Why are you involved in The Album Zone ?
My therapist said it would be good for me ... plus they'd reduce my sentence.
What's your favourite colour ?
Red ... er no, blue ... ayyyyiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee ...
What's your favourite sweets ?
Ritchie's Cinnamon Lozenges. Fantastic things with a good, strong flavour. You can only get them in Ireland (they're made near Dublin somewhere). I used to annoy shop staff at the airport by buying up their entire stock as I was leaving the country - they had to ring each individual tube through the till !
I used to love Aztec and Texan bars but you can't get them anymore.
Favourite Food :
Chinese duck (wrapped in thin pancakes with hoisin sauce, cucumber and spring onion). Chust sublime.
I'm also very fond of (most) Japanese food.
Least Favourite Food :
Actually, some Japanese food is pretty odd, also. Chicken cartilage on a skewer, eel liver soup and spinach flavour ice cream are just a few of my unfavourite things. The whole, raw baby squid I was given once as a delicacy were pretty bad, too (I won't go into the gory details but it took a lot of whiskey to swallow down eyeballs, beaks and ink, let me tell you).
What do you want to be when you grow up ?
That will NEVER happen.
Choose ONE word to describe yourself :
Thran (Ulster dialect for 'cantankerous', 'obstinate','being difficult for the sake of it', that sort of thing).
What could you not live without ?
A sense of humour. You need it where I come from. That, and a fast pair of heels.
What's the greatest Single ever made ?
Oddly enough, I hardly ever think about singles. Probably Roxy Music -'Pyjamarama' or 'Street Life' would do it for me.
What's the greatest Album ever made ?
Roxy Music 'For Your Pleasure' (Island ILPS 9232). The first LP I ever bought and it cost me £2.60 from Manchester and Midland. It was also the 100th LP I bought (to replace the worn out copy) - also the first CD I ever bought. Dark yet approachable, experimental but solid, thought-provoking yet entertaining. Serious contender for thetitle of'The Compleat Album'.
Second best is a trickier call but right this minute I'd go for '801 Live'(Island ILPS 9444) or maybe Phil Manzanera/ 801 'Listen Now!' (PolydorDeluxe 2302 074).
If you could change something about yourself, what would it be ?
1) My CD obsession - before I end up having to use the darn things as furniture.
2) My anoraky obsessions with minutiae, including certain album sleeve credits and catalogue numbers (oh, you noticed... !)
3) I wish I could finish songs I've started writing.
Do you love Custard ?
No - Roobarb was always my favourite. Although I am partial to Noggin The Nog (when no-one's looking ... )
Favourite subject at School :
Liberal studies (aka 'bring your own records' time).
Least favourite subject at School :
PE. And RE. I took an extra O-level subject just to get out of those lessons - they were both run by psychopaths who believed in physical and spiritual cleansing through extreme physical punishment.
Favourite Football Team :
Actually, I hate football. And rugby, cricket, golf, formation tiddleywinks, marathon gargling or any other sport you care to mention.
With the sole exception of sumo. Channel 4 used to broadcast sumo and it was compulsive viewing. Shame I don't get to see it any more.
Favourite Cheerleader team :
Alexandra Bastedo, Diana Rigg, Gabrielle Drake and Gillian Anderson.
Mode of Transport :
Japanese bullet trains. They're like hotels on rails.
IQ :
What, the neo-progressive band ? Saw them once on a triple bill at The Dominion (v. poor) with Pendragon (way better) and headliners The Enid (sadly, past their glorious heyday).
Colour of Socks :
Hey, what's WRONG with white ? (I keep my socks pretty well hidden anyway).
Favourite Pet :
Commodore Pet - 16,000 bytes of raw pulsating computing power running at eye-peeling speeds to bring you ... green text and a few line graphics. Ah, those were the days !
Favourite Smartie colour :
I thought the blue ones were kind of funky. Actually (whisper it quietly) I always thought the chocolate was rubbish !
Favourite flavour of Crisps :
No contest. Tayto Cheese and Onion crisps. The connoisseur's crisp.The crème de la crème of fried, sliced and flavoured potatoes. Make sure you get the Northern Ireland ones, mind - there is a 'Tayto' in the Republic of Ireland but they're not the same thing at all.
By the way, who was it made Roast Ox and those (contentious) Hedgehog flavour crisps ? They were pretty good, too.
Favourite Places :
1. The Giant's Causeway (and most of the North Antrim coast) in Northern Ireland.
2. My music room.
3. Japan (all of it really). Wonderful place - I've been there twice and am hoping to go again soon - maybe next year.
You are moving to the Moon, but you are allowed to take just THREE> personal possessions with you. What would they be ?
Guitar, CD collection and DVD collection.
Best TV Programmes ever :
Just about any Star Trek - especially 'TOS' and 'DS9' (although I'm not too keen on the films - or the animated series !).
'The X-Files', 'This Life', 'The Prisoner', 'The Persuaders', 'The Champions','Monty Python', 'Porridge', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Father Ted', 'Black Books','The Fall And Rise of Reginald Perrin', 'Firefly', 'M.A.S.H.'
Non-fiction: 'The World At War', Bronowski's 'Ascent Of Man', Ken Burns' 'Jazz', Attenborough's various BBC wildlife series (especially 'Life On Earth' and 'Planet Earth').
Best Films ever :
'Gregory's Girl' (and the sequel), 'Spinal Tap', 'Life of Brian', 'BlazingSaddles', 'Meet The Parents', 'Zatoichi', 'The Twilight Samurai','Amelie', 'Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources', Cocteau's 'Orphee','Fifth Element', 'Blade Runner', 'Serenity', the Star Wars saga(s),Chaplin's 'Great Dictator', Keaton's 'The General',any Jacques Tati.
Best Radio Programmes ever :
Round The Horne. I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Lord Of The Rings.
Oh, and not forgetting the HUGELY influential Alan Freeman Saturday Show onRadio 1. Much as I liked listening to John Peel, I actually never missed Fluff's show. RIP.
Best Song Lyric ever :
'Above our heads in fiery red the clouds they bled like open wounds acrossthe sky'.Be Bop Deluxe 'Panic In The World'
'We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment, Except for the few we take home to experiment. My pulse will be quickenin'With each drop of strych'nine We feed to a pigeon (It just takes a smidgin!) To poison a pigeon in the park.'
Tom Lehrer 'Poisoning Pigeons In The Park'
'Asia's crowded and Europe's too old. Africa is far too hot, And Canada's too cold And South America stole our name Let's drop the big one. There'll be no one left to blame us'
Randy Newman 'Political Science'
Best advice you've ever been given :
'Its good, please - you eat !'
Worst advice you've ever been given :
'Don't worry - the airport's right next to the train station'
Final thoughts :
To quote Oscar Wilde: "I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about."
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BdF
