Okay, I’ll admit upfront, this interview is probably going to be of most-interest to fans of Johnny Moped and The Damned, but Phil Burns, younger brother of Captain Sensible, is someone I’ve always been intrigued about and it was great to get a chance to ask him some questions. He was involved with the early days of the Johnny Moped band, co-writing several songs including ‘3D Time’ and later-on was a part of a band called The Cowards who played at The Roxy and various other venues between 1977-79. It was during this time that he wrote the song ‘Antipope’, which although never released by The Cowards, was later recorded and made popular by The Damned. More recently, he was featured in the excellent ‘Basically Johnny Moped’ documentary and also made a brief appearance onstage at the end of the film-showing / band performance at Koko in London.
Before the documentary was made, very little was generally-known about the early days of the Mopeds, even despite the detailed family-tree included with the ‘Cycledelic’ album, so I was more than chuffed when, earlier this year, a friend offered to put me in touch with Phil. As he now lives in Newcastle, I was unable to set-up a face-to-face interview, but he was happy to answer my questions by email, the results of which you can now read.
Firstly, knowing that he’d first met Dave Berk, Fred Berk and Xerxes (John Skinner) when they all went to the same school, I wondered if that was when he first became interested in music or had he already been involved with anything before then ?
‘I could already play an acoustic guitar and piano, which we had at home, a bit before that. I’d had some piano lessons from a teacher called Peter who was a friend of my dad. But my interest in playing music really increased when I was at secondary school with Dave and the others.’
How did the first band line-up (the ‘Black Witch Climax Blues Band’ ) come together and what kind of music were you playing at that time ? Was there a particular reason for the 'Climax Blues Band' reference and how long did this line-up stay together ?
‘Black Witch Climax Blues Band was really just Dave, Fred, Xerxes, Captain, Johnny and me, playing every week or so at our house in Selhurst. Initially we just played songs that we heard on the radio, like ‘Gimme Dat Ding’ by The Pipkins, until we started writing some songs ourselves. I think we copied the name from the Climax Blues Band and Johnny had sang about a black witch in one of his spontaneous lyrics, so we added that bit to it. We must have played with that name and line-up for about two years…’
Before the documentary was made, very little was generally-known about the early days of the Mopeds, even despite the detailed family-tree included with the ‘Cycledelic’ album, so I was more than chuffed when, earlier this year, a friend offered to put me in touch with Phil. As he now lives in Newcastle, I was unable to set-up a face-to-face interview, but he was happy to answer my questions by email, the results of which you can now read.
Firstly, knowing that he’d first met Dave Berk, Fred Berk and Xerxes (John Skinner) when they all went to the same school, I wondered if that was when he first became interested in music or had he already been involved with anything before then ?
‘I could already play an acoustic guitar and piano, which we had at home, a bit before that. I’d had some piano lessons from a teacher called Peter who was a friend of my dad. But my interest in playing music really increased when I was at secondary school with Dave and the others.’
How did the first band line-up (the ‘Black Witch Climax Blues Band’ ) come together and what kind of music were you playing at that time ? Was there a particular reason for the 'Climax Blues Band' reference and how long did this line-up stay together ?
‘Black Witch Climax Blues Band was really just Dave, Fred, Xerxes, Captain, Johnny and me, playing every week or so at our house in Selhurst. Initially we just played songs that we heard on the radio, like ‘Gimme Dat Ding’ by The Pipkins, until we started writing some songs ourselves. I think we copied the name from the Climax Blues Band and Johnny had sang about a black witch in one of his spontaneous lyrics, so we added that bit to it. We must have played with that name and line-up for about two years…’
Around the same time, you and Johnny also had a project referred to as 'Armistice Rock Opera'... what was that all about ?
‘Sometimes, it would just be me and Johnny playing music at my house and we wrote several songs, with Johnny writing the lyrics and me the tunes. 'Armistice' was the name that Johnny gave to several of these songs, constituting a sort of concept album, although I never knew what the concept was ! Two of the Armistice songs were later performed by the Johnny Moped band… 'Hard Lovin' Man' was co-written by me and Johnny around 1971, just on guitar and vocals. It was performed by the Johnny Moped band live on the Roxy Album. '3D Time' was co-written by Johnny and me, on piano and vocals, around the same time and it appeared on the Mopeds' first album 'Cycledelic', although Johnny had originally called it 'A Trip Through Time'.’
