Vom Ritchie Interview 6 July 2001

Was that what inspired you to become a musician?

No not really, I just knew I could do it. I knew that I could play the drums and I always wanted to so I just bought the kit and away I went.

Why the drums?

Because it’s the noisiest I think! I don’t know, I just had a feeling that I could do it…and then the problems started!

You used to travel to London to see a few bands?

Yeah that’s right.

What sort of bands did you see?

I first started travelling up to London to see bands like Penetration, the Subs and Slaughter & The Dogs whenever they were in town. Our little gang from Essex all went up there and although I was only about 13 at the time it was sort of a weekly thing.

Did you see The Boys at that time?

No I never saw The Boys.

I think your first band was the Earaids?

Yeah that’s right and we did a lot of punk covers. At that time I was also in a cover band to earn some money so I’d be doing Beatles, Stones and Boney M covers one night for the money and then I’d play with the punk band for fun, sort of sold out from the word go. I started touring when I was about 13, I’ve never had a job and I’ve never done anything else.

In 1980 you joined Jackel?

Yeah yeah that was a singer (Dick York) from a band called Sta Press who had one single out called "School Days" and they were a fairly big Mod band. He got together with the bass player from the Steve Hooker Band and the second guitar player from a great punk band called The School Bullies. Then I joined and we called ourselves Jackel. That was more in the New Wave mould but they were a really good band. The singer now works for the drug squad. We were based in Wickford and although we didn’t play that many gigs we were a really good band as Dick was a brilliant songwriter .

Were you writing any songs at that time?

No I first started contributing to songs when I was in Dr & The Medics and really started writing when I was in the Brotherland.

Miracle Babies were your next band?

Miracle Babies they were a good one too. We were all small so we decided to call ourselves Miracle Babies. We put an advert in the paper stating that you mustn’t be over 5 foot 2. I remember someone phoning up "How tall are you….right you’re out…sorry". We only auditioned people if they were 5 foot 2 or smaller. The same applied when the Brotherland needed a bass player years later .

Then came Plus Support?

That was a bit more Killing Joke-ish kind of direction. Another bloke who turned out to be a policeman as well, very strange. I seem to work with the law! They aren’t going any more, none of these bands are.

You weren’t very serious then?

Oh yes we were serious but no one else took us seriously. We never got paid and that’s something that’s never changed!

You mentioned earlier that you never had a proper job but I think you worked with an Insurance Firm in1980?

Well I did sort of on the side. "Do you wanna buy some insurance mate?" I didn’t sell much in me tarten kilt!

You moved to London around 1980/81?

Yeah I lived in the East End and then I moved up to North London. I met this beautiful girl and I lived with her whilst I was in the Medics. When we didn’t have any more hits she kicked me out. It was like "You’ve had no more Number 1’s and it’s been 5 weeks so get out, there’s the door!" No, that’s a lie. It was more like "I can’t put up with this looney any more" and we are still very good friends.

How did you come to join Dr & The Medics?

It was a really weird coincidence. They played in Southend at a place called the Queens Hotel, which has unfortunately been knocked down since. A mysterious fire, some insurance thing I think. Anyway I went round to see this girl and her Mum told me that she had gone to the Queen’s Hotel and it was quite a way away. For some reason I felt I had to go and so I got on the train, New Years Eve as I recall, and went to find her. The band who were on that night just happened to be Dr & The Medics. I watched them and I was just fucking blown away, I thought they were brilliant. Afterwards I went in the dressing room and I had my kilt on and all that. They just took the piss out of me, totally. I was telling them that I was a drummer and I’d love to play with them and they didn’t take me seriously. So I started going to all their gigs and then eventually they came to see Plus Support who were coincidentally playing at the Queens Hotel, in the same room as it happens. As I walked off after playing the set the Doctor came up to me with a pint and said "You’re in the band". So that was it.

So you started as a fan?

Yeah definitely. It was so different from anything else that was going on at that time. They did "Human Fly" by The Cramps and that was my favourite song at the time. They put it into a sort of history of rock n roll medley. They did a bit of Beatles and all that.

In 1984 you released your first single "Miracle Of The Age" which was produced by Andy Partridge of XTC?

Was that the first single? No we had one before that called "Happy But Twisted". There was also "Live At Alice In Wonderland" which was the worst recording I’ve ever heard in my life. And there was a single before that which was their first called "The Druids Are Here" with another drummer. I then joined and we did the live EP limited to a thousand copies and it was awful. Then came "Happy But Twisted" released on Illegal Records. I suppose "Miracle Of The Age" was our first proper single.

