So why resurrect The Straps after all this time?
We`ve reformed The Straps basically due to the amount of interest that
we have been getting via the internet from the UK & world-wide
in the last year, & Captain Oi! wanted to release a "Straps
Punk Collection" on Cd, so we thought it would be a good idea
to help promote it as well. To be honest we didn't know that we had
made such an impact in the old punk scene as we realised until this
last 12 months.
How did the recent Rezillos gig come about? And how did
it go?
The promoter for the Rezillos gig (John Curd) who
we used to do a lot of gigs for in the old days, got a message to me to see
if i wanted to be on the guest list, but he found out that we were thinking
of reforming & offered us the gig instead with only 2-1/2 weeks notice
to get the band together. Jock lives in Cornwall now so it was a bit of hard
work trying to organise rehearsals & we never got a drummer until the
Tuesday night, we only managed to have 2 proper rehearsals, on Thursday & Friday
night & the gig on the Saturday, but the gig was amazing with loads of
Straps fans coming to the gig, it was packed down the front considering we
were on stage at 8pm & they knew all the words & were calling out
the names of our songs in between as well, it did seem strange after all
these years that there were still a lot of people interested in us considering
that it was only our 2nd gig in 22 years with the last one being in 92 with
Sham 69 @ Brixton Academy, in fact we rated it in our top 5 Straps gigs ever!
What are the main differences with the band and their attitude
and ideals today compared with the beginning?
There `s no difference with our attitude & ideals
today as they were 27 years ago & apart from being older & wiser
we realise now that that you can `t survive without some decent cash in your
pocket but we still have the same enthusiasm for the Straps & making
music as all those years ago. I was 15 when i played my first gig with The
Straps supporting the UK Subs in 78 & we are just glad to be appreciated
today for what we achieved in the past considering we did it all ourselves,
we never even had a manager, agent, record company or any help from anyone.
What is your favourite Straps song and which song best sums
up the band?
Now that `s a hard question! my personal favourites are probably No
Liquor (very powerful song & Jim Walkers drumming is excellent),
Jock`s favourite is Ex-Directory & i think Brixton sums up The
Straps perfectly as the band were squatting in Brixton at the time & it
reflects life as a young punk in the late 70`s living there.
What is the highlight and what is the lowest point in the
bands history?
The highlight of The Straps has to be touring with
The Damned in 1980, it was chaotic as you can imagine being on the road for
3 weeks with Rat & Captain. The low point had to be in 83 when we split,
Jim Walker had left along with John Werner (bass) & we just didn`t seem
to have the same enthusiasm again without them, it didn`t seem the same anymore & punk
was dying then anyway! the band seemed to be falling apart so we decided
to call it a day, Jock had started another band with Lester Jones from Crisis & had
recorded a 12" single with Rat & Jah Wobble (Bartok) called Insanity/I
Am The Bomb
What is the strangest rumour you have heard about the band?
There was a rumour was that Jock was going to replace
Hugh Cornwall in The Stranglers.. what a load of bollocks !! & the other
rumour was that Rat Scabies was going to buy us a beer... now that really
is unbelievable!!!!
The band you remind me most of is Special Duties (and that
is a compliment - one of my fav bands). What bands have you been compared
to. And what bands today do you hear the Straps influence in?
I `m not familiar with Special Duties so maybe i should
have a listen to them, we have been compared to the Ruts quite a few times
for some reason but i can`t hear it myself. Jock says that "Kings Of
Leon" have a similar sound & may have been influenced by us Ha Ha
!
What were you up to in the years when the Straps was in hibernation?
I got married, had 2.4 children etc. I had my own
flyposting business in Brixton for quite a few years but packed it in & set
up my own building firm again (plastering). Simon Werner had a major car
accident in Spain & nearly died & now lives in Hastings, John Werner
moved back to Canada, Jim Walker lives in North London & makes horror
movies & Jock got married had 4 kids & moved to Cornwall & set
up a vegetable delivery business.
Plans, gigs and releases planned for 2005.
Captain Oi is releasing a "Straps Punk Collection" in
March 05, we are considering releasing a new album later in the year & are
now available for gigs & are confirmed for " Wasted 05 " & " The
Cartoon " in Croydon on Sunday 6th March 05 & we are in the process
of booking more gigs as we speak, best to check our website for updates www.thestraps.co.uk
Any final comments?
Thanks to all the Straps fans old & new who have
supported us over the past 27 years & look we forward to seeing you in
2005.
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