{"id":15069,"date":"2020-01-10T15:46:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T14:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/?p=15069"},"modified":"2023-09-29T21:36:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T19:36:37","slug":"interview-vice-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/en\/interview-vice-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Vice Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The only Vice Squad that we like at El Garaje is an English Punk band, formed in Bristol in 1978. To make the most of their future live in Madrid, we talked with<\/strong><\/span> Beki Bondage, the charismatic singer of the band. Their first concert in the Spanish capital is going to be on the 13th of June, at Sala Buts, as part of the fourth edition of the No Future Fest. Tickets can be bought at Potencial Hardcore, Escridiscos, Punk Rocketz and Chopper Monster and online here.<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014Beki, how did you become part of Vice Squad (I mean, what became Vice Squad as the name was your idea)? How did you meet the other guys?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0I saw an advert for a singer in Revolver Records store in Bristol and went to meet Dave Bateman, the original guitarist who sadly died in December 2007, and drummer Shane Baldwin. They told me that I had a good voice and image and I was in. Mark Hambly then joined as bassist and we began rehearsing in his parent\u2019s garage. I thought of the name \u201cVice Squad\u201d which the rest of the band liked and we did our first gig when I was still at school so that was pretty cool.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In the late seventies there were some punk bands with girls, like Penetration, The Slits, The Raincoats, X-Ray Spex, Patti Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Did you like their music or have any personal relationship with them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I liked their music, in particular I liked Poly\u2019s and Pauline\u2019s (Penetration) voices. I didn\u2019t personally know any of them when I first started singing but in later years met Ari Upp, Siouxsie and Pauline.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014“Humane\u201d was the band\u2019s first animal rights song, back in 1982. How was veganism seen back in the day in the punk scene?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014There were a few Vegan Punks back in the eighties but there are far more today. It was a lot more difficult to get vegan food back then and I used to go without food when we toured. People used to mock me for my Animal Rights beliefs but those people aren\u2019t Punks any more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Stand Strong Stand Proud<\/em> (1982) is considered the best album of the 0riginal line up. Do you agree on this?\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No Cause For Concert<\/em> (1981) is more aggressive but the overall sound is pretty awful whereas Stand Strong<\/em> sounds a little too \u201cpop\u201d for my taste but the songwriting is a better. I much prefer the newer albums like London Underground<\/em> but you expect to get better if you keep going and I think both of the early albums are OK when you consider how young and inexperienced we were when we made them. The music was rough because we were really young, i.e. still at school and living with our parents. I think ineptitude is rather charming in teenage bands but irritating in older bands who use the \u201cPunk\u201d label as an excuse to be lazy. We were all self-taught and very raw so we ended up sounding quite unique.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Vice Squad has started two labels, first Riot City Records and now Last Rockers Records. I guess it\u2019s way better than to have to depend on a label, right? Has the band thought of publishing other people\u2019s records?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We don\u2019t own \u2019Riot City Records\u2019, I came up with the name and we were the first band (and most successful) on the label but it didn\u2019t belong to us, it belonged to Simon Edwards of Heartbeat Music. \u201cLast Rockers\u201d is our own label, we own it, so we have to do all the work! It\u2019s a very small DIY label so we haven\u2019t thought about releasing other bands on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In the eighties, Paul and you, Beki were part of the Bombshells doing some hard rock and you have always said that the days in this band were really hard. How was the band received, having a singer coming from punk?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We ended up starting from the bottom again and playing pubs on Monday nights for whatever money was collected in the jug, nobody knew who I was and I enjoyed the anonymity. We worked really hard and were completely DIY so I retained my Punk ethics. Even though it was difficult and I was poor we had some really good times and it enabled me to develop my voice and hone my songwriting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014The first album of the new incarnation of the band was Get a Life <\/em>(1998). How this comeback was received in the punk scene?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Interestingly, people tell me they love this album now but I don\u2019t remember it being well received at the time. We recorded it in my front room so it\u2019s certainly DIY and I still like some of the songs, in particular \u201cBusiness As Usual\u201d and \u201cWestend Stars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Rich and Famous<\/em> (2003), your record with EMI have a more poppier feel, did the company push you to try to write singles or have a less punk sound?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No EMI didn\u2019t tell us what to do, I blame this album on Paul, he likes a lot of pop stuff and insisted on adding all sorts of weird sounds. I now have final say over which songs go on our albums!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You can\u2019t blame the band for making always the same record: Defiant<\/em> (2007) sounded more metal. Was the band listening to more metal sounds during these years?