©2007 Russ the Webmaster |
Ged: I agree with Paul that we didn’t really have a fixed idea to start with, nor were Zoo involved from the start. It was a completely independent project. Zoo became involved after hearing the recordings. Bill Drummond said later it was the best thing Zoo had released - and he was right. It was appropriate that it was their final project. Curiously we were a bit hesitant about them as Paul and I had had dealings with them before. As soon as it was finished it became clear that this was the perfect format for the two songs.
Q Why was this the only release for the first incarnation of the Wild Swans, on Zoo or anywhere? The radio sessions prove there was material enough for at least one of the greatest LPs ever!
Paul: Zoo Records folded shortly after the release of the single and despite achieving single of the week in the music papers and the support of John Peel, people weren’t exactly banging on our bedsit doors demanding more. Mind you that probably had something to do with us not owning a telephone. Don’t forget The Wild Swans formed just a few short years after punk’s asteroid had hit and there was still this feeling within our circle that there was something terminally uncool about trying too hard. We were very suspicious of bands like China Crisis and The Icicle Works whose crime in our eyes was that they actually sent off demo tapes and played gigs.
Jem: Had we been properly managed we’d definitely have signed a deal and recorded an inspired and inspiring album. Circumstances conspired against us.
Paul: We were eventually given some demo time at Matrix Studios in London, paid for by Phonogram’s A&R man Dave Bates (The man who had signed post-Zoo Teardrop Explodes). As a result of these demos we were offered a spectacularly poor album deal. It had this clause in the contract that Dave Bates himself had to produce the album. We took one look at his Leo Sayer haircut and the Tears For Fears posters on his office wall and scarpered back to Liverpool.
