Bad Lieutenant's 2nd Album

There is an interesting and funny interview with Bernard Sumner about New Order, the Haçienda and Bad Lieutenant in the Berliner Zeitung. The 2nd Bad Lieutenant Album shall be almost ready and it's more electronic. Stuart Price, who worked at last with Madonna, Pet Shop Boys and Take that, is involved in it.

Interview in German

Thanks! I found that bit quite intriguing:

Ich war mehrfach in Ostberlin und erinnere mich an Schweinshaxen mit Sauerkraut, die ich nach der Überquerung am Checkpoint Charlie zu mir nahm. Ich habe die Stadt als sehr atmosphärisch, aber auch als sehr kalt empfunden, die Schweinshaxen hingegen schmeckten fantastisch und waren heiß. Wir waren die einzigen Gäste in dem Restaurant, und ich fühlte mich wie in einem Spionage-Film aus der Zeit des Kalten Krieges.

Reminded me a bit of John Lydon's reaction when he performed in the USSR.

Except that it's not true, there are two albums on the way, the Stuart Price solo one and the BL one.

Can anybody give a more detailed explanation/translation of it?

leather_girl wrote: Can anybody give a more detailed explanation/translation of it?

As cricket has been rained off, I have time on my hands this afternoon - I'll have a look a bit later on, unless someone beats me to it...

Snorri xxx

I usually always write my lyrics in the winter, at night, with a bottle of red wine beside me.

When it came to paying the royalties, they offered us tractor spare parts or selectively nails. We declined with thanks.

Non-Google translated, apologies to native-speakers for any idiomatic errors, but I haven't used my German for a few years now...

After the suicide of JD singer Ian Curtis in 1980 the former guitarist and songwriter Bernard Sumner (55) took over the role of singer in NO, the band formed from the remains of JD. As the first post-punk band NO mixed 'machine music' with indie-rock and had hits such as BM and True Faith. The enormous commercial success of the band financed the legendary nightclub, The Hacienda and turned record label Factory into one of the most interesting lbaels of the 80s. Total, the first greatest hits compilation to include both bands in one place, has just come out. We spoke to Bernard Sumner about NO, the Hacienda and the group BL, which he has led since the break up of NO. Time constraints ruled out an interview with Sumner's former bandmate, bassist Peter Hook, with whom Sumner has been at loggerheads with for what seems like an eternity.

Do you often still think back to the time when NO were involved with the Hacienda?

Unfortunately I have to be careful what I say, when I talk about the club, otherwise our former bass player, Peter Hook, will sue me again

Why?

He bought the rights to the name – and let them build flats on the site. It feels like he has stolen the band's past. But of course I often think back to those times, I have so many good memories, apart from the fact that most of the time I was there, I was either drunk or under the influence of drugs

People say the Hacienda was the decisive factor in the success of the drug Ecstasy in Europe. From Ibiza it went first to Manchester and then on to continental Europe

I have a German friend – Henning from Stuttgart, who actually – and this is a true story – moved to Manchester in the 80s, because he found the city, its inhabitants and especially the Hacienda particularly friendly

I think I know what's coming...

The reason that Henning found everything so wonderful was that the whole city and of course all the customers at the Hacienda war on E or at least drunk. Henning found this distressing: “Bernard, what have I done? I'm here now!” Anyway, he put up with it for a couple of years

Is the owner of a club his own best customer?

When Acid-House arrived at the end of the 80s, I was often at the club Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and only went home on a Sunday. If it had been a particularly successful evening, me and my mates would sit at the bar and have another few drinks, while the club was being cleaned and we'd decide to just carry on

Nowadays that's called an 'after party'

Exactly. One of these 'after parties' took a decidedly comic turn. I drove with a few people to a house where a party was supposed to be taking place. We heard music and rang the bell. A gangly young man with glasses and long hair and someone with very short hair and a rather round face answered the door. The two studenty types stared wide-eyed at us, muttered quickly 'no party here! no partyhere!' and wouldn't let us in. I guessed that the reason they wouldn't let us in was because my mates looked like right thugs and the students thought that they were better than us. So I called them 'country bumpkins. Years later I was working with the Chemical Brothers on a song – and it turned out that it was the pair who hadn't let us in to their flat. Why not? They were shcoked that the owner of the Hacienda and singer from NO was at their door. And then they asked me why I had called them bumpkins, haha!

Funny! You haven't only sung with the Chemical Brothers, but also most recently worked with Hot Chip. Do you like these collaborations?

