|
Monaco Interview October 98 by Alistair Interview done for official Monaco at www.monaco.co.uk Firstly, how did Monaco come into being? I understand Pottsy was working in Hooky's studio at the time, could you tell me a bit more? Also, why the name 'Monaco', are you both big fans of Princess Grace or something? Pottsy: I began writing when the rest of the members left - C.J. went on to look after handicapped kids, Dave Hicks kind of disappeared, Brian (old bass player) went back to his job at the airport and Mike Hedges (drums) went to work as a draughts man (and later got to work with his hero Sting). Ash Taylor (previous drummer) now does cabaret at Rochdale Harbour Club as a stand up while keeping a job at Armani. C.J. was the last to leave. It was then I started writing on my own in Hooky's downstairs studio in Withington, when Hooky was doing some New Order stuff. When he came back from his Republic 'galavanting' we had a whole bunch of ideas to work on - hence Music For Pleasure. The name 'Monaco' came from a list a friend of mine made - he had circled certain words in a newspaper. Monaco was in a shortlist of others such as Cooper, Kosmos and Blue. Monaco seemed to have a certain class about it and seemed to fit with my love of all things French (D.S cars, Francoise Hardy, gambling). Hooky initially said "There's no way I'm being in a fucking group called Monaco'. His hat has been eaten! My girlfriend is a Princess Grace fan, not me particularly although I did once shake her hand when I was about 10 (honest)! I know you guys are recording a track for a charity album, aside from this, what new Monaco material can we expect in the near future? Any song names, lyrics, or release dates would be most appreciated. Hooky: We're about halfway through the new LP. We've got about 15 songs and about 10 have developed really well, to me it seems a lot more confident and where the last LP had a lot of different song styles this now seems a lot more focused. Out hopefully June '99. Pottsy: We have almost finished writing the next LP. We have about 15 new songs including (working titles) Cashmere, NCB, Pool, Bar Fly, Bert's Theme, Ballroom, Life Apart, Black Rain, Ennio, It's a Boy, Marine, Heaven 7 and See Saw. We are recording in Lincoln soon so we expect a summer release. The Bee Gees thing was a bit of fun while we carried on with the writing, but that cheeky Brandon Block eh?! Hooky, what do you think Ian Curtis would've thought of Monaco? Hooky: What Ian would've thought of Monaco, I have no idea, I think he wouldn't like us doing something outside of the group his be - all and end all was Joy Division and many ways I agree with him but it is nice to spread your wings! Pottsy: Can't really answer but we do share the same birthday! Has the recent New Order reunion put any strain on Monaco or your plans to release new material? Hooky, do you ever feel that at times that Monaco might cancel out New Order or vice versa? Pottsy, are you going to any of the live summer New Order dates? Pottsy: Obviously, taking time out does interfere with writing, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I saw New Order at Reading, you're right, he does sound like me. Hooky: Strain? I'm too old to let things put a strain on me. Now we address our problems in New Order or Monaco, and sort them out instead of letting them fester. It's hard to juggle your time but in all honesty my wife and baby, kids and home life is much more important. Do either of you think the idea of Monaco supporting New Order on tour is a good idea? I think Monaco performing at the Phoenix festival would be a good move, because loads of New Order fans will already be in the country. Is any of this a possibility? Hooky: Supporting isn't a good idea. It's like the old wife and mistress scenario. Life's easier when you don't put them together. Pottsy: I didn't really enjoy playing at Reading. I loved Glastonbury. That was our first gig with the 2 new members and first in a while. It was brilliant but Reading just wasn't a special one, there was no heart in it for me. I don't know. I don't think Monaco could support New Order cos Hooky's little legs would run out of puff wouldn't they!! How did both of you react to Bernard Sumner's comments in the NME last year that Monaco "sound like me!" and that you have ripped off his guitars/vocals? Do you feel annoyed at this? Hooky: If I worried about things like that I'd never get out of the door, and the way people are misquoted is unbelievable. Pottsy: Bernard has apologized to me for the comments saying he was misquoted. But I wasn't arsed about any of it. I've heard worse in the press that annoys me. There is no animosity, I have only respect for the N.O. lot. Speaking of Barney, what do you think of Electronic? Pottsy, have you ever met Barney? If so did you get on with him? Pottsy: Yes, I have met Barney, he is just as friendly as you are Ally. Hooky: I quite like Electronic, I prefer the less poppy stuff, Pottsy does get on with Bernard rather too well, they're always going off together talking about guitars Pottsy, where did you work before Monaco came on the scene? Were you in any bands at high school? Did you listen to Joy Division or New Order in your teenage years? Pottsy: I had several jobs as I mentioned before. I was in a band just after I left school called Crawfish