The Young Knives: "Stop Making Up That Silly Voice"
There is a long and noble tradition, within popular music, of performers changing their names to appear more alluring. Adam Ant, Elton John, Dizzee Rascal, Marilyn Manson, Princess Superstar, Bono...none of these people were christened with the names which appear on their records, it's fair to say. But, in a world where your choice of nom du rock operates on the simple principle that madder is better (I'm looking at you, Lethal Bizzle), surely the best way to stand out is to name yourself after one of the stuffiest, most orthodox cornerstones of our society. Which is presumably why Thomas Dartnall, bass-player in the very brilliant Young Knives, elected to name himself The House Of Lords.
This is not the only interesting thing about the Young Knives. There's their music too (obviously), and the fact that they seem to enjoy dressing in a stuffy fashion - part posho teacher tweeds, part stockbroker office-wear - while rocking the crazy punkfunk and singing songs about fake rabbits and real snakes (don't just take my word for it, Christel from the very colourful blog says they are "tight like tigers", which is quite some recommendation).
So, lots of interesting things to talk about. Time to request an audience, wouldn't you say? You would? Oh GOOD!
What I Expected: I had loads of questions about middle-management, and how it applies to the world of popular music. Trouble was, he distracted me with his reasonable answers. Oh, and there's a bit at the end which should have gone a lot better. Key Word: Madman.
What I Did Not Expect: Xylophone buskers...His uncle used to be an architect, y'know...Songwriting advice to David Bowie...posh cockneys in pop...The failure of my attempts to convince Mr Of Lords that I like the band a lot...
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| Play the interview | Play the interview |
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Your ChartBlog interviewer was: Fraser McAlpine
Here's the video for 'Terra Firma', which is not, repeat NOT called 'Terracotta'.
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EXTRA! EXTRA! - In the 20-odd hours since this interview went live, there has been a bit of a row on the Young Knives' messageboard as to whether it is a good interview or a not-good interview. Which wouldn't be remotely note-worthy (unless you had never seen a messageboard before), but for the fact that two members of THE BAND have stepped in to try and calm things down.
Wanna see? Go
(note: The band posts are from 'Henry' and 'House'...)
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Comments
Redfaceitus! Brilliant. Am gonna tell Ricky what you said :-)