Thanks once again to Ian for this interview!! Just a few weeks ago we did an interview about The Clamheads and we know that the band reformed in the mid-90s under the name Borgnine. So this is like a 2nd part of that interview, here we talk about this 2nd period of the band and it is great as there is so little info about this period, even less than the 1st period of the band! The band released an album on CD called “None the Wiser” that is worth tracking down!

++ Hi Ian! Thanks so much for being up for another interview! How are you? Any plans for this summer?

A week on the coast in Northumberland (north-east England), bleak and very beautiful. At the moment there’s not much point planning foreign travel.

++ We were talking about The Clamheads last time, which was almost the same band as Borgnine as I understand it. But there was a gap in between the two bands. You were telling your time then was mostly oriented to family. But what about the other band members, did they continue making music?

I don’t think they did. For a while I played guitar with an Oxford group called Arthur Turner’s Lovechild, who are local legends. They were formed by Mac who was an original Clamhead with Matt. Great group but it was Mac’s thing, not mine. I had two small children and very little money, it was quite a difficult time.

++ In 1995 you feel that you want to be in a band again and you all reconvene. And suddenly you see that there is another band in London called Clamhead. I still think The Clamheads is different to Clamhead, was it an easy decision to use a different name? Why not continue with the one you had?

Now I think we should have continued with The Clamheads, but I don’t remember discussing it much.

++ I haven’t listened to Clamhead at all, were they your cup of tea?

Never saw or heard them.

++ You choose to name yourselves Borgnine after the actor Ernest Borgnine. Were there any other options that you considered?

Lots of really terrible options. Finding a good group name is hard.

++ I feel in 4 years, what lasted the gap between The Clamheads and Borgnine, Oxford/London must have changed a lot. Also musically indiepop wasn’t fashionable at all in the mid 90s. What were the main differences for the band between the 1st period and the 2nd period? Were there less like-minded bands? Less places to play? Or did it change for the better perhaps?

Late 80s/early 90s the Manchester/Acid/Baggy groove was the thing, then when we reformed it was the Britpop era, but we never tried to ape any of those scenes. There weren’t many contemporary groups we liked, maybe Teenage Fanclub and the La’s.

++ Speaking of like-minded bands, were there any bands in London you were fans of then, or friends, bands that you would like to share gigs with?

No, we were quite secluded really, we didn’t feel any particular affinity with anyone. Probably not a good thing tbh.

++ Did the creative process change for you? Or was it the same as in The Clamheads? Where did you usually practice now?

Same as before, Matt or I would come up with a song and we’d try it, if it sounded good we’d keep it. We rehearsed in the basement room at Mike’s house in central London, that was great because it was so easy.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Everything You Need”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

That’s one of Matt’s, I’ll ask him.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Borgnine song, which one would that be and why?

I can’t be objective about my songs so I’ll say Things That Stop Me Sleeping, that’s one of Matt’s.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many in this 2nd period?

Yes quite a lot, mainly around Oxford. There was a good scene there at the time.

++ You played again in France, right?

Yes in 1996. The others don’t remember it but video evidence exists! I’ll get it digitised and put it on YouTube.

++ Did Borgnine get more radio or press attention compared to The Clamheads?

Yes, some good reviews in the Oxford music press.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for Borgnine?

Playing in France, for sure, I loved it every time.

++ You told me about some hobbies you have, and you were telling me you are learning Arabic. How is that going? Must be very difficult! What made you choose to learn that language?

It’s very hard! I can just about recognise the alphabet now. French is my subject and there’s a substantial shared history between France and the Maghreb countries, and a significant population of North African origin in France, including some of my best friends. Also possibly because I can’t yet read it, I love the appearance of Arabic script, and the way it feeds into Islamic art which tends not to use representational imagery. Being able to read it might spoil the effect, beautiful script might just be saying something like ’no parking’!

++ You were telling me too you were a football fan! What team do you follow? Do you go to games often?

Oxford United, I’ve been a fan since I was 8 years old. You can’t change, it’s a life sentence! They’re not a famous team but I don’t care. I go to every home game with Angus Stevenson, guitarist in the Relationships, previously in the Razorcuts and legendary Oxford group Here Comes Everybody. Phil Selway from Radiohead and Mark Gardner from Ride are regular Oxford fans.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m very happy to see some interest in the Clamheads/Borgnine. I still love the album and think it’s one of the best things I ever did. I’ve written 100s of songs, most of them are rubbish – that’s a fact, not false modesty – and I’m glad they were never released. I get embarrassed even thinking about some of them. However I think None the Wiser is consistently good, it was a fantastic time and the guys were and are great friends. Je ne regrette rien!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Borgnine – Everything You Need

Thanks again to Hiroshi for another interview! Not too long ago Hiroshi and me talked about his previous band, The Korova Milk Bar who has just released a new 10″ which you can order from the Blue-Very Label and Sweet Nuthin’ Records. It is a great record that we should all get!
After The Korova Milk Bar Hiroshi went to be in the fantastic Johnny Dee, who got much more attention and got to release many records in the 90s. They got inspiration by the best indiepop from the UK and it clearly shows in their songs, that have perfect taste and many should be considered indiepop classics! So yeah, so excited to do this interview!

++ Hi Hiroshi! Thanks so much for doing a second interview!  This time let’s talk about your most known project, Johnny Dee! My first question has to do with that, why do you think Johnny Dee got more attention compared to The Korova Milk Bar?

G’day, Roque-san! Nice to see you again.

I think that is because so called “Japanese Neo-Aco” stands for Neo Acoustic has penetrated in Japan 1990 onwards. When we were The Korova Milk Bar in late ‘80s, it had not penetrated and only limited space. Also, in case of Johnny Dee, because was able to release on vinyl.

++ How was your town at the time of Johnny Dee? Where there now more pop bands? Perhaps more places to play?

At that time, I lived in Fukuoka, the city in western Japan, and there were some such guitar bands and club scene. Besides us, Instant Cytron, etc. We also played several times in Fukuoka. Originally, since Fukuoka was popular for rock music and great rock bands, so was called “Liverpool in Japan” Therefore there are some places to play in this city.

Fukuoka’s band called “Mentai Rock”:  e.g., Sonhouse, Sheena & the Rokkets, The Roosters, The Rockers, The Mods

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Most of us were ex-The Korova Milk Bar. After that, Tsuyoshi and Sho joined the band as new member. We met through music or friends.

++ What about the other members of Johnny Dee, had they been in other bands previously?

They belonged to other bands. I and guitar, Yusuke had been in the same bands.

Actually Asako Koide-san from Eikoku Ongaku(英国音楽) wrote our family tree in a liner notes inserted in the 10” vinyl of The Korova Milk Bar will be released the end of May in 2021. Please kindly refer to it if you possible!! (sorry, in Japanese though …)

++ What instruments did each of you play in your songs?

Members other than me were able to play most of instruments. I was in charge of the vocal melody and lyrics. When recording, the songs wrote themselves were played by themselves. Tsuyoshi and Yusuke were good at so called “Neo-Aco”. Seiji wrote some anorak songs.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Before the gig, we were in studio, but sadly we lived in different city, so couldn’t practice much.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? I suppose you liked Johnny Dee’s fanzines and The Chesterf!elds?

Exactly. Named after the writer of Melody Maker magazine. He’s sung by The Chesterfields, right?

++ Did you ever meet them?

Yes we did. We’ve done a gig with The Chesterfields and TV Personalities in Fukuoka in ‘90s. Then we played TVP’s “Part Time Punks”. Although I changed to the title “Part Time Mods”.  The Chesterfields members were so bright people and nice guys.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

It’s a lot of bands. About Johnny Dee, The Smiths, Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens, Friends Again, Lotus Eaters, EBTG, Max Eider, Prefab Sprout Andy Pawlak, and The Hit Parade. Of course, we were influenced the other obscure UK bands.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Motorbike Loves You’”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

What I remember is that regarding guitar, maybe inspired by Johnny Mar, Rody Frame and Paddy McAloon. Bass sounds like obviously Andy Rourke. Girls chorus melody inspired by Tracy Thorn. About song title probably inspired by “The Girl on a Motorcycle”.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Johnny Dee song, which one would that be and why?

