Questionnaire for Rocklands Star, January 2004
23rd of January 2004, 1:38 pm
The Vichy Government appeared at the first Angular Records event in November. Manic Street Preachers biographer, Simon Price of Stay Beautiful Club (5 mins on the train to London Bridge once a month, for an outrageously fab Saturday night out of glam not glum) rates 'em highly and excitedly. Their album contribution, 'Make Love To The Camera' they describe as 'a heartfelt tribute to the immaculate deception that pop music can (and should) create.'
'...Your haircut produced by Nigel Godrich'
'...Your haircut produced by Nigel Godrich'
Jamie Manners, a Vichy Governor so to speak, tell us more. Got any connections around here'
'The Vichy Government have enjoyed a long and fruitful association with the New Cross area. It was sadly brought to an end when our keyboardist Andrew was expelled from Goldsmiths College for smearing marmite over Damon Albarn's third-year project, even though this improved the piece substantially. The best thing about New Cross is clearly that it is on the East London line, allowing natives to guffaw at the artist's impressions on each platform, wherein such squalid hovels as Shadwell are given picturesque makeovers. The worst thing is that there are too many people who've had their lives changed by Franz Ferdinand'.
Background nosiness' Where do you hang out'
'The Angular nights at Paradise Bar provide top-drawer entertainment; there is a very nice Chinese at the other end of New Cross Road but I forget its name. Other favourite London destinations include the Retro Bar off the Strand, with its murals of Sparks, Japan etc, Soho, the South Bank, and the Spitalfields/Brick Lane area which, despite being full of mongs, has several sites of historical interest; the Hawksmoor churches, etc. On the rare occasions that we have more money than sense, we enjoy going to watch Tottenham Hotspur and QPR respectively.'
'Where records are concerned, I must confess to being a Selectadisc man. Sartorially, when time is short I usually resort to the mecca that is Oxford Circus Top Shop, but there are some great smaller places to be found - I recommend Fulham for charity shops."
The ingredients and recipe for The Vichy Government'
'Our group formed when we realised that we were the only people in town who liked the Associates, Scott Walker, Chic and Motown, as well as the only two to have a comparably dry gallows humour. Our influences are all the bandwagon-jumping, tunnel-visioned excuses for bands that have been forced upon us over the years, and our determination to offer something different. Something that, even if it's not to people's liking, will at least stay in their memory for more than five seconds afterwards. As for the future, our debut single is scheduled for an April/May release through Fosse 8, after which we would like to fool Rough Trade into wasting some of the Strokes profits on our pretentious follies'.
Having seen The Vichy Government at Pop Of The Tops, it's probably best for Jamie to describe it. 'Our live show is uncompromising, but rewarding. We have a good onstage chemistry; some would call it Beckettian, others closer to George & Mildred. It primarily consists of Andrew playing a toy keyboard and me swearing; but it normally elicits some kind of reaction, which is the main thing (the Socialist Workers' Party, the Cambridge Evening News and several Belfast bouncers have all condemned it). It has been described in some quarters as 'agit-cabaret' and I do often indulge in drag/costume changes. We should be playing locally again soon; when we do, visit
http://vichy.verot.net to hear about it'.
'The Vichy Government have enjoyed a long and fruitful association with the New Cross area. It was sadly brought to an end when our keyboardist Andrew was expelled from Goldsmiths College for smearing marmite over Damon Albarn's third-year project, even though this improved the piece substantially. The best thing about New Cross is clearly that it is on the East London line, allowing natives to guffaw at the artist's impressions on each platform, wherein such squalid hovels as Shadwell are given picturesque makeovers. The worst thing is that there are too many people who've had their lives changed by Franz Ferdinand'.
Background nosiness' Where do you hang out'
'The Angular nights at Paradise Bar provide top-drawer entertainment; there is a very nice Chinese at the other end of New Cross Road but I forget its name. Other favourite London destinations include the Retro Bar off the Strand, with its murals of Sparks, Japan etc, Soho, the South Bank, and the Spitalfields/Brick Lane area which, despite being full of mongs, has several sites of historical interest; the Hawksmoor churches, etc. On the rare occasions that we have more money than sense, we enjoy going to watch Tottenham Hotspur and QPR respectively.'
'Where records are concerned, I must confess to being a Selectadisc man. Sartorially, when time is short I usually resort to the mecca that is Oxford Circus Top Shop, but there are some great smaller places to be found - I recommend Fulham for charity shops."
The ingredients and recipe for The Vichy Government'
'Our group formed when we realised that we were the only people in town who liked the Associates, Scott Walker, Chic and Motown, as well as the only two to have a comparably dry gallows humour. Our influences are all the bandwagon-jumping, tunnel-visioned excuses for bands that have been forced upon us over the years, and our determination to offer something different. Something that, even if it's not to people's liking, will at least stay in their memory for more than five seconds afterwards. As for the future, our debut single is scheduled for an April/May release through Fosse 8, after which we would like to fool Rough Trade into wasting some of the Strokes profits on our pretentious follies'.
Having seen The Vichy Government at Pop Of The Tops, it's probably best for Jamie to describe it. 'Our live show is uncompromising, but rewarding. We have a good onstage chemistry; some would call it Beckettian, others closer to George & Mildred. It primarily consists of Andrew playing a toy keyboard and me swearing; but it normally elicits some kind of reaction, which is the main thing (the Socialist Workers' Party, the Cambridge Evening News and several Belfast bouncers have all condemned it). It has been described in some quarters as 'agit-cabaret' and I do often indulge in drag/costume changes. We should be playing locally again soon; when we do, visit
http://vichy.verot.net to hear about it'.