Q:
The production on the Stop the World album, and in particular the guitar
sound, was a lot more generic “rock”. Was this a deliberate move by the
band, or did it come from the record company?
A: A move which couldn't be directly blamed on the record company although
they did pick Mark Dodson as the producer of 'Down To The Wire' which
was the start of that shift of emphasis. He was an out and out rock producer
who memorably asked Anne Marie to, ' sing more like Tina Turner'. It was
more to do with the greater input from the rest of the band than in earlier
sessions. John and Richard were much more straight-ahead rockers than
me. Democracy isn't always the way forward.
Q: When and why did the band split up?
A: The band (as a five piece) split almost as soon as Chrysalis dropped
us in late '89 early 1990. Without the immediate promise of more money
there wasn't much to keep us together after the differences in direction
the whole Chrysalis experience had served to highlight. John and Steely
went off to do something even more rock while the original nucleus of
me, Etch and Anne Marie paid to get Pandora out of re-hab and tried a
few different approaches to recording new material. In all honesty we
were just chasing record company advances by then and most of the stuff
we did was pretty lame. Thankfully none of it ever came out.
Q: With hindsight, do you think deliberately turning away from the
“goth” tag was a mistake?
A: In financial terms - sure.
Q: After the split, what did you do?
A: I decided never to be in a band again.
Q: Why has no Ghost Dance material been re-released?
A: A combination of factors - the companies who have approached us taking
too long to put their money where their mouths were, some 'financial fall-out'
for the various band members and a desire to do it right or not do it
at all.
Q: Are you in contact with any other members of the band?
A: The only person I haven't heard from is Richard - since his move to
America I only hear what he's up to second-hand. It seems he still likes
to rock.
Q: Are there any plans to ever re-release the material?
A: I am currently piecing together a definitive collection with Nick Jones
(Karbon records) for release in September.
Q: What do you think of the Open Your Arms Website?
A: With sites in general you're split - on one level it's flattering someone's
taken the time, but you instantly wonder how you're portrayed and how
accurate stuff is. Open Your Arms seems to exist for all the right reasons
and have the attention to detail you hope for. Hell, if it's good enough
for Etch, it's good enough for me.
Q:
What prompted you to put a new album out?
A: Well it certainly wasn't for the money. It took me a while but I remembered
what had made me want to make music in the first place. I recorded a bunch
of songs for fun, loved the results, so decided they should have a life
of some kind and be made available. It really is that simple.
Q: Who is playing on the new album?
A: Me and Choque Hosein (long-term friend, producer and recording artist
- Black Star Liner, Hollow Men, Salvation). I cover guitar, vocals, keyboards,
castanets, thigh slaps and spinning coins on a glass table - anything
else you can hear is Choque or his neighbours banging.
Q: Are you planning to play live anytime soon?
A: There are no immediate plans to go out on tour. My full rehabilitation
back into society may take a little longer yet. Releasing the material
as made me wonder about how it would work live, so who knows my natural
curiosity may get the better of me ?
Q: What do you make of the current musical climate?
A: As a listener it's great - all kinds of things happening at the moment
that grab me. Most people's complaints appear to be to do with new music
mostly re-treading the same steps as earlier artists (the current crop
of Velvet Underground and Stooges soundalikes). I've never worried too
much about the, 'but is it original ?' debate. Someone being labelled
the new Kraftwerk is hardly likely to put me off listening to it.
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