Did you like XTC?

I loved XTC and Andy Partridge is the funniest guy I have ever met, he’s hilarious. He really is brilliant with a story a minute. He used to have this rubber shark which he used to take on tour. He used to stay faithful to his girlfriend by shagging this rubber shark! He used to have a little blue box he used to take on tour with him and they used to ask him what he’d got in this blue box and he’d reply "It’s a .. er .. rubber shark". They’d get it out and the shark’s mouth would go like this (demonstrates). If you ever see the picture sleeve of "Miracle Of The Age" on the back there’s a cartoon of the band and in the corner it says produced by Andy Partridge and he’s got a little rubber shark in his hand.

You then hit it big with "Spirit In The Sky". How did you come to cover that?

We had a band called Salvation supporting us and they did it as their encore and they hate us by the way, and I don’t blame them, because we first got the idea watching them cover "Spirit In The Sky". We went and recorded it and it went to Number 1 and Salvation never got anywhere unfortunately. So we nicked the idea from them and it spent five weeks at Number 1. Mind you I never saw a penny from it. In fact I’ve never seen a penny from anything I’ve ever done but that’s another story!

How did it feel to be on Top Of The Pops?

Top of The Pops is a massive anti climax because when you are a kid you are always thinking wow I’d love to be on Top Of The Pops. When you get there you’ve got this old classroom or something as a dressing room, you have to go up to the BBC canteen and everyone’s laughing at you. The food is terrible and you have the shits for two or three days afterwards. You have to have a ticket and you get treated worse than if you were at school and you’re thinking have I really waited all my life for this. It was good to be doing it and I’m sure it’s changed a bit now.

You made a video?

Yeah and it only cost £1,500 to make. When you see that spiral effect it was just a bit of cardboard with the spiral bit on a drill and the guy turning the drill towards the camera! It was so cheap but it was the most successful cheap video that I know of and it’s still shown today.

You left in 1989?

I just got sick of playing to students at Summer Balls and Christmas Balls. Drunk students who didn’t give a fuck who we were and were not really interested in seeing the band. Once you get on the university circuit one side is very good because you get paid a lot of money but the other side it's soul destroying because they're not really there to see you. They have to be there because it’s their Summer Ball and I just wondered why the hell I was doing it. You get the occasional club show billed as yourselves because on the shows you are part of a package and genuine fans can’t get to see you. It just got to the point where I thought that I didn’t do it for this and so I got on a plane and went to New York and moved there.

You then joined Last of The Teenage Idols?

Yeah that was a brief two-tour thing and they were the funniest tours I went on. They were such a laugh, brilliant. The singer was really taking the piss out of the whole rock n roll thing that was going on at the time. You’d get like these bands coming on with a bottle of Jack Daniels filled up with cold tea and make out that they were drunk. Anyway our singer used to come on with a teapot filled with Jack Daniels, it was just the other way round. It was a total piss take of the whole thing and I had a great time with them, a really good time.

You weren’t with them very long?

No it just got too mad in the end I had to do something else, I had to move on.

They were a Glam Rock band weren’t they?

Yeah sort of taking the piss, a Glam Rock parody. They were a good laugh and had some good songs too. Brilliant.

Then you were in Junior Manson Slags?

Oh yeah I was in them for a while and I did a few dates with them. They’d been going for years. I didn’t record anything with them, just played a few gigs. They were good as well, a different flavour from the other bands.

You then formed The Brotherland with Kris Dollimore?

That was the first band I could really see going somewhere but then Kris lost the plot and went off to America. We were a really good band live, a three piece. Nick from the Bolshoi was in on bass and when the band split it was probably the biggest disappointment I’ve had in my life as I was so into that band. I co-wrote most of the material and it was very sad that we never made it.

You released an album "Nightmares and Dreams"?

Yeah, I liked that album.

What were your favourite tracks?

I liked "Only You", "No More" and also the title track "Nightmares And Dreams".

You were then involved in some of the final recordings of Stiv Bators & Johnny Thunders and you were going to form a band with Bators, Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone?

Yeah, we recorded the album "Last Race". It was great recording in Paris at the old EMI studios where the Stones had recorded. Stiv was in really good shape. Johnny was a bit worse for wear, but as always a great character to be with in the studio. Dee Dee ended up going back to New York and didn’t record anything. Neal X ended up playing bass and some guitars, although Kris played the majority of guitars on the album.

Didn’t you tour Germany?