Very much! I have also recently worked with Westbam, we recorded a great track. Unfortunately it is just the one track, as I am recording a new album with BL at the moment – the music is almost done and sounds more electronic than the first album, which came out 3 years ago. We are working with top producer Stuart Price, who has worked with Madonna, PSB and Take That...

...and now you are working on the lyrics, something that always proves hard work for you, right? Your lyrics are generally quite hard to interpret though.

Yes. And what's more, it's currently summer and I have always written lyrics in the winter, at night, with a bottle of red wine.

Do you still sail a lot? Shortly before we spoke last time two years ago, you had just got back from a trip round the Outer Hebrides

Last year I sailed across the Atlantic

Really?

In November, three weeks, with three friends – a life-changing experience. First os all I thought that we would end up getting bored. Far from it! Wejust spent weeks on end staring at this amazing technicolour film, never even picking up any of the books we'd packed. I felt as if I was on another planet. This year I am dedicating myself completely to music

Is it right to say that BM, which came out in March 1983, almost 3 years after the end of JD, and was the fifth NO single, was the most significant musical break between the two bands?

With BM we found the sound that we had been looking for for years. We wrote the song on a self-built sequencer and 2 synthesisers – at that time MIDI didn't exist. The technical possibilities were incomparable to todays, and that was part of the beauty of it, because we knew our few machines inside and out. Since BM is really nothing more than an insanely repetitive, fat sounding ship's motor, that makes people dance, I think those songs where you can hear how we were trying to find the sound that separated the two bands from each other are more interesting, especially Temptation from 82, a song which I still love to play live today.

Are there hits that can be played to death? I know some people who can't listen to JD's LWTUA any more

I can understand that, because when I got my first iPod and loaded all my favourite songs onto it, I couldn't listen to any of them after a while. On the other hand the best thing about music – for me at least – is that you can listen to songs that excite you over and over again – as opposed to books or films, which I can over ever manage once or twice. If you can't stand a song any more, you need to take some time away from it and then go back to it a couple of years later. My tip: If you don't want to listen to BM any more, you should try the pre-ska-mento (?) band the Jolly Boys version – you can find it on Youtube. And then you'll be ok again...

Do you have any memories of the former East Germany? Of East Berlin?

I was in East Berlin several times and remember the pork knuckle with Sauerkraut, which I had after crossing at Checkpoint Charlie. I found the city to be very atmospheric, but also very cold, yet the pork knuckle tasted fantastic and was warm. We were the only customers in the restaurant and I felt as if I was in a spy-film from the Cold War period. JD at least had a number one hit with LWTUA in Poland. When it came to royalties, we were offered tractor spare parts or if we wanted nails. We declined politely.

Snorri xxx

Bernard collaborates with the DJ from Berlin Westbam and not Westlife.

leather_girl wrote:

I usually always write my lyrics in the winter, at night, with a bottle of red wine beside me.

When it came to paying the royalties, they offered us tractor spare parts or selectively nails. We declined with thanks.

Missed that part

Now I need a bottle of red wine, too.

Snorrimon wrote: Non-Google translated, apologies to native-speakers for any idiomatic errors, but I haven't used my German for a few years now...

Nice one, Snorri.

confusion wrote:

father jack wrote: For all us English schweinhunds (blame google for any poor translation - I'll delete this post if/when a better translation gets posted by one of our German speaking NOOLers)....

Good translation.

Bernard collaborates with the DJ from Berlin Westbam and not Westlife.

The error was probably something to do with Google Translate...we all know it's not perfect but we can get a general idea.

Interesting what the production details will be, could it be possible that the whole Stuart Price collab project morphed into some new Bad Lieutenant tracks? Can't really expect Bernard to write two full albums at the same time, that was the problem last time. I assume the Westbam is another one off like that silly trance single.

Steve should actually be involved more I hope as a full partner, and hopefully less of Jake Evans's minor league mainstream rock.

0_o wrote: Interesting what the production details will be, could it be possible that the whole Stuart Price collab project morphed into some new Bad Lieutenant tracks? Can't really expect Bernard to write two full albums at the same time, that was the problem last time. I assume the Westbam is another one off like that silly trance single.

Steve should actually be involved more I hope as a full partner, and hopefully less of Jake Evans's minor league mainstream rock.

Steve and Tom are full members now.

