equity home jersey loan new,Alan Burridge Interview

Regular readers to this here blog will know that Alan Burridge needs no introduction.....so sit back and enjoy his latest appearance here.

Hello Alan, hope this interview over the 'internet' finds you recovering from that bad bout of flu.

Yes, thanks. My wife's still not too good with it, and I had to miss the Southampton show on the tour as I was suffering. Luckily, my old school pal, Eric Billett, was going to the Exeter gig and I had suitably recovered, so we did that one together, which was great having a good old yarn with him again.

Q. Another year nearly over Alan, it has been a busy year for Motorheadbangers, You and of course Motorhead. Is there any bits you'd like to look back on and make mention, the standouts of 2008?

Yes. It has been a great year. We did the 'Wolf In Sheeps' Clothing' fan club CD successfully. There are still about 100 copies unsold, we pressed 500 and have way more member's than that, so if every MHB had bought one we'd have had some still wanting it. Obviously some like hearing Motorhead as Motorhead and that's that, and by-and-large we all do, but it was just a bit of fun, and the different takes on those songs was quite something.

Pay Pal has made a huge difference to the Fan Club, and has given overseas fans the confidence to join. There are fans now in South Africa, Hong Kong, Iceland (the country, not the shop!), loads more than we ever had in America and Canada, even one in Thailand; amazing!

Also, and despite the Fan Club address being absent from the (amazing!) 'Motorizer' album, and in fairness, it was the first time this has happened since the 'Iron Fist' album, the band have included MHB's as a Link on their main website, and of course, this has also created more MHB's and credability, as the fans see the Fan Club as being more 'Official' by being there.

The band have had a great year, too, what an album what a tour!!!

Q. The When 'Upton Had Trains' book is about to hit shelves next week, it is of local significance of course for Upton but I would say that such writing plays a very important role?

We had these 'Community magazines' start up around here, there are 2 or 3 of them. They canvass local businesses to advertise in the A5 magazine, and the ad's pay for the printing and distribution and the advertiser's get more business. I've had poems or short essays in all 3, but it began with 'The Lychett Bay Post.' After finding the magazine in a local shop, I emailed saying I'd write some local stuff. This was a year ago, and they asked for something on Guy Fawkes. What hasn't been written about Guy Fawkes? I was busy, too, so didn't bother; then, when the next edition was published someone had cobbled a Guy Fawkes thing together, and I felt a biy guilty after offering but doing nothing. My sense of humour is a bit Spike Milligan anyway, and without any reason wrote a couple of joke-ey poems about this here liddle village of Upton where I was born and grew up. They were a bit Pam Ayres, too, but I'd never studied either Pam or Spike, it's just my natural fun, and they liked them and asked for some short, 800 word eassays about life in Upton in the 1950's and 1960's.

They liked those as well, so I did some more during evenings and weekends and as and when 'inspired.' But that magazine is quarterly, and I get impatient, and by sheer chance found a 'Local Interest' publisher in nearby Christchurch. So I sent them everything, including some local photos I'd taken of various events in the village over the years, and much to my delight they said they'd publish it. It's 100 pages of my memoirs and good but funny poems, plus the pix I'd sent and a load more besides. There's one photo of Upton Crossroads from 1900, which even I'm not old enough to remember.

Q. Motorheadbangers keeps going from strength to strength with the compilation album earlier this year, what can be look forward to in the December issue of the fanzine and indeed for the club in 2009?

There's a piece by a man named Howard Thompson, who got Motorhead their deal with Bronze Records when no one else wanted to know. There's a review of Lemmy's signature Marshall amp and everything else you've grown to expect fro the MHB fanzine; plus some great photos by Henri Clausel from the first 2 nights of the tour in Dublin.

Q. As it is not far away from Christmas, I suppose I should throw my lot in with the usual Xmas naff but interesting nevertheless question as to if you had your unrestricted choice what would be your ideal Christmas gift?

After the heart op I don't drink or smoke any more after 40 years of doing so. I miss the booze more than the ciggies. But now my poison is lemonade with ice and a slice, and it really tickles the taste buds. A new pair of Levi 501's would be all right, too, I've got plenty of Motorhead T-shirts to accompany them, of course. At present, I'd just like Jane to be fit and well again, she's going back to the doctor for the third time to beat her fist on the desk, it's been over 2 weeks now and she's barely any better!

Q. I felt that the Motorizer album was a very fine output by Motorhead. The album in my opinion illustrates that the band are on a rather good roll after the outstanding 'Inferno' and 'Kiss of Death' efforts. Like to talk about the new album and what it meant to you?

