The scene was big on glamour but short on intelligent comment - the last thing you'd hope for from popsters like
The scene was big on glamour but short on intelligent comment - the last thing you'd hope for from popsters like George Michael or Duran Duran was attitude. Nowadays, no self-respecting Nineties rock star leaves home without one: attitude has come to define their identity and, above all, their music. This generation's stars don't sit at home whingeing in their bedroom like Morrissey. Neither do they wear designer suits and hang out at Paris fashion shows and galleries like Hutchence or Bowie. The lives of icons such as Madonna and Prince were alien to most British fans - a million miles away from their own culture. Back home, Morrissey may have offered realism in his lyrics but in reality he was as much a recluse as Michael Jackson - giving interviews rarely and never on view to his public. In the Eighties, pop stars were untouchable, elusive creatures who expected to be fawned over from afar.
I've still got the label, it's still registered, in case when I'm 50 I decide to put out some more records.. it was never like this a decade ago. For 15 years I played every toilet from up North to everywhere in Europe. You wouldn't do it if you didn't think you were going to be massive. The reason I stopped is because I don't like seeing older people leaping round stage looking undignified. There's this dodgy, awkward middle period where you're still looking quite young, but when people look at close-ups they think, ooh, they're getting on a bit.
My partner in the Carringtons, Jim, became a psychiatric nurse, and now he teaches guitar in Cornwall He could be a star, but he can't be bothered. We had videos out, we had a deal with Revolver, who were quite big distributors, and I was interviewed in the NME, Melody Maker, the Standard, Record Mirror. Then: vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist.I WAS in a few bands, and put out four good singles, three with the Carringtons I was watching a lot of Dynasty at the time. I have my own record label called Dex Discs, because I liked Dex best The last single, "Halcyon Daze", was five years ago.
Then the recession hit the social clubs, and now that's all gone, and it'll never come back.THE PRESS OFFICERKas Mercer, thirtysomething Now: Head of Press, Mercury Records. In the middle-to-late Seventies you could play seven nights a week, and on lunchtimes at weekends. One of them, he got himself a nice Roland synthesiser, but he's losing money to karaoke nights. It was awful hard work, and you'd get back at two, three in the morning Quite a lot of the guys still play, though. To begin with they'd hate you but by chucking out time they were like seals clapping for fish But I don't really miss it.