0_o wrote: Interesting what the production details will be, could it be possible that the whole Stuart Price collab project morphed into some new Bad Lieutenant tracks? Can't really expect Bernard to write two full albums at the same time, that was the problem last time. I assume the Westbam is another one off like that silly trance single.

Steve should actually be involved more I hope as a full partner, and hopefully less of Jake Evans's minor league mainstream rock.

yes.

Milkshock wrote:

0_o wrote: Interesting what the production details will be, could it be possible that the whole Stuart Price collab project morphed into some new Bad Lieutenant tracks? Can't really expect Bernard to write two full albums at the same time, that was the problem last time. I assume the Westbam is another one off like that silly trance single.

Steve should actually be involved more I hope as a full partner, and hopefully less of Jake Evans's minor league mainstream rock.

yes.

I agree. I think Jake is a fantastic guitarist, and I like him doing backing vocals or alternate lead vocals (ala This is Home) but the BL songs where he sings lead all the way thru were the most boring tracks on Never Cry Another Tear, they sounded like a different band entirely, like some regular Britpop band. On songs like Sink or Swim, Poisonous Intent, This is Home, Summer Days, Walk on Silver Water, and Running Out of Luck, there was a distinct New Order feel, the feel of elements of New Order (Bernards voice, synth work, and melodies, Steve's crisp True Faith like drumming on PI), mixed with some excellent guitar work, and that's what BL is to me. When I put NCAT on my ipod, I left the tracks where Jake does all the lead vocals off. It's a better record that way.

I would love if the new BL album is synth, electro, and dance driven, with excellent guitar work mixed in to that. BL's live rendition of Out of Control is actually a direction I hope they pursue.

Snorrimon wrote: Non-Google translated, apologies to native-speakers for any idiomatic errors, but I haven't used my German for a few years now... Snorri xxx

Thank you for translating. :)

Unfortunately I have to be careful what I say, when I talk about the club, otherwise our former bass player, Peter Hook, will sue me again

Again? That is, Bernard has been sued before?

leather_girl wrote:

Snorrimon wrote: Non-Google translated, apologies to native-speakers for any idiomatic errors, but I haven't used my German for a few years now... Snorri xxx

Thank you for translating. :)

Unfortunately I have to be careful what I say, when I talk about the club, otherwise our former bass player, Peter Hook, will sue me again

Again? That is, Bernard has been sued before?

That's what it says - tongue in cheek perhaps? Maybe that was what happened in Brazil?

Snorri xxx

Snorrimon wrote:

leather_girl wrote:

Snorrimon wrote: Non-Google translated, apologies to native-speakers for any idiomatic errors, but I haven't used my German for a few years now... Snorri xxx

Thank you for translating. :)

Unfortunately I have to be careful what I say, when I talk about the club, otherwise our former bass player, Peter Hook, will sue me again

Again? That is, Bernard has been sued before?

That's what it says - tongue in cheek perhaps? Maybe that was what happened in Brazil?

Snorri xxx

It could be tongue in cheek, like a joke or something....

So bernard now thinks the hacienda was great, he must have forgotten about the "Where's the button" comment!

Album sounds hopeful, just hope the rest of the band have the guts to stop him using the hey what you doing lyric he's addicted to.

Jed Stephens wrote: So bernard now thinks the hacienda was great, he must have forgotten about the "Where's the button" comment!

Album sounds hopeful, just hope the rest of the band have the guts to stop him using the hey what you doing lyric he's addicted to.

Now they've long since got rid of the millstone of The Hacienda it's easier to see the best of it.

Snorrimon wrote:

leather_girl wrote: Can anybody give a more detailed explanation/translation of it?

As cricket has been rained off, I have time on my hands this afternoon - I'll have a look a bit later on, unless someone beats me to it...

Snorri xxx

Thanks for the translation!

Who's your cricket team? Cos bloody every wickets going green at the minute, too much rain!

sorry for the pun!

Great news that the new album is nearly ready and that it's going to be more.... ELECTRONIC!

When it came to royalties, we were offered tractor spare parts or if we wanted nails. We declined politely.

I bet Steve didnt decline

NO Regret wrote: When it came to royalties, we were offered tractor spare parts or if we wanted nails. We declined politely. I bet Steve didnt decline

Yeah, "Have you got any fly-wheels for a Kliment Voroshilov?"

Gene wrote:

NO Regret wrote: When it came to royalties, we were offered tractor spare parts or if we wanted nails. We declined politely. I bet Steve didnt decline

Yeah, "Have you got any fly-wheels for a Kliment Voroshilov?"