It ripped our effing heads off, didn't it! Bloody hell, we were NOT expecting THAT! EVERY track is a potential single, it's my most played Motorhead album since I don't know when. But hey, come on, our 3 heroes are out there playing Motorhead music non-stop on those tours, so what we want has to be in their minds and in their blood, so I think, especially if they stick with Cameron Webb as producer, they are just going to get better and better.

Q. You've the 'Upton' book out as I've said, any other writings lurking in your mind or on paper as a possible publication in the near future?

Being a nurse, Jane worked last Xmas, (what's effing new there?), and without the aforementioned booze and fags, life gets more boring now. So, I'd made up my mind to spend the time writing about all the bands I have ever been to see around this local area of Poole, Boscombe and Bournemouth, and I began with Mantovani in 1958, which was my first 'live gig' with Mum and Dad and my brother; closely followed by The Shadows in 1959. I've seen a few books around now which concentrate on local scenes, like there's one about he Manchester Beat scene, and another called Hollywood Rocks, so I thought why not a 'Bournemouth Rock!' book?

At the time, I hadn't placed the 'Upton' book. I tried one rock publisher who said "If you haven't placed it by 2010 call us, but we've got a queue of books up until then." Another London rock book publisher, after the manuscript had been with them for 3 months or so, emailed to say they'd had a bereavement and might not be able to carry on, good luck trying to place it elsewhere. By now I had the 'Upton' book with Natula Publishing, so I sent to to them saying I was being cheeky as I had the one book with them already, but would they consider it 'local interest' as well? They did, and 'Bournemouth Rock!' will be published late spring 2009, so I'm thrilled with both of them. The crazy thing is I didn't really set out to get them published, Upton was for a local magazine, and the rock book just my wanting to catalogue and write a bit about all the band's and gigs I'd been to see locally over the years. But I'm pleased they are being published, of course, and they are both rather good, perhaps not to anyone living elsewhere, but locally, yes, they're good stuff.

Q. Last week was the Grand Slam of darts and we often discuss darts as a sport and both agree Mervyn King's walk on music is a fine choice; if you were up there on the 'oche' what theme tune would you choose do you think?

Oh yes, Mervyn King uses Motoread's 'King Of King's' for his walk-on music, doesn't he! Knockout! I used to play for The Upton Hotel up at our Crossroads here. It was before breathalysers and all that crap, but the volume of traffic wasn't there like it is now, so even if a policeman stopped you, as long as you were not swerving all over the road, he'd have told you to go steady on your way home and that would have been that. I'd have a pint at the pub, another when we arrived if it was an away match, a couple more, the bloke you played bought you a pint if you beat him, and then a couple more. So on those evenings I'd be way over what is now regarded as 'The Limit.' Those were the days. But to answer your qustion about what my walk-on song would be, probably 'Overkill,' the original Jimmy Miller produced Bronze Records version, it just fires up the adrenaline, doesn't it, and it always has and always will do. I know it's still in the band's live set, but for me there's nothing to top that Jimmy Miller original, it has so much life in it, and echoes the band's then wanton lust to succeed, as does indeed that whole album.

Q. 'When Upton Had Trains' is a collection of essays and verse about growing up in Upton during the 50s and 60s; what would you sum up as the key memories of your early childhood?

Being cold and hungry. No central heating as such a thing didn't exist, and not much food as it wasn't long after the end of World War II and things hadn't returned to any degree of normality. But we have no choice over when and where we were born, I don't regret one split second of my life. Our son, Steve, often says he'd like to be David Beckham for a day. F**k off! I don't want to be anyone else, I've always been qite happy being Alan Burridge, thank you very much! Being David Beckham would be like trying cocaine or something, I admit I've had a few spliffs in my lifetime, but I knew I'd LIKE all the other stuff, just like Steve WOULD LIKE Beckham's lifestyle, so it would be an addiction, doing it once would lead to doing it again. That's why I never tried hard drugs, I KNEW I'D LIKE THEM, I KNEW I would become addicted, they make you feel better than 'normal' so feeling 'normal' isn't 'normal' any more, because now you'd know the difference. I just lived with my 'normal' of fags and lager and Southern Comfort and made the best of it. Some MHB's wonder why I haven't got any tattooes? I've never found one I'd be happy with for the rest of my life, and if I had one I'd have it to please someone else and not myself. Balls to that! I don't think anyone should do anything to please someone else, it's the wrong reason.

Thanks for the chat again, Jimmy, great to do as always, have a pint of Guiness for me.

Alan's book 'When Upton Had Trains' is out now.