has now been posted on the belle and sebastian website at http://www.belleandsebastian.co.uk/press/interviews/select-1-apr-99.htm but it's also below -- The portents are good. In the disturbingly macho spit-sawdust-and-Sky TV public house there's a row of books on the window ledge. Alongside the Frederick Forsyth paperbacks sits a mammoth three-volume set titled The World Of Children, a 1950s educative text with chapter titles including 'Gill Is Worried' and 'The Earth As A Big Ball'. Interspersed within are line-drawings illustrating such eternal truths as 'Whispering: A Nasty Habit'. Next to this is another tome called French Cathedrals. Sanctity side-by-side with childhood innocence: we're clearly not in South-East London anymore but are already well on the way to being transported to a strange, slightly adjacent new world. Entering the more salubrious surroundings of New Cross' Paradise Bar, the shift becomes complete. For it's here, in what more usually serves as a local gay bar, that '200 Troubled Teenagers' is being held, the night that bills itself in classically understated fashion as "an evening dedicated to the Scottish ban Belle And Sebastian". A darkened passageway leads you past a woman presiding over programme packs, the cover of which is a cack-handedly doctored picture of Miss Jean Brodie teaching her class the dates of the three Belle And Sebastian LPs. It's £3 to enter, but £2 if you're wearing band T-shirts or badges - which accounts for the preponderence of such gear among the tranquil clusters of fans standing in the shady alcoves and under the prettily swirling lights. Far from being a solely sad-lad scene, there are also plenty of Isobel Campbell clones in evidence, with hair-slides and pinafores in abundance. Thankfully, too, among the male contingent there are occasional touches of Cocker-esque shirt-and-tie-smoothie style to offset the expected shy-boy floppiness. This, it also appears, is a band for all ages. So while some of the cultists look as though they've just arrived from the nearest student union indie disco, others look like they'd be more at home in the staff bar. After a couple of laps of this transformed 'nitespot', it becomes apparent that a genuinely peculier atmosphere is coalescing. Onto a white drape a projector casts grainy '70s home videos of a penguin enclosure and a car pulling in and out of a petrol station. The DJ is playing (whisper it!) tracks from the near-mythical B&S debut album 'Tigermilk', as well as gems of yesteryear like David Bowie's youthful novelty hit "The Laughing Gnome". Xylophones and recorders lie about on tables for those who feel that way inclined (and many do). The bar, meanwhile, is doing a roaring trade in Tiger Milk Shakes. The programme pack includes an I-spy card with a list of unreleased songs, complete with boxes to tick once you've heard of them, and a survey asking, "Who's best: Belle And Sebastian or Steps?" and "What looks best: Belle And Sebastian or Belle & Sebastian?" Someone was bound to ask. . . weren't they? B&S Fandom is an international community who all find a certain security in the company of like-minded people, leading to Actual Real Relationships and even, in one instance, marriage (six months ago, between New Yorkers Rachel and JJ). They are people who'll happily name their offspring Belle and Sebastian. Who'll meet up - in Primrose Hill, London, or Griffiths Park, LA - for picnics and games of Twister. Who are often inspried by their heroes to paint or engage in other less recognised forms of artistic endeavour. Who, incidentally, don't care much for Pete Waterman (he was personally invited tonight to see what it's all about, but appears to have had prior engagements). And who, in order to travel to the forthcoming Bowlie Weekender festival (conceived by Stuart Murdoch and to be held at Pontins holiday camp in Camber Sands), are hiring a red double-decker bus in the style of Cliff Richard and The Shadows' Summer Holiday. In Summary, your Belle And Sebastian fans are not totally normal. But they demand, or at least politely ask for, your respect. Far from a bunch of uniformed saddoes, their ranks are filled with odd-ball characters like Douglas Stewart, the ex-BMX Bandits singer and earlier champion of north-of-border tweeness, currently making a documentary on the band for the BBC. Who better, indeed, to combat the group's legendary camera-shy natures: he was, after all, in a band with Stuart Murdoch called Deadly Geometry, a bizarre project whose self-proclaimed mission - oh, the killing irony - was to achieve as much publicity as possible without actually creating any