Heartlands is a programme made specifically for the Central TV region of the country, which (surprisingly) is the Midlands. It is a mix of films, music, arts, that kind of thing, and often features indie bands. It is broadcast on a Saturday, in the early afternoon, and is presented by a bloke called Vince, and a woman who's name escapes me at this second. I'll try and find it out. Anyway, she did the interview, and here it is:
Interviewer: The demise of Britpop has left the stage free for one of the UK's best bands, Lush. After several years in the music wilderness, they've finally hit the bigtime with their super-catchy single, 'Single Girl', and their latest single, 'Ladykillers'. I've come to band member Emma Anderson's plush pad to meet the band.
['Single Girl' video excerpt]
Interviewer: Did you enjoy making the video for 'Single Girl'? Cos it looks a lot like 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'
Miki: We got a load of our friends up, to be in it, so it was a coachload of our mates..
Chris: It was quite fun, actually, wasn't it?
Miki: Yeah, it was good.
Chris: It was good in the evening, cos we were supposed to be, y'know, like a band playing at a reception, and all these people who'd come up had to dance, there was no getting out of it.. cos usually by that time you're just tired and y'know, really, sort of... annoyed, but that was great, just watching people making fools out of themselves on the dance floor.
Interviewer: Cos you guys have been around seven or eight years and it's just now that you've had three fantastic singles in a row that are just so radio-friendly.
Miki: But radio's changed, the whole thing's changed. I mean, take a band like Pulp, they were brilliant before 'Common People' but no-one really was listening, y'know, 'Babies' got in the chart.. but five years ago someone like The Bluetones just would not have gone in at number two, y'know, it just wouldn't have happened.
Chris: The songs that we've put out have been the most radio-friendly songs that we've put out, but I just think that the climate is right, it's a lot easier for a band like us to get airplay, whereas before, I dunno, there's always been like different movements. Maybe when we brought the last record out the grunge thing was in or whatever. Y'know, it's good, it's a good climate to be in, that these sorta guitar bands are getting in the charts, and they're not specifically pop bands, they're just good bands writing good songs.
[Ladykillers excerpt]
Interviewer: I really liked the video for 'Ladykillers', but what's the story behind it?
Miki: It's just about men who think that they are ladykillers, I s'pose, as in extremely charming...... people, when in fact that sort of behaviour is intensely boring, I think.
(Chris puts his hands over his ears mockingly)
Interviewer: What are your favourite chat-up lines, and what are the worst things you've ever heard?
Chris: I think it must be weird being in a bands with blokes, cos we don't really get groupies.. we don't.
Miki: Yeah, i guess..
Chris: The contact we had with groupies was when we did this thing in America, this big touring festival called Lollapalooza, and that's an ugly side of the whole thing, y'know, girls queueing up, getting on people's buses and the buses rocking about.
(Miki grimaces)
Phil: There was this one girl showing everybody her arse, and she had 'Bon Jovi: Access All Areas' tattooed on it..
Miki: She actually had a backstage pass tattooed on her bum..
Chris: (grinning) And now Emma's had it done..