The band eventually became 'Genetic Breakdown', who existed in various different forms between 1971-1974. Was this a bit more serious and did you ever get to play live ?
‘Genetic Breakdown was really just a continuation of the Black Witch band but with hopefully a bit more expertise. I can remember a couple of gigs, one of which was a talent show at the Brigstock Arms in Thornton Heath ! We were very different from the other, conventional, acts and the compere made us stop playing in mid song… so, let’s just say, we didn’t win !’
Sometime during this period, John Skinner was re-named 'Xerxes' by the band. Is it true that you were responsible for that ?
‘Yes. We were often thinking of band names or stage names for ourselves. I was really into history and at school, I’d read about Xerxes the Great, who was the king of Persia in the fifth century BC. I just liked the name, maybe because not many names contain two 'x's. I suggested that John be 'Xerxes' and he seemed to like it, so it stuck.’
Your brother Captain Sensible (then still known as Ray) was involved throughout these different line-ups. As there's a tradition of brothers not getting along too well when they're both in a band together, did you enjoy playing with him ?
‘I enjoyed playing with Captain, although he could be a bit tetchy about my bass guitar playing if it wasn’t holding the music together properly. He came off the guitar and replaced me on the bass for the rest of a session, once, to show me how it should be done ! Captain is two years older than me and he was practicing his guitar playing all the time, so he soon became very good at it.’
‘Sometimes, it would just be me and Johnny playing music at my house and we wrote several songs, with Johnny writing the lyrics and me the tunes. 'Armistice' was the name that Johnny gave to several of these songs, constituting a sort of concept album, although I never knew what the concept was ! Two of the Armistice songs were later performed by the Johnny Moped band… 'Hard Lovin' Man' was co-written by me and Johnny around 1971, just on guitar and vocals. It was performed by the Johnny Moped band live on the Roxy Album. '3D Time' was co-written by Johnny and me, on piano and vocals, around the same time and it appeared on the Mopeds' first album 'Cycledelic', although Johnny had originally called it 'A Trip Through Time'.’
The band eventually became 'Genetic Breakdown', who existed in various different forms between 1971-1974. Was this a bit more serious and did you ever get to play live ?
‘Genetic Breakdown was really just a continuation of the Black Witch band but with hopefully a bit more expertise. I can remember a couple of gigs, one of which was a talent show at the Brigstock Arms in Thornton Heath ! We were very different from the other, conventional, acts and the compere made us stop playing in mid song… so, let’s just say, we didn’t win !’
Sometime during this period, John Skinner was re-named 'Xerxes' by the band. Is it true that you were responsible for that ?
‘Yes. We were often thinking of band names or stage names for ourselves. I was really into history and at school, I’d read about Xerxes the Great, who was the king of Persia in the fifth century BC. I just liked the name, maybe because not many names contain two 'x's. I suggested that John be 'Xerxes' and he seemed to like it, so it stuck.’
Your brother Captain Sensible (then still known as Ray) was involved throughout these different line-ups. As there's a tradition of brothers not getting along too well when they're both in a band together, did you enjoy playing with him ?
‘I enjoyed playing with Captain, although he could be a bit tetchy about my bass guitar playing if it wasn’t holding the music together properly. He came off the guitar and replaced me on the bass for the rest of a session, once, to show me how it should be done ! Captain is two years older than me and he was practicing his guitar playing all the time, so he soon became very good at it.’
What kinds of music were influencing the sound of the band during this time ? Things like Soft Machine, early rock'n'roll and even Glam rock seem to get mentioned…
‘Lots of diverse pop and rock bands were influences. Soft Machine's avant garde jazz rock was an influence and Kevin Ayers was particularly important - we played his song 'We Did It Again' repeatedly, maybe because it was quite repetitive and easy to play. But we’d also frequently cover old rock n roll songs like ‘Johnny B Goode’.’
Xerxes began playing saxophone as well as singing... having spoken to various members of the band in more recent times, there's some debate as to whether he could actually 'play' in the traditional sense. What are your memories of his abilities ?
