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The Cure
I've spoken to Robert Smith a number of times. It's never been a chore. He's an incredibly giving interviewee. This occasion was on the phone at the civilised time of 11.30am one morning in October 1997. For Smith, it was 2.30am! We spoke for half an hour about the singles collection called Galore. Never once did he sound tired or remotely sleepy. We covered a fair bit of history for The Cure from 1987-1997 - the period covered by Galore. |
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Coldplay
Coldplay launched onto the music scene back in 2000 with their debut album Parachutes. Soon after it went to Number 1 on the UK charts in July that year, Richard Kingsmill spoke to Chris Martin for the first time about their seemingly sudden success, his feelings towards fame, Nirvana and the music world as it looked in 2000. |
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The Living End
Back in 1996, Melbourne's The Living End were just another struggling independent Australian band competing for some attention on the busy local music scene. They had released their second EP called From Here On In. Fronted by Chris Cheney, the trio had emerged from the covers scene with a batch of their own rockabilly inspired rock songs. No one had foreseen how huge the band were about to become 18 months later with their debut album. This is triple j's first interview with Chris. He's talking to Richard Kingsmill about their history, influences and that huge double bass of Scott's. |
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Garbage - Shirley Manson
I recall playing "Vow" on the radio for the first time. In fact, I think it was the first time the band had been played on the radio anywhere in the world. That's what they told us years later. The single came as a vinyl 7" in a metal sleeve - hardly unnoticeable. The band featured Butch Vig. That was enough for me to whack it straight on. He was the producer of Nirvana's Nevermind, but also a lot of US underground albums I had listened to over the previous decade. "I Can't Use What I Can't Abuse..." - what an opening line! Who was that singer? A Scottish singer called Shirley Manson said the press release. What a voice. This was Garbage and my intial thoughts that Saturday afternoon late in 1994. I got to meet her four years later in 1998 when the band released their second album Version 2.0. |
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Red Hot Chill Peppers
I've spoken to the Chili Peppers a number of times. This one with bass player Flea is from April 1999. In two months time, Californication - their 7th studio album - was about to be released. It would turn out to be the band's biggest album - selling 15 million copies worldwide. It was the album that also welcomed back guitarist John Frusciante who had recorded the band's superb Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991. Flea is a very focused individual. He's a study of concentration on stage and in interviews. We started on an awkward note; I can't recall why it came up, but off mic he expressed disappointment with hearing TISM's "He'll Never Be An Ol' Man River Now". River Phoenix - who passed away in 1993 - was a close friend of Flea's. I chose to not tell him that triple j played the song a lot through the '90s. In this interview - which is basically the whole chat we had one afternoon - we cover the aims of Cailfornication, the drug problems of singer Anthony Kiedis, the return of Frusciante, producer Rick Rubin, and other issues about the music world as it existed in 1999. |
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John Butler Trio
In 1999, I passed through Fremantle and one of the gigs I wanted to check out was from this one time busker who was packing out Mojo's on a Sunday night. I saw his show - a couple of hundred people were dancing like nuts, and he was sitting down with his slide guitar driving all the energy. It was John Butler. I spoke to him about his music and his hopes for the future. This is the first triple j interview with the now mega-platinum selling artist. |
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REM
In January 1995, REM kicked off their world tour for their Monster album in Perth. It was a shaky start to the tour with the band seemingly under-rehearsed. Michael Stipe resorted to reading most of his lyrics off a lecture stand for the show. The following day, I interviewd Michael Stipe and Mike Mills about their music and latest album. I also chatted to Peter Buck who spoke about some of the songs that changed his life. At this point in their career, REM were huge. Automatic For The People (1991) - an album they didn't tour - had propelled them to massive success. Their follow up was widely anticipated. The band had flown into Perth earlier this week for Peter Buck's wedding. There was a real buzz around town as punters were spotting Stipe and co. hanging out in town. |
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Silverchair
This is the first triple j interview with Silverchair. And I believe the first radio interview the boys did. It's me with Daniel Johns and Ben Gillies. It's Oct 1, 1995 and their debut album is about to be released. "Tomorrow" had already gone to #1 that year. I felt like a school teacher as I walked into the studio where they guys where already sitting. They were swivelling madly around on our chairs and promptly stopped when they saw me walk in. The banter between the two guys is the best bit of this interview I reckon. Plus I remember I tried to get them to do some ID's for the Australian Music Show at the end. Big mistake! |
