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"I fall and you drag me down …" goes that fabled opening line. Frankly, I wanted to start this interview with "Every Conversation" but for several reasons … I can't put myself to do it. A chat with Phil of the Junies is never always the same to begin with! And he never does expound on things inane (although I am usually guilty of that unfortunately). So I'd rather he drag me down the steps on "one fine day beneath the vast blue sky, there's nothing wrong, for we belong". Hah! Clumsy cut & paste madness from someone awestruck enough to have the nerve to ask Mr. Wilson some pretty normal questions. Blimey, serves me right for adoring them way too much. |
Anyway, the June Brides are/were …
"a pop group who care about what they are doing - are not spokesmen - are not a product - are confused. …
Always ready to say what we think (if anybody should be interested enough to ask), but without a pre-planned package of ideas to put to you." …
[taken from the June Brides 'non-manifesto']
Yup … they were right … like any good ol' band from the good ol' days, "anybody
who has all the answers has failed to understand the complexity of the problems"
and anybody over 21 are not to be trusted. Well, I made that last one up. But
the first bit is true for the most part of this interview (not that I had all
the questions fired in the first place!). Although I certainly reckon that Phil
can easily give my amateurish shelling a run for its proverbial money. The June
Brides formed in 1983 and quickly grew to prominence at the local gig circuit
mighty thanks to their exposure at Alan McGee's The Living Room club. They were
renowned for their energetic and upbeat live sets from which the images of fanatic
Bridesmaids are very much a common thing. From "In The Rain" to "There are 8
Million Stories" to the last single … they have produced one of the most , if
not THE most, intoxicating and invigorating brand of trumpet and viola enhanced
indiepop during their time. They stormed through the indie charts, impressed
the likes of Janice Long and even made it to the cover of the fabled and caustic
music bible NME. During this time … success was very much ringing the bells.
It was a period when a certain Morrissey asked them to support the Smiths on
tour and record labels like Go! Discs and Parlophone were very keen on getting
the Brides signed. But in a strange yet poignant twist of fate … the Brides
called it a day in July of '86 after only a few years of memorable music. "The
June Brides have decided to part company and become legend" they said of their
demise … and boy were they right! Marco del Castillo, Manila / Antipolo
City, February 19, 2002
* * * * * * * * * * [onto the Interview then - written amidst the realization
that I am a rather somewhat overwhelmed individual lacking the dexterous use
of clever words.]
Marco: The June Brides and the great memories of them have been very significant to more than a few people when they were growing up. I did not have that pleasure but I am sure several out there do. Anyway, how was your childhood like?
Phil Wilson: I am from a very poor family. I remember when we were very young we chopped wood and sold it from door to door for people to use in lighting their fires. In Britain, that is poor! My real father is a lovely kind man. But he and my mother split up when I was young. Her new husband was a violent alcoholic who used to whip us. So, not the best childhood. But my mum was wonderful.
Hmmnn, I was not expecting that! But quite an answer nonetheless. Did some of your experiences as a child, in any way, had a hand in putting you on the path to music?
PW: I don't think so, but those experiences definitely shaped the type of songwriter that I became.
When I was growing up ... I was slowly immersed into a lot of artists ranging from Astrud Gilberto to New Order. Tell me, who were your influences? And who were the band's influences?
PW: We all liked many similar bands (The usual ones. The Velvet Underground, The Clash, Orange Juice, Josef K, The Beatles). But each of us liked other things, too. Ace liked funk music, Jon was into Jazz, [and] I used to like industrial music and Krautrock. So, there were many influences in there.
Right on! And from the looks of it ... you never lacked inspiration when it came to music. I can still remember the first time I heard those bands ... they disintegrated my original concepts of what a song should be. They also gave me countless dreams of being up on stage and playing with the likes of the magnificent Factory gang. Music, along with art & culture ... has always been among the most enduring subjects of my dreams. So, what was your greatest aspiration when you were a child?
PW: To kill my step-father! Maybe to become a lorry driver ;-)
Ahaha, you always had the joker in you! Lorry driver ... a good one. I envy those people who have simple and unencumbered lives. I always imagined myself living like that ... getting to see the country and writing about the countless adventures, the passion and the romance. Did you ever fancy such lifestyle and why?
PW: I did, honestly. Like you say, the idea of being out on the road, free of some direct manager/teacher and having a fairly simple job to get on with. My real father was a lorry driver, and he visited for the first time since I was a baby when I was about 10. He took me out a few times on his lorry. The idea obviously came from there.
When you were in college, you formed a band with Simon Beesley. You dubbed it International Rescue. How did it come about?
PW: Just for fun (the story is on the web site). We were at college and formed a band to enter a talent competition - just to ridicule it. International Rescue has a very nice ring to it. Any reasons behind such moniker? PW: It was taken from a children's television of the time. They were puppets who saved the world every week.
How close were the June Brides non-manifesto to summarising the holistic aesthetic of the band?
