before. People feeling part of a caring society."
When was the last time you took it?
"[Loudly] Ecstasy?. A couple of months ago, I suppose. I'm not a big E-head anymore - I used to do a lot more. But it was great, yeah. I always quite enjoy it. It's one of the things where it's not, 'God, I'm desperate to have an E', but you do think, 'Wow! Why don't I do this more often? This is great, I love it.' [Pause, as composure is regained] Yeah. It was alright."
What's your favourite album of the last ten years?
"Erm... Oh God... I really like the first Supergrass album. 'Nevermind' I really like 'Maxinquaye': I think 'Black Steel' is genius, I love it. There's been a whole load of dance stuff I've really liked, a whole load of singles - stuff like Mark Morrison, Neneh Cherry. And I've even quite liked a lot of pappy pop things over the last couple of years, stuff like that Jennifer Paige single, and Billie. It's twee twaddle, but I like dumb pop music. Even stuff like the Backstreet Boys and Five: you take it with a pinch of salt, but they're good tunes."
Have you seen Velvet Goldmine?
"No. Is it any good?"
No.
"It's actually quite surprising that people have made a film like that. It's about five or ten years too late, isn't it? That'70s buzz was happening such a long time ago that it's actually weird. Maybe fashion's moving at such a fast rate they're anticipating that the '70s are going to come back in again. For the 5Oth time."
What did you make of Bernard's solo stuff?
"I didn't really hear much of it. I just heard a couple of singles. [Pause] It's quite interesting to hear him sing. I never heard him sing a note before. He seems to be happy, which is fair enough. I haven't seen him since he left the band."
Finally, how's the new LP going?
"I guess we're nearly there. We're starting to mix a couple of songs now. We've got a bit more writing to do, actually. I reckon another six weeks or so, it should be there. Will people be surprised? I think so, yeah. It's probably not as violently three-and-a-half-minute as 'Coming Up' But there's a pop element to it. It's not 'Dog Man Star'.
Typed in by David.