Category: Interviews (Page 2 of 111)

1984: THE YEAR POP WENT QUEER Interview

10 December 2024 /

‘1984’ was the dystopian novel by George Orwell but ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’ is a book by journalist, pop fanatic and DJ Ian Wade that looks back at the year in which mainstream pop took gay subculture overground.

The glitterball shone bright as pop came out of the closet; but as Simon Napier-Bell, manager of JOHN’S CHILDREN featuring a young Marc Bolan, JAPAN and WHAM! once theorised: “British pop music has always been homosexual to the core…”

With witty and unpretentious accounts of the year’s main players, ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’ studies the impact these groundbreaking musicians had before, during and after on the gay community and popular culture. It documents how they were able to break down barriers, raise consciousness and set in motion the first nascent ripples in a pond that are still being felt today.

From George Michael of WHAM! to JUDAS PRIEST’s Rob Halford with CULTURE CLUB, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, BRONSKI BEAT, DEAD OR ALIVE and PET SHOP BOYS in between, 1984 was a year of subversion through the pop charts as some of the brightest ‘out’ artists, biggest global acts and closeted pop stars took queer pop and culture to the very top of the charts in front of an unsuspecting public who expressed equal parts glee, bafflement and disgust.

But while some mothers were bigger than others and buying ‘Relax’ without batting an eyelid, the period had the dark backdrop of right-wing bigotry and homophobia as well as an emerging AIDS crisis which both shaped and defined pop culture at the time, as well as casting a long shadow for the years that followed.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had a delightful chat with Ian Wade about the genesis of ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’ to make it one of the most essential music books of 2024.

What made you want to write this book, was there a personal mission about it?

It originally started almost as a love letter to FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD in a way. A few years ago, it was Stonewall’s 50th Anniversary and I felt like doing a book like one of those “1000 Albums You Should Hear Before You Die” type things but from a gay perspective, the LGBT+ record collection in a way, that would cover things like Lou Reed, Bowie and kd lang, that sort of thing.

But as I was going through the years and which albums I should feature, 1984 just kept growing and growing. Not only have you got the tent poles of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and BRONSKI BEAT, watching things like ‘Top Of The Pops’ in 1984 where you saw  a lot of gay records coming through like Eartha Kitt ‘Where Is My Man?’, ‘I Am What I Am’ by Gloria Gaynor and ‘It’s Raining Men’, I was interested as to why that was happening, because those records had been hanging around for so long in the clubs, why were they coming through at that point. That led me down the HI-NRG route which was where the electronic music interest was.

One George got replaced by another George at the top of the pop tree…

Yes, Boy George began 1984 as one of the biggest stars and then it all fell apart with ‘The War Song’ shall we say! *laughs*

People like Elton John and David Bowie were around, Elton married a lady and David Bowie was surrounded by his children, all those people who cited him as an inspiration like Holly Johnson and Boy George, but he came back with his worst album ‘Tonight’, which had a couple of good tracks, but it was his first really really bad album, and he almost seemed to want to distance himself from all them. So all these threads began to come together.

PET SHOP BOYS released the first version of ‘West End Girls’ that year and part of this book became how these people formed or came through, what they did in 1984 and what they did next. So there were some who didn’t have the greatest year but what happened next was quite interesting.

Then there were people like Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, who both entered the UK Top 75 in the same week which is kind of fascinating and Cyndi was seen at the time as the bigger star, but then Madonna had by the end of the year decided to become an icon with ‘Like A Virgin’! So I look at what they did next with AIDS awareness and all that kind of stuff.

Also, Stock Aitken & Waterman, they began at the beginning of 1984 and their subsequent breakthrough of Divine being their first Top20 hit, Hazell Dean being their first Top5 hit and DEAD OR ALIVE going to No1 as the first of a good dozen or so, that defined the sound of pop for the rest of the decade.

So it all started coming together in these 12 months, this hovering of gay culture. Up until then, you had Boy George and Marc Almond being very coy, this whole “I haven’t met the right girl yet” type vibes when interviewed in ‘Smash Hits’, but then with people like Bronski and Frankie, especially Bronski who were out and proud. In the background culturally, there was stuff like AIDS coming through and rife homophobia, you had Thatcher and real unpleasant things going on; you had Reagan not acknowledging AIDS until his second term the next year, so it was an interesting backdrop to what was going on.

I think for a lot of people, pop music is their 3 minute access to a different world, and the easiest form of culture to digest, and 1984 was full of it.

So in the context of 1984, you’ve got this story but the way you have told it is quite interesting, because you’ve not gone for the chronological path, you’ve opted to tell the stories of the key players in each chapter, so how this this concept come about?

I think that was the best way of putting it across because I originally had 9000 words on Frankie. This was 5 years ago during lockdown when there was nothing to do, so I wanted to see if I could write about Bronski and that’s how it carried on. One of my favourite books of all time is ‘The Best Of Smash Hits’ which came out 40 years ago but it had all the classic interviews from THE SEX PISTOLS to BAND AID… that book is one where you can just open up and read about a particular act or whatever. So I wanted that sort of vibe… yes, please read all the book but if you fancy a bit of a laugh. It helped in a way by doing that because included are Frankie, Bronski, Divine, Sylvester… JUDAS PRIEST! So it helped isolate those people and you knew where to go if you just wanted to read about that particular person.

So that was the idea, that you could dip in and out. One of my favourite books at the moment is Miranda Sawyer’s book ‘Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs’, that goes through a song and an act per chapter. There’s a couple of bands that I’m not particularly interested in like SLEEPER but I can go to BLUR, SUEDE and ELASTICA, do you know what I mean? That’s what I want people to get from my book and hopefully they do.

In this age of Wikipedia and that kind of thing, it’s very frustrating to just go there and see that as the bible as everything. It’s more important than ever to celebrate facts and not lazily just assume Wikipedia knows everything.

So you start the book with FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and they were the seed of this book, so were they the most important act of 1984 in your opinion?

Yeah! In a way they were… originally the book was meant to be a bit more chronological because they were on the first ‘Top Of The Pops’ of the year and it was going to end with DEAD OR ALIVE about to take over 1985. In the end, I moved things around slightly.

For me, Frankie, aside from all the controversy and all that nonsense, remix culture came through with them. Yes, there had been some amazing 12 inches and that sort of thing, but at that point, taking a song, pulling it apart again, thinking of different audiences and dancefloors and all that stuff, they, or rather Trevor Horn, pushed that forward. He did the ‘New York Remix’ of ‘Relax’ after going to a, well, New York night club and thinking “this will work like this”, it was a combination of marketing and remix culture, I think Frankie brought that in.

To me, 1984 felt like the end of the New Pop era because, you can ask a lot of people about the 80s, and they will ask back “what half of the 80s?”; some people’s 80s goes up to 1984 like me, I came into 1980 as a huge SPECIALS and MADNESS fan, then THE HUMAN LEAGUE and synthpop took over my life and then Frankie seemed like the end of all that. After that, things became professional and branded and a little bit boring, there wasn’t was this spirit that “we’ve kind of made it all up”.

If you look at the classic records in the first half of the 80s, it was all the freaks and weirdos like THE HUMAN LEAGUE and YAZOO on ‘Top Of The Pops’ but afterwards, it was all focus groups and “Will this song work? Will that do?”, people were overthinking things a bit too much! The first half of the 80s felt a bit more like The Wild West and Frankie were the bridge between the branding professionalism but also Holly Johnson coming through punk and new wave, it was people like him who had become themselves.