It’s ”Motorbike loves you” or “Hey, Gentle Girl” . We may not be able to make more than these two songs anymore.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

I think we’ve played about 5 times. Two of them, we did support acts for international bands.

e.g., Saturn V & Carousel, TV’s & The Chesterfields

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Unfortunately, It’s nothing. We don’t have much fun memories because we were always so nervous.

++ When and why did Johnny Dee stop making music? Did you continue making music with other projects?

We were offered from two major labels, but it didn’t work well. After that, I formed The Palm Songwriters with Seiji (ex -Psycha-Go-Go). Tsuyoshi formed 101 Dalmatians.

I and Tsuyoshi also formed Johnny Johnny and released 12” by the Bananafish records.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Tsuyoshi, Sho and Seiji had been in some other bands.

++ And then there’s been some reunions, right?

In terms of Johnny Dee, had just one gig in Tokyo two years ago by Vinyl Japan.

++ Was there any interest from radio? What about TV appearances?

I’ve appeared on radio, but I was not keen on either.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

There were some interview on magazines.

++ What about from fanzines?

We had some interviews from fanzines. In those days, there were many indie fanzines in Japan. Especially “Eikoku Ongaku” (英国音楽) in ‘80s was the most important fanzine in Japan. I believe, thanks to “Eikoku Ongaku”, Japanese NW indie scene has accelerated and transformed obviously.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

That is the release of 1st single, “Motorbike Loves You”.

++ You were telling me that aside from music you like fashion. Was wondering if you ever considered or worked in that industry? And if you were, what sort of thing would you like to do?

I’ve never worked in the apparel industry. I’ve been working at international IT company.

I love the new wave fashion anyway, but I’ve never ever thought of working in the at Apparel industry. I think it’s just better as hobbies. Like we used to imitate Punk from Johnny Rotten, Mods from Paul Weller, Ska from Jerry Dammers, Goth from Robert Smith and ‘50s used fashion of Morrissey.

++ And one random question about Japanese culture, here in the West many people are fans of manga and anime. Are you too? Do you have any favourites?

Unfortunately I’m not interested in anime, but I’m keen on “Attack on Titan(Shingeki no Kyojin) and “Kingdom” nowadays. I absolutely recommend this two anime !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Johnny Dee – Motorbike Loves You

Thanks so much to Nick, Linda and Maria for the interview!! I wrote about the Manchester 80s band Magic Roundabout on the blog a month ago. I was surprised that there was a 7″ out and an album announced for later this year of a rather obscure band! I didn’t know any details about the band and was surprised by the quality of their songs. They were so good! How come they are obscure? I didn’t undertand. Anyhow, I was lucky that Nick got in touch and organized this interview. It feels great to know more about them now and can’t wait for their album!

++ Hi Nick! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Nick- I’m fine thanks. Yes, I’m still involved in music though at the moment interest in Magic Roundabout is taking up most of my time.

Linda- Yes.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Nick- Gosh, first musical memories? I guess listening to BBC children’s radio at weekends in the 1970s, songs like Puff the Magic Dragon and My Old Man’s a Dustbin Man by Lonnie Donnigan, similar to most people my age in the UK probably. I consider myself a non-musician but my first instrument was the tuba. I heard a lot of my mum’s 60s pop growing up, Rubber Soul/ Sgt Pepper, Terry by Twinkle, Jenny Artichoke by Kaleidoscope that sort of thing.

Linda- I used to get up at 6am aged 3 and play records. Doris Day children’s album and whatever my family had. The Carpenters, Burt Bacharach. When I was 6 I got into watching a Beatles cartoon. I got a guitar when I was10 years old. When I started big school at 11 I got classical guitar lessons. I joined a choir aged 13 and learned to sing harmonies. I played and sang with my best friend Joanne in her bedroom mainly The Beatles songs and sometimes songs from musicals I was learning at school. 

++ Had you been in other bands before the Magic Roundabout? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Nick- no Magic Roundabout was my first band. Me & Paul imagined that we were in a band from probably about 1984/5.

Linda- Yes I was singing in a punk band called Xon Mombasa we did mainly covers of Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and a few original songs. I sang and played regularly at folk clubs from age 15.

++ Where were you from originally?

Nick- I’m from Salford.

Linda- I am originally from Horwich near Bolton.

++ How was Manchester at the time of Magic Roundabout? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Nick- Manchester in 1986 & 1987 was as pretty grim. There were loads of bands that we liked back then like J&MC, Shop Assistants, My Bloody Valentine with Dave Conway singing, The Pastels. We were massive VU fans. It was a bit of an in-between time in Manchester then, Joy Division were from a different generation & rave hadn’t really happened yet.

We loved The Fall. We liked King Of The Slums & Dub Sex both great under rated Manchester bands.

I remember buying singles from Picadilly Records & LPs from Affleck’s Palace. The main venues we saw bands at were the Hacienda, The Boardwalk, The International and the University but there were lots of little gigs in odd places back then as well.

Linda- Manchester was great I bought from Piccadilly Records but also a local record shop in Horwich. I’d buy a 45″ most weeks. Usually goth music, punk stuff. I loved the International and The Boardwalk live bands were high on my agenda.

Maria- The Fall, The Chameleons, Inspiral Carpets. Piccadilly records, Eastern Block records. The Boardwalk was a great place to check out new bands.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Nick- I’ve been friends with Paul since school. Paul met Linda on the bus told her he had an imaginary band & that’s how the band started off. I think I first met Nicola & Maria when we all went to see The Shop Assistants supporting J&MC in Blackburn, a year later we played our first gig. Karrie joined the band in summer 87.

Linda-  I was on the bus going to Art College in Bolton and met Paul. Paul said he and Nick wanted to form a band. I offered to be in the band as Paul and Nick were new to playing. It took a while for us to get our sound. But we got recording a few months later.

Maria- For me I think it was something to do with Bolton Art college? all a blur I’m afraid.

++ What instruments did each of you play in your songs?

Nick- We were supposed to be, Linda- vocals & guitar, Paul- bass, Nick- drums, Nicola & Maria- tambourines, when Karrie joined, she played violin & guitar. We swapped instruments around live & in the studio on some stuff, so on side two of the LP it’s actually me & Maria playing guitars and Linda & Paul playing bass & drums.

Linda- I sang, played guitar but we did swap around on live gigs.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Nick- It was pretty quick, I’d write the lyric, Linda & Paul would work out some music and we’d play & practice it. We probably had about 20 or so songs but we must have got bored with playing them pretty quick. Up, one of our best songs I think we only played live once or twice because we were busy moving on to something else, which seems a bit daft looking back.

We rehearsed at The Boardwalk from late 86 & because of that we got in there to see loads of great gigs for free. I think we stopped rehearsing by summer of 87 pretty much.

Linda- Nick usually had written lyrics so I would write the chord progressions and melodies. Paul would write the basslines then we’d thrash it out and arrange it a bit more.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Linda-  I remember watching the children’s TV show but I don’t remember why we stuck with it?

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Nick- We were all massive Velvet Underground fans, I still think White Light/ White Heat is maybe the best LP in the world. But Shop Assistants, early J&MC, a lot of C86 as well. We’d been big Bauhaus fan & Cocteau Twins fans.

Linda- I liked a wide variety of bands at the time. The Velvet Underground was high on the list as was Jesus and Mary chain. 

++ I was really surprised to see you being released after all these years, out of the blue. From what I understand Ian Masters from Pale Saints shared your demo to Third Man Records. Were you friends with Ian? Or was it just a surprise all around?

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Sneaky Feelin’”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Nick- Oh, I can’t remember! It had been pointed out to us that all our songs till then were verse/ chorus, verse/chorus, so that was the first song we tried to stretch ourselves a bit.

++ If you were to choose your favourite Magic Roundabout song, which one would that be and why?

Nick- I like them all really. But Carol In My Eyes & Up are the best songs for me. I love Alice’s Paperplane, I don’t think many bands had a song like that up their sleeves back then.

Linda-  Up I suppose. It’s about the death of Andy Warhol I feel the sadness in the recording. I loved Warhol’s art and ideas.

