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Ash Latest
Melody Maker 08 December 1999
We take a peek into the mind of ASH's Charlotte Hatherley
and find out
about pervy vids, Calvin Klein and the follow-up to
'Nu-Clear Sounds'
CONSIDER it a pre-millennial
remake of Innerspace - you know, that mad
Eighties science fiction
film where Dennis Quaid
gets miniaturised and injected into the
body of Martin Short - but you're about
to take a stroll inside the head of Ash's
Charlotte Hatherley.
Since joining the band as their
kick-ass guitarist a couple of years
ago, Charlotte's become something
of a punk rock time bomb. She's
the live-wire performer, psyched
on adrenaline and sudden success;
the accessible pin-up, a glamour girl
for the moshpit masses; and a youth
icon, proof that fame can happen
to you right now. The question is,
though, what makes her tick? Let's
take a wander round her psyche
to find out
FAMILY AND
HOME LIFE
DESPITE Charlotte being one of the
most sorted popstresses you're ever
likely to meet, her upbringing wasn't
exactly what you'd call blissful.
My family? she blinks, looking
a little edgily around the East London
pub where we meet. "God, um, certain
aspects of my family are warm and
certain others are distinctly...um,
freezing. See, I grew up with a crazy
mother and two sisters, so we all kind
of bonded through the fact that my
mother was f***ing weird. She's just
not quite in touch with reality - she
lives on her own little planet."
She lights a cigarette, nervously.
"Let's just say I didn't particularly
enjoy living at home. Did I bring people
back home after school? Noooo, it was
very strict, we weren't really allowed to
do anything, and that's kinda why I left
to move in with my dad when I was 17.
I was rehearsing with Nightnurse [the
band Charlotte quit to join Ash] and it
got to the point where my mum was
trying to stop me from being in a band."
Were you a precocious little child
or a nice little child?
"I was very sweet until I became
a teenager!" she laughs. "And then
I became very f***ing stupid and
difficult. Because I was surrounded by
this f***ing un-ideal family life, I went
to school and I was all right, but as
soon as I got home it would be crazy."
Who do you live with now, Charlotte?
"Well, until recently, I was living with
my sister, Beatrice. We're very close and
we've always looked after each other - I know that's rare, but circumstances
f***ing forced it. But we've just had to
divorce and go our separate ways now.
It had to be done for the sake of our
relationship because, in a sense, she did
kind of mother me for two years. I love
her dearly but it's better this way.
So, yeah," she sighs, "I'm in-between
places now. My shit's scattered all over
London, and I suppose I'm gonna have
to find somewhere new to live. But I'm
not sure I could live by myself - I can't
even go into an empty house cos I get
freaked out very easily! So I suppose I'd
better get on with finding a flatmate.
That would make an amazing
competition, Charlotte, First prize:
a comfy flat in London and a pop star
as your flatmate!
"Yeah, go on then," she cackles, "but
I pity the winner! Apply at your own
risk! They have to send pictures, though
- everyone must be a beautiful Calvin
Klein model in my house!"
COMING OF AGE
CHARLOTTE'S only 20 years old, and
she's been doing this since she was 16.
So you'd be forgiven for expecting a hit
of a Billie/Britney
situation, the old
"childhood lost to fame" thing. But
she's pretty adamant that it's not like
that at all.
"I'm not missing out on my
childhood," she shrugs. "I'm reliving
my childhood! I think it's because
I wasn't able to do what I wanted
to, back when I was living with my
mum. That's why I started smoking and
drinking - because I wasn't able to do it
before. And that's why I decided to try drugs - because I definitely wasn't able
to do that. As soon as I moved into my
dad's, I realised I could do whatever the
f*** I wanted, cos he didn't give a f***."
All of which sounds very gong-ho
and confrontational. Truth is, although
Charlotte's become immeasurably more
confident over the past year or so, she's
hardly the boldest bunny in the burrow.
"I find it really hard to relax around
people I don't know," she confesses,
"and I definitely can't do acid or
mushrooms around people I'm not
comfortable with. That just does my
head in. Am I a worrier? Yeah. Even
just having a conversation, I'm always
thinking: 'Jesus. What did I just say?
What am I gonna say next? Was that
funny? Was it not?' And that's the thing
onstage, you can do whatever the f***
you like, and you can see all these
people just appreciating it. If you fall
over, who gives a sh*t? It's all part of
the fun and nothing can spoil that.
"It really is a fantasy world, doing gigs
and stuff. It's a total dream and nothing
can spoil it. But real-life situations are
lot more difficult for me and, after I met
someone really interesting, I'll always go
to bed feeling really really introspective,
analysing the whole f***ing
conversation. There's this constant
'Doh!' running through my head."
"You know when you're talking
sometimes," she asks, seeming
somewhat distracted, - and you
feel like you're being filmed? Even
in private, you feel like there's
a little camera in the corner
of the room, making you act in
a different way? I feel that a lot.
And I'm a fidgeter too - bitten
nails, very bad! I used to pull my
hair out as a kid - I had this big
receding hairline! That's why
I smoke so much now - I've
got to be doing something
cos I hate being idle."
How comfortable are
you with fame?
I don't know,"
she shrugs. "It
hasn't really affected me yet.
I have gained a lot of
confidence though, especially onstage,
which is a big f***ing thing. But, in
terms of personality, I don't think its
going to change me. Having said that,
I hadnt even been out of London before
I joined Ash, and I was 18 before I ever
went on a plane or sh*t like that. It was
just this whole new world and, suddenly,
I could do whatever I wanted."