music. The forth-coming programme, Douglas also reveals, couldwell include a cartoon of the band illustrated in the style of an early '70s Bunty annual. Pete Waterman was apparently invited to provide the narration. Again, sadly, he declined. When this backwards-in-coming-forwards Scottish indie-folk combo won their Brit in February it was one of those great happening-without-permission moments that helps make pop seem like an interesting way of spending your time: the blank industry stares on the night, Pete Waterman's tabloid-backed vote-rigging allegations, the tri-partite aggression that's recently broken out from the pop world with Another Level and 5ive coming out on the side of Steps. The meek, it seemed, were ready to claim back at least part of that long-promised inheritance. It all amounted to a hilarious, momentous, unexpectedly visible demonstration of power from a group and fanbase that had previously appeared content to inhabit the margins of the musical world. That this victory over Pete Waterman and the ruffled pop darlings was achieved largely via the Internet is only fitting. Cyberspace has always appealed to those with dispositions of a closeted, furtive nature: the trademark of Stuart Murdoch's lyrical drift. So, if Belle And Sebastian really are to the '90s what The Smiths were to the '80s, this Net connection testifies to how society has become a rather different place in the interim. Where Smiths fans came together in solidarity with some oppositional, confrontational idea of changing the world, Belle And Sebastian fans - as perfect emblems of the downsizing generation - are simply seeking a little piece of independent space that they can call their own. That space usually turns out to be the Sinister Mailing List - and it is a strange place to be. Become one of its 900 subscribers and you're letting yourself in for a daily torrent of e-mail missives that, on any given day, could include everything from earnest discussions on lyrics to fictional messages from Stuart's mum. Votes can be cast on your favourite on-line people. Virtual kisses are exchanged. It's involved stuff, and the official Belle And Sebastian/Jeepster Records site gets between 160,000 and 200,000 hits a week. "People become mates because they've got one thing in common," says Papercuts fanzine editor Stephen Troussé of the on-line community. "But they don't just talk about that, they chat about anything. It's like being down the pub - except you're in three different continents." So what kind of talk usually occurs in the average Belle And Sebastian chatroom? "Smut. There's always a lot of smut. . . " Like Stephen, who also organises regular B&S meetings at Covent Garden's Poetry Café, many admirers seem unwilling to stop at mere hero worshipping indulgence, preferring instead to use the music as a jumping-off point for creativity. Alistair Fitchett, aka The Duke Of Harringay, has written a series of booklets called Belles Lettres (in part as homage to the similar Stuart David booklet Ink Polaroids Of Belle And Sebastian) in which he's attempted to capture the spirit of their songs. "I made about 50 or so of those and sold them at the Manchester shows. They sold out really quickly, actually," says Alistair, a Tiverton art teacher who forced his reluctant pupils ("They were all going, 'Oh, who's this, it's rubbish!'") to design alternative album covers for 'The Boy With The Arab Strap'. "I have met Stuart and Isobel and... it was nice, but what I really hate about pop music generally is this idea that the people who make the music are somehow different. I've met a lot of interesting people through the fanclub, but I prefer appreciating pop music as an individual, not being part of some clique or gang. The hardcore people who I feel most in common with are those who are doing things themselves - not just consuming, not just buying the records and talking endlessly about what Stuart meant by this or that." Following in this vein is one Sean Fleming who has been partly inspired by Belle And Sebastian ("everything now is more like a show and this isn't a show") to become an expressionist painter and musician. "You'll probably hear about me this time next year," he confidently assures. Is it possible, then, that a burgeoning Belle And Sebastian-inspired arty-literary-boho scene is in waiting, ready to sweep away Cool Britannia's over-hyped chancers? Talk to the group's chief female figure, Isobel Campbell, and it becomes clear that the band are, rather than true icons in the Morrissey mould, simply gifted extensions of the same quietly non-comformist world their fans occupy. Softly spoken - at times faltering, at times chatty - she's obviously still new to the world of interviews. And having only just finished college, she's no doubt rather taken aback at finding herself something of a style guru. Like the rest of the group, she's really neither a complete wide-eyed ingenue nor an utterly knowing ironist - which goes some way to supporting the idea that their non-image's absurd success falls somewhere between happy accident and media literate masterplan. "I just thought that when I went to university to study music... All my friends were signing on, and they were all lovely and things... I just thought that would happen to me," she recalls. "Then I joined the band and we were just suddenly getting all these phone calls and people asking us would you like to play here, blah blah blah. It's great and it's not to be knocked at all but even just the general business of it all is something to get used to." So does it feel odd to be the subject of a cult? "I suppose it is a bit strange. They all sort of meet and chat to each other... People do write to us as well, and we always try and reply. We get quite general ones just to Belle And Sebastian and a few others to each of us individually, saying things like, you know, how they've been quite fed up recently, things like that. I suppose it is quite odd that people write in to people they don't know. Sometimes people come up to you and talk to you and you don't think they know who you are and it turns out they're Belle And Sebastian fans." There's also plenty of unusual - if sort of appropriate - freebies flying their way "People send us lots of drawings. There was one time I got some silver angel wings. That was nice. And just lots of little gifts. Oh, and I got a dress sent to me and it fitted me perfectly. Actually, I don't even know if it was for me, it just sort of emerged. There was a note attached saying, 'I wonder if someone in Belle And Sebastian would like this?' It was blue velvet, sort of a pinafore thing.. So are you all quite excited after the Brits? "I think our families are a lot more than us. Everything kind of exploded when it happened. It was quite touching because of how obviously all the fans on the Internet had got together and initiated it all. And it was good to see Mick and Richard on the telly" So are you all getting something of a taste for the limelight now? "I don't know... We're all really, really busy and we're doing as much as we can manage. Probably not. Some bands get so over-exposed because you see their faces on the cover of everything and you end up quite sick of it really. You're not going to see our faces splashed all over the billboards or anything." Back in New Cross, the mood of enchantment is escalating fast, thanks in large part to the airing of huge chunks from Belle And Sebastian's canon. Conversation at the bar revolves around such topics as whether switching from four to three-track singles to become eligible for charts (as B&S appear likely to do) constitutes selling out'. And whether it's shameful to own up to only having 'Tigermilk' on tape. At one point immoderate excitement runs through the assembly at the rumour that Jo, the cover star of 'Tigermilk' (and Stuart's ex), is about to appear in person. She doesn't. The question for the uninitiated remains, though: just what is this group's particular appeal? "It's because they're difficult to find out about in the conventional way," reckons 18-year-old Andrew Farley. "You hear the name mentioned around quite a lot and it stands out as being unusual. And you think, 'That's strange, I've heard the name but not their songs on the radio, why is that?' You can't just pick up The Sun or The Mirror and find out what's going on. Well, before the Brits, this is..." David and Katrina, now of the group's record label Jeepster, but formerly humble shop assistants at Vinyl Experience in London's Hanway Street, testify to the musics strange incubatory effects. "We got given the '...Sinister' album by a rep and filled in the feedback questionnaire giving it about five out of ten," confesses Katrina. "But then we kept going back to it and playing it again and again until we had it on practically all the time. We kept ordering loads of copies to foist on as many people as possible. And loads of tourists who came in would go home with copies. "Then we went to their Borderline gig and David, who'd been doing the Elastica fanclub, went up to Stuart Murdoch and asked him if he could do their fanclub. He said fine, so we started that - organising the picnics and stuff - and eventually we joined Jeepster as it grew." So, now that you're