Maria– I like them all really Song for Gerard Langley in particular, love the flow and story to it, takes you somewhere else for sure.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Nick- A handful really, we played mainly Manchester, Birmingham & Bristol. There are flyers I’ve seen for gigs I don’t remember.

Linda-  We played Manchester, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Leeds, Stockport, Bristol and Birmingham. Maybe more?

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Nick- I think my favourite gig was at the Asylum in Manchester, I’d helped put together the bill with Spacemen 3 headlining & it was the first time we played Alice’s Paperplane. Pete Kember was always nice to us. When we asked him what he thought of our set, he said it was great but that we should change our name. We were “oh no Pete, no!”

Linda- The first gig seemed to stick with me lots of claps and cheers.

Maria- Playing a long side Spacemen 3

++ And were there any bad ones?

Nick- Plenty.

Linda- A few haha.

++ When and why did Magic Roundabout stop making music?

Nick- I guess the old creative differences, it didn’t help that we decided to live in a band house together, we were all still teenagers and not very skilled at living with each other.

Linda- We lived in a band house for a while and that drove us apart really. I played in many bands and am still doing music full time when not in Lockdown. I’ve played most types of music I also play electric bass.

++ Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

Nick- I’ve spent the last few years in a half imaginary psych-noise band called Te Hee Objects.

Linda- No not really. Nick and I have written and worked together. Paul and Karrie have written and recorded electronically. Nicola and Maria don’t play now.

++ Has there been any Magic Roundabout reunions?

Nick- We recently reconnected with Nicola & Maria.

Linda- Not really but we are all in touch.

++ Was there any interest from radio? TV?

Nick- haha, none.

++ What about from fanzines?

Nick- Just stuff in fanzines. I know of stuff in Candyfloss, So Naive & Step Inside My Pepperpot, but there’s probably more, Nicola & Maria send a lot of tapes & letters to fanzines then as did I.

Linda- We were interviewed by Uncut magazine recently.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Nick- I think for me if you’re in a band you have to feel your band is the best in the world. Otherwise, why would you bother? Clearly, we were not the best band in the world, but at the time it felt like it to me.

Linda- Just being in the band was a huge deal.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Linda- I like painting, Keeping fit and attending the gym. Learning German. Doing Reiki healing and crystal healing.

++ I have visited Manchester once, but it was too short and didn’t get to see much. I hope to return. Would like to ask a local, what would you suggest them doing here, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Nick- This is such a wonderful question! Coming from Manchester it’s impossible to imagine why anybody would want to visit Manchester if they didn’t have to. Albert Square is nice I suppose. Food would have to be chips or something potato, and beer, just lots of it is the Manchester way:)

Linda-  Afflecks Palace is great, loads of funky retro clothes and other things to look at and buy. Just an interesting place to visit. Mr Thomas’s Chop House authentic British food made without packets or jars. Real food

Maria- Walk up the little hill that leads to the Bell Tower in Heaton Park for it’s far-reaching views. Maybe go to a gig at The Ruby Lounge…great sound there. Cafe Pop is wonderful for it’s thick white buttered toast with marmite or peanut butter, they do the best cup of tea to.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Magic Roundabout – Sneaky Feelin’

Thanks so much to Will and J.D. for making this interview happen! I wrote about the Brooklyn, 80s band The Few a few months ago, and as it happens sometimes J.D. and Will got in touch with me! This was great of course! I wanted to learn more about the band, and on top of it all, they had been a band in the same city I live in these days. So yeah, the band released just one record back in 1986, but didn’t know their story. So join me in learning a little bit more about The Few!

++ Hi Will and J.D.! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Will: Doing well, thank you. And thank you for featuring us on Cloudberry. It was a really nice surprise to see us and other bands from way back when on there. Yes, I’m still involved in music. I have been lucky enough to be able to build a pretty nice home studio and I still write and record. It’s amazing what you can do these days, how far technology has progressed since when we were doing our thing. But I’ve always loved the recording/engineering aspect of music. Went to school for it the early 90’s. It’s just a matter these days of finding the time and learning the ins and outs of computer based music production. I wouldn’t call my self a computer wiz by any means lol. One of these days I’ll release something but I find I’ve grown more particular in what I feel is a finished piece these days. Also wearing the musician, engineer, producer hats all at once can be a challenge. Also I suffer from G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome.) I love buying new toys. Thankfully I have a very supportive wife.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Will: Well I have always been in love with music since as long as I can remember. I used to tape songs off of AM radio when I was a kid. I also secretly joined one of those music clubs that they used to have where they would send you like 12 free cassettes and then you’d be obligated to buy more in the future. I think I did that 3 or 4 times until mom caught on. Now AM radio back then was Motown, early 70’s rock, Pop, etc. If you listen to any one of those Billboard Compilations from 1966 to like 1978 that’s kind of what I was brought up on. Lots of different music that I still listen to. I was also fortunate to be exposed to my parents stuff. Sinatra, Bennet, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and classical as well. One of my earliest memories was my mom playing Schubert’s Unfinished for me. So I have a love for classical as well. I’ve run the gauntlet from Alice Cooper Killer to Scott Joplin, to Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells. And of course I’ve always loved the Beatles. I literally woke up one day and I wanted to play the Piano. We had one in the house and my mom could play a bit and I had maybe a year of lessons when I was like 10. I got bored with it quickly and stopped. I started playing guitar at 12 or so trying to figure out CCR’s Proud Mary. I somehow ended up with a Tel-Star Electric Guitar and some really horrible amp and the rest is not history lol. Then in 1977 I got a Fender Tele for my 15th birthday and the rest is STILL not history! I am 99% a self taught player. What I used to do was tape a rhythm track on a cassette an just play over it endlessly. I still recommend this to whoever is starting out. Except you can skip the cassette player these days. After a point I always had a guitar in my hands. Used to drive my friends nuts. I did have a few lessons early on.

++ Had you been in other bands before the The Few? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Will: Yeah I was in 2 bands before the Few. The first was a garage band in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It started out as a 5 piece band but the lead singer, well he really wasn’t good at singing but he was a high school friend of mine. Unfortunately I received the honor of telling him he was out on a Subway platform on the way home one day. What added to the discomfort was that I was newest member of the band. Telling band members that you’re moving on is never an easy thing. The other guitarist left shortly afterwards but I’d hook up with him in the next band which was a 3 piece. He switched to bass and his girlfriend was on keys. She was a classically trained pianist so the results were a bit weird. But I liked it a lot. I like music that’s a bit off kilter, quirky. Yes I have recordings of almost everything that I have done or been involved with. It goes back to my love for recording. We did a few gigs with each band. The turning point for me at this time was that I bought a Teac/Tascam 144 multitrack. Cost me $1100.00 at the time but my god there was never a better investment.

J.D.: No bands for me, other than playing the trumpet in high school, an instrument I played live a few times (sometimes not so well, sometimes okay). Will may have a version of Grownup that’s got trumpet on it (sung by Clay, the drummer, since I couldn’t sing and play trumpet at the same time).

++ What about the other members?

Will: Well we all keep in touch to some point. And I love them all. There is a bond that in my opinion will never go away. It’s like any group of people with a common goal. You bond. These guys are my brothers for life. Clay, as you know, moved to Sweden in ’87 I think. Has a wonderful career and family and is the best drummer in the world. J.D well he’s an accomplished writer and still cranking out the tunes. We send each other material on a constant basis. He was always the most prolific of us all. Jon, well I know him the longest. It was he and I that started the Few back in ’82. But I’ve known him since ’74. Damn good bass player and singer. Just not great at reaching out. I’ve been trying to get these guys down here (I live in Florida now) to do some work but it hasn’t panned out yet. Hopefully we’ll be able to work something out soon.

++ Where were you from originally?

Will: Brooklyn, born and bred.

