When did you first met Leigh Bowery? What was you reaction?

At Taboo in 1985 - I was 16 !! - I had read about taboo in ID magazine, I was
a trannie goth thing at the time - I walked in & Leigh was stood at the
bar in the 'Smile & Drips' look. I was horrified, thrilled & fascinated.
I knew immediately that this was something visionary.

Leigh & I didn't get along so well when we started to chat, actually all
of Leigh's friends (with the exception of Trojan) & I didn't get along so
well. I spent all of those early years fighting with them !! it gave us all
tonns to bitch & backbite about for almost 5 yrs ! It was quite a disco
war.

You joined the band before they were even called Minty to play live
at your own club (The Smashing Club). How was this first gig?

Not really - Leigh & Richard (Torry) had been working together for about
2 months - they had a few possible names for the band & had played at a
couple of Art events.

I had been going over to Richard's every night when they were working &
dropping hints about being in the band !! I had always loved Leigh really &
we had become freinds after the disco war was over.

Richard & Leigh were working with one guitar & the computer - they
only had about 2 or 3 songs & one of those was a Beatles cover ! (All u
need is love )

Smashing was the VIP Britpop club that ran from 1991 - 1996, in 1993 - we were
doing a 'gala' night @ Madame JoJOs - a drag club in SoHo. We were the 1st promoters
to take it over (for a party) so we decided to pay homage to the world of 'drag'
in our own way.

We asked Sexon Ming (legendary trannie poet & punk star) Sheila Teuquila
(who had been in Raw Sewage with Leigh) & Leigh & Richard.

They were a bit 'spooked' cos they didn't know what to do - Smashing was THE
live/ rock music club in the world at that time - I joked with Leigh & said
that because JOJOs was a drag club perhaps he should mime to a backing track
- he was furious !

Then I said that really he should have a live band to play Smashing. He agreed
but didn't know anyone from that world. I said - "Your band will be waiting
for u tomorrow @ 2pm".

I had secretly organised the band & rehearsal - Trevor on drums, Matt on
bass & me on keys. Richard was lead guitar & of course Leigh singing.

He couldn't beleive it when he sang us some ideas & the whole band just
started to play them. In that 1st rehearsal we wrote 3 songs.

The Smashing show was a great success & is now part of London folk law.

The Minty's gigs were always a big theatrical performance. Do you
remember any particular gig that you think it was the greatest?

The Fete Worse Than Death - a kinda Art festival - set around Hoxton Square,
now the centre of the London scene but back then was still a urban cesspit.

There was a large stage in a huge open courtyrad flanked by high wharehouses
- it made the perfect 'arena' space. About 1000 people crammed in ( rows of
children at the front ). I remeber it was a lovely warm evening with a late
summer breeze. We took to the stage at sunset to screaming applause - everyone
we knew was there. Leigh performed like a Rock God - everything was perfect.
The children got covered in blood & pee - they loved it ! That was the best
gig I have done with any project.

A film of it exists somewhere but we have never been able to find it.

What did you think in those days of Leigh's performance on stage,
like giving birth to Nicola or pissing...

At first I loved it all - specially the birth - but during the 'Freedom'
reheasals (The Freedom show was the last B4 he died) I started to have discussions
with Leigh about the amount of 'shock' tactics. I am a musician & a performer
but I thought that the music HAD to stand up on it's own. We had some heated
debates about it - I wish we could have carried on with them. I must say here
tho that I respected & enjoyed about 85% of all his performance work - now
that's not bad !! : )

What was like working with The Offset?

I started The Offset 2 months after Leigh died around Feburary 1995. So many
people in London were still in shock - it's a bit like loosing a great landmark.
Leigh was such a huge figure, so strong & directional that it almost seemed
like he was untouchable / imortal.

Needless to say Nicola was in hell so were the band & all the freaks &
freinds in town were grieving. I decided it was time for some 'show therapy'.
We had had a hit in Holland with Useless Man so we took the money & put
it into weeks of rehearsals. Anyone who wanted could come along - we had drums,
samplers, synths, guitars, computers etc - anything u might need to make a noise.

Neil Kaczor (Minty keys after Leigh) & I would spend 12 hrs a day supervising
these mamouth rehearsals - bit by bit a grand show started to emmerge. Starring
all the undergound superstars - That Donald (writer ), Aiden Shaw (porn Star),
Alex Binney (body artist), Sexton Ming (the greatest), a whole cast of subversive
luminaries & , of course, the new Minty.

Add N to (X) started in The Offset - initially they were called Radix Couplement
but 1 of the band refused to work with me (typical) so they changed the name,
picked up their synths & joined the circus.

Ron Athey did a fantastic performcane with us for AIDS day 1995.