TAKING
IT SLEAZY
OF course, Charlotte's not entirely alone
in being able to do whatever she wants
in Ash. You may recall that their cute,
adorable little singer, Tim Wheeler.
was last seen cavorting about with two
naked ladies, snorting cocaine, slashing
himself with a razor blade and sucking off
a terrifyingly humungous strap-on in Ash's
"Numbskull" video. Which wasn't exactly
the way we had him figured, Charlotte.
"Well." she whispers, "there's only so
much I can say about this, cos it's Tim's
thing. But it's funny, cos everyone was
saying: 'You've just got to see this!' and
I watched it and didn't find it shocking
at all. I just thought it was cool, a great
way to end 'Nu-Clear Sounds' - going
out with a big, f***ing blow-off! Literally!
"Anyway," she continues, "this is what
happened. Tim was in New York with
our manager, but he checked out of
the hotel leaving a message saying: 'I've
killed Bambi'. Apparently, he'd gone off
with the chick who's in the video. I've
met her since, and she's just the coolest
chick - so matter of fact about the fact
she has a dungeon in her house! Is she
a professional mistress? Um, yeah. Haha!
So was the video a freebie for Tim?
"Erm, I think it was put through as
expenses, actually!" she laughs. "Was
the coke real? I assume so. The cuts?
Yeah, he has scars. He probably had
the time of his life, though! I wish
I'd been there! We're all a bit like
that, especially on tour. There's a
sleazy side to everyone, but it doesn't
take much to get it out of Ash - just
a few cans of Red Bull!
Mark went totally off the rails a few
years ago, didn't he?
"Yeah," she nods, half happily, half
nervously, "and he must've learned
a lot after what he went through. But
I think he's still kind of walking on that
tightrope, you know? I've heard about
what Ash used to do, what they used
to be, but actually it's all fairly quiet.
"Well," she adds, mischievously, "at
the moment, anyway!"
FRIENDS
AND
STRANGERS
BLR-LIM-EEE! But its all too
easy to assume that every pop star
has that kind of mental life, hanging
out with all their glam friends. Truth
is, it's just as likely to end up being
a pretty lonely life.
"Sometimes, I think I don't have
enough friends," muses Charlotte, "cos
I've been very sh*t at keeping in touch
with people. I've got one best friend
who I'm very protective about - she's
my best friend, probably the only person
who's not family that I can talk to
properly, but that's good enough for me.
"Actually, though, this guy I went to
school with died at the end of last year, so
I went to the funeral and met up with all
my old friends from school. Even though
it was a really sad day, it was so great to
see them all again. I got all their numbers
and apologised profusely for being crap.
Were they aware of what you're doing
with your life now?
"Yeah, they were going, I saw you
on "Top Of The Pops" and all that! It's
funny, though, when I was at school.
I never had any money - I was always
the one at the pub going, 'Buy us a
drink! Please!' So we went to the pub
after the funeral and I was like, All right,
who wants a f***ing drink?' Hahaha!
Charlotte's got some f***ing money!
It was dead weird though, cos they're
all studying and doing all these essays
and dissertations and everything, and
I was thinking: 'F***, I don't know how
to do that.' But I'd never feel above
them, even though our lives are really
different. They're the same age as me,
we're still on the same level and we still
have a lot in common."
Do you ever get embarrassed by who
you've become? What do you say when
cab drivers ask what you do for a living?
"I tend to just say I'm in the music
industry," she shrugs. "Cos I used to
admit that I was in a band and they'd
always ask which one. So I'd say, 'Ash',
and they'd go. 'Oooooh, I know
you!' Either that or they go,
'Never 'eard of you! What,
are you quite successful
then, luv?' And you
really want to say, 'No',
just to shut them up! So
I've learned to kind of
talk to them as if they're
the interesting ones.
Typical, cautious
Charlotte, eh?
"Well," she smiles, "I'm just not
a confrontational person. I don't like
fights at all, and I'm always trying
to avoid upheaval and trouble. I like
to stay quiet and... um, complacent,
I suppose. I've had verbal fights with
boyfriends - which I always win! - but
never anything physical. Never."
ASH
STRANGE times these for Ash. especially
since their astonishing last album, "NuClear Sounds", didn't sell quite as many
copies as anyone with functioning ears
had expected.
"Personally, I couldn't give a shit," snorts Charlotte. "I don't want to come
across as 'indie lo-fi girl' but, like the
Manic Street Preachers said recently,
'We're gonna make a f***ing great
album like "The Holy Bible" and we're
gonna be happy and poor.' That's an
attitude I could definitely stand by. But,
at the same time, we've got to continue
having the kind of success we've enjoyed,
and I know we can definitely do that.
Tim and Charlotte debuted a couple
of new tunes at an acoustic show in New
York recently, suggesting that the writing
process for Ash's third album is already
well under way.
"Yeah," confirms Charlotte, "it is, but
we're all such f***ing lazy bastards, it
takes a load of f***ing effort just to get us
in the same room together and rehearse,
let alone write! It's communication hell!
That's not me bitching, that's just the way
it is, and it's a great combination in a way
But sometimes I think: 'If only we could
just... talk!' Still, that's what we're gonna
do in a couple of weeks, just get this
f***ing album written. And it is great
when we get back together, ens you
think: 'Yeah, this is cool. I really like you.'
"I'm a lot happier these days," she
concludes, knocking back her vodka
Bull in one. "I wasn't entirely convinced
before. Deep down inside, was this
really the music that I wanted to be
making? But my heart's much more in it
now, and I'm so much more confident
than I used to he. This thing is, I don't
have my Nightnurse paranoia any more,
and I've definitely paid my dues in
Ash now. I'm at least a quarter of this
band, and it's mine just as much as
it's anyone else's."
ASH ARE WORKING ON THE FOLLOW-UP
TO "NU-CLEAR SOUNDS" NOW

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