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Phil Jupitus: .....no, some
of them have been sloppy, I've guests in that have been
quirky, I've had guests in that have been frankly a
little bit too awake if you can get what I'm inferring.
But this is the first time that I've had guests in that
are elegant. Elegant guests. Making me feel frankly
shabby. Er it's er time to welcome er Nick Rhodes and
Stephen Duffy, The Devils.
Stephen Duffy: Call me sloppy. {laughter} Sloppy and quirky.
PJ: Sloppy and quirky. It's like a kind of yeah dado Startsky
and Hutch join me now er to talk about well you know how
things are going in the exciting world of The Devils. We
told er our listeners that you chaps were coming in and I
think it's the most emails we've had, they started flying
in enquirering about your work and what you've been up
to.
Nick Rhodes: I didn't know our fans were up this early.
Probably from the night before.
PJ: I tell you what it is, a lot of them, and there is one
girl, who's, the lady in Canada, is it Sam in Canada,
she's staying up just to listen to you and it's like 3 in
the morning. She heard you were on.
NR: Well hello Canada.
{laughter}
PJ: Er The Devils the album Dark Circles how did you two get
back together er back in the day, way back in the day,
Stephen you were the original I didn't know this, the
original vocalist, with the nascent, the early Duran
Duran.
SD: There is this website called bands reunited, {laughter} we
both logged on to that. We hadn't seen each other for 17
years then we were both at a party together and um I saw
him and we waved at each other and as soon as we started
talking we were sort of talking about those days and all
of the songs that we'd written that we
hadn't..
PJ: I can't believe that it has been 17 years because Stephen
you are the most bumpinable person in the music business
I have ever met. You know but without having that kind of
Pete Whiley sort of desperation about being at every gig
just in case someone's there. I mean you bump into you I
saw you at the Brian Wilson and then at the Wannadies. I
mean maybe that's just me, maybe you're stalking me. I
hadn't thought it through. I'm being Duffied.
Loss of sound
{laughter}
SD: ....we were trying to get Morrisey but
PJ: Do you need a slightly out of conditioned roadie, coz I'm
your boy. Erm so, I mean after 17 years was it an easy
reunite.
NR: Well yeah we regress very quickly, {laughter} you know so
er when we got together we just started talking about it
and thought we ought to finish those songs off, a messy
affair really isn't it when you're sort of 16, 18 years
old writing all those songs and never get any finished.
PJ: Is it fun to look back on something like that coz a lot of
artists their early work they kind of no that was then
this is now is it a pleasant thing to reassess.
SD: We think everything we do, everything we did was complete
genius, that's why we're full of confidence about it.
NR: Yeah, it's like Orson Welles, you know, {laughter} it's
obviously our Citizen Kane.
SD: I think Orson Welles but a bit thinner.
NR: Before the butter commercials.
PJ: Oh the peas commercials, have you ever heard that it is
one of my most pleasing bootlegs I have ever heard. It's
him getting cross about how to say the word peas. Oh it's
marvelous stuff. You might wanna incorporate that. Was it
fun making the new album was it a pleasing experience to
get back in the studio together.
NR: Yeah it was great actually I mean we did it in a real
hurry erm couple of weeks erm...
SD: As we would have done if we'd have been making the album
back then.
NR: Exactly and we sort of shut off everything from 1978
onwards and pretended that it hadn't existed and...
SD: Which was quite easy.
NR: Crawled back into our hole and everything was fine.
PJ: Wow. It's just one of those things. I quite like it when
people, you know, go back coz there is a sense,
particularly among the fans and the emails we've had in,
oh it was work unfinished and lots of people have said
will you be, they erm, a couple of the emails have said
will you be re-releasing the stuff as it was then like
the really early Duran demos.
SD: Well you see since then I've learnt to sing in tune.
{laughter}
NR: And I found the on switch for my synthesizer, well you
know.
{laughter}
SD: Nick's taken the stickers off his keyboard, and then I put
them back on.
PJ: Oh the stickers, did you actually have stickers.
NR: Of course.
PJ: Oh fantastic.
NR: You have no idea how happy I was when I found out that b
actually came after a.
{laughter}
PJ: It's basic but it works er this is The Devils taken from
the album Dark Circles it's the, is this the forth coming
single, Come Alive?
SD: We're waiting for the er remixes but it might be.
PJ: Oh right, ok, cool. You know what that is, that's what
they call a teaser campaign. It might be the single it
might not, you work it out chubby.
{Come Alive}
PJ: .....and that really happened on my television, and after,
we were just talking here, we're chatting about, have you
received some kind of er, apparently the boy Rhodes has
received a punk er video.
NR: I haven't received it yet, it's a compilation from '78.
PJ: Is it on the way?
NR: Yes it is. Yes, why would you like a copy?
SPJ: Oh would I ever.
NR: Yes.
PJ: Whoa Nellie. Because, is it "Revolver"?
NR: I'm not sure what it is erm I don't think Peter Cook's on
it no so I imagine it's not "Revolver".
PJ: Oh that's a shame, coz there was "Revolver" and so it
goes, so it goes was Tony.....
