Meeting Tina

I was eighteen years old, had recently started working for MTV & was about to do my first ever interview. In true MTV style, they had decided to throw me in to the deep end by making me interview Tina Turner. Still, I wasn’t worried. Famous people had never intimidated me. My older sister and her friends had been dragging me along to concerts from when I was about 12 years old, because I had always possessed the uncanny ability to end up backstage where ever we went. Therefore, taking me along to a concert meant an almost guaranteed introduction to the band (I’ll tell you about the system I had developed for that some other time)

Anyway, back to the story…I had spent the first part of the day arguing with my director as to what I could wear for the interview. He thought that all my clothes were inappropriate. He kept saying: “Simone, Tina Turner is an icon. She needs to be treated with the utmost respect. Interviewing her in those crazy patchwork trousers would be an insult to her status”. I had had my heart set on wearing my patchwork trousers and one of my wild multi-colored hats, convinced that Tina would love my crazy style as much as I did. But no, I wasn’t allowed. I was told to wear the plainest item of clothing that I had, which was a black Naughty-by-Nature T-shirt. I tried to add a little of my own personality by wearing a small leopard-print hat with it, but still…the overall affect was rather boring.

In the meantime, everyone else’s nervousness had managed to jump over on me. Maybe they were right? Maybe this was a big deal? Maybe this was like meeting the queen? Damn it, I had felt so good to start with, but now my legs had turned to jelly.

Tina was already positioned on one of the bar stools in the middle of the studio as I walked on to the set. Shy and self-conscious, I stood quietly away from the lit-up area. No one had noticed that I was there. My director was in deep discussions with Tina’s manager/boyfriend (or was he her husband?) & Tina was getting the last touches done to her hair and make-up. There were people fluttering about all over the place. I heard Tina’s husband/manager saying that he wanted to see the script before the interview.

“We don’t like surprises. Tina performs best when she is well-prepared,”
“Of course, not a problem,” the director answered. “Let me get Simone”

I swallowed hard, put a huge smile on my face and walked up to them before anyone had a chance to shout my name.
“Hi, I’m Simone. Nice to meet you” (My strategy of dealing with nervousness was to pretend to be 100% confident at all times. And it generally did the trick. People sometimes even thought that I was over-confident. If only they knew….)


“Hi Simone, Tina needs to see the script so she can prepare her answers”
Tina’s manager reached out for my paperwork.
“Okay, but I may not stick to the script exactly” I said as I handed it over.
My director shot me a dirty look.
“Well…I’ll try. But I may not ask things exactly the way they are written”
“ That’s fine dear. As long as you stick the basic questions that we discuss ahead of time”

“Okay…Tina” he called out as he walked me on to the set, keeping his eyes on the script. “This is the girl who will be interviewing you”

“Oh hi, how nice to meet you. I’m Tina” Her eyes were warm and her smile so welcoming, that it melted my nervousness almost immediately.

“Hi Tina, I’m Simone. Nice to meet you too”
Whilst her manager continued to look at the questions, I whispered to Tina: “This is my first ever interview. I hope it will be okay”

There was that great big smile again. She whispered back: “Don’t worry, we’ll have fun” and winked at me.

Wow, what a lovely lady and what a great presence she had! I was struck by her beauty & couldn’t believe that this glowing, tight-skinned woman was old enough to be my grandmother.

Tina’s husband/manager turned to Tina, told her my first question and how she was to answer it. Before I had too much time to think about the strangeness of that, Tina snapped her fingers and shouted: “Right then, let’s get this show rolling!”

Everybody shot into position. The microphone leads were being pushed inside our clothes, followed by a quick “One two, one two” sound check. Tina’s loose strands of hair were sprayed down one last time & the director called out:
“Simone, don’t forget; Tina is an icon. She deserves to be treated that way,” followed by a “Coming to camera in five, four, three, two,…”

“Hi, you’re watching MTV’s afternoon mix,” I smiled at the camera (Cameras have always had a calming effect on me. When I look at them, I feel like I’m talking to an old friend) “With me today is a rather special woman, who really doesn’t need much of an introduction…”

Tina and I started chatting & the interview flowed well, but the two men next to the camera were kind of bothering me. My director looked pissed off and Tina’s manager was acting rather strangely. He stood by the side of the camera, pouting his lips, playing with his hair, turning his face this way and that and occasionally throwing his head back completely, pretending be laughing, but without any sound. It took me a while to realize what was actually happening; Tina was looking at her manager from the corner of her eyes and was mimicking every move he made whilst answering my questions. And the freakiest thing of all was that she was looking completely natural as she was doing it.

‘So is this what showbiz was all about?’ I wondered to myself, ‘To be a star you have to turn into someone’s puppet?’ I was absolutely baffled by the whole situation. Especially as Tina Turner is known as a former battered wife & had come out on the other end, stronger and more powerful than ever. Well, strong as she might be, here she was acting like she was being controlled by another man yet again.



Now, maybe I was reading the situation wrong. Maybe she wanted his assistance. Maybe she thought that it was easier for him to judge what would look good in any given situation & maybe they were just working as one tight unit.

I really don’t know. I just know that I found the whole situation rather unsettling. And it definitely influenced the way I viewed showbiz from that moment on. I instantly lost my faith in the ‘reality’ of it all & vowed never to become a puppet to anyone, even if it meant losing my career over it.

“Damn it, Simone. Stop interrupting Tina! You need to treat her with more respect. I told you that she is a super star. You don’t interrupt superstars!” The director shouted. His outburst startled me. What was he on about? I didn’t interrupt her. All I had said was the occasional “Right…exactly…Really?” You know, the things one says in any normal conversation.

