I THINK mediocrity rules the day in England and it rules the music as well," sighed Peter Coyne down the line from London. "There's scores of duff bands out there - the music scene is boring and uninteresting."
Coyne, singer and co-founder of London's The Godfathers, was clearly unhappy with the state of his nation.
His own band, which produces a brilliant brand of hard driving, exhilarating guitar rock, is renowned as a live force but it has to sit and watch while johnny-come-lately acts like Right Said Fred (RSF) dominate the charts.
"I happen to think that's one of the better ones," Coyne laughed of the RSF hit I'm Too Sexy. "At least it nicks a bit out of Jimi Hendrix."
Coyne and his brother Chris (bass) formed The Godfathers in 1985 after the demise of their former band, the Sid Presley Experience.
The group, with guitarists Kris Dollimore and Mike Gibson plus drummer George Mazur, quickly began to attract attention with its first release, a three-track 12 inch called Capo Di Tutti Capi.
By 1986, it had three Top 10 singles on the UK independent chart and an extensive touring schedule, which took the band through Europe and America. By then, a distinctive Godfathers sound had well and truly emerged but its seeds were sown during the Coyne brothers' South London childhood.
"It has been an ambition of ours to be in a successful band ever since we were little kids - I suppose it's an ambition for most people to have a go at it," Coyne said.
"Me and Chris come from a very large family, there are 10 kids in our family and we always used to listen to the stuff our older brothers and sisters had.
"Our brothers used to listen to a lot of Cream and Hendrix and Bob Dylan, some of my sisters liked the Stones and the Beatles and some others liked T-Rex and Gary Glitter."
The Godfathers started generating more attention with the release of its 1988 album, Birth, School, Work, Death and the title track, especially, became a big alternative radio favourite, not only in the UK and America but Australia as well.
The 1989 follow-up album, More Songs About Love And Hate, further consolidated The Godfathers' reputation for loud, anthemic rock and had the critics raving.
Late that same year, the band lost Dollimore and replaced him with former Presidents of Explosion member Chris Burrows. The band has since emerged with a new album, Unreal World, which has been hailed as its best yet.
The guitar crunch is still as strong as ever but there is a new subtlety to the band and some great songs are allowed to shine with the increased musical maturity.
The title track is a savage indictment of the horrors of modern life and with its incessant bass-heavy riffing it has an almost apocalyptic feel. "It's the most savagely political song we've done for a long time," Coyne said.
The singer added that the prescence of the new boy Burrows had led to a marked improvement in the band's sound.
"He co-wrote eight or nine of the songs on the record," Coyne said. "He's used to writing songs so he's very easy to work with.
"We held auditions but it's a feeling really - I think you know the right person as soon as he walks in the room. Chris fitted into the band straight away, not only as a musician, but personality-wise as well."
* The Godfathers will be in Sydney next week for its first Australian tour and those who have heard the power of this band on record should see it live for full effect at The Phoenician Club on Wednesday and Thursday.