You look at the stats in the Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles book, they were the first band to have 3 No1 with their first 3 singles since GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS, so it all felt quite revolutionary, that this kind of band with the first ‘Relax’ video would become the biggest band of the year! REALLY?

Do you think FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD would have been as big, without the Mike Read-led BBC ban? It’s interesting now what Mike Read did, because history has now shown him to be a bigot, a UKIP member and a right-wing tw*t as we have found with other personalities from that era…

It was interesting because the ban happened once ‘Relax’ was in the Top 10; remember, they first appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ when it was at No 36 and then shot up to No 6 having been outside the Top 40 for like 3 months! It wasn’t necessarily the ban although the video wasn’t being shown… I think it would have done the business irrespective of the ban. I think Mike Read positioned himself as a moral arbiter but it had got to No 2 when the ban came in…

‘Relax’ wasn’t shown on ‘Top Of The Pops’ for 6 weeks but were people buying it because it wasn’t shown? I don’t think that was the case really because there were a lot of big guns coming back like QUEEN with ‘Radio Ga Ga’ which was almost precision-made to rescue them after their apparent failure of ‘Hot Space’, which is their masterpiece incidentally! QUEEN needed to become QUEEN again, for all the sniffiness of Roger Taylor and Brian May that ‘Hot Space’ was “a bit gay”, they were kept off No 1 by the gayest record ever made.

Frankie would have succeeded in general but it’s amazing to think ‘Relax’ hung around all year and went back up to No2 without being heard! But I have to stress that it was just a BBC thing that it wasn’t being broadcast, I believe various other commercial stations were doing the same. After a certain point in the evening, the BBC would play it. But Mike Read aided it into it being a thing when it was already a great song.

It has now become a party record in a way even though it’s not particularly danceable! Whenever I’ve DJ-ed, well, the single version of ‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’ is the far groovier record as ‘Relax’ has sort of become like ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ or ‘YMCA’ *laughs*

So, what did you think of the ‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’ album? It was a big event because it was a double, had controversial packaging and all that, I personally found it a disappointment…

I think I was more in awe of it because it wasn’t something I bought on its release, it was a Christmas present. So yes, I’d bought all the two singles but when I got to listen to it, I was scratching my head a little with the second disc… I think for a generation of people, that was the definitive version of ‘Born To Run’ but a lot of it wasn’t as exciting as disc one which had the singles but even the title track, you were just scratching your head because it was essentially a prog track! You wanted sirens, you wanted “DOOF!”, you wanted someone nattering about nuclear bunkers, all that sort of stuff so it felt like after the singles fronted by Holly and Paul, they wanted to showcase ‘The Lads’ a little bit more. The ‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’ album was not necessarily something I would sit all the way through, but have grown to love over the years.

It wasn’t a good album listening experience compared with BRONSKI BEAT ‘The Age Of Consent’ which blew it out of the water…

With BRONSKI BEAT, why they were important was because being gay or other was seen as being being “drag” like Boy George or Danny La Rue, this sort of “nudge nudge, wink wink, mind your backs” sort of stuff. But BRONSKI BEAT were the guys who looked like your neighbours or people at work or school, so they were incredibly important for gay people, where they could see themselves and relate to that, but also to everybody else, it was “we’re just like you”.

Did you see BRONSKI BEAT’s first ever TV appearance on ‘Oxford Road Show’ in 1984 because I thought that was nothing short of startling!

NO! It sounds really weird now, but with my mum and dad, we didn’t have a video recorder, and there was only one TV in the house, so I couldn’t go up to my room to watch these things. So things like ‘Oxford Road Show’, I watched retrospectively.

So, linking BRONSKI BEAT back to SOFT CELL, why do you think synthesizers and drum machines proved to be the perfect setting for self-expression from gay artists?

There’s the “instantness” of it, it was the technology to make the music quickly… it’s interesting because I’ve been writing about ‘Last Christmas’ by WHAM! Although it’s not a synthpop record at all, the equipment – a LinnDrum and a Roland Juno 60 is literally peak synthpop. I think it was a way of being more straightforward, more simplistic, also there was strength in being a duo so there were fewer people to rub ideas off.

So with SOFT CELL, there was Dave Ball who was seen as plonking away on an ironing board while Marc Almond was emoting, and that’s why I think synthpop has always been fantastic, an amazing-looking figure at the front, like with Phil Oakey of THE HUMAN LEAGUE with his amazing hair, it had an accessibility and pin-up-ness.

Now if BRONSKI BEAT had tried to make a dance record without synths, they would have had to be more Britfunk like LINX or early FREEEZ, that kind of thing, so the synthesizer helped access the clubs a lot quicker. Prior to that, you had Bobby Orlando and Arthur Baker in America, these synth-based records coming through like Shannon, D-Train, this sort of stuff that worked on the dancefloor but were also amazing songs. These helped get the message across quicker than having to deal with four other guys with real instruments being authentic.

I spoke to Gloria Jones a few weeks ago and discussed with her that the anguished lyric to ‘Tainted Love’ gets more resonance when backed by the chill of Dave Ball’s synths. I would perhaps argue that the lyrics of ‘Smalltown Boy’ gains greater resonance because of the stark coldness of the synth backing…

I’m with you on that definitely… I think it adds to the emotion and if you look at say, YAZOO ‘Only You’ or EURYTHMICS’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ they are both quite minimal in their instrumental melodies and lines, but how much emotion is in both of those? They made the singers shine more and fill up without having to let a guitarist or drummer have a moment. It also threw back to the DIY aspect as well, that people could literally press a couple of buttons on accessible instruments and get an emotion far quicker than going to rehearsal rooms for about 6 months.

PET SHOP BOYS just had the one single in 1984, but it was an important one in the first Bobby Orlando produced version of ‘West End Girls’. So do you think PET SHOP BOYS effectively took over the mantle after SOFT CELL imploded because the concept had so much potential mileage?

There’s a lot of things in the SOFT CELL handbook, it was like “how to be a band and be successful, AND how not to be…” when I think of their trajectory, like “oh this single isn’t happening, let’s do a cover” and then 18 months later, you have 2 albums, a remix album and a load of hit singles, they’re touring, they’re discovering drugs, it’s literally non-stop! In 2024, we are more aware of mental health and SOFT CELL, if they had taken their time a little bit, I don’t think they’d have split up when they first did. There’s a lot of bands of that era – ALTERED IMAGES, HAIRCUT 100 for example – like that.

I think Neil Tennant is like a scholar of pop, he could see what was going on and how not to overdo it at the time. By deciding not to tour with their first few albums, they were able to excel. PET SHOP BOYS were allowed to build a whole world and the video age helped. You can also see that later with bands like SUEDE and BLUR, yes they were touring but there was also time to develop their craft on B-sides and things like that.

Whereas if PET SHOP BOYS had been shoved into touring almost immediately after they reached No1 in the UK and USA and had to trudge that live circuit… well, you look at their discography from the second version of ‘West End Girls’ to their end of the 80s where there’s 4 albums and endless brilliant B-sides. Neil Tennant was very canny in taking lots of notes from various things, and he worked out how to and how not to do it. Without the first half of the 80s, I don’t think PET SHOP BOYS would have, to quote Neil Tennant, had their “imperial phase” *laughs*

What are your 5 songs from 1984 that mean the most to you in the context of your book?

One thing I discovered is that a lot of the stuff I discovered in 1984 had already been out in 1983, so like ‘Relax’, ‘Let The Music Play’, ‘Searchin’ and ‘Just Be Good To Me’, all these sorts of things had been around for a while.

