JW: How are you both ?
TB: Good
JW: Saul the shades aren’t coming off at all ?
SD: No they are glued.
JW: Are we gonna get any details about last night’s activities at all ?
SD: No not on air
JW: Tim do you know anything ?
TB: I’m sorry he’s only just arrived but the shades are tattoed on they are 3 dimensional virtual shades
SD: I’ve become a cliche of myself haven’t I ?
JW: You do look the rock star part it has to be said, swagger and attitude.
TB: It’s fantastic – We have to have someone in the band who takes care of that department – he was voted it for 1999.
SD: Which bit do you do then ? you do the the juggling.
TB: I do the fire-eating
JW: You both look very well ’cause Tim everytime I have done something you have been on there’s been some kind of ailment that’s stricken you down
TB: Yeah I’m Woody Allen – I can’t help it – the people in Scotland think I’m really pathetic and we cancelled T in the Park 2 years running cause of my health. It was Eddie Izzard’s fault last time you remember.
JW: Yeah you went over to New York was it ?
TB: Yeah I caught some germs from him – sitting too close to the stage.
JW: But you are good now.
TB: I’m fit and feisty.
JW: Now the video we were talking about earlier is very glossy, dynamic, where did the idea come from ? It looks a bit Pet Shop Boys to me.
TB: It wasn’t ours – I haven’t got a clue how videos work – it doesn’t work on the basis of making a movie – you get a script it looks fantastic, you make the video and you look like an idiot and then you get another script and it looks like nothing and you kinda think well I trust the Director and he makes it and its being played all over MTV – personally I think it’s cause we’ve got women around us.
JW: But it’s not you see – I didn’t notice there were women in that video.
SD: We feel guilty about this you see
TB: Do we feel guilty?
SD: I do
JW: You are too liberal you.
JW:But the cowboy look has gone, the boots and the hat in the video, cause you are in camouflage today.
TB: I couldn’t ride my horse down Oxford St
JW: We got a space for you outside.
TB: You have ? Shoot If I’d have known I would have brought it with me.
JW: We’re gonna play an exclusive track off the album and you are going to announce some tour dates.
TB: Aye
JW: Do you want to get that over and done with?
TB: Defintely said the dentist – we are going to do another of our brief tours
SD: (Announces dates) the big arenas, the big horrible sheds where we look like tiny little people in the distance – I wish we weren’t doing them.
JW: So why are you ?
SD: ’cause we are lazy.
TB: we will have cameras that will make us look bigger and we’ll find a way of making it intimate.
SD: It’s cause we are really ugly you are probably best to see us from afar actually.
JW: Never go and see them at an intimate venue cause it will be harrowing.
JW: How was T in the Park, a lot of people were saying it was one of the outstanding performances of the whole festival.
TB: Yeah from 100 yards
JW: What’s your most memorable bit ?
TB: I did this speech in rehearsal and said that I’d really like this year if we don’t play Sit Down as much and Saul kind of went look we haven’t played Scotland for 2 years running cause you cancelled it and if we don’t play it there’s gonna be a riot and so he talked us into playing it so we played it at the end and 40,000 people were dancing and I can’t argue with that it was fantastic.
JW: Saul do you feel vindicated ?
SD: It was a bit of a no brainer though – stick 40,000 scotsman in a field, give them a load of cooking lager, stick them in front of a band called James playing a song called Sit Down – can’t lose.
JW: How do you manage to put so much raw emotion and soul into your lyrics ?
TB: I’m a highly unstable person and basically I write from that point of view – it’s very easy – I’m a raw human being. At the moment my life is quite stabilised so I wait for other band members to have a wild night and come crashing down the next day and then I follow them round with a pen and photogrpahs.
JW: I can imagine Saul’s giving you and awful lot of material at the moment
TB: Masses all the songs on the album are about Saul.
JW: Is there a theme to the album ?
TB: There’s not. There’s a few out and out glorious love songs cause I’m madly in love.
JW: Still, that’s pretty good.
TB: It’s not bad is it 3 years. I think this one’s the real thing.
SD: We’re very happy
JW: Are you ? I’m very pleased for you both.
TB: He’s cute isn’t he
JW: He’s very cute
TB: But those sun glasses have got to go Em and then there’s some songs about revenge.
JW: Where do they come from ?
TB: She’s getting so excited, look how excited she is – she’s a vulture this woman. You think she’s a nice cute easy going…..
JW: No none of that – so the revenge comes from where ?
TB: A number of people in the last few years who would wish us harm – in fact the song you are going to play from the album which sounds like a really lovely perky chorus “Here’s a mirror with your name on, singing we’re gonna miss you when you’re gone” It’s not a song at all its a spell of protection, it’s like a mirror around myself that anybody wishing me harm will have this mirror reflect back at them their energy.