Loss of sound
PJ: ....and that is lovely Manchester Lil and then there was
er "Revolver" which was Peter Cook in his office.
NR: Yeah I saw Suicide on "Revolver".
SD: It was filmed in Birmingham so we used to pop down there.
PJ: "Suicide"!
SD: Yeah.
PJ: This is a great morning, you mention bands and I go
ohhhhh. Oh are you like the new Suicide, oh there's a bit
of that going on.
SD: They supported The Clash didn't they?
NR: Yeah, they got bottled off stage, yeah.
PJ: Oh those poor bands that got bottle off. Back in the day.
Do you remember Skafish, those poor people, everyone
assumed they were a ska band coz they had the letters
s-k-a in their name and they weren't, they were this kind
of this devoesque avant guard band from Ohio. Oh they got
familiar with glass very quickly at every gig they ever
did.
NR: You get sort of plastic cupped off now really don't you.
PJ: It's very different, and I think it's nice of the rock
fans to take the time to pee in the bottle before they
throw it at you. That's a lovely moment. You see you
play, back when you were with Duran, you sort of did Rio
those mental huge gigs. Is there not something quite
physically quite threatening about doing the massive
shows.
NR: Oh I don't know actually because I think the club shows
are always a little more intense because people are so
close and you can actually see peoples faces grimacing
when someone hits a wrong note, but er when they're
further away it just becomes this sea.
PJ: Yeah, that whole amorphous mass of humanity that sort of
gigging before that. Are you two playing live by the way
coz we have had questions. People have been on the
website and er someone said 'I went to the website, I
love it, it's lovely particularly the tours and events
page' Do you have any tours and events happening?
{laughter}
NR: Yeah, well we were gonna suggest erm roots to shop around
the world but erm {laughter} we haven't actually updated
that yet. We'd love to play some live shows but I
honestly don't know whether it happening there maybe some
events.
PJ: Oh I like that. You see the mystery about the boys, I've
never had such enigmatic guests ever. They're sitting
there.....
NR: We had a song once called enigmatic swimmers but that, was
that was after you Stephen. That was another of the
pretentious singers before Simon.
SD: Well I'm off to write sloppy and quirky as soon as I get
out of here.
{laughter}
PJ: Erm, email questions that have been erm mailed in, erm
what's this one here, this is bizarre and this has come
from Wisconsin, it's the cheese state you know. Out of
your collection of synthesize Nick what do you like using
the most??
NR: Oh my god. That is a little esoteric isn't it.
PJ: I think it's the editor of what synthesizer magazine.
{laughter}
NR: Well it's the synthy aks suitcase how about that.
{laughter}
SD: I'm writing a folk album at the moment and it's gonna be
called shaddupa ya synth.
{laughter}
PJ: That's what I quite like coz Stephen I've completely
always associated you with the acoustic guitars and then
Rhodes over there with his keyboards you know and it's,
and the sound there I was liking that a lot. I mean,
who's remixing it for you by the way, you said you were
waiting for some remixes.
NR: Felix Da Housecat.
PJ: Oh wow.
SD: Dahome help.
NR: Actually we got another mix from Tiga which is er which is
really great too.
PJ: You're just, you're just spreading it out there aren't you
getting back in with the kids. And I like the idea that
you're the new Suicide, I'm totally into that.
SD: I think we ought to get them to remix it.
NR: Yeah if we can find them.
SD: What were their names?
NR/PJ: Alan Vega.
{laughter}
SD: And Joe Dolce.
{laughter}
NR: It's a running gag isn't it.
PJ: And Ron Male, no that's the wrong band, ok.
SD: And Renata.
{laughter}
PJ: So er, so gigs, there's no gigs but there are events. We
gotta write all this mysterious stuff down, there are
events. There are possible events happening.
SD: We're going to tour Harvey Nichols.
NR: Happenings.
PJ: Oh happenings.
NR: Happenings.
PJ: Events and happenings, and they might be releasing their
single. This is, {laughter} this is the most lame
plugging I have ever had done by a band that's come here
'we might be releasing a single we're not sure' 'some
people have been sent copies of the record, we're waiting
to see what comes back'.
SD: Well we've been waiting 25 years to release it so we don't
want to rush it.
PJ: I suppose so, you've got the waiting game, so please come
back in 10 years when your single's coming out and er you
can discuss it then and let me know how the event went. I
get the feeling there will only be one.
{laughter}
NR: Hey well we're looking for a patron for the next album, we
just thought we'd just make one copy and sell it to one
person.
{laughter}
PJ: Oh, we'd like to announce that The Devils are the most
niche band in the world. Their one copy will go on sale
on ebay. Oh that's what you do make one album and put it
on ebay, like Kurt Cobain's house. Gentlemen thank you so
much indeed for coming in, I know the mornings aren't
really the time for musicians, what with you're late
night lifestyle and sitting around smoking your pipe
playing in your event. No we'll call it an event, it
won't be a gig. {laughter} Ladies and gentlemen the new
Suicide are The Devils and you've requested this, you
wanted some Velvet Underground.
SD: Yeah that's some classical music there Jim.
PJ: Oh yeah, so this er sweet Jane, boys thank you very much
indeed for coming in.
NR: Thank you.
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