So a far as stuff actually released in 1984 goes, ‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie is essential. ‘Smalltown Boy’, I think Jimmy Somerville owes me dinner for the number of times I’ve mentioned that song in interviews now, but it epitomises everything that is said in the book and its context.

I would add ‘High Energy’ by Evelyn Thomas, that’s the peak of a whole world of dance music for that vibe. Oh gosh, I would also say ‘West End Girls’ and ‘You Spin Me Round’ by DEAD OR ALIVE because Stock Aitken and Waterman took HI-NRG and a very visible “gender bending” pop star who had threatened to be famous since forever to No1.

‘You Spin Me Round’ IS the thumping dance song that maybe ‘Relax’ sort of isn’t as you mentioned earlier?

Yes, it changed their fortunes… when I went to the British Library to research old NMEs and Melody Makers, Pete Burns seems to be in those every week! Him and Boy George were bitching at each other in the press.

As I mention in the book, ‘You Spin Me Round’ is part of a chain of events, had Pete Burns not heard Hazell Dean, he would not have approached Stock Aitken & Waterman, had ‘You Spin Me Round’ not happened, you wouldn’t have got ‘Venus’ by BANANARAMA, there’s a before and an after that too because you could argue with ‘Blue Monday’, there would be no ‘Love Reaction’ by Divine…

I think ‘You Think You’re A Man’ is a key moment in the story of 1984, it was kind of like “BOOM”when Divine got on ‘Top Of The Pops’?

I saw it back in the day, I was about 14, it just felt really strange and adversarial, without knowing the full Divine story at the time with stuff like eating sh*t and everything in ‘Pink Flamingos’! *laughs*

This was somebody who John Waters described as “Elizabeth Taylor meets Godzilla”, this confrontational thing. But I don’t know if it felt gay or not really, it just felt like this incredible pop song and Divine wasn’t about beauty, it was almost a throwback to glam… I used to be terrified of the filters they used on SWEET and SLADE when I was 4 or 5…

Oh, it wasn’t just me then! *laughs*

…you were a bit like “UGH!”

HI-NRG was being written about but I didn’t fully connect it as a thing in ‘Smash Hits’, but once you’d cracked the ceiling of HI-NRG, a complete world of Ian Levine, Bobby O and these floor fillers opened up. Neil Tennant had mentioned Divine and was the one in ‘Smash Hits’ who was bring in these kinds of records like Bobby O when he revived the singles, so for me it was like a retrospective thing and “OH MY GOD!”

But if you were a little older on the gay scene, Divine was like seeing someone from your scene on camera. He was a huge “F*CK YOU” and also very important. I think Pete Waterman was very canny, it was about whether it was a good pop song or not, the Divine stuff with Bobby O was very clubby, a lot of repetition and innuendo while ‘You Think You’re A Man’ could be sung by anybody really.

Do you think as a result of 1984 and we mustn’t forget there is a dark side to the story as well with AIDS, that we in a better place for LGBT+ people today? After a wonderful period of acceptance and I include the treatment of immigrants in that too, I think sadly we are back in a precarious position again…

It’s an awkward period, especially with things like Trump, the rhetoric that they were spewing out on the campaign trail, he’s not even properly in yet, but with transgender people and the bathrooms, it’s become such a culture war. It feels a bit terrifying… I don’t know if it’s been amplified through social media, but you look at certain threads that pop up and someone has shared, whether its bots or whatever, human beings are coming up with this sort of cr*p and I think it is all too precarious.

I am going to be updating bits and pieces for the paperback because even with the Outroduction where I am talking about how things are today, it’s kind have gone “oh sh*t!”. I think the popularity of the right wing where it creeps into various government agendas around the world, even if they just win slightly, it puts those governments into a stalemate because no-one has got any real power. So it’s more a thing now of who can say the worst thing to get the votes, that’s what it feels like because there’s been a few elections around Europe where the far right have crept in a little bit more. It does terrify me, there are people who would quite happily wipe out same sex marriage and everything we fought for.

We really should have been alert when the Roe versus Wade U.S. Supreme Court thing was overturned… if that can happen, then the gloves are off with someone like Trump who is going to overturn everything and exonerate people who have been rightly jailed for their crimes. It’s just going to be horrendous and I am terrified.

I was going through my Facebook memories and there was something about a night club shooting and someone had written “You wanted us to keep it behind closed doors, but then you still came into our spaces…” – there’s this entitlement where the right wing want to control us, whoever we are, and they have to have the last word. That’s a terrifying state to have to think about.

Touch wood, I feel like I’ve kind of had it easy but a lot of gay friends in America are genuinely scared.

Was 1984 the best year in pop?

1984 was a fantastic year for pop. Top Three definitely in the 80s alongside 1981 and 1982. You look at half the records, and not just the stuff discussed in the book, and it was full of million sellers, two of the biggest Christmas records of all time and tracks like ‘Thriller’ and ‘Ghostbusters’ that are huge around Halloween too. Everyone has their favourite years, but for me personally, 1984 is hard to beat.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Ian Wade

‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’ by Ian Wade is published by Nine Eight Books and available from the usual retailers

https://www.instagram.com/ianedwardwadeywade/

https://bsky.app/profile/wadeywade.bsky.social

https://www.threads.net/@ianedwardwadeywade

https://x.com/WadeyWade

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
10th December 2024

MARK REEDER: The B-Movie Tenth Anniversary Interview

7 December 2024 /

An Englishman In Berlin, in 2015, a fascinating and enjoyable documentary with the life of Mark Reeder acting as its narrative, ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ captured the music, art and chaos of the divided city before its infamous wall came down.

Manchester-born Mark Reeder was friends with Mick Hucknall and Ian Curtis but became fascinated by German electronic music, leading to him to venture into die Bundesrepublik in search of records he couldn’t get back home. Curiosity led him to hitchhike to West Berlin and fascinated by the characters he encountered, he stayed.

West Berlin became the creative melting pot for sub- and pop-culture. Before the iron curtain fell, everything and anything seemed possible. Using a fast-paced collage of mostly unreleased film and TV footage from a frenzied but creative decade, starting with punk and ending with the Love Parade, life in in der Mauerstadt where neat the days were short and the nights were endless as its residents lived for the moment.

‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989’ was accompanied by a fitting soundtrack and this ‘B-Music’ is now reissued by Edel Motion as a pink + yellow vinyl double LP; to coincide with this tenth anniversary release, Mark Reeder looked back with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK at ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’…

As it goes into its tenth year since its release, ‘B-Movie’ still endures, why do you think that is?

I think it is simply because the film never really ages. The images you see on screen, are already old, having been filmed in West-Berlin of the 1980s. It also reaches a very wide audience too, not only nostalgic pensioners who can remember living through those times, but the fact that it resonates with younger, and contemporary audiences too. People who are captivated by its imagery, humour and positive message.

I tried to present an inspiring message of hope, to show people that regardless of the difficulties we endured, we were able to remain creative in the face of adversity.

In hindsight, would you like to have done anything different with ‘B-Movie’?’

Not really. At first, I was frustrated that we couldn’t release the film internationally, as I wanted everyone to see it, but meanwhile I believe the fact that it isn’t available everywhere at the touch of a button, makes it more desirable, and has given it even more meaning. It’s something to discover, to tell your friends and you have to search for it.

The only thing I wish Edel would have done, was to release the 5.1 surround versions of all the songs as isolated tracks on the Blu-Ray/DVD. They could have branched the tracks, so that you got to hear the full song in stereo or 5.1 surround. You honestly can’t imagine how impressive EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, MALARIA! or JOY DIVISION sound in full surround. You only get a small taste from the film.

