🟪𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖, 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟲 (𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗧)🟪

🟪Today I’d like to share an 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 (an excerpt of it as it’s way too long in full) from the early days of Placebo’s career🟪
It’s caught my attention because of the PLACE where it was done - 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒂𝒕 𝑷𝒐𝒑𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐, “surrounded by an impressive city skyline”, on a beautiful September evening...✨
⭐️Not long ago I told you about 𝑷𝑨𝑻 𝑷𝑶𝑷𝑬, a great photographer who took many brilliant pictures surely recognizable for every Placebo fan. If you missed that post, you can take a look now.
➡ https://bit.ly/3dkEtBo

Photo credit: Pat Pope

🟪Back to the interview, Brian talked to the 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 journalist right after they all, with Stefan and Robert Schultzberg, did a photoshoot with Pat Pope. Below, I’m adding that very image where Placebo look like "𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌" in Stefan's opinion😃
Brian sounds smart, straightforward, and witty as always, and British press seems to be pretty much impressed by the rising stars. Enjoy reading, soulmates!
𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝑶𝒍𝒈𝒂💗

🟪▪️𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐀𝐋▪️🟪
“We’re the Boyzone of indie rock,” states 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝑶𝒍𝒅𝒔𝒂𝒍, Placebo’s nine-foot-high Swedish bassist. He’s examining 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚’𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐-𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒕 particularly taken by the one where he and drummer 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒛𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈 look on doe-eyed as singer, 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒐, a slight, black-haired Marilyn/Courtney hybrid, 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆. Oh, every inch the teen idols. But Stefan’s joking of course. Placebo are a serious band. They’d never ever align themselves with such banal, fifth generation nonsense and lowest common denominator product.
… As Brian later spits, “We’re hyper self-critical and have a very low boredom threshold. It seems the possibilities are endless. We don’t just want to be a guitar band. Fuck that. Fuck it.”

⭐️𝑪𝑶𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬? 𝑰 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑲 𝑵𝑶𝑻…
In a decent world, it wouldn’t be necessary to explain why Placebo are the most exciting and potentially most important new band to leap above the parapet this year. You’d just listen to the record, see them live, laugh with hysterical relief and then instantly demand that every billboard in Piccadilly Circus be given over to their cause. […]

⭐️𝑩𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝑹𝑰𝑨𝑵
“You were the one who wrote that I should be called velvet.”

𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔-𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒂𝒕 𝑷𝒐𝒑𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐. Robert and Stefan dislike interviews, and so stay inside and read the papers. Out here, surrounded by an impressive city skyline, wasps attack as the last of the sun floods down. And, well, this next bit is essential, I’m afraid. I just can’t pretend it’s John Power or Mr Ocean Colour Scene sitting lumpenly opposite me.

Believe me, I tried. Tiny with Louise Brooks bob, Brian’s wearing a furry black coat, shimmery pink lipstick and silver-glitter nail polish. Behind huge sunglasses, his eyes are heavily shadowed with grey. He looks like he’s just stepped out of a Pierre-et-Gilles photo fantasia, heart-breakingly beautiful, with the kind of charisma usually half-glimpsed behind tinted limousine windows. OK, I might be susceptible, not coming from the pace where beautiful and charismatic pop stars roam free - but then neither do the hoards of “TOTP” kids who are soon going to be pinning their daydreams to him and the band.

Right…

Velvet? Aaaaaaargh, yes. I did write that maybe fate could have named you better.

Photo credit: Pat Pope

“I asked my friend Bill if Brian was a nerd’s name in England. He didn’t want to tell me, but I’ve gathered it is. People started sating ‘My dad’s called Brian.’ And unfortunate choice on the part of my parents.”

It does depend on the Brian, I suppose…

“Well, yeah, Brian Jones… Who else?”

Er, Brian Blessed? Brian the snail from “The Magic Roundabout”?

“What’s he like?”

Cheery, chirpy. Bt of a lad.

He looks askance over the top of those film-star sunglasses, pink lipstick shimmering in the sun.

“Oh yeah - that’s me in a nutshell.”