PW: Hmm, the manifesto was as confused as we were! I just did not want to preach to people. Just because you can play a guitar doesn't mean you know the meaning of life!
Ha! I could not have said it any better!Describe the early Junies & their difference to the group when you were at your peak?
PW: Like most bands, I guess, the early days were the most fun. When we just played for the hell of it and didn't really expect anyone to take it very seriously. We were raw, but exciting. After we were more successful, it became more like a job. We were very unhappy towards the end (which is why we split up!)
You were very notorious then for doing things for free or for minimal rewards ... tell me, why was this so? Were being so idealistic very much a big & essential part for you & the Brides?
PW: Sometimes we wanted money but didn't get it! But we did always like to play for good causes. We were, and are, quite idealistic. Several of the group, back then, would have called themselves anarchists. ...
Maybe like how I refer to myself as a botched artist I suppose! I totally empathise with you on that. The late Creation's Alan McGee is one of those rare people who had the Midas (or Anti-Midas) touch. Him, Anthony Wilson, Alan Horne, Richard Boon, Mike Alway, et al. they had that uncanny knack, the swaggering style, the philosophy & vision to change the face of the music scene. When you met Alan, how did it affect you & the course of the group's history?
PW: Without Alan's club (The Living Room), we probably would not have gotten anywhere other than continuing to play to our friends in South London. So, I'm grateful to Alan for letting us play and get noticed by journalists (though less happy about the amount of money he made and how little he gave us for gigs!)
I still think that both "Every Conversation" and "In the Rain" are my favourite June Brides songs although now that we are talking about it ... I am not that entirely resolved anymore. I have so many to choose from like "I Fall" for example. So what's your favourite Junies tune and why?
PW: I think "This Town". I like it because it's more mature - we were beginning to have a sound of our own. I like the words, too. I was proud how far we'd moved - from "In the Rain" to "This Town" and "Josef's Gone" in only a year. Sometimes I wish we'd carried on, just so I could hear the songs I might have written.
Many also wish that Phil. but it is also a relief for me that you have gone out while you were still at your most dangerous. : ) And talking about being dangerous ... did it ever get scary for you when things were picking up then? The British music press is very infamous for loving a band one week and then cursing them the next (like what happened to the Chain) ... did they ever give you a hard time? And did this apply to you when you went solo?
PW: A little. Only journalists who like you bother to write about you at first. So when you get bigger, the music papers then start to assign people to report on you - and they are much less likely to give you an easy time. I had terrible reviews after I split from the band! They really hated me. I still cannot understand why people were so unkind.
Maybe they never really cared about Phil Wilson as a solo performer. Or maybe they never got over the fact that the Brides were gone and all that was left was something that they were not ready and too eager to accept at that time. Country & Western is a difficult road to take for someone associated with everything that was the June Brides. I admire your bravado for doing such a daring and unlikely manoeuvre. But I reckon that Alan was very much excited at what you were doing. How eager was he to sign you? And how did your relationship with Creation do?
PW: I think Alan was very keen at the time - there was no real discussion, just let's get on with it. And he was willing to pay for expensive studios and musicians. So I guess he did figure [that] there was a real prospect of me getting somewhere. As for my relationship...well, Alan falls in love with bands/musicians the way that teenagers fall in love with the opposite sex (i.e. often and passionately, but that passion can die pretty quickly!) Alan was great while he was still interested, but lost interest after the 2 singles.
Describe your relationship with Pink? Do you ever have any plans of settling the score with them (if there are any)?
PW: It's history now! I don't care (there's no point). Money went somewhere, but it certainly didn't come to us. I mean, we had a number 1 album that was in the charts for 38 weeks! All we ever got was a couple of thousand. That's all I want say about that one!
So are you satisfied with what the June Brides have accomplished? With what you have done as a live group, in terms of releases, etc.?
PW: I'm proud of what we did. Not everything is great, and some of it could have been recorded much better, but a lot of it still works well. Live, we were much more exciting, and that's where my best memories lie.
Do you still have contact with the other co-conspirators of the group? How are they now? And how are YOU now? : )
PW: I do! We went for a drink a few weeks ago. Because it was 20 years ago [when] we first met, this year we are getting back to do some gigs. A couple in the UK and some, hopefully, in the US. We're all reasonably well. Teachers or Government workers. Not rich, but not too poor, either :-)
Aah! At least you are doing well and are not out in the streets whatsoever. That would indeed be tragic. By the way, was the theme of love & relationships very integral to the Brides lyrics, sound and outlook? Was passion & romanticism very much important to you in the same vein as, say, attitude and youthful spunk?
PW: I was more into writing about the inter-relationships we have with all the people around us than just the relationship you have with your girlfriend (although I did write a couple of love songs). As a group, we were all into the spirit of punk rock: being adventurous and independent and doing what you think is right with your life.
Did those themes move with you when you went solo?
PW: Very much so - they were the very reason I went solo!