Lotus Eaters - Interview Part 3

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 6 / 10 / 2010

intro

In the third and final part of his interview with 80's new wave act the Lotus Eaters, Anthony Strutt speaks to them about their reformation in the mid 90s and plans for the future

PB: The Lotus Eaters split up in late 1985. Peter, you released a solo album after that entitled 'A Slap in the Face' in 1986, which only ever came out on vinyl and has never been released on CD. PC: There are a lot of good things on that album and it won a journalist album of the year. I feel a bit guilty it now though as it is a very dark album and a lot of people were surprised about how black it was. PB: What else did you both do before reforming the band in the mid 90s? (To Jem)I know you rejoined the Wild Swans. JK: That finished in 1988. PC: I was involved in dance music. I set up what was the first dance band in Liverpool and I also did some clubs. I did G-Love which was the most sucessful club in the country for a couple of years. In 1995 I started a degree and we got back together and recorded an album while I did the degree in Edinburgh. That was 'Silentspace' which sat on the shelf for seven years. We also recorded 'Difference' which has still never been released. I have done several more solo albums as well which were released. PB: In 2002 'Silentspace' finally came out as also did a remaster of the first album. Have you any control on what goes onto a remastered CD? PC: Yes, we can say what goes on it. JK: 'No Sense of Sin' was first of all reissued by a company called Bridge. Then it was reissued by Vinyl Japan. Both of those are Japanese labels. Cherry Red was the third label to reissue it. On the first two we had a say what went on it, but with Cherry Red we didn't. They just released it the way that they thought fit. PB: How different is 'Difference' to what has been released to date? JK: 'Difference' is an acoustic album and it's about us both leaving Liverpool and leaving behind what we both know. PB: And living new lives in new places? JK: That's right. PB: How do you make music together now because you now live in Brighton, Jed, and, Peter, you're in France? Is it internet based? PC: No, Jed will come over to France or I will come here. We may finish something over the internet, but we still go into the studio to do the bulk of our recordings. PB: Is there any chance we may get to hear the unreleased album? JK: (In a posh Liverpudlian accent) So what is a release, Anthony? PB: Where you can go and buy it other then in a £100 box set(which is the eventual proposed plan for 'Difference'-AS). PC: A lot of bands now don't expect to earn anything from their recorded work. JK: We did spend good money on it. PB: Four grand. JK: We bankrolled it ourselves and we broke our bollocks on it. We need to find a format where we can sell it to people, Ged Quinn of the Wild Swans is now an artist. Ged charges £75,000 for one piece of art and I think that's great. What we do is, however, no less artistic though. What difference is there between him spending a day on a painting and us writing a song called 'Dying Soldiers'? Why is that less important? If you want to give a fan something like a £100 box set, give them something special, Something great. The box set will not just be just an album, but something much more grand. Something special. PB: (To JK) Other then music where do you work? JK: I work at the University of Chichester. When I left music I thought what I am I go to do next? I never really left music though because you can't. Peter did a degree in Psychology. I did a degree in in English Literature and Theatre and then a MA in Theatre and Film and a Phd in Media. I am into extended live performance and technology. I am a senior lecturer in an university. That's what I now do. PC: I just do music. The author Kevin Sampson has just finished making a film of his book, 'Powder', and I have got five songs covered in that. I only do music, but I struggle. PB: What are your future plans? PC: We want to do some sort of multimedia event. That is something that we would like to explore. We could do something really special with that. PB: Thank you.

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