⭐️𝑳𝑳𝑶𝑹’𝑵’𝑲𝑪𝑶𝑹’𝑵’𝑺𝑮𝑼𝑹’𝑵’𝑿𝑬𝑺
So yes, it kind of goes without saying that Placebo aren’t Yob Rock. Nor, despite Brian being a loss to the cause, are they Romo, and as you’d expect from a Swedo-Lux concern, they can’t be held in the village greens of Britpop. The spectre of American alternative looms quite large - Sonic Youth, Pixies, Rodan, even Smashing Pumpkins (only with triple the intelligence and none of the bombast, stars and not dollar signs in their eyes).

But Placebo do no fit. An art rock band doused in pop, a thoroughbred Trojan horse, everything you could want form a band - only backwards.

What does fit Placebo’s splendid isolation is the fact that their new single is called “𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭”, a dreamy rush of existential doubt that manages to grasp all the pitilessness, defiance and vulnerability of those hormone-crazed days without sloshing about in self-pity. The title even seems mocking… [...]

DO you feel you’ve grown up yet?

“𝑰’𝒎 𝟐𝟑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒊𝒏, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 100 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 - 𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, I don’t know, things don’t surprise me as much as I imagined they would. Maybe I’m just a fast learner. […]

⭐️𝑺𝑬𝑿
“Kinda guy that mates for life/Gotta help him find a wife/We’re a couple when out bodies double…

Photo credit: Corinne Day

Priests and parents would probably not favour “𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐲” as a positive role model, yet “Nancy Boy” is one of the best songs on “Placebo”, a thrilling blowsy glam-punk come-on that flirts with Suede’s “The Drowners” across a crowded room. It is,, to Brian’s delight, the song that most often wins over hostile audiences, despite being the most ambiguous, licentious lyric they have.

“After doing that song on the ‘White Room’ I thought ‘𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝑽 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒈, “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒔𝒔”!’ I’ve also been on ‘The Big Breakfast’ singing ‘𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆’.” [...]

You know the way you look is going to affect Placebo’s initial appeal?

“I hope so. Otherwise it wouldn’t be worth all the money I spend on facials.” He raises his hands in the air. “That’s a JOKE. The thing is, I often get mistaken for a girl. At first I felt flattered because I reckoned it meant I was quite pretty, then I thought, ‘if it’s that easy, maybe I should play around with it, bring it into the world of the band.’ Placebo’s music is full of ambiguity. It doesn’t offer answers, just questions.”

He smiles. I still can’t see his eyes.

“I mean, you don’t do it without hoping that in some way or another it’s quite sexy - but you never can tell.”

As disingenuousness goes, this is like Liam Gallagher saying he’d like to be famous, but isn’t sure if anyone’s, like, hat bothered about him. I’m impressed.

“𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. When they can’t put their finger on you, that’s when you’re at your most dangerous, and I guess I like that position - not being able to have a finger put on me. So to speak.”

Not looking like your average happy shopper, don’t you get hassled all the time?

“Not really. Maybe it’s because I walk around in my own little dream world. When I’m with girls though, we both get it. I was walking round Ladbroke Grove with a girl a week ago and two blokes came up to us and said, ‘Are you looking for cock?’ that wouldn’t have happened if I looked more like a bloke. What it does is five me insight into how horrible and infantile and offensive men can be. It gives me a kind of anti-role model, encountering male attitudes in the street, in bars, that I find completely repulsive. It shows me what I’m not and keeps me in check as a man.”

Photo credit: Robin Francois

How do you feel about joining the pantheon of pansexual pin-ups?

“Hey, why not? 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒖𝒎 - 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. They don’t mean anything to me - they never have.”

OK, there are people who find this assumption of fluid sexuality irritating. As former MM writer, the late Kris Kirk, wrote about Morrissey six years ago in “Gay Times”: “if he’s straight he should stop feeding off us. Write about heterosexual culture, defrauding on the mortgage repayments and going to football matches.”

Maybe I should have rudely demanded to know exactly who Brian’s sleeping with, asked for ratios and percentages - yet it’s totally unnecessary. The day 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 came out with the old “bisexual who’s never had a homosexual experience quote” and pinned himself into a corner, was the day my love for Suede died a little. Brian is sexual, period. He’s also clever enough to know that in pop, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓.
(𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙", 𝑆𝑒𝑝'96)

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