Transcribing it in chunks, applying a swear filter to me and Alex (fookin' free beer all day turned the pair of us into Mark E Smith....) Those present were me, Alex (Big Clive to some), Hooky and Sarge, with Wolfram on the video camera.
Here goes:
TJ – Around the time of Sirens Call there was talk of another album and new songs with production by Tore Johansson and Brian Higgins – how’s that progressing?
PH – we scrapped the Brian Higgins stuff because we didn’t like it, I thought he did quite a good job on Girls Aloud but he didn’t do a good job on us. The Tore Johannson tracks, we’ve not done anything with them yet. I thought we should play live before we started recording again but Bernard thought we should start recording again.
TJ – going back 20 years, a lot of the songs seemed to be worked out live, they’d start off as an idea and you’d play them live and work them through.
PH – in those days it was a different way of writing, you didn’t wrote for a record you just wrote cause it was in your blood. We used to rehearse every week regardless of whether we played and regardless of whether you were recording and then because of that you had more songs on the go, but now you don’t do that, you record for a purpose which is for an LP, so you set chunks of time aside to do the record.
AS – do you miss the old days though?
PH – don’t you miss the old days? What do you miss?
TJ – turning up, having a sweep on what the first song was going to be and not having a clue what’s coming first.
PH – the problem with that is that really because you don’t do a lot you can’t be as loose. I think there’s a thing about when you were young you were fearless and the thing about getting older is you sort of lose that because you know it’s ridiculous. If Barney turned round now and said “why don’t we just play Face Up” we’d all go fook off we’ve not practiced it.
AS – And I’d walk off and go the fookin’ bar!
PH – and that’s the difference.
AS – then you’d do things like Love Reaction with Slim.
PH – we did that as a gag.
TJ – gotta ask about that Sparks one in Milan, that “When I’m With You”
PH – we were just jamming, that was what you did when you were young, you just did things differently, you did, everyone does, you just get a bit more responsible when you get older because the chances of you pulling it off are 50/50 so you don’t take the chance really I suppose. He’s not letting me finish again, shut up Alex!
TJ – have you not heard that Brian (sic) Fanning interview on RTE Alex?
{laughs all round}
PH – the thing is that the irresponsibility then paid off sometimes, sometimes it didn’t. As you get older you change. If you started playing Face Up you can bet that ¾ of the audience wouldn’t know it because they’re all brought up on the Best Of, and just because you get a buzz out of it….
AS – fookin’ something or other (can’t hear it!!)
TJ – but if you started playing Sunrise the fookin’ place’d go off, it just bleeds.
AS – you must be enjoying doing it again,
PH - I love playing, yeah, and that’s the funny thing about DJing is that it’d good but it’s not as good as playing. Next question.
TJ – about Joy Division being in the music press with this Mick Middles book, that Torn Apart.
PH – Mick Middles?
TJ – With Wilson’s ex-wife.
PH – Terry’s done it as well hasn’t he?
TJ – yeah, talking about the Ashtray of Doom and Sarge drinking pints of piss with the Buzzcocks. Fair play Sarge! Is it true?
Sarge – is what true?
TJ – you getting a load of money for drinking piss?
PH – you got a tenner didn’t you? He asked for £15 because it was still warm. Ten if it was cold and £15 it was warm, but we only had £13 on us!
TJ – so have you read it?
PH - no
TJ – there’s been a lot of books, what do you think about them, have you ever thought of setting the record straight?
PH – telling the truth? I’ve just started a book actually, doing a book about the Hacienda, but these days it’s so depressing talking about it!!
AS – the one night there was Mark E Smith’s sister…..
PH – Mark Smith’s got a sister?
TJ – looks like him……
PH – that’s a fookin’ nightmare! ………I’m not letting them give you anymore beers……
More soon!
you're wreckin hooky's head by all that.
. Great Questions. Love it all.