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The Police
As a wee lad, I stood three rows back from the stage when The Police first toured here in 1979. To me, the guy who put the band together was where the magic lay within the group. No, not Sting, but drummer Stewart Copeland. In 2007 and 2008, the new wave trio have been packing out stadiums around the world on their reformation tour. But back in 1998, more than a decade after they had first called it a day, I relived some of the good old days with Copeland |
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Portishead
Portishead have only toured here once and that was back in 1998. The group's leaders Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons avoid interviews, but the band's guitarist Adrian Utley and engineer Dave McDonald were happy to come in to talk to me. We spoke about Beth, booze and Black Sabbath. |
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Bjork
Bjork shys away from doing many interviews these days. I was fortunate enough to spend time with her when she was launching her first solo album Debut back in 1993. I had met her a few years earlier when she toured here with The Sugarcubes. But in '93, she was still gaining a profile as a solo artist. Fame and widespread recognition was still yet to come her way. |
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Grant McLennan
The late Go-Betweens member was always interesting to interview and never short of an opinion about his own music and the world around him. In 1992, he released his second solo album called Fireboy. In this interview, I spoke to him about that album (which he released as GW McLennan), tough Parisian audiences and the possibility of the Go-Betweens reforming. |
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Ween
As soon as I heard their first album GodWeenSatan (1990), I fell in love with these off the wall fictitious brothers from Pennsylvania. Following on from their Pure Guava album (containing the hit "Push Th' Little Daisies"), I spoke to both Dean and Gene Ween in 1993 about their music, drugs and unique vision. |
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Thom Yorke
The Radiohead singer spoke to me when the band toured here in 1998 for their OK Computer album. I had to sign off a form allowing the interview to be filmed. I had no idea it would appear in their documentary Meeting People Is Easy - but it did. And compared to the excruciating experiences they went through elsewhere, I felt Thom enjoyed himself playing and talking about some of his favourite music. Included in his list were Prince Buster, Dr. Octagon, Tom Waits, Neu, Tindersticks and Charles Mingus. |
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David Bowie
On February 11, 1997, I spoke for over half an hour to one of music's true legends. That was the year he released his drum & bass inspired album Earthling. The conversation felt so natural the whole way through, I had to remind myself I was speaking to Bowie. Here it is from start to finish (minus my first words which were "Hi, how are you...") |
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Led Zeppelin
In 1994, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page reunited for the Unledded album which reworked some of their classic Led Zeppelin songs. I spoke to both when they visited the station and - over a few cups of tea - the two spoke openly about some of those classic Led Zep songs and the band's late drummer John Bonham. |
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Tori Amos
In 1998, Tori Amos released her 4th album From The Choirgirl Hotel. I was planning a three hour J Files special showcasing all her music. I was only given 20 minutes to talk with her. This is the only time I've spoken to her. And this is the whole of that notorious interview unedited and how it went to air. |
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Jeff Buckley
After his first Australian show in August 1995, Jeff Buckley spent the whole night out on the town. He came into triple j early that next morning having not been to bed. Affable, but not entirely focused, I spoke with him about some of the artists that have inspired his life like The Supremes, Bad Brains, Patti Smith, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Shudder To Think and The Grifters. |
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Nick Cave J File
With his various bands (Boys Next Door/The Birthday Party/The Bad Seeds/Grinderman), Nick Cave has been one of this country's most celebrated and influential performers. This is an overview of his work featuring interviews from the triple j archives with Cave, bandmate Mick Harvey, producer Tony Cohen and Kylie Minogue. |
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The Triffids J File
The Triffids are a legendary Australian group from the '80s. They came from Perth and within a year of relocating to London, they were on the front cover of NME. Fronted by the enigmantic David McComb who passed away in 1999, this J Files traces the history of the group through archival triple j interviews. |
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