++ How was Brooklyn at the time of The Few? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Will: We’d do the Bleecker street thing. Plus CBGBs. We played there a lot as well. We’d go out to support other bands that we knew. But pretty much kept to ourselves. Brooklyn in the early 80’s, well it wasn’t the safest place to grow up. But we were good. Our first rehearsal space was my 12 floor apartment in Clinton Hill. I almost got evicted. For example on the 4th of July we’d blast Hendrix Star Spangled Banner out of the window. We actually wrote a song about it. It’s called “Mrs Charles.” She wanted to kill us. And the last thing you wanted to happen was getting caught in the elevator with her. She lived 2 floors up. We then moved to Jon’s Dad’s house basement. We did some renovations. Carpets on the wall and stuff. And the we ran into another neighbor called Dougie who actually used to throw handfuls of dirt through the basement window to make us shut up. It didn’t work.

J.D.: Brooklyn was very different. In terms of clubs, I think they came about more towards the late 80s (like Lauterbachs). I also got held up at gunpoint twice, but that’s another story (actually two stories).

++ One thing I suppose is that Brooklyn wasn’t what it was now, that is sort of the center of the independent music scene, Manhattan was?

Will: I’ve been out of Brooklyn since 2003. At the time there were some cool clubs in Brooklyn and I remember playing some of them but yeah it was all lower Manhattan. Brooklyn has blossomed. You know that 12 floor apt I just mentioned? Yeah well it‘s worth half a mil. now unfortunately I don’t own it.

J.D.: Everything was in Manhattan in terms of where people hung out. The Bleecker Street strip was, as already noted, the dominant place.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Will: Here’s the wonderful thing. I knew Jon from ’74 he was the older brother of my friend Jim who I met the same year. Jon eventually started playing bass and was in another band. I was doing the same. For some reason which I cant remember we hooked up and started playing and recording music on my 4 track. Jon had gone to Purchase and although this is a bit hazy to me, you’re dead on that JD went there as well. Don’t remember why but JD moved to Brooklyn. And now we had 2 guitars and a bass. We did a lot of work using a drum machine before Clay made his appearance. As a matter of fact we had a drummer named Kevin Teschner in the early days but Clay always fit us best.

J.D.: Jon went to Purchase for a while, dated somebody who was a good friend of mine, and that led to me meeting Jon and Will. We had another drummer for a while, but he had real issues keeping time, and eventually Clay (whom I knew from Purchase) became our guy.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Will: Most of the time we’d come up our individual songs and then bring them to the rest of the band members to flesh out the parts. It was pretty democratic. But there were times when certain songs or ideas were vetoed by the other band members to the displeasure of the writer. Sometimes we sat down and would try to write together as well. As for practice is was in the places mentioned above.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Will: Hazy on this as well but what I remember was that there was this actor named Charles Rocket, think he was on SNL for a season and he happened to be Jon’s cousin I think. He supposedly came up with the name. After we split up another band adopted that name.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Will: Well we all brought our own from what we were exposed to or grew up with or liked. We were kind of all over the place. Everything was fair game. But to me we never really sounded like anyone else that I had heard. For the most part I don’t think we consciously tried to sound like anyone else. One or Two influences that I can remember would probably be Elvis Costello and also The Pretenders. But just on certain songs.

J.D.: I shared some musical influences with these guys (we all loved The Band and Neil Young), but I also was a big Elvis Costello, Graham Parker guy. Living in the city we were exposed to a lot of different sounds, and funk and hip-hop made a real impression on me.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Grownup”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Will: I’ll leave that to JD since it’s his song.

J.D.: We were in our mid-20s and playing in a band, but everybody had to work to make ends meet. I had just started teaching high school in Brooklyn, a place called Sarah J. Hale that was one of the toughest schools in the city and it was a very sobering experience for somebody who was hoping to get a record deal. I ended up learning a lot from it, but at the time the line that said “It’s so hard to be a grownup” was very heart-felt.

++ If you were to choose your favorite The Few song, which one would that be and why?

Will: Tough question as there are not many that I dislike…but I’ll go with one called “Natural Cause.” This was an early JD composition where JD and I do a double lead at the end which really compliment each other.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Will: Yeah. We did. The Bleecker street circuit, CBGBS, places in the East Village, a couple of surrounding colleges like Princeton etc. We used to do some crazy parties for friends as well.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Will: Well there was the time Clay and JD almost got arrested right before a gig for smoking a joint outside a Bleecker St. club. When we came on stage JD dedicated that gig to the NYPD. Our first one at “The Other End” in April of ’84 was a favorite of mine. The first time we played CB’s was a milestone for us considering it’s history. Besides they had the coolest dressing rooms with all this band graffiti all over the walls. I’d pay to get my hands on those walls now. But really to me they were all fun. We had a couple of clunkers usually in the early days but normally we were well rehearsed. We used to tape most of them (which I still have) so we could iron out the kinks. We were once featured on this old cable show called Tucci at 2. It was fun being on tv even though it was a low budget show.

J.D.: I think our reunion gig in 1999 was a really good gig. I thought we were all playing at a high level at that point, and it was a lot of fun.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Will: Oh yeah and I wish I could remember the name of this club/hotel on LI. We got an audition to be the house band at this club on LI in the summer of ’84 I think. So we rented a van and drove out to this place only to find that the sign out front was advertising us as a Reggae band. Now we did a couple of Reggae songs but by no means were we a Reggae band. Not quite sure how that happened. We were hired to do 3 long sets. Well we opened the first set with a song called “Factory Boy” which couldn’t have been farther from reggae as you could imagine. Was more of punk kind of thing. The place was packed. By the time we were into like the 3rd song everyone was leaving and I mean everyone. We cleared that room in no time. The only people left in the place were like 2 or 3 friends that had made the trip out there. The owner was pissed and made us play our full 3 sets to practically no one. Then he didn’t want to pay us. He also had agreed to let us stay overnight which made it even worse. Somehow we got paid and slunk out of the place in the morning.

++ When and why did The Few stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

Will: Well I guess it was ’91 when the last incarnation of the Few called it quits. I do remember having discussions about trying again in ’94 but that never panned out. Being in a band is a lot of work and commitment and is a young mans game when you’re trying to be successful. Humping your gear back to your space at 3am starts to lose it’s appeal as you get older. Besides people get married/ have jobs, find different interests and drift apart. The commitment isn’t there any longer. Now honestly I would have continued on but I wanted to do it with these guys. There were other problems as well that will remain within the band. Well Jon was part of a group called Pie Alamo that did some gigging. I went to see them a couple of times and they were pretty good. More of a country type band. One of the best memories I have about that was that I was sitting in the audience once with a friend of mine and they called me up to sing one of my songs that they used to do without telling me they were going to do it. I remember coming off the stage and crowd was really happy and shaking my hand and all. It was a nice moment for me. In ’02 or ’03 I joined JD’s new band called JED for a time but I was going through some rough times personally then so it didn’t turn out too well which I take full responsibility for.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Will: Well you know about Clay he’s been in several since he went to Sweden. JD had JED and John had Pie Alamo.

J.D.: I played with some great musicians in a band called Rocket Time, and then Will played with another band I was in briefly in the early aughts. Now I’m in a bar band that’s a lot of fun (though we haven’t played in a long time thanks to the pandemic).

++ Has there been any The Few reunions? I believe you did one in Sweden, right? And there were even recordings released by The Few as a 6-song EP titled “Will Fisher”. Care telling me about this release?

Will: Just the ones that I have previously mentioned. Like I said I’d like to get these guys down here (Florida) at some point and do some work but we’ll see. “Will Fisher” came about after that reunion gig. It was Clay’s idea to get me over there and do some of my songs. So I agreed and went over there for a month. Clay had a friend over there that was an engineer connected to this studio. Nice place. So I rented it for a month and the house across the street from it in a very rural area of southern Sweden near Malmo. I had agreed to just be the writer and musician and let them produce it. We also used some studio musicians. It was a lot of fun.

++ Was there any interest from radio? TV?

Will: No. Except what I mentioned above. Oh and some college radio stations we did pretty well in that area.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Will: No.

++ What about from fanzines?

Will: Nope.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Will: Well I loved being in the band. All aspects of it. It’s so much better than being solo. I was always the first one in, last one out guy. I never wanted to stop which annoyed the crap out of the rest of them I think. So the whole thing was a highlight for me. But I guess it would have to be the Battle Of the Bands thing. I believe that was our high water mark.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Will: Well I work full time so I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies. I do music and read a lot. Play golf sometimes.

