| Melody Maker - December 2000 - Interview with Brian Molko How's your year been? It's been a rollercoaster ride. 'Black Market Music' has taken off worldwide, and that's been a surprise. It's been our first number one in Europe. It went straight to number one in France! We knew we had a record that was better than 'Without You I'm Nothing' and the first album, but we didn't expect it to go off on such a scale. You always want to better what you've done in the past - we see our albums as building a skyscraper in the end. But this has been like two towers at once - like the World Trade Centre. The album received a mixed reception, didn't it? We always knew there'd be people sharpening their knives. It's like water off a duck's back by now. You reach a point in Britain where people think it's time to knock you down, but around the rest of the world it's been very well recieved. Does that mean you're about to become very rich? I don't think we're going to be as rich as U2, or Bowie. Comfortable, maybe. I need a house - that's number one on my list. So will you buy a gothic-style Transylvanian castle? No, a flat will do me fine. West London is my adopted home. I feel comfortable there - It's so multicultural. Have you made a conscious effort to cut down the Rock 'n' Roll hedonism? If we have cut down, it's through necessity. We're not 21 anymore. In the past we've probably been guilty of putting lifestyle before music, but we've grown up a little bit. Delivering 100% to our fans is now more important. So during this year's tours, you've mopped uo the trail of blood and spunk that you left throughout Europe last time? Ha, we left a trail of breadcrumbs this time - so we could find our way back to the little house in the forest. But you need to cut loose. If you feel that you deserve to, you do. If you feel that you don't, then you dont. What's been your favourite binge this year? There was a funny time this year when we were in the studio. It was Mark, the Skunk Anansie drummer's birthday, and we partied like it was 1997. None of us made it into the studio the next day. The next day, me and Steve looked at each other and went "Oh, shit. The pary's over, isn't it? Fuck!" The old band habits reared their ugly heads, but we're pushing 30 now. Does it bother you that you're getting older? Well, it's not too bad. I've still got a bit of a baby face, so I'll be alright. Do you lose lots of skin cream and moisturiser, or do you have a picture of yourself in the attic somewhere? Like "The picture of Dorian Gray"? I wish! No, touring takes it out of you. You get touring skin. A lot of being in a band is about being a perpetual teenager, skin-wise. I drink lots of water, take vitamin pills, try not to sleep with my make-up on anymore. But there's no escaping the hands of time. Are you still working just as hard, or have you cut back on that too? The work has taken over everything. There isn't time to do anything else. We're on this train, and we've got to stay on it untill the last stop. But wasn't 'Slave to the Wage' a warning against working yourself into an early grave? But this is something we've chosen to do. Our parents and people around us told us that this was impossible, and that we'd fall flat on our faces. But we believed in ourselves - that's the only way you can make it happen. You've become more politicised this year with songs like 'Spite & Malice' and 'Haemoglobin' I think it's natural to look around yourself more as you get into your late 20's. You start to look less inwardly for pain and realise there is alot of pain around you. It's like when people write books - they start by being autobiographical, but as they grow as artists, the subject matter becomes more complex. The line 'Dope, guns, fucking in the streets," from 'Spite & Malice' sounds cool, but does it actually mean anything to you beyond that? That was just a reaction to Churchill's mohican, really (from the Mayday riots) I just jumped around shouting that because it's the old MC5 slogan, and a friend said "You've got a chorus there!" It was a reaction to what we were seeing on the news. It's not an insurrectionary call to arms. There are 200 million guns in circulation in the US. That's a scarey thought. Do you get involved in direct political action? You mean in terms of going out on the street and protesting? Well, when we were in Spain, we came across a demonstration infromt of parliament for registered partnerships of homosexuals and we tried to make our presence felt, so maybe people would recognise us and recognise that we supported that. Do you ever have problems with authority, or does being a successful rock star protect you? I've been thinking about this quite a bit, and I think it depends on the size of your tourbus. We used to drive around in shitty little vans and we used to get stopped by the cops so much. We used to have border hassles, it was incredible. Now everything seems to be very smooth - it's all down to the size of your bus - like "How big's yours, mate?" hahaha. Do you think that your fans have an accurate idea of what you're really like? The only people who know what I'm like are Steve and Stef. They have to live with me 10 months of the year. Your persona is just something people live off. |