The Family Cat, Fred - vocals and guitar, John - bass, Tim - rhythm guitar, Jelb - lead guitar and Kev - drums, who live in Ratcatcher Street and are really quite a nice bunch of guys who make music for those who want more guitar and less Manchester....

Thanks to Gavin (Burnley) who introduced me (Tottenham) and Andy (not sure!) to the driver (Swindon Town) (I've forgotten his name), who in turn introduced us to the band. Read on and try to laugh as loud as Fred...

-You mentioned in your Transmission interview that you lost your World Cup coins - have you found them yet?
John - no. Actually the bloke who was responsible is driving us today. They're in a garage in Swindon
- What did you reckon to the world cup then?
John - fantastic!
- what teams do you support?
John - Bristol City
Fred - I'm Southampton
John - He supports Camborne and Redruth (Kev)
Fred - Kev supports his old mother
John - Tim is a big Everton fan and Jelbert says he's just Celtic.
Fred - no fixed above. That's Fraser. He's our special roadie. I'd like to mention him for being very ginger and very... not very good
-can you still get the flexi (a demo version of 'Tom Verlaine')
Fred - we have got some. We made 1000 of them and gave most of them away, and what we had left we sold There was a piece in the NME and we happened to find 30-40 more
-John Otway says when he gets famous all he wants is a bigger tent
John - That's fair enough
So when you make it, what would you like to do?
Fred - I'd like a three wheeler, a 3 wheeled car.
-Why? Because you don’t have to pass your driving test?
Fred - That’s one thing. I can’t ride a motorbike either. That’d be my idea of style
-furry dice?
Fred - Furry Dice, stickers, pink rabbits...
-Garfield sticking on the back
Fred - NO GARFIELDS
Kev - no Garfields
-why?
Fred - Cause Garfield is a really crap cat. He’s the American Dream cat.
John - Tom out of Tom and Jerry.
Kev- they tried to send 50 Garfields to radio stations to promote the single. We’d rather scrap the single.
-How well have the singles done?
Fred- ‘Tom Verlaine’ is the best seller. The album sold roughly 10,000 each. They’re both deleted now as far as we know.
John - ‘Remember’ we sold about 6-7,000
-Is that the only one you’ve done a video for?
Fred - we’ve done one for the new single as well, which we finished about two days ago - its a cracking good video.
Jelbert enters the room
Fred - this is Jelb...
(loud crash, everything falls over)
Kev- the clumsy lead guitarist
Fred - knocked all the beer on the floor
Tim - didn’t see Gedge down there?
Jelb - he’s about the only person down there. There’s no-one there.
John - I met Gedge at Reading
-Did any of you go this year?
Fred - Jelb went for the while three day experience, I went for the Friday. I didn’t stay, I went to see Nick Cave and The Cramps especially.
-What were they like?
Fred - I enjoyed it. John went on the Saturday
John - I went on the Saturday and saw Ride. They looked a bit lost on the stage. Don’t tell them... The Buzzcocks played exactly the same set as they played when we supported them, The Wedding Present were brilliant. I saw them at Subterranea and I was a bit bored...
-The record you’ve made with CUD - can you only get it by Mail Order
Fred - yeah, we did ‘Strange Kinda Love’ - Jon Langford produced it. He’s a really nice bloke and also a really good producer. Jelb phoned him to see if he was coming to see us play but he’s gone back to London today.
-How many gigs have you done so far and how have they gone?
Fred - six
John - played some prestige gigs in London. Two nights sold out and it was crazy.
-Where do you reckon you’ll be in five years time then?
Fred - old
-how old are you then?
Fred - old. Mid twenties outfit.
-Anyone into doing a remix? Boys Own Family Cat?
John - BBG
Jelb - BBG were supposed to be doing a remix but we lost the tape. It got left in a studio that went bust as soon as we had finished recording in it. The same as the others. They go bust after we use them.
Fred - ‘Tom Verlaine’ was our dance record
-Whenever I have a night out at the Leadmill in sheffield it gets played
Fred - That’s co-produced by Ben Angwin from BBG
John - They’re doing a Primal Scream remix
-Are you gonna stay on the same label?
Jelb - nah
John - we’re gonna sign to an American Major for lots of money
Kev - we went to see CBS today - oh no, that’s not us
John - we’ll just take the best offer
-Have you had any?
Tim - Hundreds. You never get what you want. When a band comes up and they’ve got a bit of a following and people are writing about them, every single A&R person in the middle of London wants to see you, and they have competitions to see how much they can drink at the bar. So what you’ve got to so is see who’s genuine and who isn’t.
John - What you’ve got to do is sign up to someone who you get along with, and who actually is a fan. You hear of bands who sign to majors and they find out they’ve got no friends there. They’re signed to this label and no-one’s interested in them.
-Have you got a pet?
Tim - we’ve got a cat. Its called Bruiser, its ginger. Its to thwart the growing rat population in London.
-whereabouts?
Tim - where they filmed the Ratcatchers programme.
Jelb - its our road!
John - did you see that programme on TV about rats?
Jelb - they filmed it in our road!
-oh my gawd, I wouldn’t live there if there was rats!
Tim - well there’s rats where you live as well
-There’s some near where I am
John - well apparently what you have to do is get a cricket bat and it wont come near you...
Jelb - put a blanket over its head to confuse it...
Kev - but don’t corner them cause they go for your neck!
-well I’ve got a dog
Tim - they’re rubbish. They’ve got a bad track record. They shit on the pavement, attack old ladies, eat children...
Fred - Star on Blue Peter....
-can you recommend any new bands?
Fred - The Becketts - they’re on the same label as us. Kilbanes....
John - The Kilbanes from Birmingham
-what about music in general?
John - Jazz
-Have you heard Doctor Phibes and the House of Wax?
Jelb - they’re a hardcore outfit aren’t they?
-yeah, are they any good?
Jelb - an underground band from Chester... “they’re not from Liverpool, they’re from Chester, alright there’s not a lot going on in Chester, but there’s more going on in Chester than in Buckley.”
- what poets do you like?
John - Blake
Tim - can you name any poets?
-I like Atilla the Stockbroker
Fred - so you’re not talking about poets
-he is cultured
Jelb - I saw him once.
- what's the audience reaction like, north vs south?
Jelb - further to drive
Fred - when there’s less people you tend to get away with it up here!
-where's the best place to play?
Fred - Southampton. We go down really well. Everyone is really into it.
-Do you do any covers?
Tim - we do a Rolling Stones one for a compilation
-Which one?
Tim - ‘Rocks Off’ Its a crap song but we do it brilliantly.
- when you first started out, where did you play?
Fred - we started at the Bull and Gate, little places and pubs and played ‘Hype’ in Kentish Town 400 times. Everyone plays there.
-Apart from the Sundays - does it make you sick when a band like that can do that?
Jelb - it makes me sick when its The Sundays....

and I think that's the lot. I can’t find any more.... the never published (maybe there’s a reason...) Family Cat interview..