The film has only had a limited broadcast on TV arts channels, has that been intentional?

No, that wasn’t intentional, as such, it just wasn’t considered by the producers. This has resulted in the film not being available on TV Networks outside of Germany, and the film has never been screened in the UK on TV.

The producers initially thought that the films specific subject was really only going to be interesting for a limited German audience, and so they only cleared the music rights for Germany, film festivals and special events, such as the UK tour put together by the ‘Sound of Free Speech’ film director Brandon Spivey and Tim Burge (of Mercury Machine) which was hosted by the Goethe Institut.

You’ve toured the world with showings of ‘B-Movie’, which places do you remember you received the most interesting and maybe surprising reactions from?

There have been quite a few. The screening in Taipei, Taiwan for Living Green was very impressive. Jesse Chen and Sebastian Wu made a beautiful exhibition of my photos in a former (Japanese) Police Station and screened the film over a week. They also designed an impressive brochure for it, that looked like an East German Passport. Another impressive screening was at the DMZ film festival on the border between North and South Korea, where they projected ‘B-Movie’ on the side of a huge apartment block every night, for five nights.

Also, the two-month Goethe Institute sponsored tour of China was also very impressive, as we never screened it in cinemas there, only in locations that were either clubs or live venues. I also screened ‘B-Movie’ in Moscow in December 2019 in the city’s biggest Soviet era cinema, which I think was full of Navalny supporters. They too had made an exhibition in an arts school, whereby they had recreated my old Berlin apartment for my photo exhibition. I was told by the Russian viewers that ‘B-Movie’ is inspiring to them because it is not the usual PR documentary film about an artist’s success, riches and fame. It is a true story, about failure and survival.

‘B-Movie’ continues to be used as the video backdrop for whenever NEW ORDER perform ‘Singularity’ live, how did that come about originally?

After Bernard Sumner came to the first UK screening at Home in Manchester, he was very impressed by the footage and feeling of the film, and he asked me if NEW ORDER could use it for their video to ‘Singularity’. Bernard often came to visit me Berlin in the 1980s and he said he could really identify with the images and atmosphere he saw on the screen, which he thought complimented the subject of the song.

NEW ORDER’s video is a three-minute edit of the film, and in most cases, it’s the first and only introduction most people have to ‘B-Movie’. In return, it has not only promoted their song, but also the film, and as an added bonus I got to remix ‘Singularity’ too.

The double vinyl of the soundtrack gets a reissue and features about half of the material that was included on the double CD version, how did you go about deciding what went on?

That was a very difficult choice between the film’s director Klaus Maeck and myself, and it was really only determined in the end by who would give us the compilation rights. For example, I really wanted my special reworking of EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN on the compilation, but for internal and personal reasons, they didn’t wish to be included, which we had to respect.

Others wanted too much money, so they were automatically excluded. In the end though, I think we found a nice balance of indie artists from the period mixed with a few hits, and more established artists. Yes, to commemorate the film’s tenth anniversary in 2025, Edel have decided to re-release the soundtrack just in time for Christmas on pink and yellow vinyl. This is to make up the colours of the cover, which in turn is a stylistic representation of the German flag.

Photo by Hermann Vaske

Can you remember your first reaction when you heard ‘Komakino’ by JOY DIVISION which was inspired by the band’s experience of the Kant-Kino gig you put on?

I can remember Rob Gretton telling me that the band had recorded a song about their experience in Berlin, and that it was being released as a free flexi-disc. I was very excited. He sent me a huge box, from which I took piles of singles to all the West-Berlin record shops, for them to give away. I think most probably ended up in the bin.

The sound of the flexi was pretty dreadful to be honest, and it sounded like someone was sweeping the studio floor with a stiff brush while they were making it. It didn’t really do the band much good. The track had only ever been a demo mix by Martin Hannett, but Tony and Rob thought it would be a good way to promote the band further and fill a space while they were finishing ‘Closer’. After the release of the album, it was apparent that the song was very different to all the other tracks on ‘Closer’ and it didn’t really fit in. It remains a stand-alone.

When it came to making the soundtrack for ‘B-Movie’, I wanted to revisit this song and rework it so that it would sound good in the cinema. It was a daunting task. Thankfully I had an unmastered version to use as a basis, but it still took my studio partner Micha Adam and I about three months to deconstruct it and then reconstruct it in 5.1 surround sound and stereo. Therefore, the version you hear on the ‘B-Movie’ Soundtrack is exclusive to the film and this soundtrack album.

‘You Need The Drugs’ is the recurring track in the film and is a bonafide classic, but was it obvious early on that it would be the signature tune of the film?

Yes actually, I think the moment we heard the demo, we were all in agreement that the song should be the film’s theme tune. I initially wanted to write something, but when Westbam proposed the song, and I DJ’d it at a party, I realised this was definitely it.

Richard Butler’s vocals were so perfect and they reflected the subject of the movie so well. When we got the vocal files, we realised Richard had recorded about 6 proper versions in the studio, but none of them sounded as rough as his original early morning demo version, which he had just sung into his laptop. We used that vocal. We also made a special 5.1 surround version for the film, which is a slightly different mix to Westbam’s original album version.

There are so many highlights but if you had to pick one scene or moment, what would it be?

My favourite scene is probably MALARIA! performing ‘Kaltes Klares Wasser’.

MALARIA! feature on the album, what is your favourite memory of them and their music?

Oh, that is a hard one. I am still friends with the girls and I have many fond memories from the time they were an active band up to today. Together with Elisabeth Recker who started the Monogam record label, Gudrun and Bettina were the driving force in my opinion of the whole avant-garde scene in Berlin. They had a definitive agenda and idea of what they wanted to do and sound.

They made no compromises. That was very inspiring to me. I loved the fact they discarded all the rules of rock & roll and made it up themselves. Their music is an enduring testimony to that attitude. When I think about it though, my favourite tour was when we went to Italy. Although the gigs weren’t particularly successful, the experience was enlightening.

Photo by Peter Gruchot

Do you have any favourite tracks on the double vinyl soundtrack?

My favourite track is… I have no idea. It works as a listen through album. Almost all the tracks featured on the soundtrack album are special versions which Micha Adam and I created for the film. They are exclusive to ‘B-Movie’.

You wanted ‘Heroes’ on the original soundtrack but licensing proved prohibitive, were there any other tracks you would have to have included?

The producer originally wanted ‘Heroes’ as the intro to ‘B-Movie’, and I suggested we use the German version ‘Helden’, but that never happened due to publishing rights and budget issues, and so we used ‘Holidays in the Sun’ instead, as that was also a very inspirational track for me at the time. I also wanted to use ‘Nothing To Do’ by V2, as they were also friends and one of the first Manchester punk bands after Buzzcocks. It is a great song that summed up life in Manchester during the late 70s, but unfortunately, it never made it into the final film version. Another song we couldn’t get clearance for was the original version of ‘Kebabträume’ by DAF, we wanted that too. So, I ended up making my own homage with my track, ‘Mauerstadt’.

While there is a darkness to ‘B-Movie’, it is positive in its possibilities… with the world in the situation it is at the moment and elements of deja vu, we know the fears but what are the hopes for the future in your view?

Since ‘B-Movie’ was first released in 2015, I have had a lot of young people coming to me and saying that they wished that they had lived through these times. The images are somehow so romantic and exciting. The time appears to be creative and inspiring. It wasn’t easy to survive back then. Well, I feel we are back where we started.