‘At first, he really couldn’t really play the saxophone, but his free form style of playing fitted in with our music and was a bit like Soft Machine's sax style. Xerxes improved on the sax, but he was no Jess Gillam !’
I think the band often 'rehearsed' at your parents' house ... were they quite supportive of your musical aspirations ?
‘Our mum didn’t mind, but our dad would tell us to quieten down a bit when we were really loud. He’d get particularly irritated when we would stamp on the floor in time with the music !’
As seen in the ‘Basically’ documentary, one of your earliest gigs was in a back-garden ! Was that at your parents' house or somewhere else ? The film that remains of that gig seems to be of old rock'n'roll covers, but what else were you playing at the time ? Did the police really turn-up to complain ?
‘The gig was at a house near ours, close to Selhurst railway station. I think it was a friends’ house… I remember playing some good, loud bass riffs and I recollect it as a jam session, rather than a set of songs, but we always did play ‘Something Else’ and ‘Little Queenie’ quite often. And, yes, the police did come along to see what was happening, but they were actually quite nice about it !’
‘Lots of diverse pop and rock bands were influences. Soft Machine's avant garde jazz rock was an influence and Kevin Ayers was particularly important - we played his song 'We Did It Again' repeatedly, maybe because it was quite repetitive and easy to play. But we’d also frequently cover old rock n roll songs like ‘Johnny B Goode’.’
Xerxes began playing saxophone as well as singing... having spoken to various members of the band in more recent times, there's some debate as to whether he could actually 'play' in the traditional sense. What are your memories of his abilities ?
‘At first, he really couldn’t really play the saxophone, but his free form style of playing fitted in with our music and was a bit like Soft Machine's sax style. Xerxes improved on the sax, but he was no Jess Gillam !’
I think the band often 'rehearsed' at your parents' house ... were they quite supportive of your musical aspirations ?
‘Our mum didn’t mind, but our dad would tell us to quieten down a bit when we were really loud. He’d get particularly irritated when we would stamp on the floor in time with the music !’
As seen in the ‘Basically’ documentary, one of your earliest gigs was in a back-garden ! Was that at your parents' house or somewhere else ? The film that remains of that gig seems to be of old rock'n'roll covers, but what else were you playing at the time ? Did the police really turn-up to complain ?
‘The gig was at a house near ours, close to Selhurst railway station. I think it was a friends’ house… I remember playing some good, loud bass riffs and I recollect it as a jam session, rather than a set of songs, but we always did play ‘Something Else’ and ‘Little Queenie’ quite often. And, yes, the police did come along to see what was happening, but they were actually quite nice about it !’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LkzGwVO5_k
At what point was Paul given his 'Johnny Moped' nickname ?
‘I think it might have been around 1974 when he became Johnny Moped, after Captain came up with the name… It suited Paul perfectly, as it was funny and different.’
During the 'Basically...' documentary, Xerxes describes the band as being 'very Croydon-centric'. What do you think he means by that and would you agree with it ?
‘Well, we were all schoolboys in Croydon and were immersed in the place. Croydon had a reputation as being a bit lame and not cool but I think we were quite proud to come from there, in a bloody minded sort of way.’
Were you still playing with the band when they played their gig at Beaulieu Heights ? If so, what are your memories of the event and the audience response ?
‘My recollection of the gig is that I was just helping with their equipment. It was actually a really good event, arranged by a local girl rather than by the council or anything like that. The Johnny Moped band performed energetically, but were a bit less polished than some of the other performers, so I think the audience quite liked the band but didn’t necessarily understand them.’
You eventually left Croydon to go to University... Were you disappointed to leave the band behind and did you continue to play any music while you were at college ?
‘I accepted leaving the band behind because I was excited about going to university. At that time I was studying for a Geography degree at the London School of Economics. Several of my friends at college and me were inspired by what The Damned were doing so we formed a band specifically to play a gig supporting the Johnny Moped band at Kings College in the Strand. This was the first version of ‘The Cowrads’ and I was the singer for that band, mainly because no one else wanted to sing. The others in the band were my fellow students Mel Evans, Will Evans (no relation) James Barlow and his younger brother Dom (who has actually gone on to become a Musical Director.) But that was our only gig even it was quite an experience. We mainly did Iggy & the Stooges songs like 'Raw Power' and we didn’t perform any of our own songs, even though I had written several specifically for the gig, including 'Antipope'… We didn’t perform them because we only had limited rehearsal time and it was easier to learn songs from records or tapes…’
Your brother had joined The Damned in mid-1976. What did you think of them when you first heard them and were you surprised that he was doing something so different to anything he had done before ? And were you surprised when they started getting so much coverage in the music press after such a relatively short time ?
