Sinister: Look at me, I'm still on TV...

[Gardiner, Stuart]

OK, I'm back for some more Reporting Back. They should turn this into some
sort of "Making of the DVD" thing, it's long enough...


Chapter 4: Friday morning - with Chris and Sarah.

The first interview of day 2 was a double-header, speaking to Sarah and
Chris in the conservatory at the back of a bar in Glasgow's West End, just
down the road from the old Grosvenor Café. (It was actually really nice for
me to se all these places for the first time, since I'd not been to Glasgow
before). The four of us were seated round a table in the back; it seemed the
best way of getting me in the same frame as the others, I'm way too tall to
do interviews standing up...

This was the one I enjoyed most; it was more like a chat than an interview.
As always, most of the talk revolved around the band's history and future.
The way they all talked about the Brazil concerts really made me wish I'd
been there... We were starting to repeat questions from the day before, but
the answers were still interesting. We talked about their hopes for the new
album. We talked about Northern Soul. We talked about how they had all
changed over the years (apparently Mick's ever-changing hairdo is the most
noticeable thing!). We talked about Chris and his bucket (he doesn't drink
quite as much at gigs these days...). The time went really quickly actually,
it was over before we knew it; I could happily have sat there chatting all
day. Oh, the hardships of being a media whore.


Chapter 5: Friday early afternoon - with Stevie.

After a lunch-break, we must have spent a good quarter of an hour waiting
patiently for Stevie to turn up while he was standing on the opposite corner
of the road junction waiting for us. Having finally realised that we were
standing less than ten metres from his car, we started getting set up for
the interview. For this one, Stevie was going to drive us around Glasgow,
while the two reporters Sarah & I sat in the back of his car asking
questions; with Jim filming us all from the front seat and Blair directing
from next to us in the back. Personally I found it harder to have a
conversation, partly because Stevie had to concentrate on driving (even if
we were just going up and down a quiet street down by the docks for most of
the time!) but more because we couldn't really see his face except a bit in
the rear-view mirror; having said that, Blair thought it was the interview
which worked best, and he knows what he's talking about far more than I do!

Now, Stevie loves his music. He likes nothing more than playing a gig. His
repertoire is responsible for most of the cover versions done at gigs. As
the band's resident axe-wielder, he seems to prefer the more up-tempo
numbers to play; and he was as bemused as anyone about being labelled
'twee'. Of course, there were the usual questions about the band's history
and future, since that was the main point of the interviews; again, Stevie
thought the future of the band was rosier now than it had been for a few
years. And no, he's not planning on leaving the band and going solo just
yet...

Having made it safely back without crashing (despite Stevie turning round to
answer questions from time to time...), we piled out of the car, got the
life back in our legs (well I did at least - it's not easy being tall and
sitting behind another tall person in the car for an hour!) and headed off
to pick up the remaining two band members.


Chapter 6: Friday late afternoon - with Mick and Bob.

It had been a gorgeous day in Glasgow. Bright and sunny, and hardly a cloud
in the sky. So what better place to do the final interview than in
Kelvingrove Park? Well, somewhere warm would have been a nice start, but
still... Sitting round a picnic bench, huddling up in our coats, hands
cradling a polystyrene cup of tea, the four of us looked more like homeless
people than anything else. When you see the footage, you'll be able to tell
how far through the interview it was by how red my ears are at the time. We
managed to fit all the usual subjects into the interview before it was
decided to call a halt because Bobby's teeth could be heard chattering in
the microphone. And to think, Katrina had decided to go back to the office
instead of hanging around for the afternoon to watch...

Aside from asking about the same stuff as in the other interviews, it was
interesting to hear how Mick and Bobby found it joining the band halfway
through, so-to-speak. Mick talked about having to change his attitude from
being the bloke who came into the studio and cheered things up, to being
someone expected to give input into the decisions. Bob talked about the
process being made easier because he had known the entire band for five
years beforehand.

Once we had enough footage, we returned to the car to defrost, and then
headed off to the pub.


Chapter 7: Friday early evening.

Filming done, time to relax. First up, a few drinks with Mick, Bobby, Blair,
Jim, and Katrina who rejoined us (and is still convinced I'm an alcoholic,
can't imagine why...). I'll leave it to you to guess which person at the
table had just purchased the best of Toto on CD, because it's really not
that interesting. The conversation went from credible alternative music
(well, Kylie Minogue and Tatu to be honest) to the politics of the anti-war
march to the wonderful sport of korfball.

Only about half an hour late, we decided to make a move to get to the
restaurant for a meal. The dining party consisted of me and Sarah, Stuart M,
Katrina, Jim and Blair (despite his other half cooking a Valentine's meal
for him back home... Hope he didn't get into trouble...). We were the only
people in the restaurant not there as a couple, either long-term couples or
the blatantly-obvious first date going on on one of the tables. So it was
only natural that the conversation was mostly about relationships; it
sounded more like a group therapy session at times! There was a bit of chat
about music, and Camera Obscura in particular; and a bit more about the
peace demo (incidentally, on Saturday night I finally found someone who
thinks we should be going to war with Iraq - it's taken me several
months...). I wish I could have joined Stuart, Katrina and the others on the
march, but sadly I had to be back in Nottingham on Saturday afternoon. Oh,
and incidentally, the food was delicious.


Chapter 8: Friday evening - at the Camera Obscura gig.

So, four of us piled into a taxi to head round to Stuart's Church Hall to
see the show. After a discussion on the way there about which karaoke songs
each of us had sung / would want to sing, and a quick stop in the
off-licence, we arrived just in time to see the first act, a man whose name
I've forgotten but who sounded eerily like Elvis Costello (which is no bad
thing). Lucy has already given a round-up of who was there (I never met half
of you, but still...); I'll just say that the atmosphere was really friendly
and everyone had a good time. Camera Obscura themselves played mostly good
new songs, with a couple of classics thrown in for good measure. And just
when I was crying out for them to let rip with an up-tempo number, they did
at the end, and people literally started dancing in the aisles. They've got
a lot better since last time I saw them a couple of years ago (which
obviously is all thanks to the addition of Carey on the keyboards).

Once the gig was over, we stayed behind for a little while chatting with the
various members of B&S who were present (most of them!). (At this point I
should apologise to Katrina for making her wait while I chatted to Sarah for
a minute or two!) Anyway, it was time to go, so I said my goodbyes, and
Stuart drove us back to our hotel, where I was asleep within seconds of
lying down.



I had to come back on Saturday morning, which was a real shame; everyone was
so nice and friendly and I could have talked to them for hours more. The
band aren't superstars, they're just normal, lovely people who happen to be
a lot more talented than me. I can't think of any way they could have been
more welcoming, open and friendly. So huge thanks to the band, the director
and cameraman, to Katrina, to the person who came round with room service
while we were interviewing Stuart for not kicking us out of the hotel...

I'm already looking forward to how it will all turn out; it's going to be
good (especially since most bits won't have me in them). In the meantime,
it's been a fun experience that I'll never forget.

Big Stu



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