They were great days of solidarity & firey intent full of high points &
low life - we were all in it together - WOW.

We played all over the country in flea pits & festivals - art galleries
& gig venues.

We had our own monthly event 'The Mint Tea Rooms' that was a huge success regularly
turning away hundreds at the door. People would leave there fainting, cying,
laughing fighting, throwing up, disgusted, ammused - all sorts of reactions.

As with all 'gang' shows & collectives it wasn't long B4 the bitching &
backstabbing started. I now beleive that it's part of the natural cycle of groups
of people & that it's a 'period' in any project that can be over come with
work, understanding & humility. Unfortunately at the time I was as reactionary
as the rest so it exploded very dramatically & blew us all to smitherines
!

The last show was the launch of Open Wide the Minty album. I think we had all
had enough by then - no one liked each other, I was the central complaint !
; ) & we had £0. It was great show , Minty I think played the best
gig we ever had without Leigh. Little Richard beat the crap out of a small fluffy
white rabbit (bought dead from a butcher) but made it look alive at first. The
crowd went mental ( English people like animals more than people) the place
was in uproar. Sexton Ming & Steady were excellent ( try & find their
album 'Rogue Male' it's one of the best records ever).

It was also the 1st performance of Patrick Wolf - 13 at the time - who played
a Theramin he had built himself (he also played it on the remix of Minty's Nothing)
.

WHO ? u ask - ahhhhhh - wait & see.

There is also an Offset Album called London Broil that I have as yet never
released cos we all ran out of money - it has classic recordings of all the
best Offset moments & features some incredible tracks. The 1st ever Add
N to (x) recording with Andrew Aveling & Jenny Runacre (Jubilee) on vocals.
An old Leigh track, Aiden Shaw, Sexton & Steady - ooh loads

One day I will find the cash to release it & will let u know.

So The Offset was fantastic fun, excruciatingly painful, a great learning experience
for us all & it relaunched Minty so we could get our album out. All in All
a success I feel.

Back in the Taboo era, you were a sort of celebrity there. What was
Taboo like for you?

LOL I'm still a minor celebrity in disco/ art land - happily bumming around
the 'C/D' list - I think infamy is greatly preferable to fame.

Taboo was incredible for a number of reasons - it was my first experience of
what a seminal club feels like. The danger, hysteria, extreme fashion &
exctiment - it was insane. Also the 'fuck it all' music policy, the line dancing
, the feeling of bein 'IN' but strangely 'OUT' cos u never really felt accepted.

At first I was frightened by it but it was like a drug - the adrenaline of
getting ready, survivng the journey there (walking or on the bus / tube) , getting
in & then getting wasted, having loads of fights, falling about on the floor,
telling HUGE lies to funny celebrities etc etc.

I must say tho that although Taboo was great there was another club called'The
John Crancher Anarchy Party' that was just as mental - if not more so for us
youngsers. It was at the Studio Valbonne a chincy 70s VIP club. It was just
incredible for all the reasons & I spent many happy nights projectile vomiting
at all the disco freaks of the time.

What is your impression about Boy George's new musical?

To this date I have not seen it ! George & I get along fine but I haven't
made it yet. Many of my freinds have been working on it - David Caberet (The
Blue Lady in The Smashing film) has been doing all the Leigh replicas - he is
a genius perfectionist. I think Liegh would be releived David is on the job.
Christine Bateman (Nicola's sister ) is on makeup & she's very good too.

As far as the music, performance , show is concerned I cannot comment but I
want to give George a big Christmas present for giving London so much to bitch
about for so long - that has been the most entertaining thing, truely hilarious
- I can't even begin !!!

After Minty, which other musical projects have you been involved into?


Well - The Offset of course, then HARDEFASTERLOUDRER a Noise Core project -
I did all ot of research into frequency & physiology , I performed under
the name of The General.

I blew out both my ear drums so couldn't go there for a while & got really
into foreign language 'POP' did a club called Pig Lingo (if it's English it
must be broken ) started work on a musical animation project & was up against
Gorillas 4 funding etc - they got the cash !

Now I'm working on The Siren Suite - a classical music club - we mix up Eastern
& Western Classical music with synths, samples, special FX etc - it's a
big hit. We have signed to Decca to release some albums that will be comming
out soon.

Richard Torry & Neil Kaczor r both invovled in The Siren Suite, It also
stars my newest super star in the making - BISHI. U will be hearing ALLOT about
her soon.

We r now about to open Freezing Point - more about that laster.

"The Siren Suite" is a great success. How this project first
came into your mind? What are the future plans for this project?

