One thing you count on is that there will always be goths.
Politicans, leg-warmers and Fall line-ups come and go, but there will always be goths on Carnaby Street. Which is just as well, because it means that Placebo will always have a market for their wobbly angst rock.
'Placebo is music for outsiders, by outsiders', said anaemic-looking frontman Brian Molko a couple of years back. 'Our gigs are like convetions of outcasts, which is cool'.
Cool? Really? Well, if ou cast your mind back to 1996, there was a time when Placebo were pretty cool. Grunge and Britpop had died, and bands like The Seahorses ruled a pitiful 'indie' chart.
Placebo. though, touted guitar rock that smacked of battery acid, dampness and rust. And wee Brian, with stubble 'n' slap and enthusiastic bisexuality, was a damn sight more interesting than the likes of Cast.
In the eight years since releasing their storming 'Nancy Boy' single, Placebo have sold 5 million albums worldwide. A quick listen to the band's new singles comp will tell you that their style hasn't changed massively: the energic, tinny drumming, tangles of guitar and over-wrought lyrics.
But that bledn of manky, miserable and highly sexed ("I'm unclean, a libertine!" cries Molko) - that's not goint to lose its appeal for a fair while yet.
Just ask the kids at Wembley.
By Sophie Harris Time Out - 3-10 November 2004
