I’m hoping for that, then Eurovision, and then
for me is all about creation and moving people
Maybe because she was very friendly as well.
I think life is complete for me. We all always
and I never get this karaoke bit of it. But never
You never know. I’ll have to ask her one day.
said that after the World Cup song, the thing
mind, we will save that for another day. Ask her: ‘Did you ever meet Peter Hook, mam?’
to finish it off would be Eurovision. New Order on the Eurovision Song Contest. Could you
So are there any bands out now that you like? Well yeah, today I was listening to Kanye West.
I think it would have been great. You would
some financial arrangement.
That’s a bit of a controversial one! Brilliant. So what can we expect at your gig
have added some sort of substance to it. Pardon the pun.
Hopefully the answer will be ‘no’. If it’s ‘yes’, I’ll come knocking and I’m sure we can come to
imagine that?
He’s very interesting though. I was reading an
tomorrow?
article by Lou Reed, funnily enough. He said Barney could have dressed up as a tranny we
how great Kanye West is and it intrigued me.
Tomorrow you can expect a very passionate,
would have won it hands down. Yeah, easy.
I’d never been a fan of him and his music, but
intense and loving rendition of two New Order
I think one of the best facts in the book is
on listening to it, he does some interesting
LPs, Lowlife and Brotherhood. They are two of
that even the Hacienda cat had a catalogue
stuff. Again it comes down to that thing of he’s
my favourites from... god, when are they from?
number. Yes it did, in Factory Records. If I met
a complete nutjob, but because of it he is one
that cat now she’d be almost as famous as
hell of a showman who creates a lot of interest
the Coronation Street cat. They could have a
and entertainment.
1985 and 1986. Yeah, that’s it! We are not quite in your 90s
proper fight about that. I’m also looking forward to hearing the new
zenith pal, but we are getting there. My boys
I’ve heard she’s running the BBC.
1975 album.
are ready to take you on in Yorkshire. They
Oh, she’s moved on. Good for her. Tony had a
They played here in Doncaster actually, at The
very nice habit of being quite flippant, which
Dome just before Christmas.
have been practising very hard and they are going to blow your bloody socks off. I can believe it. I played some tracks from the
was nice, because to be honest the business
Hebden Bridge Live album last week.
we were in was very demanding. He felt little
He’s my neighbour. I know his mother very
things like the Factory cat lightened the
well. He fancies my daughter so I had to scare
atmosphere and it did. It was good. He had a
him off, but hopefully I’m going to see them
Oh cool. Hebden Bridge is a fantastic place. We
nice look at life did Tony, I must say.
soon. There is a lot of good music about but
were hoping to do a flood relief gig for them,
I don’t think there is a scene that there was,
so we will have to keep our fingers crossed. We
He always came across as being quite a
in the way that we had it. We were very lucky
have had some good gigs in Yorkshire.
character, but a lovable nice one I might add.
to go through punk, to go through acid house and then come up through all the genres and
You will have to try and get yourselves to
His ethos was always, ‘You are the musician.
all the wonderful things we’ve been through in
Doncaster some time. I feel we sometimes get
Get on with it and when you have done
the 80s and the 90s. Everybody is spoilt rotten
overlooked from bands who tour.
something I’ll put it out.’ He never told you
now, aren’t they, and spend most of their time
what to do, which was nice. The problem with
looking back.
Tell me this - is Rotters still there?
geezers that think they know better than you,
Another thing I was going to come onto was
The nightclub is still there, but it’s not called
and they don’t, so you have to be careful with
that we do a nod back, on my show, to the
Rotters anymore. I don’t think they would
it. Tony was a great fan of our music and never
student nights from here in Doncaster from
have you on. It’s a dance music venue now.
steamed into it. He just let you get on with it
back in the 90s.
major labels is that they are full of these
Oh well, you can’t win them all.
and it enabled you to reach whichever creative zenith you wanted to reach without someone
There is a massive thing about the 90s now.
making you doubt it. There is nothing worse
It used to be the 80s, but it seems the 90s are
We do have a couple of great music venues
than doubt, is there?
the new 80s now. It was an interesting period.
here though that would certainly have you on.
But I suppose the thing is that everybody now He sounds like a good figurehead that held it
should be making events and not watching
all together.
the past. But hey, listen. People like you
Alright mate, we will keep our fingers crossed.
and people like me are out there enjoying Yeah, he was a real character and very funny,
End
themselves. We can start a revolution, mate. Rob Allen’s Son of SLAM radio show is on Sine
but he was also very passionate and an artist, in the way that he was very flamboyant. It’s
Agreed! I’m definitely up for that. Now back
FM 102.6 in Doncaster every Friday, 11am till
funny. In the music business nowadays you
in the 80s with New Order, you played here in
1pm, or worldwide at:
don’t seem to get many flamboyant people.
Doncaster - I bet you can’t even remember - in
You’ve got Simon Cowell, haven’t you, and he’s
1985 at Rotters Nightclub.
s inefm.com
about the only one who’s got anything behind him. The way he looks at music, personally I
I do! I remember our friend, Alan Wise,
think is awful. It kills music. Can you imagine
promoted it. I do remember it very well. I met a
what Simon Cowell would say to Ian Curtis or
lovely girl that night.
Ian Brown? It would be frightening. Gotta say I’m not a fan of Cowell’s product. But hey ho,
Well, we are very friendly up here in Yorkshire.
that’s how the world goes around sometimes. It wasn’t your mother, was it? Was it nearly I know what you mean and sometimes I
forty years ago. That would be funny, wouldn’t
sit there with a tear in my eye watching
it?
somebody. But I suppose it has a use. Music
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