In the 1980s, backwater West-Berlin was full of draft dodgers and artistic refugees, all fleeing from the restricting lifestyles of West Germany. It was full of all those people that didn’t fit into what was perceived as normal West German society. No one really had any money, but it was thrilling. We struggled to do the things we wanted and yet in retrospect, we achieved so much through our creative thinking.
The Cold War hung over the city like a shroud. The threat of confrontation and nuclear holocaust was literally something that could happen just down the walled-off road. It gave Berlin a subliminally tense ambience. Everyone seemed to live their lives as if it was their last day on Earth.

It could be all over tomorrow, so let’s do it now, while we are still here – was the general attitude. Meanwhile, Berlin has become an international city. The draft dodgers and misfits come not from West-Germany, but from all over the World. The cold-war threat of nuclear holocaust is back too and that could kick off a little further down the road.

Life is like a living in a thriller again. I look at the present, and think we have a very similar situation to the 80s. So now it is time for younger people to grasp the moment and be creative within the confines of the situation. Use the time. I believe that the uncertainly of the situation will bring with it new music and new artists, all wanting to express themselves. Hopefully many will be inspired by B-Movie to understand that whatever they are dreaming about, it is possible.

You just can’t wait for someone else to do it, you have to do it yourself, and do it now.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Mark Reeder

The soundtrack ‘B-Music (Lust & Sound in West-Berlin)’ is reissued by Edel Motion as a pink + yellow vinyl double LP, available now direct from https://www.amazon.de/-/en/B-Music-Soundtrack-Z-Film-B-Movie-Colored/dp/B0DJB54Q6X/

https://www.facebook.com/markreedermusic/

https://twitter.com/markreedermfs

https://www.instagram.com/markreeder.mfs/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
7th December 2024

GEISTE Interview

2 December 2024 /

Lost in the woods or by the sea…

French avant pop songstress GEISTE is who JRR Tolkien would have come up with if he had manufactured a pop star. She released her first EP ‘Utopia’ in 2020 just as Covid and lockdown hit the world, but her moody captivating songs provided an escape into an endearing fantasial world. Her most recent EP ‘Ashes’ was bewitching as her past works but a new maturity emerged.

GEISTE began as an acoustic act before she found that her fantasy storytelling and poetic prose could enter a more intriguing sonic universe using electronics. Her new EP ‘To Dusk’ sees a return of sorts to her roots with a collection of songs that delves into the softer, more introspective side of her music which began as piano ballads exploring themes of heartache, renewal and the beauty in moments of transition.

With rebirth very much in her mind, GEISTE spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about her career to date and coping with change…

What inspired the GEISTE persona and the style of music you make?

GEISTE was born in London from a deep need for storytelling and creating imaginary worlds to cope with the real one. It follows my life as I grow and navigate my own insecurities and life events. This project allows me to explore parts of myself I might otherwise hide or ignore. Musically, I’m inspired by wilderness, folklore, and emotional landscapes—both my own and humanity’s. GEISTE became a way to give each of these moments in my life its own chapter. I wanted my music to sound like it’s coming out of a tale while remaining relatable. Sharing songs often reveals how their meanings echo others’ lives, making the path feel less lonely.

Was working solo always a given or had you considered forming a band?

Working solo mainly came out of necessity. As an emerging artist, there’s usually limited funding, and I had to handle most things on my own, from live shows to music production and artistic direction. I also enjoy learning new things and finding creative solutions. Being on my own lets me express ideas exactly as I envision them. However, I’ve always been open to collaborations, and I hope to play these songs with a band someday. Over time, I’ve learned how transformative it can be to work with others who bring their perspectives and energies, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of that now.

It seems such a long time ago now, but your ‘Utopia’ EP came out at the start of lockdown, how were you dealing with the promotional situation? Did you find music was providing an escape for you and others listening?

Lockdown was challenging for everyone, shifting how we consume and experience art. With most people online, promoting meant making the project exist on social media rather than through live experiences. I loved how ‘Utopia’ provided listeners an escape, especially through our collaborative ‘Moonchild’ video. Seeing listeners respond with their own emotions and actively participate in the project during this first release was a beautiful moment of community. I hope to recreate that sense of connection and use my platforms to bring people together through creative collaborations.

The ‘Utopia’ EP used the practice of issuing single songs of a period and then compiling them into one release which is now common practice and has been carried over on ‘To Dusk’, how have the challenges been to develop a release strategy in today’s music market and keeping listeners interested?

With ‘To Dusk’, ‘Utopia’ and ‘Retrogrades’, I wanted to release singles that tell part of a larger story. There’s pressure today to release consistently and stay active on social platforms out of fear of losing momentum. Releasing singles supposedly makes it easier to get playlisted on streaming platforms by showing the algorithm you’re active. Personally, I prefer creating full projects with a storyline, but this approach takes longer. Stretching out releases helps promote more songs. With ‘Ashes’, I only released two singles before the EP, and I could see the difference in streaming numbers. As an independent artist with a small but wonderful fanbase, I’m very reliant on algorithms.

What about social media and maintaining a profile, do you embrace and enjoy it or is it something of a distraction?

Social media can feel overwhelming, especially with algorithms limiting reach. But I focus on the connections I make and the chance to share parts of my world. I’ve learned to care less about how many people see my posts or how many followers I have. It doesn’t make sense to me that gatekeepers use these metrics alone to determine an artist’s worth. I can’t control social media, so I focus on creating meaningful content for myself, the project, and those who have followed it. I love bringing people into the world I see each song in through videos, set designs, and costumes.

The ‘Ashes’ EP in 2023 was released on Emika Records and a product of lockdown, how do you look back on the person who created ‘Utopia’ to where you are now?

The person who made ‘Utopia’ was seeking a voice and strength in vulnerability. Since then, I’ve grown a lot. With each project, I’ve become more comfortable with myself and my work. ‘To Dusk’ reflects a more raw and confident version of that original creative impulse. I used to rely on big instrumentals and work with other producers because I wasn’t fully confident in myself. Now, living alone in the woods, I’ve learned music production to bring my ideas to life independently. ‘Ashes’ was my first step towards this, followed by ‘To Dusk’, which I produced entirely on my own. I miss who I was in London; she had more fire, or maybe it was just a more chaotic life. I know I’m in a transition period now. I’m unsure where I’m headed, but I’ve learned to embrace change.

Your new EP ‘To Dusk’ has arrangements that are more understated and pared down than on your previous EPs, was there a particular concept involved for the creative process?

After finishing ‘Ashes’, I felt I still needed to express more but only found myself writing piano ballads. It was new to me, as I usually drift from production while writing songs, and these were simply piano and voice. Initially, I didn’t want to release them since they felt so different, but friends convinced me they were worth sharing. I wrote them over the summer of 2022, I felt really lonely back then and used to walk a lot by the sea after sunset. That inspired the whole ‘To Dusk’ project. It tells a story of letting go and moving on. It sounds like a relationship in the songs but I think that deep inside I was letting go of the life I had before lockdown and processing it in that way. I tried to keep them as honest and raw as possible because for the first time I felt like what I had to say was enough. It was also an exercise of minimalism. I am a maximalist in life and collect tiny objects and my rooms are full of them. I tried to create something beautiful and meaningful with less and I think they are enough like that.

Do you have any favourite songwriting tools?

A £20 vintage Casio keyboard I found at Notting Hill Market—it has a “chorus” preset I use in most of my songs now.

How did ‘The Storm’ come about, are you able to say what it is about?