No we only did one gig and that was a totally different line up. It was before the album was recorded and included Alan Lee from the Subs on guitar, Bryn Merrick from The Damned on bass, Stiv and myself. We were billed as the Night Of The Living Dead Boys. Jim, Wil and Ray from the Hypnotics joined us on stage for a version of "Sonic Reducer" and everything got smashed. Great gig. After that, we did the album, I went to New York and Stiv set up the tour. Two weeks before the tour I received a phone call telling me that Stiv was dead. It was a massive shock to us all.

Around this time you met Honest John?

Yeah I got a phone call from John saying "Did you get the album I sent you", the same old story. That was the pattern that was to continue for the next ten years. The bass player Jools sent me the tape and I wasn’t sure that it would work out but we had a few good tours and a few laughs too.

That was with the Crybabys?

Yeah that was with the Crybabys and then we did one with Casino Steel and the Crybabys and that was a real good laugh too. And here we are today I’m sharing a bed with the man!!! (laughs as the promoter had only booked rooms with double beds for the band).

You first met John when you stepped in at the last minute to drum with The Yobs when they supported Die Toten Hosen?

Yes that was how we met and it was before the Crybabys. That’s another weird story. I’d worked all night building some cinema in Cologne and had no sleep at all. Monique phoned me up to tell me that I was to play with The Yobs at the at the Philipshalle supporting Die Toten Hosen and I thought she was joking. I’d had no sleep as I’d been working all through the night and I had to set off immediately. When I arrived I was knackered and I was told that we were on in twenty minutes so we had to go double speed in the rehearsal. So I’m sat on the floor running through this super fast rehearsal. It was crazy as I had to learn the whole set in ten minutes. The set was half an hour long and I learnt it in just ten minutes! Before we went on I asked John to nod to me on a few endings and when we came to play no one looked round. We are there doing "Rub A Dum Dum" and it just seemed to go on and I’m waiting for the nod which never came. John was there messing about with his bloody little amp all the time and never gave me one nod! But it seemed to go down alright with the crowd. After the gig somehow in my drunken stupor I foolishly gave John my telephone number and I joined the Crybabys after that.

John told me that it was the first time that Campino had seen you?

Yeah he watched the soundcheck and he was really into it.

You then played with John on the Crybabys "Who Were You Thinking Of"?

Yeah that’s right it was the only Crybaby’s release that I played on.

You then toured England and Scandinavia with the Crybabys?

That’s right.

Any stories to tell?

Oh where to start. We got in this canoe and it was only meant for two but we all piled in and we were in it the wrong way round. It was becoming very unstable and I expressed my concerns to John who replied "It’ll take a lot to get this over" and in that second the boat just went over. I remember that Darrell was trapped under the water with his legs being caught under the seat and he couldn’t get out. As I opened my eyes I saw all the hotel room keys going to the bottom of the lake with all our money and Darrell was still trapped not able to breathe. So we got out and this Scandinavian guy was calling "Swim to the rocks, swim to the rocks" and Darrell’s still not surfaced. As we sat on the rocks all we could see was Darrell frantically splashing around still trying to get free!

In 1992 you formed B Bang Cider with Monique Masson?

They were already going and I just came along a bit later, and Monique did as well. I was with them for five or six years and we toured Italy, France and England. We were actually bigger in England than in Germany. We didn’t get a record deal and then the Hosen asked if I’d like to join them and I said "Hang on a minute I’ll just have to think about it…YES!"

You released an EP?

I was really into the band and was very pleased with the way that EP turned out. We wanted to move to England and base the band here but Monique decided that she didn’t want to do it full time. So Monique decided that she didn’t want to be in the band anymore and that was the end of that. We are all still friends and still see each other and we are talking about the possibility of a reunion at the HITS next year. I still get fan mail from fans of the band.

You appeared at the HITS in Blackpool in 1996 with B Bang Cider?

We actually did three. We did one in Bath, one in Blackpool and one in Morecambe.

You also recorded an album with B Bang Cider, which has never been released?

Yes I’d like to get it out this year. I’ve got a few people to talk to about that because we owe a lot of money on the recordings and we didn’t get a deal to pay off that money. So I’m hoping to speak to someone about it and hopefully we’ll get it released very soon.

I’m sure a lot a fans would like it to be released?

Me especially!

You were involved with John and Cas in the Dirty Laundry project?

Oh yeah that was an album I’m really proud of. I thought we all pulled together and played really well on that album. I think the songs are great it’s just criminal that it didn’t do anything. Have you heard it?

Yeah I’ve got it.
Do you like it?

Yes I do but I prefer some of the other Boys solo stuff, although a number of fans think it’s the best post Boys album.