++ Well, I live just very close by, in Astoria. But as NYC is so huge, and many indiepop fans visit our city. I want to know what would you suggest them doing here, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Will: Well I can tell you this. Go get some real Pizza and Chinese food in Chinatown and enjoy it because boy the stuff they have down here doesn’t even come close. Boy do I miss those things. I also miss the changing of the seasons. As for sights I would have said 48th music store scene but I hear that’s moved and no longer there. Can’t remember where it moved to. I would say the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights is nice gives you a nice view of the city. Soho is always interesting as is Little Italy. Or if you really want to spend some coin go book a room at the Pierre Hotel near Central Park and get some room service!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Will: just want say thank you for the opportunity to be able do this interview. It was really fun. And thank you for what you do! Keeping us all informed and aware of one of the best things in life, music! I’m sure it’s hard work. All the best, Roque!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Few – Grownup

Thanks so much to Kristin for the interview! When I wrote about the Brisbane band Fugitive Microbes, my friend Stewart from The Kensingtons, who had lived in Brisbane, managed to put me in touch with her! So cool! Then Kristin was very kind to answer all my questions and learn more about her band which was quite a discovery for me. They have some wonderful songs that deserve to be discovered!

++ Hi Kristin! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? I see in Australia you have concerts again, very jealous. Have you been to one since the pandemic start?

I’m really well thanks. Yes it’s been wonderful to get back out to see bands again. It’s been a gradual process, and we still have restrictions and crowd sizes etc, and we are campaigning for live venues to be treated the same as sporting venues which seem to be able to have far greater crowds. I love seeing live bands as often as possible.

++ You are these days in a band called The Double Happiness. You have some very fine songs, and was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the band. When did it start? Any releases?

TDH is a quartet consisting of two married couples – Pete and myself are on guitars and Meg & Simon are our rhythm section. We’ve been friends for close on 30 years, and have very similar tastes in music. We love independent alternative music. Our influences are post-punk, shoegaze and surf. We think of our sound as ‘surfgaze’. We had our very first jam about 5.5 years ago. It was so easy. We’re all on the same page. We have released one EP in 2018 ‘City’, a single ‘No place like Nundah’ in 2019, and our full length LP ‘Surfgazing’ in 2020.

++ And what would you say are the main differences and similarities between The Double Happiness and Fugitive Microbes?

TDH has its own jangly guitar sound, with call-response vocals not unlike Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood. We like interesting arrangements and trance-like outros to songs. Pete and I generally ‘noodle’ guitar riffs and ideas and bring them to band practice, and Meg & Simon lay down the most amazing bass lines and drums.

WIth Fugitive Microbes, Tony was a well established figure in the Brisbane anarchist and music scenes, having released a well known protest song – Pig City – with his band The Parameters. He had more of a blues/punk and rock sound with a great baritone. He played sax and slide guitar. I was very young and new to this as it was my first band. I wrote more jangly pop tunes. We’d each sing our own songs, and there was a distinct difference in our sounds.

Even though Pete and I each write songs in TDH, we come together in vocals and arrangements, and I feel it’s a more cohesive sound.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

I remember learning piano at 5 years old but very briefly as I hated practising. All I wanted was a guitar, and to play like Sister Margaret who was a teacher at my primary school. She would play ABBA to us at lunchtime when it rained. I had a few lessons when I was 10 and 11 but after that I I relied on teaching myself my favourite songs by ear. At home I loved listening to David Bowie, U2, Kate Bush, and once I discovered 4ZZZ radio I fell in love with alternative music.

++ Had you been in other bands before the Fugitive Microbes? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

No, Fugitive Microbes was my first band.

++ What about the other members?

Tony (Kneipp) had been in other bands I believe, and this band had grown out of a long standing Brisbane band “Trash of all Nations”. Colin Barwick joined us on drums once Oscar had decided he was going back to Holland and moved from drums to bass. We felt it would be easier to replace a bass player than a drummer. Col had been in many successful bands including Died Pretty, The End, Ceramic Eggplants, The Wickermen and also an earlier version of Trash of All Nations. Irena Luckas was with us during the transition from Trash to Microbes, and she had been in legendary band Xero. I learned so much from everyone in the band. They knew the Brisbane music scene so well, and had seen it all through the turbulent Joh years.

++ Where were you from originally?

I was born in Brisbane

++ How was Brisbane at the time of Fugitive Microbes? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Brisbane was going through a huge transition in 1989/1990. We saw the last of the Bjelke-Petersen government here in Queensland when they were voted out at the end of 1989. It was basically the end of a right-wing dictatorship which lasted two decades. Live music really suffered at the hands of brutal police. Many bands left Brisbane for Sydney and Melbourne in the 70’s and 80’s.

I loved (and still love) Ups and Downs, The Go Betweens, Purple Avengers, Dream Poppies, Thanks for the Fish, The Riptides. There was so much great music.

The record stores around at the time were Kent, Skinny’s and Rocking Horse (which is still going strong). These were all based in the CBD

The Qld Uni refec was a great place to see bands, so was The Storey Bridge Hotel. But my favourite was Albert Park when 4ZZZ put on Market Days.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process? I read you met at Kelvin Grove campus? What were you studying?

I met Tony while we were studying teaching at Kelvin Grove BCAE (now QUT). He invited me to join his band after seeing me playing at a uni friend’s party.

++ There were a few lineup changes, right?

Yes, originally there was Tony, Irena, Oscar and myself. Irena (keys/synth) left a few months after I joined, then Oscar started playing bass once we knew Col was keen to play drums for us. By the time we recorded at Burbank Studios though, my boyfriend (now husband) Pete jumped on bass guitar.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Tony and I would each bring songs to our practices which were held at his share house on Vulture Street West End. Tony had a large number of songs when I joined, and Irena was playing some of her songs from Xero. Over time I was bringing more songs along and we’d take it in turns through the set, each singing our own songs.

++ One thing I notice is that your songs were poppier while Tony’s were rockier, was that what came natural I guess? Also whoever wrote the song, sung the song?

Yes, that’s it. I was drawn to a more indie-pop sound, loving jangly guitar. Tony had a blues rock and punk sound, and he could play slide guitar and saxophone too.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Pretty funny really. We just opened the dictionary twice and found two words!

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

My influences were bands like The Sundays, Look Blue Go Purple, Ups and Downs. I’m not sure about Tony.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Living with a Schizophrenic”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I had a crazy share house experience. My house mate was very difficult. I might leave it there

++ If you were to choose your favorite Fugitive Microbes song, which one would that be and why?

I’m pretty nostalgic about Schizophrenic being my first recorded and released song. But I loved some of Tony’s songs especially Blackest Heart. It’s a really dark blues song that gets in your head.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We did play quite a few gigs there in 1990. When we were a part of the Band Collective (BC Club) we played heaps up at QUT. I loved playing at The Storey Bridge Hotel and Albert Park, but we played in people’s lounge rooms – a lot!

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

World Environment Day 1990, Albert Park. I wrote a song especially for that gig ‘Don’t Fall on Me’ but the highlight was Col’s toddler daughter Emily running on stage and drumming with her Dad

++ And were there any bad ones?

One time at Albert Park, it may have been a 4ZZZ market day, we were standing side of stage getting ready to go on and another band ran on before us. They heard the sound engineer couldn’t stay much longer so wanted to make sure they got their full set. We wound up only playing about four songs. That was very uncool.

++ When and why did Fugitive Microbes stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

At the end of 1990 Oscar had returned to Holland, andI had scored my first teaching job at Bribie Island which was one hour north of Brisbane. It was just not really possible to continue as we were. Pete and Col went on to Splat Acrobat after the recording. I joined an all-girl band called Fruit in 1993, but that was also short lived as Pete and I moved to Townsville that year. Pete Col and I recorded some demos as a three piece called ‘Boo Tree’. Then travelling and five kids later, I joined a three piece surf instrumental band called ‘The Ripz’ with Col as their bass player. Now Pete and I are in The Double Happiness with good friends, Meg and Simon and we are having a ball.