I don’t exactly remember how ‘The Storm’ came about, but it’s about dealing with overwhelming emotions, knowing that although it feels like too much to process, the moment will pass. The chorus melody might be the most beautiful I’ve ever written. It’s about unrequited love, experiencing big feelings, and struggling to process them all.

‘The House’ is very heartfelt and you are resigned to “just let it fall down”, was this song quite cathartic for you?

I think so. ‘The House’ is about letting go of the past, allowing old memories to fade and not defining me. Writing it felt cathartic, like freeing myself from weightless memories and people’s opinions.

You returned to playing live this summer for the first time in 2 years, how was it? Were there any anxieties to get through or was it all like riding a bicycle in the end?

I only played one show this year, booked at the last minute, so I didn’t have time to get anxious. I loved being back on stage and hadn’t realised how much I missed it. I hope to play more next year. There’s something irreplaceable about live shows, the energy exchange with the audience that you can’t replicate anywhere else.

For those who are reading and may be new to your music, is there a song from each of your four EPs that you would recommend as a starting point?

From ‘Utopia’, I’d suggest ‘Ocean’ – it introduces my world well, and there’s a nice music video for it.

From ‘Retrogrades’, I’d pick ‘Tide ‘as it’s my favourite.

For ‘Ashes’, I’d go with ‘22:59’, my favourite to play live, though I may be biased because this project was excruciating to write.

And from ‘To Dusk’, I’d pick ‘The Storm or ‘To Dusk’ for the most beautiful melodies I ever wrote.

You have created this series of lyric and poetry books, how did this idea come to fruition and how have they been received by your fanbase?

The idea of creating these books came up at a time when I felt stuck musically. After ‘Ashes’ and ‘To Dusk’, I didn’t/couldn’t write music for a long time, and these books came as a natural extension of that. It was a moment to pause instead of jumping straight into a new project, as I have been doing for the past five years. I had all these notebooks full of texts, notes, and drawings that eventually became songs, and I think I also felt a need to make something I could hold in my hands from all the work of these past years, as I never released physical copies of my music. I learned to bind them myself and made each one by hand. I knew I wouldn’t sell many, but they’ve been well-received by the people invested in this project. It’s wonderful to see fans appreciate these worlds beyond just the songs, diving deeper into the themes and words, and sending these little books all over the world.

Does the international success of an artist like AURORA give you hope that there is a place for GEISTE to attract a wider audience?

I hope so. It would be beautiful to see this project blossom and connect with more people.

What is next for you?

I’m working on many new songs, possibly a follow-up to ‘To Dusk’ or even an album. For now, I’m still in the south of France, where I’ve met people who want to help develop my project so I hope to play more shows here. I also hope to collaborate more with other artists.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to GEISTE

‘To Dusk’ is released as a digital EP via https://geiste.bandcamp.com/

https://www.geistemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/geistefromashes/

https://www.instagram.com/geistefromashes/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Rcx8Fs982C9oeE1lRm9iJ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSKwr5p80y9dYiMfRN4u8A

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
2nd December 2024

DOT ALLISON Interview

21 November 2024 /

Photo by Robbie Crawford

Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Dot Allison first sprang to fame when she appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ as a member of ONE DOVE in 1993 singing their No24 hit ‘Breakdown’ live.

ONE DOVE were a moody Glaswegian trio comprised of Dot Allison, Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven. Their only album ‘Morning Dove White’ took its title from the Native American name of Elvis Presley’s grandmother and was co-produced by the late Andrew Weatherall. The album was unique in the sphere of post-Acid House electronic dance music but despite reaching No30 in the UK album chart, ONE DOVE imploded.

1999 saw the release of her debut solo album ‘Afterglow’ and showcased a broad range of styles with the haunting Weimar chill of ‘In Winter Still’ making a fine closer. It also included a songwriting collaboration with Hal David, best known for his catalogue of tunes written with Burt Bacharach but also the best song from the James Bond franchise ‘We Have All The Time In The World’.

In 2000, Dot Allison’s voice was all over television thanks to DEATH IN VEGAS’ ‘Dirge’ on which she guested being used in Levi’s ‘Twisted’ commercial; it subsequently appeared the soundtrack of a number of Hollywood movies including ‘Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2’ and ‘The Last House on the Left’.

Her second album ‘We Are Science’ in 2002 flirted with electroclash and indie rock but as her website suggests, “She revolts against what she has done before, to evolve and not just occupy the same space”. After several more albums and taking a career break, Dot Allison returned in 2021 to release the nature inspired folk-minded ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’, an antidote to the stress of these turbulent times co-produced with Fiona Cruickshank.

After the haunting beauty of the 2023 follow-up ‘Consciousology’ which included her first electronic based track in while ‘220Hz’, Dot Allison is back on the collaboration trail again having previously worked with the likes of Kevin Shields, Paul Weller, Scott Walker, Darren Emerson and MASSIVE ATTACK.

Dot Allison’s new musical project is ALL SEEING DOLLS with Anton Newcombe, best known as the leader of the Californian rock band BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. The creative partnership developed remotely and while the album ’Parallel’ will be out in early 2025, the single ‘That’s Amazing Grace’ is already public.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure of a career spanning chat with Dot Allison about ONE DOVE, her solo work and ALL SEEING DOLLS…

You first became known as a member of ONE DOVE, how do you look back on that period?

With a fondness … I got my hands dirty in the studio learning to program on an LC3 Mac and Cubase … messing about with our desk and we did manual automation at the desk… but we went from quarter inch tape and chinagraph pencils and razors to ADATs… don’t need to do that again!

ONE DOVE’s only album ‘Morning Dove White’ was co-produced by Andrew Weatherall but the radio mixes for the singles ‘White Love’ and ‘Breakdown’ were done by Stephen Hague, I can’t think of two more contrasting personalities to be in a studio with?

Stephen Hague was recommended by the label but we did like that he had worked with NEW ORDER… we all managed to meet in the middle.

ONE DOVE had this esoteric approach but ‘Breakdown’ charted and got you onto ‘Top Of The Pops’, what was that like for you?

Utterly terrifying… it’s only when the cameras are all on you going out to millions of viewers you realise whether you are really cut out of that level of exposure.

‘Why Don’t You Take Me?’ is an underrated gem, can you remember its genesis?

I can… it was improvised in the studio and then our version was sent to Andrew for his interpretative magic.

The B-side of ‘Why Don’t You Take Me?’ was a cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’, how did that idea come about?

ONE DOVE were always country music fans… it felt fitting because of that.

How close did the second ONE DOVE album come to completion?

Not that close in reality… just early versions of a few songs knocking about…

Your debut solo album ‘Afterglow’ came out in 1999 and one of the singles ‘Close Your Eyes’ was a co-write with Paul Statham and Pascal Gabriel who later worked with Dido, was that was a musical route that you could have taken?

I had written with them before that later collaboration happened… my publishers hooked us up, probably more because of Pascal’s pioneering work in electronic dance music…

What was it like working with the lyrical legend Hal David on ‘Did I Imagine You?’

It was mind-blowing and a huge humbling honour… he was very interesting and open to ideas… we worked over fax at first! He wrote the chords and the entire melody and he sent words … he said he had gotten stuck on a line or two and asked me to write a dummy lyrical chorus which I did, this then catalysed other ideas from him… he kept a line from my dummy chorus in the song, which was nice

That ‘Afterglow’ period saw you produce some interesting B-sides ‘Melted’ which was like a clubby PORTISHEAD and ‘Mr. Voyeur’ which sampled Gary Numan’s ‘Metal’, was there still a conflict between making “the art” and being accessible?