JW: We’ll play it then
(Plays If Anybody Hurts You)
JW: That sounds very powerful.
TB: It’s fun, we’re happy with that.
JW: Its not fun though is it ?
TB: No its a devious dark song with a chirpy chorus.
JW: And that’s not gonna be a single.
TB: It might be if we get round to a 4th or 5th
JW: At the end of the Rough Trade version of Sit Down someone sings the words Lester Piggot over and ever again – then 5 years later on the Laid album his name is in brackets after Sometimes.
TB: It was a very strange sound engineer in Bath – forgotten his name looked like a hippy and he used to check the sound by saying Lester Piggot and we taped him one day and stuck him on the record. He was quite happy with that.
JW: Are there any plans to do another enhanced CD Single like the Destiny Calling CD’s ?
SD: I didn’t know we’d done one,
JW: Did the people from the X-Files talk to you personally about using the Ring the Bells ?
TB: I completely forgotten about it and I bought the X-Files box set and was going through them on a boring day and I heard this song on the jukebox and I thought that sounds like the Eagles – I know this song and then we came on and they used us for about 2 minutes – a very cool moment.
JW: How do you feel about the eclipse ?
TB: Saul lives in a permanent eclipse.
SD: I have to say. Its not even a total eclipse – Its getting blown out of proportion – the idea of 4 million withering hippies looking at something which happens every few years anyway all around the planet – connecting this with the end of the century – I hate it all – I’d like to get in an aeroplane and go up there and put smoke out and obscure their view – that would be fantastic – take the moment away from them.
TB: I love it
JW: When was your last big row ?
TB: That was it just there. We don’t have big rows – of course we do
SD: We can find a really good way of working with each other – we have different lifestyles but are complimentary to each other – I don’t understand it I think we quite like each other don’t we ?
TB: Yeah I think so – yeah definitely.
JW: If you disagree how do you deal with that ?
TB: Liam and Noel – sometimes we call in Jimmy to arbitrate. We put him both sides cause he’s quite balanced.
SD: And if his balance goes he threatens you – well he threatens me cause I’m much smaller than him.
TB: We have big disagreements and we take it in turns to back down – we’re both very emotional and every so often…. Saul chokes on his coffee.
JW: Are you gonna play Booth and the Bad Angel live again or make another ?
TB: Probably not – I’d like to make another with Angelo cause I love the man and I had such fun making it – the record company didn’t like the record and it seemed to conflict with their big investment in James – so at the moment no.
JW: Saul, Money – does that mean anything to you ?
SD: We’ve done all these mad big, in-your-face house tunes and this is taking up a lot of time and we wanna get it out. Its big euro house – big cheesy stuff we can’t do in James – we’re gonna send some of it to Orbital and ask them to if they will do little bits.
(Plays I Know What I’m Here For)
JW: Sounds a bit like the Pet Shop Boys – What were you saying about Dave the drummer?
SD: He’s doing a track with the drummer from Catatonia and the drummer from the Stereophonics – they’ll get confused the three of them – it’s a Cozy Powell track Dance with the Devil – Dave if you are out there wake up.
JW: The single’s out on Monday “I Know What I’m Here For” could you not have chose something a bit snappier – its difficult to remember ?
TB: It sounds like a Manics title doesn’t it.
JW: It does actually.
TB: We nicked it from one of Bevan’s speaches in 1952.
JW: The new album’s called Millionaires – the last album was called Whiplash and you suffered at the hands of that.
SD: The one before it was called Laid though remember.
JW: Didn’t suffer quite so much then. Why Millionaires ?
TB: Well we need some money quite simply. And also playing with the idea that everyone thinks we’re loaded – we’re sick of buying rounds in pubs – here comes a rich pop star he can buy a round. Have a look at my bank statement – not true.
JW: Well something’s gone with your record company then surely.
TB: Definitley – we’ve been ripped off for £325 Million as Mr Elton John said today.
JW: How do you feel at the moment you do seem very enthusiastic, energised, not surprised that you are still here but that people are so receptive to you.
TB: Its drugs.
JW: We’ll leave it there shall we.
TB: We are happy bunnies.
SD: When the Best Of came out I was really worried thinking this is our wave goodbye – and when it kicked off I was so surprised, so happy in a way we’ve got a place in all of this. So when we made Millionaires we had a new found enthusiasm for it and for each other and it does feel like a weird new beginning.
JW: No it does come across in what you are doing. Thanks for coming in, good to see you.
TB: You too – Look forward to seeing you presenting a car show programme.
SD: Holiday
TB: Thats it Holiday
JW: Can we have a whip round for the lads from James cause they’ve not got much money.
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