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"We were in Dublin last night and we ended up drinking and getting no sleep at all! These Irish people have some constituency!" declares Ace, skinhead guitarist with SA. Yes, baptised in the way only Irish people can i.e. by getting pissed, Ace is gearing up for their first headline gig in Belfast and after just appearing on TV for some boring MTV programme, he collects his thoughts about the night before. "I drank three times more than Martin (SA's very tall drummer) and he can barely stand!" At this point the man in question shuffles over and introduces himself.
Ace seems to be doing a lot of interviews for this tour, as he very succinctly points out: "Its at the point where Skin is being the focus for the band, and as the singer people always want to talk to her. So shes not doing so many interviews because of her throat problems (which nearly cut the tour short). That and the music press putting too much into one aspect of the band." Skunk Anansie have effectively taken over where bands like Rage Against the Machine and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy left off, making very political statements in lyrics whilst combining them with rousing music. "Yeah, we get a lot of people saying you know 'you get a lot of heavy metal fans' and stuff, but thats okay because thats were we all come from. Our influences are from Black Sabbath and so on, so its not that fuckin' Crass thing going on. I don't know where people get it from. Just because we make points in lyrics about stuff." Ace's diffusion of the whole theme of SA's music does sell them short a bit. From the singer's stance as a firebrand dyke (although this is one thing she has always been conspicuously unlyrical about), to songs like 'Intellectualise My Blackness' - a concise denunciation of the pc right-on thing - and on the new album the straightforward 'Yes Its Fucking Political'. "I think we make our point clear enough for people to grasp!" he laughs, "its no good just veiling everything". I then suggest that SA's audience may be at odds with many of the things they say, even Skin's gayness. "We;; its not fair to say that they're all the same. I think its good in a way, because maybe then people might think differently when they listen to us. I know what you're saying about metal fans being homophobic and stuff, but then we're just confronting the issue fro them. And now its not really a metal thing to be like that. You've got the whole fuckin' lad thing, Oasis have popularised, you know be sexist, throw beer cans at people and go on about how much drugs you take. So its not fair to say its all down to one group of people."
Ace is also very clear about his own muse, and his influence on the band. "As I said, we all are basically influenced by heavy metal, theres no point in denying that, and hey - I don't give a shit! There's plenty of good bands out there, metal isn't just Saxon! Like Therapy do really interesting stuff, they've got cellos and keyboards on their last LP, and they are very influenced by techno music. We did a few remixes for singles, just messing around with different styles, and its not just banging the stuff out over one riff." Which neatly brings us on to the new album Stoosh, certainly less noisy than the first album, and incorporating many different styles. "Well, I did my parts really quickly, and I had what I wanted in mind. There's a few songs which I'm pleased with, in particular like 'Hedonism' and 'We Love Your Apathy'. My guitar playing has really improved over the last few months, so it means I can play around live." And what about tracks like 'Glorious Pop Song' and 'All I Want' - I think they sound awfully like seventies disco-funk..."Really? I never looked at them like that. I mean yeah we do love funk, and obviously it comes into the music. But disco??" Sorry ...how about James Brown then..."Well, okay! It doesn't sound as cheesy!"
One thing that the band have had to deal with this past while is fame. SA's career began to propel after the release of their show-stopper 'Charity'. "Its been great and its been shitty. Shitty when Skin nearly loses her voice, or when we read really stupid press about us that is completely wrong. A lot of time journalists get it wrong, or they just see what they want to. Present company excluded!" I inform him that we have no time for journalists either "Oh right. I take that back then!" And how has the fame been good? "We get to appear on Top of the Pops! Its brilliant...you get all these people cheering at you, you do the song and when its over everyone runs over to the next stage. Bloody surreal. We also got to see the Spice Girls, which was great too!" Which one is your favourite? "Ummm...Mel C definitely! She's really cool with all her sporty clothes and her high kicks."
At this point Mr Tour Manager comes over and its time to go. Later on that night SA would mow everyone down with yet another stunning performance and Skin's undeniably powerful presence. Crass they most certainly are not, but don't let the hoards of greasy heavies and bedraggled grunge kids put you off.
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