‘Captain joined The Damned in the spring of 1976… I can remember walking around London to try to buy a copy of their first single ‘New Rose’, which I eventually got in Oxford Street. I was most surprised by Captain's very short hair (it was always very long before then) as well as the short, loud and quite simple nature of the songs he was playing. It was a shock when they were suddenly featuring in the music press and on television, but very good. In the early days of the Damned I saw quite a lot of their gigs… I would go along with my girlfriend (now wife) Val, who was already a Damned fan when we met in 1977. Sometimes, our parents would come along, too !’
‘I think it might have been around 1974 when he became Johnny Moped, after Captain came up with the name… It suited Paul perfectly, as it was funny and different.’
During the 'Basically...' documentary, Xerxes describes the band as being 'very Croydon-centric'. What do you think he means by that and would you agree with it ?
‘Well, we were all schoolboys in Croydon and were immersed in the place. Croydon had a reputation as being a bit lame and not cool but I think we were quite proud to come from there, in a bloody minded sort of way.’
Were you still playing with the band when they played their gig at Beaulieu Heights ? If so, what are your memories of the event and the audience response ?
‘My recollection of the gig is that I was just helping with their equipment. It was actually a really good event, arranged by a local girl rather than by the council or anything like that. The Johnny Moped band performed energetically, but were a bit less polished than some of the other performers, so I think the audience quite liked the band but didn’t necessarily understand them.’
You eventually left Croydon to go to University... Were you disappointed to leave the band behind and did you continue to play any music while you were at college ?
‘I accepted leaving the band behind because I was excited about going to university. At that time I was studying for a Geography degree at the London School of Economics. Several of my friends at college and me were inspired by what The Damned were doing so we formed a band specifically to play a gig supporting the Johnny Moped band at Kings College in the Strand. This was the first version of ‘The Cowrads’ and I was the singer for that band, mainly because no one else wanted to sing. The others in the band were my fellow students Mel Evans, Will Evans (no relation) James Barlow and his younger brother Dom (who has actually gone on to become a Musical Director.) But that was our only gig even it was quite an experience. We mainly did Iggy & the Stooges songs like 'Raw Power' and we didn’t perform any of our own songs, even though I had written several specifically for the gig, including 'Antipope'… We didn’t perform them because we only had limited rehearsal time and it was easier to learn songs from records or tapes…’
Your brother had joined The Damned in mid-1976. What did you think of them when you first heard them and were you surprised that he was doing something so different to anything he had done before ? And were you surprised when they started getting so much coverage in the music press after such a relatively short time ?
‘Captain joined The Damned in the spring of 1976… I can remember walking around London to try to buy a copy of their first single ‘New Rose’, which I eventually got in Oxford Street. I was most surprised by Captain's very short hair (it was always very long before then) as well as the short, loud and quite simple nature of the songs he was playing. It was a shock when they were suddenly featuring in the music press and on television, but very good. In the early days of the Damned I saw quite a lot of their gigs… I would go along with my girlfriend (now wife) Val, who was already a Damned fan when we met in 1977. Sometimes, our parents would come along, too !’
What was your opinion of the early 'Punk Rock' scene as it was developing ?
‘I liked the excitement of it. Attending punk rock gigs could be a bit scary, but good. The music was very varied, but I loved many of the songs by The Damned (Neat Neat Neat etc.) and other punk bands (The Clash, the Sex Pistols etc.)’
Meanwhile, the rest of your former bandmates had eventually formed the 'classic' Johnny Moped line-up (Johnny, Slimy, Fred and Dave.) Did you get to see them play live early on and, if so, what did you think of them at that time ?
