Sleeping with the NME

Interviewer: Oh there we are. Thursday morning just walked in to the NME, immediately big buzz going 'round, Andrew Collins sitting here saying "ooh something's happened!" and what is it?

Andrew Collins: The thing that's happened, right, is that last night Steve Lamacq went up ...where did you go?

Steve Lamacq: Norwich

Andrew: He went to Norwich to do a planned live review/feature on the Manic Street Preachers, right?

Steve: It certainly wasn't what I was expecting was gonna to happen.

Andrew: And anyway, Steve's a bit suspicious of them so it was going to be this sort of, not a backlash, but he was going to suggest that maybe they're not *all* they're cracked up to be and anyway, he went up there, saw the gig...

Steve: You won't get much coherent sense out of me I'm afraid...

Andrew: ...and, um, you know what they're like - these sort of young punks, basically, sort of the return of punk - and a lot people are very suspicious of them, think they're all sort of just faking it, and slogans, and trying to get rich and famous, and they're not really being serious. So Steve did half an hour of chat with... which one was it? Richey?

Steve: Yeah

Andrew: Richey.

Steve: You know, we were supposed to sort of hate each other and everything, I was a bit nervous I s'pose..

Andrew: And after this half hour of chat, afterwards they agreed to disagree, you know, Steve says "I am not convinced by you but, you know, fair enough, we'll leave it at that" em he said (speaking to Steve)...do you want to tell 'em or shall I tell 'em...

Steve: No, um, Richey said "You got a minute, come back stage, there's one last thing I'd like to say" and, em, so we went backstage and, em, I said "You know I just don't think a lot of people will think you're for real" and he got a - I don't know where he got it from - he got a razor blade and wrote "4 REAL" on his arm, down the side of his arm, while I was standing there watching him, and that's about it really.

Andrew: This is quite interesting already. This is good, this is a good story.

Steve: He actually said at the time, "Believe me, we are for real and we're not the next Birdland" and we sort of carried on talking for another 3 or 4 minutes and by that time he was dripping blood all over the floor, it was beginning to stain the carpet.

Andrew: Everybody will have a reaction to this story, it's just unfortunate that Ed Sirrs didn't get any pictures of it...

Steve: I had to wind it up, um, went out and found the manager, told him to get backstage pretty damn quick.

Andrew: ...nevermind, tell the story Steve. The page that it was going to go on will be taken up by the story. Then Ed Sirrs arrives with colour pictures of this awful event.

Ed: So, roadies rushed round, wrapped some bandages round him, I whooped the camera out, he took the bandages off for me, really quickly so the...

Man 1: So he actually said "oh I'll take the, uh..."

Ed: Oh, yeah, I didn't have to suggest it.

Andrew: It's close-up, nasty, gory pictures of this blood and it's an appalling picture and everybody's running around, getting upset, and appalled and excited.

Man 1: He actually said " 'ere, do you want to photograph this?"

Ed: Oh yeah, "I'd better take the bandages off". They had just been put on so it was mint

Man 1: so you got a mint wound.

Ed:Oh yes.

Andrew: And the question is, can we print this picture? 'Cause it is really horrible. I find it extremely horrible. He's upset, people down there are upset, grown people are upset by this picture, it is an 'orrible picture. Danny, as I say, Danny's in a meeting, he hasn't seen it yet, he's going to be jumping around. It's a bit of news, even if you could say it's trivial, I'd say within our little world it is not trivial, it's quite a thing.

Interviewer: How do you feel about all this?

Steve: I don't really think I've quite got over the shock of it really.

Interviewer: Do you in any way regard it that you may be responsible for that in any way because he did it for you, almost?

Steve: No. Not really. He chose to do it, he chose to make his point in that way. I don't kinda feel guilty about the fact that he's done it. (Deep sighs) Dunno. It's been one hell of a week now.

Andrew: Danny! Get down there and find out. We've got running colour pictures of a mutilation...

Danny: Oh cool!

Andrew: ...and it's just too horrible to look at. You will freak.

Woman: The guy's sick.

