Having been a committed Sinista (like a Sandinista, but with a cardigan) for over a year now, most B&S-related questions have been to my satisfaction; I feel a richer person for knowing exactly what an arab strap is, what manner of beast Elvis is, and the full story of the horse and the leopardskin catsuit. One question, however, continues to nag... Namely: what exactly do the original Belle et Sebastien make of our favourite madcap twangle-pop-tarts? To find out more, I commandeered the Jeepster private jet (it has a nice picture of piglet on the tailfin, on Katrinas expressed instructions) and flew off to the French Riviera where the boy and dog who enchanted a generation of viewers live out their twilight years in Mediterranean languor. I caught up with the couple on the balcony of their beachfront villa in Cannes. Sebastien reclined on an Alessi deckchair, Hefneresque in a silk monogramed dressing gown, sucking occasionally on one of those plastic cigarette substitutes between sips of chardonnay, while Belle lounged in the sun, enjoying the attentions of a couple of nubile labradors. I immediately put my foot in it by addressing the boy as Seb. Listen kid, thats Monsieur Sebastien, if you dont fucking mind! Show some goddamn respect. Apologising, I asked how he felt about a bunch of Glaswegian hipsters adopting his moniker. Well, its about fucking time, aint it? replied the ageing boychild. Back in the eighties every two-bit kids celebrity had their own shambling band: the Woodentops, The Clangers, Marine Boy... you name it. Those guys were making big bucks from dumbass college kids buying their old shows on video. The fucking Soup Dragon used to show up here every evening, coked up to her eyeballs, crowing about how her boys had done her good. We had the last laff with that one, of course... Im Free: what a crock of shit! I quickly ascertained that the passing years had tipped the scales from innocence to experience for Msr Sebastien. What, I asked, had he been up to since his early seventies heydey? I had heard that the show had ended amid creative differences. Listen, he said, draining the remnants of chardonnay and pouring himself a large tumbler of Scotch, that dumb bitch Aubrey wouldnt give me creative control. I was the star! Without me she woulda been some fucking frog peasant, picking potatoes in some field somewhere. I was sick of the whole poor boy searching for his mom shtick. I wanted to bring the show into the seventies, in a kinda Dukes of Hazzard direction. The kids were going crazy for that stuff... We coulda had a few car chases, some hot broads in cut-offs. But no, she wouldnt have it. What happened? Well I dragged the mangey mutt there, he said, gesturing towards Belle, out to LA. I figured we could strike up a deal with Disney or something. Turns out they were already working on Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World , compared to which some crummy Pyranean mountain dog is chump change. They didnt need anymore fucking fleabags. Next, we headed down to Hanna-Barbera.... Those assholes wouldnt even let us make a guest appearance on Captain fucking Caveman. The studio system is fucked, kid, the suits have got control and they just dont appreciate class anymore. After that, I... I lost a coupla years. I was hanging out in LA with Willis, yknow from Different Strokes, and that Gonch guy from Grange Hill. Wild, wild times, baby! It was just a blizzard of coke... In the end I got busted for selling a coupla rocks of crack to Velma from Scooby Doo. I was sent into rehab, and came out a stronger wiser kid. He moved onto his second Scotch, and lit a pungent Havana cigar. Then, of course, the royalties started coming in from all the re-runs on Nickelodeon. Belle there invested the cash in a couple of those Wallace and Grommit films Gad! I love those crazy Brits! and with the takings she bought this place and took me back in. A heartwarming story. But what did he think of the latest B&S meisterwerk, The Boy with the Arab Strap? The boy with the whaaaat? Listen, I had heard this band were a bunch of fucking queers, but this is too much! I gotta call my lawyers! And with this he stumbled from his chair, slipped in a puddle of scotch, and crawled off to look for the phone. I decided to let myself out. As I passed Belle, I asked her what she thought of the band. Mon cher, she replied huskily, in a voice not unlike that of Isabelle Huppert, I think they are ow you say? seemply deeeeeevine.... +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". 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