THE ROCKIN' SCENE TODAY

How long have you guys been into it now? You've already said since you were thirteen – how old are you now?
AD: Thirty-five. So twenty-odd years.
Have you noticed what the scene's done as you grew up with it? Have you noticed a decline in the scene in the last few years?
RT: Well – it got bigger in the eighties...
AD: It definitely got bigger.
RT: In the late eighties and in the early nineties. Then in the later nineties, it started declining.
Why do you think that was?
AD: The generation not being into it.
RT: I think what it is is radio coverage. There's no bands now – in the eighties you had the odd band getting into the charts and you could hear it on the radio. And people could think, cor, that sounds good – what's that? You know – like the Stray Cats and Matchbox and all that. But now the only airplay which is good is Mark Lamarr – he's finally got the thing on Radio 2. [Used to be Monday nights at 9.30pm].
He plays some really good stuff doesn't he?
AD: He plays some rare stuff.
The thing I like about him is that he is genuine, even though he's famous, he's like – I will be what I am, so like it or lump it.
RT: Yeah – so maybe I reckon if we get a bit more air coverage, then people are gonna come back.
AD: Also, there's a lot more modern day music today which is helped along by drugs as well, isn't it? For youngsters to get into, to seek an alternative to beer. But rock'n'roll – alright, I'm not saying there isn't drugs everywhere you go – but I don't think it's inspired by that – it's inspired by the beat – that raw energy that people seek that they don't get from modern-day music.
RT: Definitely.
Do you think that the scene could be revived if the charts reflected some more mainstream rock'n'roll?
AD: I think the appeal of it is that it isn't out there like an everyday music because if you turned it on and it was on the radio all the time, everywhere, I think that...well, because it is a little bit more seedy and a little bit more adventurous, it gives you the goal to be into that culture and that style. It's not an everyday thing – you don't want to be able to walk into Dorothy Perkins and pick up what you want.
RT: It's better to be a minority. But the scene is such a minority now that there are no regular clubs to go to, not as many clubs.
AD: There's not as many, no – there's not as much choice as there used to be.
RT: I think it got too big really – there was too many things on.
There were a lot of chimpabillies about!
RT: Yeah – it got too big and killed itself a bit. I don't think it will ever die.
AD: It won't ever die.

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