“Are people prepared to work on a farm for free?” The frontman doesn’t entertain any ill-thought out capriciousness regarding the bugbear that is free music. “I’m guessing that an 18-year-old who wants music for free simply thinks it should be for free, but are people prepared to work on a farm for free, or just for the food they eat? If people really want to break it down on a moral level; people can get music for free so therefore they do get music for free, and I can almost understand that. I mean that’s humanity for you isn’t it? But the justifications people use are pathetic. It really is theft, and if you have stolen it I can understand that, but please fuck off and don’t tell me how proud you are about it.” Falkous says that whilst the critical reaction has been incredible and the reaction of fans likewise, their current status in the UK will not be enough to sustain them, and the band’s future may depend on the American market. Thus far it’s been a case of so far so good. Touring with the perfunctory anarcho-punk outfit Against Me! in Europe and the US, the reaction was something of a surprise, with a lot of fans Stateside being “far more open minded and far more welcoming” than the less accommodating European crowds... but resistance is something that’s never much bothered Andrew Falkous. “If a crowd is largely indifferent to you, you may as well make them fucking hate you. At least then they’ve an anecdote to take away: ‘Ah we saw this right bunch of
dicks the other night’. It’s very liberating to lose 500 or 600 people. ‘We’re here but you don’t want us to be here. We’re going to play another three songs and we’re going to stretch those fuckers out.’ If you’re some ugly fat girl with some callow, hanging chins and you want to stand there looking at me like I’m spoiling your night in between songs I’m going to make you wish you’d never been born. It sounds ridiculous, but if someone gives you the finger when you’re walking down the street you’ll think ‘what an odd fellow.’ If somebody does it to you when you’re on stage then it’s an affront to your very existence. You must eliminate that person and make them look as foolish as possible.” That’s a lovely set of values to live by. “It’s horrible!” he laughs. “It’s like a defense mechanism taken to the power of X times 1000.”