d Steve Sutherland Interview

Interview Date : March'92
d Best known as a music journalist for the Melody Maker, Steve Sutherland has for me enlightened many a dull evening with his special and unique brand of enthusiastic writings. Having read and enjoyed his articles on The Furs for many years I recently was lucky enough to share the same airwaves as him and to turn the spotlight in his direction. An enjoyable and interesting conversation was had and I only wish that there was more time to listen to his many stories - My thanks to Steve for his time.
TFFY : How long have you been a music journalist?
SS About ten years. I worked in a bookshop in Wiltshire and did freelance writing at the same time.
TFFY Did you write for any other publications before the Melody Maker?
SS No, I’ve more or less worked for Melody Maker the best part of ten years...things have worked out quite well.
TFFY What about qualifications?
SS Well, I did study at University and have a degree in English literature but that didn’t necessarily help when trying to get work writing. With Melody Maker qualifications don’t really matter....they look more for enthusiasm in the writing rather than, say, a well written copycat of some established writer’s work...Individual interpretation is what is important.
TFFY Was there any specific band our type of music which inspired you to write?
SS No, not really. I always wanted to write ever since I was young and I loved listening to music in general. I liked music that I like - no other reason....I was into Grateful Dead and the sixties music in general and then when punk came along I was into that.
TFFY How do you go about choosing who reviews who?
SS Individuals pick who they want to interview...although your work has to be "trusted" to a certain extent before you get your say.
TFFY Does it bother you when a young "up and coming" band is given bad press?
SS A review is a person’s opinion, but we do have a policy where we try and make it constructive criticism....although there are occasions when we’re reviewing some bands and we may feel that they’re terrible, so therefore they are in effect wasting other bands opportunities. Generally, though, if we personally dislike a band then we pass it on for someone else to do. Again, if you take a well established band like Rolling Stones....we don’t mind slagging them off if they’re bad, because their fans will still go along and enjoy them anyway.
TFFY When doing an interview do you have questions prepared or...?
SS No, not really. To be in the position of interviewing a band you’re going to be well informed so you’re going to let it evolve. Although, at the same time you have to have a general direction....which may be developed on the way.
TFFY Which band or person did you enjoy or were most nervous about interviewing?
SS Peter O’Toole...larger than life, very impressive. Chris Eubank was another...he carries a powerful presence around him and he’s very intelligent and articulate. Musically, Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)...mainly ‘cause he’d been a hero of mine and I was really excited at the prospect of meeting him. Other people who I always find interesting are Robert Smith, Pete Perret, Kate Bush and Richard Butler.
TFFY ..And the most unpleasant?
SS Most unpleasant were Peter Tosh (of Bob Marley and the Wailers fame) and Phil Lynott...who are both dead incidentally. Both were really arrogant....not nice to interview and made it difficult for me.
TFFY What about The Psychedelic Furs. When did you first hear of them?
SS I first heard them when I was living in a London bedsit on a private radio station. I think it was Sister Europe and India I heard...and it just really appealed to me at the time.
TFFY How long have you been friendly with Richard?
SS I used to live in a place called Palmers Green in North London and Richard stayed nearby in Muzwell Hill, and we just used to meet up locally and have a great time.....Drink and do whatever was going. It was great....a load of good memories. It’s funny....when I first met John Ashton the first thing he said to me was "Don’t lend him (Richard) any money" - you know Richard was "that" type of a guy......a demon pool player.....used to play everyone for money and I can’t ever remember him losing. I remember I used to have a battered up old car and I used to drive Richard and Tim around the different bars...a kind of chauffeur I guess. Anyway, there was one night we ended up somewhere on Kings Road and just drank ourselves stupid....had something like 15 bottles of champagne - really ridiculous...and like he’d phone me up at 4.00a.m that morning reminding me that we’re gonna play pool in 3 days time....crazy! He’d lost all track of time. We shared the same type of education and have similar opinions....he used to get me into reading Martin Amiss and stuff, and I’d get him into whatever I was reading. We both liked Andy Warhol.....that type of thing. Although we did differ...I mean, he likes Bob Dylan’s lyrics, whereas I don’t....But yeah, we share a lot of views.