++ Has there been any Fugitive Microbes reunions?

There was one in December 1993 at The Zoo which was one of the best gigs we ever played. Oscar was back in town which was super special. Then Tony, Col and I played at a gathering at West End about ten years ago. That was also heaps of fun.

++ Was there any interest from radio? TV?

4ZZZ radio was always a great support to us. We did a ‘Live to Air’ from their Toowong studios in 1990.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Haha. Not that I can recall.

++ What about from fanzines?

No. We were pretty edgy.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Probably supporting Celibate Rifles at QUT. Talking to Damien Lovelock (RIP) backstage was very special. He recognised Col from playing in The End.

++ These days you work at 4zzz Radio. What do you do? Is there a place where we can listen to you?

Yes I LOVE 4ZZZ. I first discovered it as a teen. I host a show called Heyday on Saturday nights which plays mostly 80s alternative music http://4zzzfm.org.au/program/hey-day. I get involved as much as time allows – reviewing programs, training announcers and even got to produce a podcast for their 45th birthday where I interviewed Billy Bragg. You can listen to it here https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/billy-bragg-and-the-deep-north/id1542143375?i=1000501883106

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Music is a huge passion. Catching arty movies with delicious nibbles and a glass of something red is also high on the list.

++ Never been to Brisbane nor Australia, I hope I visit sooner than later, so would love to ask a local for some suggestions, like what do you recommend them doing in your town,what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Take a scooter around our beautiful river, stop for a drink at Howard Smith Wharves and see the sun go down over the Bridge, or pop out to one of our Bay islands, or check out some of our inner city suburbs like West End or Paddington for great restaurants and bars. There’s a top view of the city from Mt Coot-tha too.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks so much for asking about this very formative time of my life. I was very lucky to meet the people that I did when I did.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Fugitive Microbes – Living with a Schizophrenic

Thanks so much to Ian for the interview! I wrote about The Clamheads on the blog a few years ago I think. And just last week Ian got in touch with me and he was keen in sharing details and anecdotes about the 80s English band The Clamheads! The band released one 12″ record back in the day and then sort of went silent. Later on in 1995 the band reunited under the name Borgnine (hopefully we’ll talk about this period in a 2nd interview). If you’ve never heard them before, you are in for a treat, as their songs are punchy, poppy and fun. If you already know them, I am sure that, like me, you’ve always been curious about their story! Well, here it is!

++ Hi Ian! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

I’m fine thanks, lockdown was hard, glad we seem to be emerging from that now. I was very involved with music until August 2019, when due to complicated reasons my group Les Clochards had to take a break, which I now think may be definitive.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

I don’t come from a musical family and my parents weren’t big music fans and didn’t have many records, mainly Scottish stuff like pipe bands and Andy Stewart, some film soundtracks, a few old 78s, one single by Elvis – A Fool Such as I. I was born in 1960 but was only vaguely aware of the Beatles and Stones. I started to get interested in music when I was about 8, I asked my parents to buy Legend of Xanadu by Dave Dee etc, then the first record I bought with my own money was Metal Guru by T.Rex. When I was 13 I saw David Bowie at Oxford New Theatre, that was a life-changing experience. I had a cheap Spanish guitar when I was about 11 and had lessons but didn’t stick with it, then when I was 16 my friend Rob and I started a group, he had a guitar so I bought a bass from a junk shop, it was a Gibson SG copy made of plywood and cost £30. I learned by playing along with records in my bedroom, by that time it was Dr Feelgood, The Flamin Groovies, the Foggy Notion ep by the Velvet Underground.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Clamheads? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

++ What about the other members?

Matt (guitarist/singer) was in the original Clamheads duo with a legendary character called Mac. Mike (guitar) had been in the Shrew Kings. Gary (drums) had played in a group called Ariva who for a while had Sade on vocals.

++ Where were you from originally?

I grew up in rural Oxfordshire. It sounds posh but wasn’t really, Pam Ayres lived down the road. If you’re not familiar with Pam I can explain the significance of that.

++ How was London at the time of The Clamheads? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

I loved living in London during the 1980s, went to gigs all the time, the Pogues, the Prisoners, the Milkshakes, Jesus & Mary Chain, the early Creation groups – I’ve attached a list of the gigs I went to in the mid-80s, at least those I remember! There were so many venues: The Cricketers, The Hope & Anchor, Dingwalls, The Marquee, The Clarendon, The Town & Country Club, The Half Moon, The Bull & Gate. Best record shops were in Camden, I forget the names now, and Hanway Place off Oxford Street, there was a great shop called Rocks Off where Shane MacGowan used to work.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

I knew Matt from Oxford, I had been in a group with his older brother. Matt started the Clamheads and asked me to play bass on some recordings, it went from there. Mike was in the Shrew Kings, and I knew Gary because he had been at art college with an ex-girlfriend, we met him at a gig by Howard Devoto’s group Luxuria at the Town & Country Club and asked him to join. There was no recruiting process, it was all quite spontaneous.

++ What instruments did each of you play in your songs?

Matt guitar/vocals, Mike guitar, Gary drums, me bass/vocals

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Matt and I wrote the songs, sometimes together, mostly individually. We practiced in various rehearsal rooms in London.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Matt would be able to answer that, I’ll ask him. Borgnine was after the actor Ernest Borgnine, who usually played a villain.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Old-school rock’n’roll and garage rock, the Beatles, girl groups like the Crystals and the Shirelles, Matt liked the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, The Byrds, the Flamin Groovies, The Cramps, Link Wray. With the Shrew Kings it had been quite avant-garde and theatrical, I just wanted to get back to guitar music for a while. Personally I liked a lot of jazz, doo-wop and soul music plus Tom Waits, but that didn’t really feed into our group.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Summer’s Coming Down’”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

When I was 14 I went with my parents to a holiday camp near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Holiday camps were where working class families went for two weeks in the summer, we couldn’t afford foreign holidays at that time. We stayed in a chalet and there was family entertainment and games. At the age of 14 you’re sniffy and dismissive of everything, I felt I had been waiting a long time to be grown up, what was I doing with my parents at this uncool place? The song is just observations from that time, it isn’t meant to be critical, I have fond memories. Someone – I’ve no idea who – has made a video to accompany it, and they’ve perfectly captured the holiday camp atmosphere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUqMtT43rmo

++ If you were to choose your favorite The Clamheads song, which one would that be and why?

I think there are a lot of great tunes on None the Wiser. She’s a Funny Girl works for me because it’s very concise and subtly feminist lyrically, with a nice garage groove, that was a co-write with Matt. I always liked Motorcycle Song and Things That Stop Me Sleeping, those are Matt’s tunes.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Yes, we played a lot, all of the small to medium London venues, plus we played in France.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Playing the Marquee was fun, we did some good early shows at Dingwalls and The Cricketers, plus some good gigs in France. Later on there were some great nights at the Point in Oxford. Playing open-air in central Toulouse was fun. It was nearly always enjoyable, but it’s really hard work! We liked drinking and a modest amount of narcotics but to be honest we saved the craziness for nights when we weren’t playing because I was always driving, plus I had two kids and had to go to work in the morning. I had to try to be responsible.

++ And were there any bad ones?

There was one in France, first night of the tour, no one turned up. We played anyway, treated it as a cheap rehearsal.

++ When and why did The Clamheads stop making music? You would regroup later in 1995 as Borgnine, right? Were you in any other bands?

See above for the first two questions. I had my own group Les Clochards from 2005-2019, French influence, played literally hundreds of gigs, good press, made two albums, available on Spotify etc, I’ll send CDs. The first one is really good, the second not so much but it’s ok.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Not really, which I think is a shame. Adult responsibilities get in the way.

++ Was there any interest from radio?

John Peel played our single, plus local radio.

++ I saw that you appeared on French TV. How was that experience?! That must have been fun! Did you play any other songs other than “Woodenface” and “She’s a Funny Girl”?

That was great and I’ve no idea how or why it happened, we were in Toulouse and someone told us to go to the TV studio. We only played (mimed really) the two tunes. It was a very hot day and we had to carry huge speakers on set to make it look authentic, we were sweating buckets. I remember the make-up woman saying ‘ooh-la-la’, at the time I didn’t know French people really said that.