Oh yes… I never planned to be hugely accessible tbh… hence successfully remaining relatively underground. I guess I just made songs I felt were ‘me’ at the time without modifying them to attempt to make them anything else.

Your second solo album ‘We Are Science’ in 2002 and appeared to be a lot less inhibited?

I think over time you grow into yourself in a way … that was just part of that journey

‘Substance’ was a ‘We Are Science’ highlight and popular in within the short-lived “electroclash” scene that emerged, what inspired it?

It just flowed on the spot when coming up with the ideas… I felt perhaps I am / always was mining for something with feeling, with substance but in that tune retaining a kind of deadpan aspect to it at the same time.

How did ‘Aftersun’ with MASSIVE ATTACK for the film ‘Danny The Dog’ come about and why was it never officially released as such?

It was a song that came out of some sessions we did … I was glad it made it onto that soundtrack and I think it’s on a compilation of theirs too.

‘Pioneers 01’ in 2012 saw you collaborate with a large number of musicians and producers, what are your favourite memories of the recording?

That was less meant to be an official album release and more a sonic experiment to be used as needle drop. I have only done one album like that one, it’s not technically a solo album more a collection of sonic moments…

You’ve also sung on a Scott Walker track ‘Bull’ and before that recorded a cover of ‘Montague Terrace (In Blue)’ for 2009’s ‘Room 7 1⁄2’, that must have been an eye opener?

Scott liked my records and my voice and he asked me to collaborate on a couple of things including his ‘Drifting’ & Tilting’ shows at The Barbican in 2012… he said about my voice “Great Pipes”, I’ll cherish that!

You have described your two most recent solo albums ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’ and ‘Consciousology’ as being companion records, in what way has your creative process altered from ONE DOVE and your early solo recordings to where you are now and what you write about in this more acoustic organic template?

It has changed hugely…. in composing I lose myself either at the piano, the guitar or the ukulele and record hundreds of voice notes as songs take shape. I redraft lyrics repeatedly, whereas I was just scratching the surface in some ways earlier on … although with ‘Fallen’ with ONE DOVE, I wrote the chords and a ton of the topline was improved at the microphone in a kind of trance…

You worked with Paul Weller in 2009 for ‘Love’s Got Me Crazy’? Was it this connection that led to you working with Hannah Peel on the string arrangements for several songs on ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’?

It was … he raved about Hannah Peel and rightly so he recommended I reach out to her, she is AMAZING!

So how did the electronic instrumental ‘220Hz’ get into the basket as it were?

Oh god… well I composed it at 30,000ft in the air on a plane to LA… slightly giddy on low O2 probably… I programmed the whole crazy atonal dissonant rollercoaster in logic on that plane and then I had it trigger my Buchla Easel synth and did a workshop with the LCO after that and then recorded with them at Air Studios for a day … and ‘220hz’ is the result. Before pressing record, Fi Cruickshank pressed the ‘talk back’ button and said to them “Good luck!”; they did amazingly as Talia Morley managed to orchestrate it which was no mean feat as it was pretty untethered to any specific signature / grid of any kind really. I love the LCO’s experimental open mindedness .. thank heavens for them!

Your new musical partnership is with Anton Newcombe of BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE as ALL SEEING DOLLS and an album called ‘Parallel’. What is your combined creative approach?

Anton said to me “My secret plan is to set you free”, it is one of the most beautiful things anyone I have ever worked with has ever said to me… I hope to do that same for him on the other side of that mirror… he is brilliant and we just seemed to align on ideas and inventions.

What do think have you been able to achieve as ALL SEEING DOLLS that you may not have been able to do with your other work?

I guess creativity is a bit like a hall of mirrors … the further you step in, the more ‘rooms’ you see. We are hopefully creating our own slightly psychedelic room, I hope people find it interesting too.

From your vast back catalogue, are there any songs that those who may have liked ONE DOVE but since lost contact, should listen to by way of a catch up?

Thank you for asking – I would suggest ‘Love Died In Our Arms’ – Lee Scratch Perry remix (his final ever mix he did), ‘The Haunted’ – a duet with folk singer Amy Bowman, ‘Double Rainbow’ and ‘Unchanged’.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Dot Allison

Special thanks to Alix Wenmouth at Wasted Youth PR

ALL SEEING DOLLS ’Parallel’ will be released in February 2025 by ‘a’ Records

‘Heart-Shaped Scars’, ‘Consciousology’ and other Dot Allison releases are available digitally via https://dotallison.bandcamp.com/

https://dotallison.com/

https://x.com/DotAllisonmusic

https://www.instagram.com/deetiebelle/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/69IZoi4l9e7KcUpbgP9K7e

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
21st November 2024

FRANK CHICKENS Interview

18 November 2024 /

The recent release of ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ by Cherry Red Records presented a deep dive into the creative legacy of cult Japanese act FRANK CHICKENS.

The comprehensive 4CD boxed set contained their first three albums and a compilation of BBC live sessions recorded for John Peel, Richard Skinner and Janice Long; it acts as a perfect (re)introduction to world of FRANK CHICKENS.

The classic duo of Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi gained a cult following with their unique blend of pop, punk and traditional Japanese music with their humorous quirky songs often challenging racial and gender stereotypes to break down cultural barriers. Their best known songs in the UK are ‘Blue Canary’ and ‘We Are Ninja (Not Geisha)’

FRANK CHICKENS continue to be proudly led by Kazuko Hohki and have evolved into a multi-national ensemble with over 20 members. She kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK and spoke Frankly about getting Chickenized…

Today, South East Asian culture is now everywhere and part of the everyday, be it in cinema, music, gaming, food or fashion. But when FRANK CHICKENS started, Britain was a bit different?

People didn‘t know many Japanese words / things which are now very well known – like sushi, karaoke, matcha, udon, soba, anime, manga and even ninja! We could say anything about Japan and they believed us.

How did you come to the attention on John Peel and become one of his favourite acts?

John Peel must have been familiar with David Toop and Steve Beresford’s music in THE FLYING LIZARDS, THE SLITS. Also his producer, John Walters liked us and he came to see the performance of my other group called JAPANESE AMERICAN TOY THEATRE OF LONDON (JATTOL) which did a pastiche of Hollywood films using wind-up toys. He recommended JATTOL to John Peel for his birthday party’s act. So we went to his house somewhere outside of London and met his family and friends. I don’t remember much but have a very warm feeling about it so must have been a very nice party!

What inspired you do a cover of ‘Blue Canary’?

Sorry, I cannot remember. I have a vague feeling that the karaoke of that song might have been in one of the cassette tapes which I had bought in Thailand while on holiday. We started to use it in our gig and realised it was a very popular song. We were vaguely familiar with the tune as we had that song as a hit, sung by Izumi Yukimura in 50s. The tempo was much slower, though. Recently FRANK CHICKENS were invited to perform at somebody’s retirement party in the village hall in Devon. He is the collector of FRANK CHICKENS music but especially liked that song. We performed there in the same way as we did in 80s (Kazumi and I with toys) and he danced with his wife. Very sweet.

‘We Are Frank Chickens’ was your album title and song but ‘We Are Ninja (Not Geisha)’ became your signature tune and an independent chart hit. You have probably told the story dozens of times but what inspired it and did people get the message?

