Interview - S*M*A*S*H
[Interviewed for June 94 issue]
"New Rage Messiahs", Fake Retro Punks or a sincere, angry, politically-minded
Nineties Rock band? Ged Babey talks to Ed, singer and guitarist with
S*M*A*S*H and lets you decide...
"My ambition is to get some recognition, for my band and its ideals, without
courting a wheel within a wheel..."
Part of the lyric to Lady Love.
"We've never condoned the use of amphetamines. Being smart is better than
taking drugs."
Onstage, between-song rant at the Joiners gig.
"Melody Maker called us the "Uncoolest band in Pop" or something. Which is
great, we loved that, cos what is 'Cool'? Cool aint the issue. The issue is
the Tories, urban decay, World Wars... Being Cool aint great, y'know what I
mean? "
Ed, in full-on interview mode.
"We was in some town right an' Rob the drummer said "Right I'm not going
anywhere til some one buys the first Specials album", so the tour manager
had to go off and try and find it. He came back an hour later and said
"Right, I've got it now get in the f*ckin' van". We listened to it on the
way down today. "
Ed on musical inspirations and tranzophobia .
"We've been rehearsing for about 3 weeks and the first 2 were really good,
there was a chemistry, y'know an' like 'Art' an' that sorta thing. We came
up with 3 new songs that were one step better than even I thought we could do.
But the last week was just shit, it wasn't working and it occurred to me
that that is what 'Art' is; Sometimes you can create and other times you
can't."
Ed gets philosophical about his craft.
"We did a 70 date tour from January to the begining of April and it was
exhausting yeah but we played every night, we never cancelled one date, we
never held back at all and it was great. Its a mutual thing, I've noticed, the
audiences appreciate it. It may not be a great sound and my voice was pretty
shot away after 70 gigs, but the audiences were like "I'm a normal human
being, you're a normal human being, you're vulnerable, things go wrong in your
life, things go wrong in my life, OK so you dropped a few chords and your
voice is a bit shot..." but it looked like it was easy for them to relate to
us, cos we were vulnerable an' they knew we'd done this heavy tour, but they
appreciated that we had travelled to their small town and it was only two or
three quid to get in. These small towns aren't on the map, but they ARE
because there are people there who want to go to gigs, thats why we make a
conscious decision to play out-of-the-way places".
When Ed talks, he talks. He stares you right in the eye and convinces you
that he means everything he says. He convinces you that he cares passionately
about his band, his fans, about people. . .
"Whoever is in power, I'll be the Opposition. I wanna kill somebody. . .
Jeffrey Archer, John Major, Virginia Bottomley, especially. . . and here's the
paradoxical bit, cos I don't believe in capital punishment."
Extract from 'Kill Somebody', the forthcoming single.
"I like most rap stuff. It's the same message innit, kick the tories out and
make this world a better place. Black or white."
Gunshot are doing a remix of 'Kill Somebody' and SMASH are touring Ireland
with Irish Rappers Scarey Eire.
"We've got a song called Bang Bang Bang about the Gibraltar 3 killings so we
can't just be a poncey English band doing songs about the IRA, we've GOT
TO go there and be vindicated by it. We're up for getting a bit of stick and
having a bit of a chat, that is how problems are solved, by discussion."
"SMASH aren't influenced by current musical trends, more old classics,
Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross. . ."
S*O*U*L P*O*W*E*R.
" We was in Kent last night so this was 'Lady Love Your Kent'"
Tactful song intro, Ed had noticed some parents had brought their children to
the lunchtime matinee.
SMASH donated their Stg.200 fee for the show to the Rainbow Project, a scheme
for housing young famillies. By the time you read this they will have played
the Brockwell Park Carnival Against the Nazis (May 28th). They are currently
recording their debut LP which should be out in a couple months time.
Personally I think SMASH are great. They ain't fakes and they ain't
Gods. They are a sincere, honest and human band, despite the hype, the
gurning and that gratuitously obscene song title. They have integrity, a
strange naivety and a single-minded desparation about them. They are a great
Punk Rock Soul band.
(Ged Babey)
Submitted by Colin K. Work (C.K.Work@soton.ac.uk)
on behalf of Sound Info
Last updated 04 August 1995.