‘I liked seeing them when I could and especially enjoyed songs like ‘Incendiary Device’. They were a lot louder, sharper and infinitely more polished than before - a real band! I went to see them play at a pub in Putney, once, and I think Fred Berk had had a bit too much to drink. He was able to remain standing for most of the concert but by the time of the encore he was totally drunk and had to lay down on the floor, doing his best to play bass. Apparently, it was not uncommon for Fred to be fairly inebriated… I liked a lot of the tracks on Cycledelic – ‘VD Boiler’, ‘Hell Razor’, ‘Groovy Ruby’ etc. and I always enjoyed ‘Save The Baby Seals’, which was eventually released on their second album ‘The Search for Xerxes’.
You eventually formed a new line-up of The Cowards, in 1978. Had you returned to Croydon by that point ?
‘Yeah... I’d been living in central London when I was a student, but moved back to Croydon in 1978, when the new version of The Cowards formed. I was living in our parents house at Selhurst again, with Val, Captain, and his girlfriend Cursty.
Who else was involved in the new line-up of The Cowards ?
‘The guitarist was Mark Lemming (real surname Pastolopoulos) and our drummer was Ron Griffin, who had played with Kirsty MacColl in a Croydon band called The Drug Addix.’
Captain told me that The Cowards recorded some demos... how many songs were recorded and what were they ? How often did the band get to play live and was there ever any talk of releasing records ?
‘We made a demo tape of four songs at our friend Randy's studio in Clifton Road, Croydon. One was my song ‘Antipope’, which was later adopted by the Damned and appeared on their ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’ album. The three other songs on the tape were by Mark Lemming… I think they were ‘666’, ‘Fantasy’ and ‘A Big Fuck You to The Boys in Blue’. I was in the band for a year or so and I’m not sure if they released anything after I left in 1979, but I played six gigs with them, which included two at London's Roxy Club. I was in the band from 1978-79, and they did carry on for a while after I left, although I don't know for how long.’
‘I liked the excitement of it. Attending punk rock gigs could be a bit scary, but good. The music was very varied, but I loved many of the songs by The Damned (Neat Neat Neat etc.) and other punk bands (The Clash, the Sex Pistols etc.)’
Meanwhile, the rest of your former bandmates had eventually formed the 'classic' Johnny Moped line-up (Johnny, Slimy, Fred and Dave.) Did you get to see them play live early on and, if so, what did you think of them at that time ?
‘I liked seeing them when I could and especially enjoyed songs like ‘Incendiary Device’. They were a lot louder, sharper and infinitely more polished than before - a real band! I went to see them play at a pub in Putney, once, and I think Fred Berk had had a bit too much to drink. He was able to remain standing for most of the concert but by the time of the encore he was totally drunk and had to lay down on the floor, doing his best to play bass. Apparently, it was not uncommon for Fred to be fairly inebriated… I liked a lot of the tracks on Cycledelic – ‘VD Boiler’, ‘Hell Razor’, ‘Groovy Ruby’ etc. and I always enjoyed ‘Save The Baby Seals’, which was eventually released on their second album ‘The Search for Xerxes’.
You eventually formed a new line-up of The Cowards, in 1978. Had you returned to Croydon by that point ?
‘Yeah... I’d been living in central London when I was a student, but moved back to Croydon in 1978, when the new version of The Cowards formed. I was living in our parents house at Selhurst again, with Val, Captain, and his girlfriend Cursty.
Who else was involved in the new line-up of The Cowards ?
‘The guitarist was Mark Lemming (real surname Pastolopoulos) and our drummer was Ron Griffin, who had played with Kirsty MacColl in a Croydon band called The Drug Addix.’
Captain told me that The Cowards recorded some demos... how many songs were recorded and what were they ? How often did the band get to play live and was there ever any talk of releasing records ?
‘We made a demo tape of four songs at our friend Randy's studio in Clifton Road, Croydon. One was my song ‘Antipope’, which was later adopted by the Damned and appeared on their ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’ album. The three other songs on the tape were by Mark Lemming… I think they were ‘666’, ‘Fantasy’ and ‘A Big Fuck You to The Boys in Blue’. I was in the band for a year or so and I’m not sure if they released anything after I left in 1979, but I played six gigs with them, which included two at London's Roxy Club. I was in the band from 1978-79, and they did carry on for a while after I left, although I don't know for how long.’