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Defiant<\/em> is definitely heavier than the earlier stuff but it doesn\u2019t sound Metal to me, it was written in anger and frustration and we captured that in the sound. We still play the title track and \u201cVoice of the People\u201d in our live set. This album did well in the USA, we did an in-store signing in LA and kids were queuing round several blocks to get their Defiant<\/em> CDs and posters signed. We thought it was going to be like the signing in the Spinal Tap film where no-one comes so we were very pleasantly surprised when all these people turned up to meet us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Instead, London Underground<\/em> (2009) came back to a more UK punk sound, did you want a come back to your roots? How would you define the UK punk sound?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014London Underground<\/em> happened naturally, there was no conscious decision to make it sound Old School, \"\"even though we included a song by that name. The sleeve artwork by Landon Armstrong is brilliant, we know of 2 people who have the sleeve tattooed across their chest and back. We still play \u201cOrdinary Girl\u201d \u201cSniffing Glue\u201d and \u201cStarvation Box\u201d in the live set. I don\u2019t think you can define a single UK Punk sound as there are several styles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014How did the band started releasing Christmas EPs?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We did the Christmas EPs for a laugh, people need cheering up at Christmas as sadly it\u2019s a bad time for many.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We have interviewed a few bands that have funded their records with Pledge music, but your campaign is the first that we know that also raised funds for the Shelter homeless charity. What can you please tell us of this project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014The album is called Cardboard Country<\/em> (2014) and we got the idea from a part of London that was known as \u201cCardboard City\u201d because of all the homeless people sleeping there in cardboard boxes. Homelessness is a major problem in the UK, it is a shameful situation in such a rich country. It seemed right to donate part of the Pledge funds to Shelter, Shelter has helped 2 members of the band so we wanted to support them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014How has the punk public changed since the eighties?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014They are older (obviously) and sometimes wiser, some are still totally Punk whilst others like the music and the clothes but have otherwise normal lives with jobs, mortgages and families. Some have kids who are into Punk and they bring them to gigs so there is a new generation of Punks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of us can\u2019t \u201cgrow out\u201d of Punk because the political songs we wrote from the safety of our bedrooms in our parents\u2019 houses turned out to be true. For example \u201cLast Rockers\u201d is about WW3 and we now seem to be heading in that direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014What can you please tell us of the forthcoming new album Battle of Britain<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014It\u2019s very political, very angry and very defiant, tempered by big riffs and vocal melodies. I loathe injustice so I always find plenty to sing about.To lighten the atmosphere we added \u201cPulling Teeth\u201d which rips the piss out of what\u2019s left of the music business and the struggle of trying to keep a band going and \u201cRuination\u201d about small-time promoters\/managers who think they are Peter Grant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Where do you look for inspiration for the lyrics of the band?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I am constantly inspired because the world is such a mess and the people who run things get more evil and the people who elect them get more stupid. As I write this Australia is on fire and has already lost around half a billion animals and Trump is trying to start WW3, I won\u2019t be short of subject matter any time soon sadly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In an interview to a Spanish ska punk band, they said that it\u2019s difficult to fight against capitalism and at the same time be part of the capitalist system. What do you think about this?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We\u2019re all part of the system whether we like it or not, you can\u2019t blame people for trying to operate in the situation they are in. All you can do is use your money, brains and kindness as well as possible. Money isn\u2019t the problem, the love of money is the problem. Factory Farming is probably the most obscene example of this. I have never understood extreme greed, one of the greatest pleasures in life is to help others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014How many times has the band played at Rebellion? What\u2019s your best memory of the\"\"\u00a0festival?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I would guess we\u2019ve played Rebellion Festival, including when it was called Holidays In The Sun and Wasted, about 18 or 19 times.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of my best memories is playing the outdoor stage in 2016, we had a fantastic gig and a great sound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Has the band experienced any problem when touring because of Brexit?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Not yet, but it will cause problems when we leave the EU. I call it Brexshit because I am so bored with the arguments about it, it has divided the UK and no-one seems to know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014The new far-right party has won a lot of votes in the last Spanish general elections. What do you think of the of far-right parties in Europe?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I think they need to be machine gunned by Spitfires\u2026 Millions of people died fighting Facism in WW2 so it appears that humans are the stupidest animals on the planet as they keep trying to repeat the same horrors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What do you think of trap? It seems that youngsters nowadays prefer trap to more rock-based sounds.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Some of it\u2019s OK, everyone\u2019s taste in music is different and lots of new styles of music are actually Punk in attitude and lyrics. Lots of younger people are very aware of climate change and Animal Rights, and this is a really good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What can we expect of your concert at No Future Fest?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014A hard-hitting hell-raising Hullaballoo.<\/span><\/p>\n