part of the Jeepster family, are you still fans? "Well, Stuart and Isobel come to the office and afterwards we're going, 'Ooh, wow! They were here! We spoke to them!' [laughs] Like on a real high..." Such enthusiasm isn't rare. In fact it's common to find even more extreme reactions on the Net. Here's 'Guy': "i just want to say how much i love Belle And Sebastian, and how they possibly saved my life. At the time when i discovered them, i was going through a hard time in life, having quite a few problems with nobody to turn to. The beautiful and meaningful music they produce is a great antidote to the world we live in, with its vulgarity and falseness. Belle And Sebastian have shown me that life can be colourful and beautiful. They give me hope and belief that things will get better. God bless you Belle And Sebastian!!!!!!!" As it edges towards midnight in New Cross surprising scenes are taking place on the dancefloor. The dancier B&S tracks (meaning, er, 'Dirty Dream Number Two', basically) segue into a rock-out section (including the likes of T Rex's 'Jeepster') which causes what appears to be red-hot boogie action among the supposedly shrinking violet twee-kids. As the throng starts sweating with communal joy, it's clear that other factors over and above the love of the band itself bind this clan together. One unifying characteristic, of course, is a shared feeling of shyness. "Everyone is always rather reticent," says the evening's organiser and DJ, Joe Egg. "I felt rather shy handing out the flyers for tonight. And a big city - whether it's London or LA - can be a very lonely place, it's really hard to meet people who think like you. So if you're a young person who's predisposed to the Internet and likes the band, it's a good way of getting to actually meet like-minded people face-to-face." "It's really about people from all over the world who trust each other," adds Katrina. "If you say, 'I want to come over to stay', you'll be put up. It's a friends for life thing. If you say you're a Belle And Sebastian fan, people presume that everything else is similar too." "We're all very sad," adds David. "But we don't care!" The band's famously taciturn habits do appear to have rubbed off onto their fans. There's anything but unanimity even over the wisdom of tonight's fan convention, with some Net postings fearing wallflowers-looking-lost scenes reminiscent of '80s Smiths nights. Alistair, meanwhile, is not attending the Bowlie Weekender. "I just don't like the idea of festivals," he says. "I'm not very social.' And, in connection with this article, the Sinister mailing list founder, Paul Mitchell, says he's "not sure whether I want it publicised so much as we're a very special tidy little community!" Such awkwardness hints at the whole cult's current precarious position. According to Andy Parley, "It is a contradiction. You feel like you're part of a really select, minority thing. But at the same time there's a lot of us now. It's like anything, really, when it turns big." Maybe this bubble-like community has become about as big as it can get without bursting. There's already signs that a breakaway 'knew them in the beginning/prefer their old stuff' movement is rearing its head and, assuming that the group carries on widening its musical remit, those who think of Belle And Sebastian as Their Group could feel increasingly marginalised by any forthcoming Brits-enhanced success. Which, of course, only adds fittingly melancholic edge to the night's valedictory celebrations. That said, the cult's highpoint is still to arrive The Bowlie Weekender promises to be a feast of chalet-based frolics. That is if everyone behaves themselves and follows such tips as these from the official website: "Bring some pyjamas - afterall, most of you are sharing your chalet with people you only loosely know," and "If you're driving, check the weather before you leave and make sure that you stop off for short breaks during your journey." Above all, however, you should, "Make sure you've booked the Monday off work so you won't get into trouble when you don't turn up." It would, after all, be the nice and thoughtful thing to do. -- cheers david ----------------------------------------------------------------------- david kitchen : jeepster recordings ltd http://www.jeepster.co.uk/ mailto:shop@jeepster.co.uk WE ARE MOVING, NEW ADDRESS: PO BOX 14153, LONDON SW11 4XU, UK to subscribe to the news mailing list mail majordomo@jeepster.co.uk with the words 'subscribe news' in the body of the message +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". 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