David Toop was one of the people who introduced hip hop culture in NY to the UK. He was telling us about the street scene in NY where black kids take out their ghetto blasters and rap over the music. It was a process of reclaiming the music and we all thought it was wonderful. David compared that to Japanese Karaoke scene where everybody could start to sing and feel like a pop star, using ready-made music. Steve Beresford and David suggested to us we should make a rap song.

I was reading a popular novel about ninja at that time. As rapping was often about boasting, I thought our rapping could be ninjas boasting their skills. Ninja and Geisha uses the same character (ja-sha) so the concept of “we are Ninja not Geisha” came naturally. We were aware of English expectation on Japanese women (demure, submissive etc) and wanted to comment on it. However it is not a message song, it is primarily for fun and intrigue. Some people get our feminist stance but some people just enjoy it as an interesting creation.

The first two albums ‘We Are Frank Chickens’ and ‘Get Chickenized’ were made in collaboration with David Toop and Steve Beresford, both from THE FLYING LIZARDS, was the creative process with them as fun as it would appear on paper? How do you look back on that classic period of FRANK CHICKENS?

Steve, David and I all belonged to LONDON MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE around that time. LONDON MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE was the first place to visit for me after arriving in England in 1978. It was an amazing place where we paid the membership fee of £7 for a year and could use the vast space – an unused warehouse for the National Rail – for a rehearsal or gig , free of charge. The members were mainly improvising musicians but there were some visual artists, dancers, theatre makers and performance artist. A lot of experimentations and playing – sometimes fooling – around was happening and FRANK CHICKENS came out of that. FRANK CHICKENS had to become less ‘fooling around’ as we were making pop songs but the spirit was always there.

FRANK CHICKENS were involved in supporting The GLC and Red Wedge, was the socio-political climate of the times in the UK become a particular motivator for you creatively? Did you feel like activists as well as artists?

Around that time, people’s interest in society or politics seemed more direct than now. Pop music was more keenly connected to social issues. We were influenced by that and thought it is so good compared to Japanese pop scenes where songs were mainly about lost love. I don’t think we could call us activists but we wanted to contribute something to change the world into a better place somehow.

Kazumi Taguchi took a break from FRANK CHICKENS in 1988 and there was a new singer Atsuko Kamura on the third album ‘Club Monkey’, with this reconfiguration, was this a good reason to make a fresh start with new producers? How did you find adapting to working with new people?

The producers of ‘Club Monkey’ (Grant Showbiz, Justin Adams and Clive Bell) were all old friends with whom we have been working together around that time, especially Grant who has been our sound man since we started. ‘Club Monkey’ was based on our Christmas musical produced by Peter Jenner who was our manager at that time and coming out from “Flying Lecords” (silly joke!) run by him. Peter was a good friend of Grant so it seemed more natural to work with Grant and his team then. I was very excited to work with Atsuko as she is from the legendary first all-female Japanese punk band POLKA DOTS FIRE BRIGADE.

This first phase of FRANK CHICKENS is now documented on this ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ boxed set with Cherry Red, are you happy how it has been packaged and that there is a potential new audience to be found?

I am very happy with the packaging. Martina Elliott at Cherry Red worked very hard enduring many correspondences with me! I hope it reaches new audience especially as we are also digitally releasing all the tracks from the box set and singles of ‘We Are Ninja’ and its remix called ‘Ninja (Betamax Double Vision mix)’ remixed by Betamax, the drummer for THE COMET IS COMING.

Did the ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ boxed set trigger off any nice memories that you had maybe forgotten about?

We had a brilliant designer called David Thomas with whom I used to share the communal housing in Archway. He designed our first two album covers and several single covers. The artworks of the covers of the box and 3 CD cases in this box set use his designs, so the box set has become a portable mini-exhibition of his work (which reminds me of Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Museum In a Box’. I like Duchamp as he is a real Punk!). This box set has made me realise again how good his design was.

You hosted ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’ for Channel 4 in 1989, it was sort of ahead of its time as because of Karaoke going into pubs and actual dedicated venues later, it led to more people wanting to be popstars and auditioning for those talent shows that were everywhere in the 21st Century?

I like the idea that everybody can fantasise being a pop star as it is a good exercise for our imagination and if Karaoke has helped people do that, that’s not a bad thing, but I hope they realise that the reality (of being a pop star) is quite boring (though I don’t actually know as I’ve never been a real pop star, but I have sniffed a little bit).

Although ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’ was exposing a Japanese cultural phenomenon to a British audience, the show really suited the eccentric British mindset… the episode with Frank Sidebottom and John Cooper-Clarke was really quite surreal don’t you think?

I love eccentric British mindset. It creates and accommodates the real multiculturalism! There are a lot of them about in my proximity though they are not famous. They help me to keep being creative, I believe.

When Spike Milligan was on ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’, you were really trying to hold back your laughter as he wasn’t answering questions conventionally and going off script… would you like to have done more shows if only to meet more characters like him or was being on TV regularly not for you?

That sounds fun but as you say, being on TV regularly is not for me. I prefer performing to people rather than a camera as cameras never smile.

FRANK CHICKENS still continue and now has a large rotating membership, how did this idea to reinvent the group come about?

It sort of naturally happened. I think FRANK CHICKENS should be a community where we can share our love of eccentric British mindset. There is a lot of potentiality for having fun, this way.

I saw FRANK CHICKENS perform at Japan Matsuri 2012 in Trafalgar Square, so did performing to such a big mainstream crowd feel like vindication for you or does that sort of thing not matter to you?

Thank you for seeing us!

We have performed on the Other Stage (second biggest stage at Glastonbury Festival) in 80s. It had 20000 people and I still remember the view of the mass audience from the stage, looking like the sea. It was exciting but a bit alienating at the same time. I have performed my solo theatre show to two people at Battersea Arts Centre, who responded so well all the way through. It was equally exciting (but a bit sad, obviously). I don’t know which is better. Each time we do a gig and feel like we are sharing the excitement with the audience, how many they are, that is vindication for what we do, I suppose.

Which would be your 5 favourite FRANK CHICKENS songs?

All good. I cannot choose. It’s like choosing a child from your children. However I must say I always slightly prefer our original songs to cover, because I am big headed. If I could go off from FRANK CHICKENS, I do like the song called ‘Omoi Ame’ which I wrote with Steve for the record called ‘Love In Rainy Days’ from the French NATO label. It was my first attempt to write Enka (Japanese pop ballad) and Steve’s arrangement is fabulous.

What is next for FRANK CHICKENS?

First, we have to survive Christmas!

We have been organising annual one day festival called Ura Matsuri featuring ESEA (East and South East Asia) artists based in UK including FRANK CHICKENS, since 2016. We have just finished our 8th version at Hoxton Hall in October and our next one in 2025 will be in the Southbank Centre in July. We have started working on that (mostly the fund application!) now.

We are going to have the launch event for the online streaming of Ura Matsuri 2024 at Hackney Chinese Community Service in Shoreditch on March 9th.

Before that we will be playing at Posh Club produced by Duckie in Peckham and Stoke Newington in January. They are the daytime swanky clubs for pensioners. Great audience!

Meanwhile I hope to put more songs in Bandcamp so please watch out!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Kazuko Hohki

Special thanks to Matt Ingham at Cherry Red Records

‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ is released by Cherry Red Records as a 4CD boxed set, available from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/frank-chickens

https://www.kazukohohki.com/about-frank-chickens/

https://www.facebook.com/frankchickens001

https://x.com/FrankChickens_

https://www.instagram.com/frank_chickens_ninja/

https://frankchickens.bandcamp.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
18th November 2024

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2017 ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK | Email: [email protected]
Privacy Policy

Up ↑