Danny: Yeah, yeah I know but I'm in the publishing paper aren't I?

Andrew: You got to see it, it's a very important thing.

Woman: There's no way you can print those photos.

Danny: (interrupting and very surprised) Oh, oh that's!!!

Karen: 'cos you'll get all those fans doing the same thing.

Andrew: Rubbish, Karen! Really delicate issue!

(Steve's mutters something)

Danny: Well I'm in charge of that, I am in fact core editor.

Man 2: You had anything to eat this morning?

Andrew: Yeah, thanks.

Steve: It says "4 REAL" on it, it doesn't say...

Danny: OH MY GOD!!

Andrew: That's Danny Kelly talking. It's a problem innit?

Danny: Well no, it's not a problem...

Andrew: You don't think it is?

Danny: These things happen sometimes, it's a newspaper not a...

(Various people speaking in the background)

Danny: What do you think about them?

Man3: I think it's disgusting.

Karen: It's absolutely *sick*

(Various people say " it's revolting innit?", " it's just 'shock horror'" etc.)

Man4: What if we convert them to black and white and just use 'em in black and white? Colour's too graphic isn't it? It's just awful.

Karen: What's he gonna do next - take his own life?

Danny: I don't know, well maybe we'll all cut each other's heads off and that'll be an end to it.

Man5: Hi Philip, it's yes then? All right then? You know about last night and all that? Obviously everything's going berserk here, I mean we're going to do a news story on it so have you got any details about it all?

Mary-Ann Hobbs: I'm only the scum assistant, so I don't get to... it's not my decision, it'll be Danny's decision because it's quite, you know, it's up to him to take responsibility, I'm gonna say I'm not happy to take responsibility for a story like that.

James: Where are these photographs?

Various: In here if you can handle it. What the butler saw.

James: Oh that's nothing!

Various: That's my man!

James: What's it say? T-rex... he's spelt it wrong! It doesn't say T-rex it says T. R. E. A.

Mark: Could be Welsh statement.

James: Gosh, you gotta print that it's rock 'n' roll, innit?

Karen: It's self mutilation though, James.

James: I think it's an excellent photograph, good one Ed.

Some Bloke: I don't think we should print it.

James: God, I should. I think even more bands should do that sort of thing.

David: (sarcastically) Oh yeah very clever.

James: I do!

David: Oh yeah. You like the picture but you're expecting them to...

James: Don't come it with the moral stuff! (Amid shouting) We have people smoking in the paper every week, we have people like Jack who used to work here glorifying drugs for weeks on end, we've had a letter E on the cover when E was the national symbol for Ecstasy...

Karen: (interrupting) All you need is for one kid, one child to copy that and kill themselves and you're (make cutting her throat noise)

James: You wouldn't kill yourself cutting yourself on you forearm!

Karen: You could if you missed!

James: If it was bad, did he faint Ed?

Ed: No

David: He's just being ludicrous and childish and we don't have to...

James: Yeah but nobody says that about bloody Sid Vicious do they?

Mark: But we've been through that before, it's like rewriting history doesn't have any interest.

James: Well not to you Mark, because maybe you've seen it before, maybe you've past it.

Mark: Yeah well probably (mumbles)

James: I mean Sid Vicious only took it from Iggy Pop. It doesn't seem to be T-Rex though.

Andrew: No it's "4 REAL", the letter 4, the word real.

James: Ah, because it looked like treat or something.

David: You're not trying to make the differential between, I know we're gonna spend all day arguing about these pictures, but you're not trying to make a differential between Iggy Pop and him haven't you done (something).

Mark: No *he's* talking about Iggy Pop, I'm not...

James: Me and Ed are saying it's part of a fine tradition of self expression.

Mark: (speaking over James) You think all bands should do that?

David: I just think he's an idiot.

James: But I think if he burnt himself - hopefully he'll read this - if he burnt himself in, you know, Tianneman Square, we should print it. It's artistic expression innit!

Mark: Oh, don't kid yourself!

James: I'm not kidding myself!

Mark: You're more a naff fucker than I am. Fucking artistic expression?! Do me a fucking favour.