I really do like that album.
What are your favourite tracks?

"Revolution" and "Red Letter Day" are great songs. It was a good experience for me doing that album in the famous Studio 3 at Abbey Road .

How about "Good Girls"?

I didn’t like the version we did on the album and I much prefer the Crybabys version.

You were then involved with John on the "Honest John Plain & Friends" album?

And now I’ve got a basement full of them Cd’s and can’t get rid of them! Who wants to buy a copy!

Well an American fan’s given me a tenner to buy one from John.

Don’t buy it from John buy it from me! Typical John thing he could get hold of a lot of these albums and all he wanted me to do was send the money and then he says he’d spit the profit with me. Great deal, well done John. So I paid the money out and still haven’t covered my costs yet! So buy it off me!!!!

Well I’ll let you and John sort it out between you.

No don’t even mention it to John, he hasn’t even got a copy. He’s probably nicking it out of my bag now as we speak!

Again that album is a real favourite amongst Boys fans.

Really.

What tracks do you like from the album?

"Operator" and "Marlene" and I also thought John’s original vocal on "Marlene" was very good too.

"That’s Not Love"?

Yeah that’s good. I think it’s a good album but it could have been produced a little better.

So you weren’t happy with John’s production?

I don’t really know because I wasn’t there half of the time as I was really ill doing that album. I remember staying in the smelliest sleeping bag of my life and it was terrible. It was good fun though.

Also around that time recorded an album with John & Darrell as The Slobs?

Oh yeah I forgot about that one. That was another good one, which never got released.

What can you recall from that album?

All I can remember was learning the songs two minutes before going in and recording them. It was all very much spur of the moment. That was with Nick who later played with me in Sugar Snatch. He was playing bass and that’s when I first met him. We’ve remained good friends since. He was playing with the Vibrators until about a year or so ago. He’s a great bass player, have you seen him?

No I haven’t.
What would you consider to be the standout tracks?

I’ve not got a copy of the album and I’ve never even heard it. There were no lyrics when I recorded it and there were no song titles so I’ve never heard the finished album. Sorry I did hear it once when I was drunk round John’s house.

I think the Armageddon Dildos came next?

Yeah that’s right. I did two or three tours with them. I was just a live drummer with them although I played on two or three tracks on their album "Speed". It was mostly all loops and electronic stuff. It was a good experience for me as I’d never played in an industrial electronic band before and it was a lot of fun. They were nice guys.

The album was released?

Yes and it cost £1,000,000 to do this album and it only sold around 15,000 copies. Metronone went sort of bust after that. I could not believe how much it cost.

Onto Sugar Snatch next?

Yeah I did a French tour with them and a few dates in Germany. I didn’t record anything with them.

In 1998 you accompanied Die Toten Hosen on two tours as drum tech?

II’d been working with them for a while and they just asked me if I wanted to come on tour with them. Wolli was having problems with his arm and I was there as emergency drummer in case his arm became so bad he couldn’t play. It was the easiest job I ever had because in actual fact I didn’t do anything. All I had to do was change the cymbals and the stage crew just swapped them over for me. I just watched the shows and got drunk. Nice job.

How did your involvement with The Boys come about?

I can’t remember how it came about. I think it was probably through John phoning me and asking whether I’d be interested in going to Japan as Jack couldn’t do it because he had problems with his back. I was well chuffed to be invited to do the two gigs in Japan.

How did the dates in Japan go?

Well at the first one the atmosphere was amazing…until we played! It was very out of tune and we were a little rusty but I had tears in my eyes as we played "First Time". I was thinking wow here I am in Japan playing with The Boys, who were one of my all time favourite bands. The funny thing was when the intro started playing I was on the toilet having a dump and the intro stops and everyone is looking around for me and I’m still on the toilet. In every other country they’d ask if the band were ready but in Japan you are due on at 8pm and the tape goes on whether you are ready or not! The first gig was alright but the second one was really great, much better.

Duncan thinks that the gigs may have been videod?

They were showing it on the TV screens so I suppose it might have been recorded.

Do you think there’s any chance of that being released?

I fucking hope not! The second night would have been passable I suppose but no one’s contacted us about it.

There was also some Boysmania in Japan?

Yeah they was really into it. They knew all the words and it was really good.

You sold a few T-shirts didn’t you?