++ What about other TV appearances?

No, that was the only one.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Not much, we weren’t good at publicity. A dismissive review in NME, some ok reviews in Time Out. It was frustrating but you have to work at that side of things and we just didn’t, which was a mistake.

++ What about from fanzines?

Yes some good reviews in fanzines, that was encouraging.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Touring in France, we had such a fantastic time and made great friends, most of whom I’m still in touch with. Personally it was another life-changing experience because it made me obsessive about learning the language properly, I eventually studied French at university and now I teach French. I’m about to start a PhD on French literature.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I read all the time, I’m trying to learn some Arabic, I like cooking and running, I’m a football fan. Nothing’s as good as music though.

++ I have visited London many times and I hope to return. Would like to ask a local, what would you suggest them doing here, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

It’s a long time since I lived in London but my son lives there so I go quite often, in fact I was there last Sunday. I love London, it’s become very expensive but still a great city – you could spend your whole life there and still find new things every day. I suggest avoid the tourist destinations and try to experience the neighbourhoods, Brick Lane, Hackney, Brixton, Peckham, Tottenham (Camden is very tourist-orientated these days). Traditional London food is really down to immigration, could be Indian, Italian, Greek, Jamaican, you can get anything but some neighbourhoods specialise, e.g. Brick Lane has many Bangladeshi restaurants. English beer is not like any other beer, not everyone likes it but unlike the food it is an English speciality which you can’t find anywhere else. Served in a pint!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Clamheads – Summer’s Coming Down

Thanks so much to Nick and Matthew for the interview! I had interviewed Nick in the past about his previous band, Almost Charlotte, and I thought as they are re-releasing the CD compilation “I Think of the Sea” that compiled most of the recordings by Almost Charlotte and the band that came next, Bluff, that it was just perfect timing to talk about Bluff! Based in Brighton, the band didn’t get to release any proper records but left us some terrific songs. If you haven’t heard about them, now it is a good time!

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Matthew: T Rex and Slade got me into music and punk got me into bass (quickest to learn and everyone needs a bass guitarist) then guitar followed. Limited talent (and lack of patience to properly learn instruments) got me into writing my own songs.

Nick: 10cc and Be-Bop Deluxe were the first two bands that made my very young self musically obsessive.  Things really then kicked off post punk for me – I’m very lucky to have lived through that period when indie bands were restlessly creative and shooting off in so many different directions (think Magazine, Skids, Associates, early Simple Minds etc.)  I only ever wanted to play drums and so bought a cheap kit as soon as I was earning money to pay for it then I taught myself (badly) from there.

++ Last time we talked about Almost Charlotte, so I wonder how would you compare both bands, what was similar and what was different between Bluff and Almost Charlotte?

Matthew: Bluff felt closer to my ‘ideal’ of 3–4-minute songs with a story behind them.

Nick: as Matthew says I think that we all agreed that the new band would be more single minded.  I loved Almost Charlotte at the beginning and in the middle but by the end we had sort of fractured and lost focus; with Bluff we wanted that focus right from the start.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Nick: We formed Bluff because another Brighton band – The Whirlybirds – split at the same time as Almost Charlotte so two people from each got together.  Matthew and I knew Trevor Warman (guitar) and Trevor Thorne (bass) and it sort of felt natural to do something together that was different to our previous bands.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Matthew: We continued to practice at the same Brighton studios that we’d used in Almost Charlotte.  In terms of writing, I took the lead more than had been the case in Almost Charlotte where Ian Philipson and I shared.  Everyone threw stuff in though and we began to find our own sound.

Nick: I think that some of Matthew’s lyrics at the time were amongst his best (and I say that having been writing and playing with him for a long time now!)  Britain was still in the grip of a right-wing Government (Thatcher had gone but she was replaced by an administration that continued in her vein) and we wanted to represent that without preaching – to be a live band that would grab people and make them dance as much as make them think.  That’s a tough balance but I think that Matthew’s writing often achieved it.

++ There were some lineup changes too, right?

Nick: Just the one actually: Colin Clifford replaced Trevor Thorne after our first EP came out (‘The Frank Muir EP’) and before we did the second (‘Hospitals Houses Playgrounds.’)   I think that relative consistency was a really good thing and both the bass players bought something a bit different – it’s no coincidence to me that we were a tougher edged proposition with Colin and that’s why the songs from ‘Hospitals Houses Playgrounds’ hit hard. I think that we were more cohesive and focused with Colin.  We all had pretty broad musical interests so I think we all opened each other’s eyes to stuff that was around at the time.

++ You say Bluff had a harder edged sound compared to Almost Charlotte, and that might be true, but also within Bluff I feel some of the songs, especially those at the end of the “I Think of the Sea” comp are harder edged than the previous recordings. What was the direction the band was following? Had your influences changed at the time?

Matthew: I think Bluff was more of a collective creative process. Everyone contributed. It seemed to gel and I believe the songs show that.

Nick: to be honest it’s hard to remember influences other than a few bands that all four of us seemed to be into such as Sugar and Billy Bragg although there were certainly many others. I’m not sure that we consciously had a direction – we were focused on what we were doing at the time and had little in the way of a plan.  The whole thing only lasted a couple of years.

++ Speaking of “I Think of the Sea”, the compilation that compiles Almost Charlotte and Bluff, which is now available from Moments of Pleasure. Are these all the songs recorded by the band? Or are there more unreleased tracks?

Nick: they’re pretty much all of them.  There are a few others but they’re not good enough to release either in terms of sound quality or just, er, quality!

++ Moments of Pleasure is your own label, how do you enjoy doing label stuff, promoting, distribution? I suppose you prefer making the music? or not?

Nick: MOP is really a home for the things that any of us who were in Almost Charlotte have done since.  As such, it’s an on/off thing.  When we’re doing nothing it lays dormant and when we have something we want to share we crank it up!  The process of distribution and promotion can mostly be done online and there are intermediaries who take some of the legwork out of it but it’s still time consuming and we’re realistic enough to know that the people who are interested in what we do are very very few in number.  We put out the limited-edition CD of ‘I Think Of The Sea’ because we’d had a few people ask if there would be a physical version rather than the download/stream.  The response has been great – especially the geographic spread which has really surprised us.

++ As far as I know there were no records released by Bluff. How come? Was there no labels interested? Did you consider self-releasing?

Matthew: we self-released the two EPs on cassette (now there’s a term/format from the past!) and sold them at gigs.  Really, the whole process of searching out labels was never an option.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Go Home Now”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Matthew: It’s about the inevitable ending of a long- distance relationship.

Nick: that was always a good one to play and – being selfish for a moment – I always liked the rhythm section part!  It’s also a nice example of some of Matthew’s lyrics (standing on platforms and awaiting connections) which played with different ways of describing fading links between people.  It also had one of Trevor Warman’s meatiest buzzsaw guitar parts that always threatened to swamp us – in a good way!

++ If you were to choose your favorite Bluff song, which one would that be and why?

Matthew: ‘Losing Sleep’ and ‘Attitude.’ I love the energy on both and they were great to play live.

Nick: ‘Losing Sleep’ for me too – similar reasons.  It was also the last song in the set at our last gig so it was sort of our sign off.

++ And suppose you had a chance to put a 7″ single, with A and B side. What songs would you put on it?

Matthew: ‘Losing Sleep’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’

Nick: ‘Losing Sleep’ and ‘Switch Off’ for me.  ‘Switch Off’ was personally very important because it was the first lyric that I’d done and so it was really the first song that Matthew and I had written together; it was the end of Bluff but the beginning of a lot of things that we’ve done since.

++ When and why did Bluff stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

Nick: we were definitely swimming against the tide.  On the one hand, at the time indie in Brighton (and maybe actually in Britain) was in the grip of grunge fever via Nirvana etc so nobody was interested in anything else.  That wasn’t us and we were never going to pretend it was.  On the other hand there was a growing interest in a sort of theatricality and over the topness which was also not us – our last gig was a Battle-of-the-Bands in which the winners used dry ice and had songs that ended in massively dramatic crescendos. We came last.  We didn’t mind at all because it was sort of a race that we didn’t want to enter.

