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13 November 2009
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Neh! Pop music wasn't like this in their day, y'know! All of this was CD shelfspace when the Manics started out! Nicky Wire dons his old man get up and tackles some old gipper cliches!

Old gipper cliche No.1: Top Of The Pops isn't as good as it used to be!
Nicky: Every two years there's a re-branding and re-positioning and then one minute you're doing it live. But then again even at the start we'd still be doing 'Motorcycle Emptiness' and then Take That would come on. So if you look at it in that, sense nothing has really changed. It's just we've got older I guess.

Old gipper cliche No.2: All chart music is the same these days!
Nicky: I think half the reason we're still going is that we haven't always managed to fit in with anything, right from grunge to Britpop to anything. That's why bands like us and maybe Radiohead have survived. I think this is our 20th or 21st Pops performance today, which is quite frightening, and our 30th consecutive Top 40 hit. We're normally on every two years or something. We've never been that kind of alternative indie band who wouldn't do the show though. It is quite the opposite for us. It is something we have always wanted to do.

Old gipper cliche No.3: All these chart battles are rubbish!
Nicky: If you're gonna be beaten by anyone it is better to be beaten by the King. As long it's not Rooster or something like that. I felt more gutted when Mark Morrison beat us when we had 'Design For Life' out. Our single sold about 92,000 copies and Morrison's sold about 94,000 or something so there wasn't a lot in it. Singles were really selling back then as well. Elvis's single was about 6,000 in front of us last week. But times have changed, singles have changed. It's still our third Number Two single. Two Number One's and three Number Two's ain't bad.

Old gipper cliche No.4: Re-releasing old songs is a waste of time!
Nicky: It's not something we're really precious about. If there's enough space maybe. It will be 10 years before long that 'Design For Life' first came out so that just shows how long we've been around. The Clash did it with 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go', with the Levi's ad, and they were the ultimate punk band in that respect. So it's not a problem for us.

Old gipper cliche No.5: Look after your fans and they'll look after you (in old age)!
Nicky: If you come to one of our gigs it is one of the strangest mixes of fans. At the front you've very much got the leopard print feather boa hardcore fans who would go out and buy our debut album 'Generation Terrorists'. Then you've got mums and dads who think we're clever, socially responsible people who they would like their children to watch. It is a very odd mix of people really, from 15 to 55. I don't care who comes to see us. I'd rather a 10-year-old girl come to see us than McFly.

Old gipper cliche No.5: Pop and politics don't mix!
Nicky: If you're gonna be beaten by anyone it is better to be beaten by the King. As long it's not Rooster or something like that. I felt more gutted when Mark Morrison beat us when we had 'Design For Life' out. Our single sold about 92,000 copies and Morrison's sold about 94,000 or something so there wasn't a lot in it. Singles were really selling back then as well. Elvis's single was about 6,000 in front of us last week. But times have changed, singles have changed. It's still our third Number Two single. Two Number One's and three Number Two's ain't bad.

Old gipper cliche No.6: That goes double for Girls Aloud!
Nicky: I'm not snobby about pop music or pop bands at all. In fact it's what I grew up with. From the Bay City Rollers through to Abba. I just think what's missing now is that there will always be something slightly more subversive that creeps through. Unfortunately in a world dominated by Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, it is just too clean.

Old gipper cliche No.7: Who the 'ell are Goldie Lookin' Chain?
Nicky: I live in Newport like Goldie Lookin' Chain so all the references on their record I completely understand. Buying Quavers from the Spar is a delicacy in Newport. It's a beautiful thing.