I was sick of hearing the same old shit wherever I went - it seems as tho the
whole world has gone totally stupid. House music is SHIT & no one seemed
to realise it (although that's changing now) most records in the charts r made
for 12 yr olds & the entire music industry is run by accountants who have
no idea or interest in Art or Music.

U would go places & shout rubbish over rubbish - "hello - u look ,
mmm, nice - wot u been doin? - lalalalalalala - FUCK OFF AGHHHHHHHHHH"

My brain was desperate for stimulation: intellectual, physical, emotional anything
but the shit that was on offer. (I have to say at this point that although the
mainstream of world culture is still banality there is some fantastic music,
art & literature being produced )

So I owed some gangsters a favour - they had a posh bar that they wanted some
'celebs' in & they told me to do a club there. Obviously I didn't like being
that situation so I thought up something that would 'never work'. The Siren
Suite.

I had always wanted to do it & this was the perfect oppurtunity - to play
Stcokhausen, Cage, Scheonberg & Stravinsky all mixed up with Bach, Haydn,
Part & then Pink Floyd, Eno, Aphex Twin layered on top with our own sound
generation & FX.

There's no way people would go for it ! WRONG - it was a huge hit & the
gangster thought it was 'fuckin weird' but were happy cos there were pop stars
there. I had soon paid my debt to them & we moved on.

Now we r workin on the 1st album, we r planning to record with Michael Nyman
& are about to launch into a tour of Palaces & Embassys around the world
- so watch out.

We try to do all large Siren Suite events free to the public as we veiw it
as 'Cultural Socialism'. This is the greatest music ever written - there is
no price u can put to it.

In 1994 you directed "A Smashing Night Out", a documentary
on the nightlife in London. How was this experience for you ? Do you have any
plans for directing any other movies?

That film was about Smashing only - there was no club like it in London.
I was very lucky to be part of a seminal club - in fact I'm lucky to have been
part of a few.

The film won 6 international short film festivals (don't ask me !) & has
been on the international circuit ever since. The BBC offered to fund a feature
for me after that but the same week Leigh asked me to become a central part
of Minty - u know which I chose.

My career as a director came to an ubrupt end there and then really. I directed
a couple of Minty videos 'That's Nice' & 'Minty Live'. I also made Sexton
& Steady 2 videos for 'Glug Glug Car' & 'Girls Eat Worms'.

I have just made Bishi's 1st pop video for her single 'Take Off' that will
be released next year, U'll have 2 wait for more about that soon : )

Making films is really great fun - I used to hate shooting but now kinda enjoy
it . I hope to make many films in the future but am still so in love with music
that I can only think about that for the moment



You have been a club promoter since the late 80s. How do you see the nightlife
and clubbing life nowadays in London?

SHIT ! lolol it's RUBBISH !!!

Not ALL of it just most of it - as I mentioned above.

Homogenisation & mass mediocity lead toward the death of inspiration. This
is however now thankfully changing. The Minsitry of Sound is up for sale, Home
(the super club) was shut down & other such establishments r on dodgey ground.
I'll drink to the fall of em all.

For me a nightclub is a dangerous place, a place for new ideas, extreme veiws,
exotic & intelegent people from many disciplines - The Arts, Sciences &
Politics all come together in a celebratory explosion of possibilty fuelled
by the need for change & too much alcohol.

The world can change at the right club at the right time - really - Louises,
Blitz, Taboo, Schoom, Spectrum, Smashing, Metal headz, Annocha - they all had
a huge effect on the music, fashion, imagery, media. The best clubs of all have
a sociopolitical edge too.

Revolution is the essence of any real nightclub. It's about challenging &
changing the status quo not escaping from it.

What kind of music have you been listening lately? Any particular
new artist or band you really like?

Well I been writing & producing allot with Bishi & the other
Freezing Point artists. Kid 606 is a favourite,Coil, Goodie Pall, Aphex twin
as well as allot of Bach & some great Chinese & Indonesian classical
stuff.

I have been going back to some of the HARDERFASTERLOUDER sounds too (now my
ears r a bit better) I love Hanin Elias from DHR - her video for 'In Flames'
is very 'Twin Towers' but shot in 2000. I think it's great. U can proberly down
load the In Flames video as an MPEG from the DHR website. Well worth a look.

Do you have any good news you can share with us about your projects
and career?

Things r interesting at the moment, world domination seems closer than ever
: )

The Siren Suite is a very rewarding project & Freezing Point is gonna shake
some shit.

All I can say is watch this space - we are goin on a ride & everyone is
wellcome to join us !

Much love to u all & keep on keepin on !

TOGETHER WE WILL OVERCOME

Matthew Glamorre

Creation date : 19/01/2007 @ 15:32
Last update : 19/01/2007 @ 15:32
Category : Interviews
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