Drugs, beds and Lenny Henry
The once-bleached Britpoppers are back with a well-received new album, ‘Stand Upright in a Cool Place’, and bawdy tales of drugs, beds and Lenny Henry.
The strangest experience
Nigel (vocals): “We played in Bosnia just after the war ended, the whole place was mafia run. We were upstairs in a bar with these Bosnian guys drinking shots and we hear a car screech outside, doors shutting, then footsteps coming up the stairs. We were shitting ourselves. They come in, someone sticks a massive bag of grass in the middle of the table and fucks off.”
Math (drums): “Did we smoke it all?”
Nigel: “A lot of it.”
The biggest turning point
Andy (guitar): “After we did our hair. I’d started going out with Denise [Van Outen] and this big tabloid spread came out – I thought ‘Shit!’ because I was seeing this girl in Brighton. Anyway, she took me to a great hairdresser, I turned up at rehearsal and Nigel’s had the bloody same thing done. But it separated us from the other bands.”
The worst gig
Math – “The worst one for me was in Amsterdam. It was the last time I smoked skunk in quantities before a gig and I had a panic attack on stage. I thought I was gonna die. Kept the beat though. Professional to the end.”
The worst injury
Nigel – “Andy fell out of a bunk bed and broke his arm the night before our comeback tour. We had to cancel the whole thing. We could have gone bankrupt.”
Andy – “People said ‘he’s nearly 40, what’s he doing sleeping in a bunk bed?’ It was a loft bed.”
Math: “My Mrs says she’s never seen someone drain as when I took that call. I went grey.”
The most disagreeable celeb I ever met
Math: “Fucking Lenny Henry. It was at the Brit Awards in 1996, he was on the table next to us, and he’s from Dudley. So I went up to him and said ‘Hello Lenny, I’m from Dudley’ and he said ‘Oh fuck off.’ Fucking wanker!”
Andy – “Is that why we can’t stay in Travelodges?
The best advice we can give
Andy – “Get a low bed.”
The strangest experience
Nigel (vocals): “We played in Bosnia just after the war ended, the whole place was mafia run. We were upstairs in a bar with these Bosnian guys drinking shots and we hear a car screech outside, doors shutting, then footsteps coming up the stairs. We were shitting ourselves. They come in, someone sticks a massive bag of grass in the middle of the table and fucks off.”
Math (drums): “Did we smoke it all?”
Nigel: “A lot of it.”
The biggest turning point
Andy (guitar): “After we did our hair. I’d started going out with Denise [Van Outen] and this big tabloid spread came out – I thought ‘Shit!’ because I was seeing this girl in Brighton. Anyway, she took me to a great hairdresser, I turned up at rehearsal and Nigel’s had the bloody same thing done. But it separated us from the other bands.”
The worst gig
Math – “The worst one for me was in Amsterdam. It was the last time I smoked skunk in quantities before a gig and I had a panic attack on stage. I thought I was gonna die. Kept the beat though. Professional to the end.”
The worst injury
Nigel – “Andy fell out of a bunk bed and broke his arm the night before our comeback tour. We had to cancel the whole thing. We could have gone bankrupt.”
Andy – “People said ‘he’s nearly 40, what’s he doing sleeping in a bunk bed?’ It was a loft bed.”
Math: “My Mrs says she’s never seen someone drain as when I took that call. I went grey.”
The most disagreeable celeb I ever met
Math: “Fucking Lenny Henry. It was at the Brit Awards in 1996, he was on the table next to us, and he’s from Dudley. So I went up to him and said ‘Hello Lenny, I’m from Dudley’ and he said ‘Oh fuck off.’ Fucking wanker!”
Andy – “Is that why we can’t stay in Travelodges?
The best advice we can give
Andy – “Get a low bed.”