Gumbo Etc, but one of the band could remember the name. It didn't last long. I did listen to N.O when I was young, I was really into bands like The Damned, The Jam, The Who, Small Faces, Smiths, Fall etc during the '80's. I listened to loads of pop and N.O were in that sphere of musical knowledge, it was really the Madchester scene that spurred me on to write and get involved with music. P,C and L made a difference to me. I think I heard that without listening to Kraftwerk and I didn't care for electro pop at the time , I liked how this album captured a pop/electro/rock collective, although I didn't know it was that. On the last Electronic album, Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk was a guest musician, have you ever considered having a 'famous' guest musician on a Monaco album? Maybe Morrissey, to mirror Johnny Marr working with Barney! (Joke!) Pottsy: I've never really found a need to work with other musicians whilst doing Monaco. Monaco is solely Potts and Hook, but that isn't to say it won't happen in the future. As for now, I'm happy as I am. Many people have E-Mailed me requesting tour dates, so can you tell me whether Monaco or New Order have any plans to perform in any of these locations over the next year or so: Japan, Asia, Hawaii, Rio de Janeiro, Sweden? Pottsy: No touring for Monaco is set up as yet, until the LP is finished. Obviously we would like to get to Europe next time as well as America again, seeing as it did so well there. As for N.O., I do believe I heard the Hourghton Weavers were reforming this year with N.O supporting at a series of Butlins dates, but it's only a rumour!! Hooky: We have no plans to tour til next summer, where I do now know - apart from Manchester and London in December 98. Hooky, is the reason New Order's gotten back together to make a final album? Why exactly did New Order get back together? I remember you saying last July that "...there's a snowball's chance in hell of a New Order reunion taking place..." what changed your feelings towards a reunion for this year? Hooky: We haven't started writing N.O stuff yet, so we'll have to wait and see. The reason we've decided to carry on is because we met and thought, hey, this isn't too bad, we'll go again...see time is a great healer. Aside from the two of you, what exactly is Monaco's current setup as a full band? I know you have Paul Kehoe as drummer, can you specify a solid line-up for both live and in the studio? Pottsy: Paul Kehoe plays drums live, Andy Poole plays keyboards live and Mark is on guitar. This is the live line-up. Paul will be helping us along in the studio, with his banging technique. What way do you write the songs in Monaco? I remember that Hooky once said in Joy Division you'd do loads of guitar/drum/bass samples, and you would put the riffs together later. I think you also said Ian Curtis would 'pick random lyrics out of a box', is it similar at all in Monaco? Pottsy: The way we usually write is by either jamming or by an initial idea. Sometimes, one of us would have an idea or a chord sequence, lay it down, use samples, drum loops etc. The mood you're in usually determines the type of creative idea at that time. For instance, Cashmere was mainly jammed with bits thrown in, Ballroom was influenced by Ennio Morricone and Francoise Hardy. A little bit of this and a little bit of that all goes into the melting pot, hence a new LP which has a working title of 'Be Careful What You Wish For'. Pottsy, who were you influenced by on guitars/vocals? Is there any clear-cut way of saying who writes what in Monaco songs? Like Pottsy does guitar/lyrics while Hooky does bass (obviously!)/keyboards? Pottsy: Most music/vocals is a mish mash of the two of us. The only clear-cut thing is that I play guitar, Hooky plays bass, I program and we share a mixture of the rest. Apart from that, Hooky does most of the cleaning. How will the sound of the new album compare to that of 'Music for Pleasure'? Can we expect a more 'rocky' or a more 'dancey' sound? Pottsy: I think the new LP is a bit more consistent than the last. There is still a number of styles and types of songs which are approached in a Monaco way. I think the later stuff helps define the Monaco sound without being 'samey' or pigeon-holed - there's a lot of scope in it. It's a little bit 'whey'! Whatever happened to your New Year's Eve gig in Chicago last year? Paul Kehoe sent me an E-Mail claiming that the Dennis Rodman production company in the States never sent you your tickets or something? Can you tell me any more? Pottsy: The Chicago gig was a complete cock-up. My apologies to any fans who traveled to see us. The organization was just dreadful, we tried dozens of times to get in touch with the organizers but all we got was the answer phone. We really wanted to do it. What a way to open the new year! Sorry about that, but don't blame me! This is a 'computer' question. Do either of you have a Personal Computer or access to the Internet? There are quite a number of New Order web sites on the internet that would love you to see them, or is the whole computer-thingy not your scene? Pottsy: I'm not well up on the internet, my friends are. I know if I got it I'd spend hours pissing about not getting anything done. I'd rather spend the time in the pub thanks very much Reprinted with permission from the author |