I don’t think you were ever a member of the band, but you were involved in a photo-session for Captain’s short-lived band ‘King’ during 1978…
‘They’d arranged to have some publicity photo’s taken but one of the band members didn’t turn-up. I happened to be at the Burns household in Selhurst at the time, so I was drafted-in to make up the numbers for the photo’s, which were taken at Crystal Palace park. But I was never actually in the band…One of the photo’s eventually ended-up on an EP of the bands’ Peel Session, which also included their version of ‘Antipope’. It’s funny that I’m in a photo of ‘King’ because while I was in The Cowards, we never really bothered about photo’s… We thought punk rock was just for the moment and primarily about writing and performing music.’
The Damned later 'borrowed' your song 'Antipope' and recorded it for their ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’ album. Were you happy about them adopting it and how much did their version differ from your original ?
‘I didn't know that The Damned were using the song until it appeared on the album, so I had mixed feelings about them using it. On the one hand, they gave it a lot more exposure, but on the other, I was disappointed to have to share the royalties with the four members of The Damned (they divided their song-royalties between all of the band-members regardless of who wrote which songs). As for how they played it - they always played ‘Antipope’ a lot faster than The Cowards and, to me, it always sounded like a race between Dave Vanian and the rest of the band to see who could finish it first!’
'Antipope' combines humorous lyrics with quite a radical viewpoint, especially considering when it was written. Captain has said that it's more of an 'anti-religion' song rather than just 'anti-Catholic'. Do you agree with that ?
‘I meant it as a light hearted bit of mockery of religion in general, rather than being against the Pope or Catholics in particular, and I just felt that it was an interesting subject to write a song about. I was mostly pleased with the tune, which came to me whilst I was strumming my guitar at my old halls of residence in London.’
Were you involved in any other bands after The Cowards and have you continued to play music over the years ?
‘I have played a bit of music on and off over the years, although mainly just on my own at home. But I have written a few things with Paul Savoie, a friend of mine who I met via Mark Lemming of The Cowards… songs such as ‘Tomorrow We Die’.
Were you surprised with Captains’ 'Pop' career during the Eighties and what did you think of the solo records he made around that time ?
‘When he started his solo career and released the song ‘What D’Ya Give The Man Who's Gotten Everything’ (along with Dolly Mixture) I thought it was good, but then, a short while later, he went and released ‘Happy Talk’. Suddenly it was being played on the radio all the time and the next thing, it was Number One ! It was a bit embarrassing when people at work found out I was Captain's brother, as they’d all suddenly heard of him because of ‘Happy Talk’. But I was pleased he had got a Number One record, even though I much preferred his other solo material like ‘Stop the World’ and ‘Revolution Now’.
‘They’d arranged to have some publicity photo’s taken but one of the band members didn’t turn-up. I happened to be at the Burns household in Selhurst at the time, so I was drafted-in to make up the numbers for the photo’s, which were taken at Crystal Palace park. But I was never actually in the band…One of the photo’s eventually ended-up on an EP of the bands’ Peel Session, which also included their version of ‘Antipope’. It’s funny that I’m in a photo of ‘King’ because while I was in The Cowards, we never really bothered about photo’s… We thought punk rock was just for the moment and primarily about writing and performing music.’
The Damned later 'borrowed' your song 'Antipope' and recorded it for their ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’ album. Were you happy about them adopting it and how much did their version differ from your original ?
‘I didn't know that The Damned were using the song until it appeared on the album, so I had mixed feelings about them using it. On the one hand, they gave it a lot more exposure, but on the other, I was disappointed to have to share the royalties with the four members of The Damned (they divided their song-royalties between all of the band-members regardless of who wrote which songs). As for how they played it - they always played ‘Antipope’ a lot faster than The Cowards and, to me, it always sounded like a race between Dave Vanian and the rest of the band to see who could finish it first!’
'Antipope' combines humorous lyrics with quite a radical viewpoint, especially considering when it was written. Captain has said that it's more of an 'anti-religion' song rather than just 'anti-Catholic'. Do you agree with that ?
‘I meant it as a light hearted bit of mockery of religion in general, rather than being against the Pope or Catholics in particular, and I just felt that it was an interesting subject to write a song about. I was mostly pleased with the tune, which came to me whilst I was strumming my guitar at my old halls of residence in London.’