Yeah we did and I remember the story! I asked the guy how many shirts he’d sold and he hadn’t sold any so I asked him to write on my arse how much the t-shirts cost and where to buy them. He was really confused, I don’t know why. So I went out and with the prices on my arse. All the fans were watching and after a few minutes the guy says "All the t-shirts are sold". It’s a good marketing technique isn’t it! Then for some reason I started to walk around naked after that. No one seemed to mind.

You then joined Die Toten Hosen and recorded the "Unsterblich" album?

That album’s okay and there’s some good stuff on it, but I don’t think it’s as strong as "Opium", the album before. It was a difficult stage with Wolli semi in and me semi in the band. I didn’t feel comfortable in the band at that point. The next album will be much better.

You’ve now been on several tours with Die Toten Hosen, most recently in Cuba?

That was strange. Nice country, lovely people who are really poor but very happy. We did "Guantanemara" and we did "Viva La Revolution" and then a big light got knocked over into the crowd and smashed. The police then came on the stage and kicked us off.

So you’ll be invited back then?

Definitely not!

You recorded an album with TV Smith?

I really like that album. It sounded good, great songs and Tim’s a lovely bloke to work with. He’s a real nice guy. It was really relaxed and brought out the best in everyone. I’m very happy with that album.

Were you a fan of the Adverts?

Oh yeah I loved the Adverts and I’m a fan of TV Smith as well (brown nose). He’s done some great solo albums and I just wish he’d get the recognition he deserves.

You made a video for "Only One Flavour"?

Yes we did the video in a old warehouse which was very cold. It was a ‘do it in a day’ video which I like. I don’t like all the hanging around and all that crap so it was great. It came out really really good, looked like a 30’s horror film, especially Tim!

There appears to be a growing interest in the music of the Boys, particularly from young bands who weren’t there first time around. How do you feel about it?

I think it’s great and I’m really happy to be with The Boys. I’d like to do a load more shows.

You played again with The Boys in Spain in September 2000?

That was really good.

What do you think of the video?

Well I haven’t seen it yet. Jack sent me a copy but it never arrived. I’d love to see a copy.

You are playing at the HITS tonight in Morecambe?

I hope we get a crate of beer before the show! We’ve been through the set the last couple of days and I hope the crowd likes it. I’m really looking forward to playing tonight.

How about future Boys dates?

We’re trying to set up more dates and if people are interested and we can work out a good deal for all then we’ll play.

You’ll be recording the new Yobs album next month?

Well I haven’t been approached about that yet. I’d like be involved but I’m recording an album with the Hosen in Spain for a month starting 13 August. If they want me to do it I will.

How about a new Boys album?

Oh that would be brilliant. I’m sure everyone would be happy to do a new Boys album if the opportunity arose.

You’ve just had a song released on the soundtrack of the new movie "Tomb Raider"?

Oh yeah that was a bit of a rush job and I hope it sounds okay. It got on the compilation anyway.

A couple of weeks ago Die Toten Hosen appeared in a fans living room with you on bass and vocals and Campino on drums?

That was a good laugh, mental. I wasn’t actually playing the bass although it might have looked as though I was. I just picked up the bass but never plugged it in and then I was trying to sing in German. I hadn’t got a clue what I was singing!

So Duncan had better beware you don’t take over bass and vocals with The Boys?

No no I think Duncan is safe.

What are your three favourite Boys songs?

It’s such a difficult one. "Terminal Love" and I really like some of the stuff on "Odds & Sods". Things like "You Can Give It" which I think is a brilliant song, I really love that one. I also really like "I Love Me".

Which version?

The Odds & Sods version. It’s really difficult to choose three. I really like Matt’s vocal on "No Money" and I love "Brickfield Nights" of course

Ken Mewis thought of The Boys as the second Rolling Stones. And they have been called "The Beatles of Punk". What do you think about The Boys?

I would always say that The Boys are the punk Beatles. They had great songs with great harmonies .

In your opinion why didn’t The Boys make it big?

Because of John!!!!

What did John do wrong?

He was born! (Casino Steel in the background…everyone laughs). Seriously though, it’s one of the great rock and roll mysteries why The Boys never made it big. They might know more about that than me but it’s a great shame they never made it.

What type of music do you listen to now?

A real cross-section of stuff. I try to keep up to date and I’ve got a mate who owns a record shop so I hear lots of stuff. I’ve just got a CD by a band called the Sultans featuring members from Rocket From The Crypt and it’s a brilliant debut album. That is my album of the month.

What are your plans for the future?

Get back to Germany in one piece! I’ve a gig with AC/DC on Sunday in Cologne. I’m looking forward to recording a good album with the Hosen and hopefully will record a new Boys album this year or next year. No other specific plans.