Matthew: afterwards we were away from music for a very long time as life intervened.  It was 7 years or so before Nick and I did anything else and that was intended to be a one off but it has sort of carried on for over 20 years now under the name of Rogue Beauty.  The two of us are the nucleus but we have worked with a lot of other people and it’s been a really nice alternative to those band days – it’s sort of eclectic and freer than a band could ever be.  The ‘Seems Like Yesterday’ album is a compilation of stuff we’ve done so far and it’s nice to have it available via MOP.

Nick: I’ve also been working with Paul Midcalf on a couple of one- off projects (A Long Valley and Colourbeat – both of which have releases on MOP) as well as a much longer collaboration as Senses Reeling which has produced several EPs and an album on MOP.  There was a really nice top and tail to the story when Matthew sang several songs on the album (‘Time’s Still Now’) over 30 years after we first made music together.

Matthew: Trevor Warman now lives in France and Colin’s in Australia (last we heard Trevor Thorne was too) so we are now all sort of scattered but we stay in touch through social at least. Trevor Warman and Colin in particular are such good guys and their playing was always so distinctive to Bluff.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Bluff – Go Home Now

Thanks so much to Hiroshi Tsutsumida for the interview! You may know Hiroshi thanks to the wonderful band Johnny Dee, but prior to being in that band that released some lovely records on Vinyl Japan he was in The Korova Milk Bar. It was fairly recently that Blue-Very Records recovered some of their songs and released a flexi with two of them. And so I discovered this great project!! And I needed to know more of course! So that’s what you’ll find in this interview! (and yes! we’ll do a Johnny Dee interview soon!).

++ Hi Hiroshi! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Cool ! Yes, I’m involved with music now, although I’ve been away from music for a long time as I got rid of my huge vinyl collection. I’ve been collecting vinyl records for a long time and I’ve got the feeling that I’ve been spending in vain my life on it. But now I’m buying records again and two years ago we played at a gig with The Monochrome Set and The Catenary Wires as Johnny Dee. Then I was so nostalgic because this is the second time we performed at gigs with Amelia Fletcher. And this time, what was released cassette tape in 1989 as The Korova Milk Bar will be released on vinyl records at Blue-Very records. Actually, a master tape was found at the member’s house. FYI, this album was remixed by Tomoki Kanda (ex-
Favourite Marine), mastering by Seiki Sato (Microstar), Liner notes written by Asako Koide (Eikoku Ongaku/英国音楽).

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Firstly I start listening to Yellow Magic Orchestra and related artists such as “B2 Unit”, Ryuichi Sakamoto and “Murdered by the Music”, Yukihiro Takahashi. Also, I was influenced by the Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Radio program “Sound Street” so learned about new wave and electric pop. Especially loved David Bowie.

After that I listened to Soft Cell, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, New Order, The Durutti Column, Aztec Camera, The Smiths and Felt.

On the other hand, I was also into punk, hardcore, goth and industrial music. As for roots music : e.g., from The Clash to reggae dub, from The Specials to Jamaican ska, from The Jam to mods & soul music and from Echo & the Bunnymen to The Doors and The Velvet Underground like this.

When we’re KOROVA’s, listened Rough Trade, Crepusqule, Cherry Red, Creation and Sarah. In other words, we listened to those music in real time like you.

++ Had you been in other bands before the Korova Milk Bar? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Yes, I led the a group called “The Puppets” which is goth band. Unfortunately, there is no recordings.

++ What about the other members?

The Korova Milk Bar is a group when we’re university students in 1987. The band-members are Guitar, Tsuruta (ex-Johnny Dee), G & Bass, Fukuda (ex-Johnny Dee, Psychagogo) Drums, Naito, and I. Everyone loved ‘60s music, punk, new wave and always used to get vinyl records. We’re really a white music supremacy, off course the fashion too.

++ Where were you from originally?

I was born in Kumamoto in west Japan. When played at Johnny Dee I lived in Fukuoka. Now live in Tokyo.

++ How was Tokyo at the time of Korova Milk Bar? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

In terms of domestic bands, I particularly loved a Japanese great new wave group, The Roosters, so was especially influenced their album “DIS” and “PHY”. Then lived in local city far from Tokyo, but I often used to go to record stores such as “Zest”, “Vinyl Japan” and “Warszawa” in Tokyo. These record stores had any rare records and a lot of records of obscure new groups in the UK. I was a vinyl geek those days.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

We had an opportunity to meet at college circles, record stores and gigs because there were limited places go to in the world of maniac and minority music in the city of Japan.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

As for the practice, we practiced at member’s house and studio and often used to cover The Velvet Underground, The Smiths etc. This time we posted VELVET’s cover ‘Ride into the sun” and CAN cover “19c man” recorded in those days to YouTube. If you guys would like to, please check.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Its name taken from “A Clock Work Orange”. In addition, “Korova” is a label name which belong to Echo and the Bunnymen and Strawberry Switchblade I liked in those days. However, after that I found the same band’s name in the UK. Our band’s name has “The” though.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Regarding The Korova Milk Bar, we were influenced The Smiths, Felt, and The Jesus and  Marychain. We pretty loved ‘80s UK sound. Since there were no like a cool guitar bands in   Japan, we wanted to be a domestic first guitar band like The Smiths.

++ Are there still many unreleased songs?

Yes, there are some songs, but the quality is not so high I think.

++ And how come there were no more releases by the band?

Because we broke up the band and became Johnny Dee.

++ At some point I noticed that the band lineup changed too, right? What happened? Who left and who came to be part of the band?

The side guitarist just left the band. After that lead guitar, Shimoda joined the band and became Johnny Dee.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Rain Girls & Gentle Girls”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I’m glad to hear that. This song was inspired by The Smiths anyway. The vocal style like kind of My Bloody Valentine though. I added a bit Japanese because I wanted to make UK sound to an original Japanese song.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Korova Milk Bar song, which one would that be and why?

It’s “Rain Girls” and “Ryouzoux”. Regarding “Ryouzoux”, sounds like an early Felt. This song was inspired the early Felt and “White Nights”, Psychic TV. I really like the sound of guitar like a “Mexican Bandits” by Felt and melody. At that time, I don’t think there was a band in Japan that has such an authentic UK sound..

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Not so much. The audience was also quite small.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Unfortunately, There is nothing.

++ And were there any bad ones?

We were too obsucure. Our sound was for a minority. We didn’t have an audience, and they couldn’t understand our music. If we were in Tokyo, it would had a little better I believe.

++ When and why did The Korova Milk Bar stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

This band certainly broke up in 1990. Afterwards changed Johnny Dee since Shimoda joined.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

We transformed to Johnny Dee. After that I was involved The Palm Songwriters and Johnny Johnny. Also, I sang two songs at Colour Filter. Fukuda, guitar & Bass formed Psychagogo and joined The Palm Songwriters.

++ Has there been any Korova Milk Bar reunions?

There was no reunion at all since I’ve been away from music, I’ve never thought about it so far.

++ Was there any interest from radio? TV?

I was not keen on either.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

There was nothing at all. We’re completely unnoticed.

++ What about from fanzines?

It’s the same. Because there weren’t fanzines around. There was a Japan’s first great indie fanzine called “Eikoku Ongaku”(英国音楽), but neither we nor they knew it.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

From my stand point, this band was purely pursuing the UK guitar sound, one of the few in Japan . Only this one point.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I love fashion like a UK new wave. There are good brands in Japan. In particular, Comme des Garcons creates some good clothes that mixes new wave and trad fashion.

++ Never been to Tokyo, but I hope after this pandemic is over I will be able to visit. I want to take advantage ask a local for some recommendations! What are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

If you come to Tokyo, you should first go to Disk Union, Japan’s biggest record store and off course don’t forget so cool record store Blue-Very records. Then you should go to Kyoto a beautiful city with Japanese traditional culture. In terms of Japanese foods, we would take you to the Japanese style pub, “Izakaya”. Anyway, we’re looking forward to seeing you.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Korova Milk Bar – Rain Girls & Gentle Girls