Were you involved in any other bands after The Cowards and have you continued to play music over the years ?
‘I have played a bit of music on and off over the years, although mainly just on my own at home. But I have written a few things with Paul Savoie, a friend of mine who I met via Mark Lemming of The Cowards… songs such as ‘Tomorrow We Die’.
Were you surprised with Captains’ 'Pop' career during the Eighties and what did you think of the solo records he made around that time ?
‘When he started his solo career and released the song ‘What D’Ya Give The Man Who's Gotten Everything’ (along with Dolly Mixture) I thought it was good, but then, a short while later, he went and released ‘Happy Talk’. Suddenly it was being played on the radio all the time and the next thing, it was Number One ! It was a bit embarrassing when people at work found out I was Captain's brother, as they’d all suddenly heard of him because of ‘Happy Talk’. But I was pleased he had got a Number One record, even though I much preferred his other solo material like ‘Stop the World’ and ‘Revolution Now’.
Slimy Toad told me that you live in Newcastle these days ? How did you end up there (if I'm not being too nosey...)
‘I met Val in Croydon (in Randy's recording studio!) in 1977. She was a friend of Captain's then-girlfriend Kathie and was studying ceramics in Croydon. We lived together in Croydon for a few years and got married there in 1984. I had been working for Delta Engineering Group but then I got a local government job in Newcastle and we moved there in 1985. I’ve never regretted it because I love the scenery around here and I’ve always got on well with Val's family.’
You were involved in the Johnny Moped documentary, 'Basically', made by your nephew Fred. Were you impressed with the results ?
‘I loved the film - it was very interesting and told the Moped's story well. On the film I told how we learned of Fred's death, which was such a shock and so sad.’
You also made a very brief appearance onstage at the end of the Mopeds' set at the premiere of the film. Were you impressed that there was still such interest in the band after forty years ?
‘It was nice to get on stage there and it was a great evening. It was such a surprise to see the Johnny Moped band on stage again, especially as they played so well! The Moped's were clearly starting a new phase and I was surprised about the amount of interest in them after all that time.’
Are you still interested in music these days ? Do you still play and what sort of things do you listen to ? Do you ever think about playing live or recording again ?
‘I still like music and listen to Rae Morris and the Cornshed Sisters (a North East band) amongst others. I listen to some punk music too but I also like classical music - Val and I regularly go to see the Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestra when they play concerts at The Sage concert hall in Gateshead. I do also think about playing or recording music again, sometimes, but I think I’d need a bit of a push from someone to actually do anything ! Maybe one day…’
‘I met Val in Croydon (in Randy's recording studio!) in 1977. She was a friend of Captain's then-girlfriend Kathie and was studying ceramics in Croydon. We lived together in Croydon for a few years and got married there in 1984. I had been working for Delta Engineering Group but then I got a local government job in Newcastle and we moved there in 1985. I’ve never regretted it because I love the scenery around here and I’ve always got on well with Val's family.’
You were involved in the Johnny Moped documentary, 'Basically', made by your nephew Fred. Were you impressed with the results ?
‘I loved the film - it was very interesting and told the Moped's story well. On the film I told how we learned of Fred's death, which was such a shock and so sad.’
You also made a very brief appearance onstage at the end of the Mopeds' set at the premiere of the film. Were you impressed that there was still such interest in the band after forty years ?
‘It was nice to get on stage there and it was a great evening. It was such a surprise to see the Johnny Moped band on stage again, especially as they played so well! The Moped's were clearly starting a new phase and I was surprised about the amount of interest in them after all that time.’
Are you still interested in music these days ? Do you still play and what sort of things do you listen to ? Do you ever think about playing live or recording again ?
‘I still like music and listen to Rae Morris and the Cornshed Sisters (a North East band) amongst others. I listen to some punk music too but I also like classical music - Val and I regularly go to see the Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestra when they play concerts at The Sage concert hall in Gateshead. I do also think about playing or recording music again, sometimes, but I think I’d need a bit of a push from someone to actually do anything ! Maybe one day…’
Many thanks to Phil for his answers ! I will, of course, keep you posted if he does decide to share any of his music in the future. In the meantime, for information about the ‘Basically Johnny Moped’ documentary, visit this website ;
