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[Talking
Music SPEEK013, 1988. Page 2 of 3]
It doesn't really matter what country we're talking about. It can be the Near East, the Far East, Europe, the United States, you have really enjoyed a massive following - in record sales, in concert attendance and everything else. Why do you feel that American radio specifically hasn't embraced the group outside of this limited mentality of dance?
Because we don't fit in, basically. I think all you have to do is listen to American radio and you know why we're not played; we just don't fit in, we sound too unlike anything else. And I think that they're a bit frightened that if they play us then they've got to let everyone else in, and that's the problem. It's not just American radio, I'd like to point out. I mean Radio 1, in England, we've always struggled with. The only reason they've had to play us is because we go in the charts, because the fans buy the records and it's a retail chart, so they have to play it. So it's good, otherwise they wouldn't have played us. The thing is, you can understand it - I mean, if you play Bananarama, followed by Tiffany, followed by...I don't know, some real rocking track, and then you play one of our records, you can understand why they don't like it - because it doesn't fit in.
Even though a radio programmer's ear might not hear it, why are all these people following you from venue to venue in droves?
Because it's really good music, that's why. It's good music, good songs, and I think some kids do get a kick out of the fact that we aren't played on radio, to be honest. I know it sounds a bit weird but we meet so many American kids who say, "The day you're played on Top 40 radio is the day we're stopping buying your records." I mean you do meet loads of kids like that.
It's the angst of adolescence, you see. With Vince leaving how do you feel over...I mean, we're talking, this is the seventh album, if I'm not mistaken?
Yep.
How do you feel, over the course of those seven albums and the personal changes - er, the one personal change - that the group's sound has evolved?
Erm...again, it's not for me to judge, really. A lot of people say, "How much have you changed over the years?" and things. I really can't say; all I know is that technology has improved a lot since we made our first album, we've matured as people, all sorts of things. Martin's songwriting's got better, in every way we've just tried, we've improved I think. And although we still really like the first record, you can see there is a general change in every record. A lot of people think we sound the same, but if you actually listen through the singles all the way along, there is a gradual change, but you can't change from one point to another point in, like, six months or something - it's got to be gradual.
Oh, I can agree with you - I can really see the change in your music over the years, I really do. But that's comparing 1 to 7, there's a quantum leap there. Do you feel at times that you're a slave to technology?
No, Not really, because our method is that we write songs outside the studio, we work on the arrangement outside the studio, and when we go into the studio anything can go, really. Anything goes; we don't have to use just technology, we can use acoustic instruments which we're doing a lot more recently, and we've got no set rules basically. And the only set rule is that we never use a preset. Basically, we never use a preset sound. Apart from that, anything goes.
What I actually was referring to is that the mass of technology that's being heaped on our shoulders --
It's all been so simplified recently, though. I mean it's so much easier to use now, and I think there was a danger, I mean about five or six years ago and it was terrible, people were just obsessed by the whole machine thing, they were becoming machines. And we're fortunate because all our live work and things...For instance Vince, about three or four years ago, he spent about two years solid in the studio working on different projects without doing any live work, and he just got obsessed with the whole thing. And when he came out, he just knew he had to start a band again and get back on the road, because the only way...because then you get away from all that sort of technology and what's-the-latest-thing-out and that, and when you get back to the studio, then you check out a few new things, and you're fresh again.
Electricity is something that's a necessity to power this band now, you are fuelled by the alternating current.
Every band is, virtually, these days.
Have you run into any really adverse situations because of power fluctuations, or a brown-out, or whatever?
We have done in the past. In the States, when we came over first of all we didn't really know what was happening. A lot of our synths broke down and things, which was pretty bad. Obviously, when we played the Ritz in New York we thought we'd never come back again. But in Germany as well it's like slightly...because in Europe it's 240 volts and they're on 220, we get a few fluctuating things there, but we use stabilisers now and recently we haven't had any problems, touch...Where is it? (laughs) [1]
I know that lyrical input came from a couple of sources in the band but as of the last two albums there's a consistency with Martin. Wasn't Alan writing?
Yep.
OK, Alan was writing and Martin was writing as well. How, with one lyricist, being Martin, has that focussed you as a group?
Martin does write by himself, but I think what he...I think we give the impression to people, and it's the right impression, that we don't get extra people in, and that: we are the group. And basically we've lived in each other's pockets now for seven years and we're like a family. And I think what Martin writes does speak for the whole group; and I think because he writes generally about his experiences about life, which - I know most people do, but - he writes about all aspects of life, and I think people do get that thing that comes from us, and it's the way we live and things.
I think that before, there were a lot of external things that influenced the lyrics, whereas now it's a more internal attitude that Martin's --
I think he's very aware of that. You see, with 'Construction Time Again', that was a very...He was looking out a bit, and then the last couple of albums, he has been a bit more personal, he has been aware of that. Because one thing we've never tried to do is be in a rut when it comes to lyrics, especially like...The reason we got out of the 'Construction Time Again' thing is because a lot of people were thinking we were sort of Socialists and all this thing, and we don't really like to bring our politics into things, because we feel we shouldn't influence people directly. We only like to pose questions, we don't like to give too many answers.
You have a mind - use it.
Yeah, definitely, yeah. I mean, we just try and, by posing questions we just try and get people thinking. I mean we, unfortunately, realise that people do like us - 90% of people like us - for the tunes. Very few people actually listen to the lyrics, so we realise we can't change too many...we don't want to change too many people, I think people should be individual and have their own thoughts.
You said that in a song somewhere...
(Andy laughs)
Which was incidentally the biggest hit that you've had in the United States. Can you give a little intro of the song and give a little background on 'People Are People'?
Er...basically it's our least favourite song, that is, what can I say? - Which was our biggest hit. It's Martin's least favourite song, I don't know if there was a story behind it, it's just that he brought it to us one day, we liked it and went in the studio, recording it, and it was a big hit, which surprised us. There's no particular story around it, all I'll say now is it's a bit weird that it was our biggest hit because we don't even like it. That's always the case, I suppose.
Looking at it from your point of view, can you give me a couple of favourite tracks?
Yeah, I like 'Everything Counts', 'Stripped' I really liked; and now 'It Doesn't Matter' on 'Some Great Reward' I think is a really good love song; 'Dreaming Of Me', of course, the first single, as I said earlier I really like.
'Route 66' seems to be experiencing a lot of success right now.
That was an accident, that was not meant to be, really. It was only supposed to be a bit of a laugh, and the Americans liked it and were putting pressure on, and things like that. It's a bit of a shame really, because we think 'Behind The Wheel', which was supposed to be the 'A', is a better song, but...No, actually, 'Route 66' is a really good song, it's just that we don't really like doing cover versions as a rule, especially when we've got our own songs available, it just seems a bit of a waste.
[1] - Although there was this little incident somewhere on the American leg of the Black Celebration Tour in 1986. [continue]
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