Interview by: Tae M
14/04/2005

 
The Complete List
  365  Go!  
  Brad: "Well, we've just got up so most of us are in our boxers."  
  Lucie Silvas  Go!  
  "If I flap my arms hard enough, I can get some inches, and actually go up in the air."  
  Akon  Go!  
  "Ah...a lot of times, it's most likely... the ass."  
  Alesha  Go!  
  "Think of the amount of clothes you could get in Top Shop for 2,000 pounds!"  
  Tom McFly  Go!  
  "I hope you know the Uranus line took years of planning."  
  McFly's Hair Drama  Go!  
  Tom: "Straightening his hair for all those years has actually made his hair fall out. And as a result, he now has curly pube hair."  
  Girls Aloud  Go!  
  Nicola: "We've got a good facial thing that we do, but we're not gonna tell you what it is, just in case..."  
  Nylon  Go!  
  Camilla: "Maybe one day I'll draw some stockings on me. In gravy."  
  Karen Louise  Go!  
  "I once tried headbanging to a Nickelback track and put my neck out, so I try to avoid that one."  
  Oskar  Go!  
  Ignorance is still bliss when it comes to music. Ever tried un-learning something?  
  Upper Street  Go!  
  Bradley: "Stevie's voice,... Rick James's haircut. R Kelly's...what? R Kelly's bottom half."  
  Misha Williams  Go!  
  "I think the more important question is, why does Donald Duck wear a tunic? He's a duck!"  
  US5  Go!  
  Richie: "I'd prepare my bits... Just make sure everything was in place, looking right..."  
  Mike Rosenberg Band  Go!  
  Mike: "My family wouldn't be surprised to hear me er, drop a few."  
  Chris Lake  Go!  
  "It was all about the singles really. I would buy any old crap."  
  Lil' Chris  Go!  
  "I was going to say 'Throw the puppy out of the window', but I think that's a bit mean!"  
  The Young Knives  Go!  
  Oli: "I'd make a story up - It was an accident and he'd got rear-ended."  
  Gym Class Heroes  Go!  
  Travis: "He's a friend of mine, but he's definitely not the kid you wanna dissect a pig with."  
  Jet  Go!  
  Cam: "Through no fault of your own, you end up having to turn your pants inside out sometimes to wear them again."  
  The Fratellis  Go!  
  Jon: "Bill Oddie is sleeping in a caravan next to a cliff, and somebody pushes the caravan off the cliff."  
  Stacie Orrico  Go!  
  "I don't miss the whole bussing thing. You've got people's half-eaten food all over your hands."  
  Duncan James  Go!  
  "If it's a question of spending thousands on vapour or sending a text message for 10p, I'd go with the text message."  
  Betty Curse  Go!  
  "Well you know, Death's going to need someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously... he needs a bit of relief."  
  Matt Willis  Go!  
  "I was like, 'What? I'm from Kingston! I'm just common, I'm not cockney.'"  
  Alesha  Go!  
  "I still refer to everything as 'we'. It's really strange but I think that will change over time."  
  Orson  Go!  
  Johnny: "So it seemed like I was always the one who got in with the kids who lit things on fire, or threw lizards at girls."  
  Ronan Keating  Go!  
  "I don't think I stole anything from anybody, it's a very bizarre award."  
  Maria Lawson  Go!  
  "Occasionally, I'll wake up in the morning and I'll see a sandwich or something, and I'm like, 'God, how did that get there?'"  
  James Morrison  Go!  
  "It would be OK if you knew what was in the bush of doom, y'know? If it was a lady pirate, you might whack it in there."  
  McFly  Go!  
  Danny: "That's my way of arguing, a quick dead arm."  
  Frank  Go!  
  Bryony: "I always have to try and gross my boyfriend out by trumpeting really loudly."  
  James Morrison  Go!  
  "You know, water's cool, but milk - you've always got to check that."  
  Lemar  Go!  
  "Obviously there's a bit of romance there because she likes me and I'm this super...great guy."  
  Rogue Traders (Part 2)  Go!  
  James: "I think that's the quote of the day! 'We'll have to make sure we're not pokeable'."  
  Belle  Go!  
  "That's a brilliant question! I'd have to steal it, I'd have to fight off her mum and deal with it."  
  Rogue Traders (Part 1)  Go!  
  Natalie: "I've got denty boobs! It's actually all of my lucky charms in my bra!"  
  Wolfmother  Go!  
  Andrew: "They look like roadkill. Any form of dead animal. Any animal. But dead."  
  Paolo Nutini  Go!  
  "I had the pop socks, skirt, school uniform... my legs are a bit hairy, mind."  
  Get Cape Wear Cape Fly  Go!  
  Sam: "I don't really know what real skills you need to be a spy, but typing 40 words a minute is a good start."  
  Rooster  Go!  
  Luke: "I'm worried about my tackle, yeah. Imagine getting it bashed on the hurdle."  
  Wolfmother  Go!  
  Chris:"We'd miss the ability to pee freely and clean each other at will..."  
  Shayne Ward  Go!  
  "I think it was a sailor's outfit...and a blue wig. It just wasn't a good look."  
  Razorlight  Go!  
  Carl: "I was going to puke but I was too stupid to move, so I just stayed 'til I puked and then I moved."  
  The Fratellis  Go!  
  Barry: "We've got a song called 'Chelsea Daggers' so they throw wee daggers at us. It's quite nice."  
  Webb Sisters  Go!  
  Hattie: "You know when you have a girly night and you whip out a book and read about Roger and his pulsating thigh?"  
  Pussycat Dolls  Go!  
  Kimberly: "They could bounce off, unless I changed the, what do you call it, ions or whatever."  
  Rooster  Go!  
  Dave: "When it's hot it gets rather sweaty down there, he's just thinking of his personal hygiene."  
  Plan B  Go!  
  "I didn't feel comfortable being that sweet boy Justin Timberlake..."  
  Ne-Yo  Go!  
  "I have an open policy on underpants generally. It depends on the day."  
  Guillemots  Go!  
  Fyfe: "We're going to start getting naked onstage fairly soon, but with protection."  
The Complete List


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