To describe Banana Cat as colourful would be a massive understatement. I asked Jamie a few questions, starting with the band history; make of it what you will.
It was March 1991, earth time, when the three of us all met in a rundown boutique north of nowhere.
We decided that if the three of us were going to look the way we did, then we’d better do it together!
First there was Anju, vibrant in red and purple, draped in the most exquisite plastic jewellery, trying on wigs and singing intergalactic love songs, beautifully.
Andrew, descended from 12th century Hungarian royalty, was transfixed by his reflection, as the lifting melodies weaved their astral powers over him. “Listen Jamie, listen!” he besieged his song-writing partner, but Jamie was already hooked and needed no persuasion.
For some time now he had concealed passion to bring peace and love to the whole world through the universal improvement of dress sense. It was a dream…..manifesto even.
Anju was enchanted by her resplendent suitors and herself shared a similar mission. Three became one and the one became Banana Cat as there were simply no other words to describe such a union.
A few months, and half a dozen secret live shows later, the trio were well on their way to achieving their global aim. When, as luck would it, they stumbled across a ‘pervistica’ time capsule (you know, the old valve variety) and embarked upon a journey through time and space collecting musical and fashion ideas from different eras, galaxies and dimensions; a dash of swinging 60’s London, a sprinkle of early 70’s glitterdust; a splatter of pop art and a fist-full of punk integrity. Oh! What fun we’ve been having on our musical explorations!
So, here we are one and a quarter years on from our formation and we’ve landed upon your desk armed to the teeth with great songs, great hopes and great shirts!
You recently met a prospective manager in London, did anything come of it?
“Yes, we know have a London-based manager called Sue carling who runs her own company called Popular Products. She used to manage The Escape Club and the Wee Papa Girls Rappers amongst others and started life in the music business running Donna Summer’s fan club!
“She’s a brilliant person, knows everyone in the music industry, has a great reputation and we love her! She also feels she’s very close to a record deal at the moment.”
Tell us a little bit more about your publishing deal with Chrysalis, how did it come about and what exactly does it entail?
“Me (Jamie) and Anthony are signed to Chrysalis Music as we write all the songs between us, although our singer Anju has contributed to two of our recent tunes.
“The deal came about because Ant and I desperately needed cash to further the cause of the band and we decided to approach publishers with our basic four-track demo in order to get free studio time. We were given the studio time by Virgin and Chrysalis who eventually offered us a deal just over a year ago, which we signed.
“Financially it’s been a fairly low key deal but they’ve helped us out with gigging and recording costs too. The bulk of the initial advance went into buying home recording equipment.
“We have a fairly good royalty percentage which will benefit us when we sign our record deal. But that’s the thing with publishing deals, unless you’ve got a record deal then you’re not going to see much money coming your way.”
Your songs are very dance orientated, have you always been into dance music?
“I used to be into The Jam, Motown and a lot of punk stuff, in fact I still am. I love the 70’s disco stuff, especially the tacky end of the spectrum like Mud, Kenny, Pilot, Baccara, etc, but also classy stuff like Abba and Chic.
“It’s only the last few months that I discovered stuff like Parliament and George Clinton and late 60’s & 70’s period temptations stuff which I love. The whole band share a passion for glamour and tack and anything kitsch, gandy and garish!”
‘Sway’, a song on your demo would great in a club, are the band great socialites?
“I’d love to be a great socialite but I’ve got no money and there’s nowhere to go in Cardiff!
“We quite like Club Mix and Clwb Ifor Bach sometimes puts on good club nights, but generally we like to hang out in tearooms with little old ladies. You know upstairs in Howells or David Morgan’s. That’s the place to be!
“The thing about this band is that we all love dressing up so much that we get up each day and dress as if we’ve got a video to do. ‘Dress up like a star’, that’s our motto. You’ve got to live it for real not pretend.”
Do any of the band hold down day jobs? I’ve noticed that certain members are into modelling.
“Our job is music, our life is Banana Cat, we have no other jobs. All of us are always modelling (see last question), but Anju gets asked to do a lot of stuff for magazines. Did you see the Echo or something?”
What do you think of the Cardiff scene in particular; and the Welsh scene in general?
“It doesn’t interest me greatly. It’s great to see other bands showing serious commitment, notably Fruitcake, The Pier and The March Hares. It’s also good to see bands like Ty Gwydr exploring technology because there’s far too many folk clubs in Cardiff, far too many beards and too much reverence to the acoustic guitar.
“It’s good to see Terrorist Ballet Dancers from Hell sticking two fingers up and having a laugh!
“The Welsh scene in remains generally out of touch but there are signs of improvement. My philosophy is that it doesn’t matter about geography as long as you’re a good band. We’ve got no axe to grind one way or the other about Welsh pop music. Anju’s from London and me and Ant happen to write songs in a bedsit in Cardiff, but it could be anywhere really.”
You recently played Clwb Ifor Bach, a gig promoted by Red Dragon’s Steve Johnson. Do you think such nights promoted by ‘radio stars’ are necessarily a good thing?
“As long as Frank Hennessey and ray Gravel don’t start doing it
“Steve Johnson’s a nice fellow and he wants to help a few bands with a leg up if he can. I don’t think the gig was any better attended because of Red Dragon radio than it would have been without them. Having said that it’s nice to have a promoter take the pressure off the bands for a change in terms of publicity, P.A. hire, sorting out the cash on the night, etc.”
Anything you’d like to add?
“If Stan Stennett or Jack Jones are reading this, please get in touch as we’d love to work with you both.”
Interview by Darren Jones