TFFY What about the alcohol story, does he still.....
SS Hasn’t touched a drop in seven years. But it’s amazing really ‘cause he is one of only two people that I know (Stuart Adamson of Big Country being the other) who can go out, not touch a drink, and really enjoy other people having a drink - which isn’t an easy thing to do. He’s very health conscious nowadays....plays squash and things, and is a very intelligent person and great company. When I meet up with him he always inspires me to go out and do things. He’s always going to movies, shows and that type of thing....a motivator. He loves humour....Saturday night Live, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd.......
TFFY What's your favourite Fur's L.P.?
SS "Talk Talk Talk" - I like everything about it....the lyrics are great....it's angry...it's sarcastic..it has direction...I love the glamour in it. My other favourite is "Mirror Moves"....fantastic melody.....the production is perfect. Up until "Midnight To Midnight" they had never made a bad LP. If I had been a musician and made records I'd have made theirs!
TFFY I felt that "World Outside" was the best since "Talk Talk Talk" but, in the UK especially, it seems to have come and gone largely unnoticed...
SS It is a good LP with good songs and strong lyrics, but I feel they are no longer as important as they used to be. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the material....just a lack of importance. Take Lou Reed - I no longer like his stuff. It seems as if he's too scared to write a book. He's just stuck behind his old formula of making records and expressing himself that way....whereas I think he should stick his neck out and write a novel.
TFFY I recently had a letter from a Fur's fan saying that she's deliberately avoided listening to "Midnight To Midnight" - presumably because of the criticism it had received. Surely it's not that bad an LP?.....poor by their standards and not representative of The Fur's - yes!
SS Well, there's a lot of reasons...basically they lost their place. You shouldn't write an LP with the objective being to sell records. I mean "Mirror Moves" had hits...and they were great and well deserved. But you should write an LP that you want to write and if it has hits then great! - that's an added bonus. There's also a lot of company pressure which doesn’t help. It's not a bad LP - it's just not The Furs. Richard and I actually fell out with each other for two years over it...he wouldn't speak to me. It was only when I was in Greenwich Village with a friend.....we were having a cup of coffee in a cafe when, by chance, Richard walked past the window...and my friend ran out after him and they both came inside and it was like "Hey! how's it going?" - friends as usual, as if we'd never fallen out.
TFFY Is there any particular song which you feel sums them up?
SS "No Tears" and "All Of This & Nothing"....the lines "Don't believe in anything" and "A roomful of your trash" are great...yeah, those are the ones.
TFFY So, can The Furs be a force once more?......Do you see other avenues opening up?
SS Well, I'm not sure...as I said they're not really important anymore. They looked quite old when I saw them live on stage, although Richard looks quite young. Richard will probably kill me when he reads this but I don't think they can get away with ..em......You can hide behind a guitar but...I’m not sure...it just seemed a bit undignified. There's a fine line between pop and cabaret, but it's hard to cross. The songs are good. John is a really great guitarist and Richard has superb lyrics. I'm not sure if they could go on and do a Neil Young & Crazy Horse type of thing. Solo wise I'm not sure but I do think Richard could pull something off - there's no doubting the talent.
TFFY I always look at The Furs as The Velvet Underground of the 80's. VU never sold that many records when they were an active band, but they've got a back catalogue that sells consistently and they're still very influential. do you see any similarities?
SS I don't really see a parallel......I mean The Furs are still on the go. VU are an influential band but.....it's hard to make a comparison.
TFFY Anything you'd like to add before we end?
SS They were really influential....Richard is a great lyricist - he could perhaps go on to be a Leonard Cohen type figure. They are a great band and Richard is...em, well...he's just a great human being!!!

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