Tina looked at the director & surprised me once again that day, as she stuck up her middle finger and shouted: “Oh, fuck off! Super star nonsense! We’re just having a nice girly time here” She nearly killed me with that comment. What a woman! My poor director kept quiet for the rest of the interview.

Tina’s manager continued to check each question before it was asked and stopped the interview whenever he wanted to pass on some more answers to Tina.

So anyway, the overall experience was pleasant, strange but pleasant. I had managed to work my way through my first ever interview. And I also got treated with another little gem of a moment as Tina and her entourage walked past my dressing room on their way out. Tina looked inside at the clothes that were piled on to my suitcase and ran straight up to my colorful patchwork trousers with a delighted “Oh my goodness, these are absolutely fabulous!”
As she held the patchwork trousers in front of herself, I turned to my producer and smiled a satisfied smile. It was the last time I ever took fashion advise from anyone who wasn’t a stylist.

Making music festivals drug free...yeah, right!

So apparently the police are trying to crack down on drug use at the Isle of Wight festival. The local force has worked for months on an operation which will "deter hardened drug addicts and criminals from attending the family event". They will be armed not only with sniffer dogs, but also with social workers who will be giving the drug users on-site counselling straight after their arrest. What a load of crap!

As a person who's used a fair amount of illegal substances in the past (not these days, I'm as healthy living as they come now), I can tell you that this approach will not do any good. Kids will find ways to get drugs on to the festival site anyhow & listening to a social worker preaching about the dangers of drug use will-yes of course-be a total come-down, but probably not have any lasting effect.

I can tell you now that most drug-takers do not see themselves as 'hardened drug addicts or criminals' & being treated like that just makes them feel that 'us against them' feeling, that feeling that those in power (police, social workers, etc.) do not understand them in the slightest. These 'hardened drug addicts' are simply someones daughter, someones son, your next-door neighbour, the girl at the back of the class...they are just normal kids and most of the time they grow out of their rebellious stage. No one can tell them to change their ways until they are ready to do so.

In Holland we used to have a support system set up at festivals for those on drugs who wanted it. I'm not sure if that program is still going. It was a stand where you could get advice, sometimes you were even able to get your E tested on purity, and you did not risk getting arrested in the process. An approach like that can actually safe lives. Because nobody wants to get judged, patronized or risk arrest. So if someone on drugs is having a problem at a festival you want them to come forward and not hide away in the dark, afraid of 'getting caught'.

Anyway, I hope that the festival-where Snow Patrol played on Friday & Muse and the Rolling Stones headline the remainder of this weekend-will not be any less fun because of it.

Party on!

Paul McCartney's mess-up

Oops! Hundreds of sold copies of Paul McCartney's new album 'Memory almost full' will not be eligible for the UK chart. Sir Paul's 21st solo album (!) was released on the newly formed Starbucks label Hear Music, but now it turns out that the 533 Starbucks stores in the UK are not registered with the Official Chart Company, so all the albums sold at those stores will not count towards the charts. Major Oops!

'Memory almost full' will still make it into the charts through the sales on the high-street stores and downloading services, but even so, I assume that McCartney will be well annoyed with Starbucks for this mess-up. Maybe the chain should have stuck with what they do best...making coffee.

I have always been a huge Beatles fan and in my MTV days I had hoped to meet Paul McCartney (obviously, it was no longer possible to meet my real hero John Lennon), but the closest I got was meeting Ringo Starr (the boring Beatle) and watching George Harrison go into Jools Holland's house, who lived across the road from us.

Oh well, I guess Paul McCartney will just be added to the stars I haven't met yet. This list of 'want to meet but haven't yet' also includes The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beasty Boys & Stevie Wonder. I think that apart from these I have pretty much met everyone I wanted to meet when I was at MTV. So I didn't do too bad. Shame that so many stars were a let-down though. I'll have to dig into my (rather bad) memory and blog about many of those meetings in the coming months or so.

Lindsay Lohan's drink driving

I don't get it. First it's Paris Hilton and now Lindsay Lohan is out drink driving, with cocaine being found in her car as well. I mean, is she trying to copy her rather moronic 'frienemy' Paris? (scenes of them shouting 'Coke head!' and 'Fire crotch!' to each other in public were both pathetic and hilarious)

Anyway, it all just doesn't make any sense. These girls will spend fortunes on handbags, but they don't have money for a driver or even a taxi? What's up with these high-living low-lifes? Do they think they are above the law?

Lock them up, that's what I say. Not just because they could have hit an innocent bystander, not just because they (sadly enough) are rolemodels to millions of young girls, but also for their own sakes. Some time alone, without any luxuries may be just what these girls need. They may come to the realization that their current lifestyle is not serving anyone, not even themselves. They could use their fame and fortune in so many postive ways, but instead all they do is waste millions (dollars and braincells). Currently, their only use is to fill the tabloid magazines. People enjoy watching trainwrecks, especially when those in question are rich and succesful. We place them on a pedestal & then the cheering crowd takes great pleasure in knocking them off again ("Ding-dong, the witch is dead", yes it's the modern-day equivalent of witch burning sessions)

Anyway, I wish them well. These misguided souls. May penitentiary do them good.

My family 'on tour'

We've been 'on the road' with our two little kids for the last month now (England, US, Belize and Aruba) and with all this traveling I'm still not in the mood for much blogging. Still, I just wanted to share with you which songs really did it for me when we were in the UK two weeks ago. Okay, so these were it:

1. Brainstorm by the Arctic Monkeys (crazy music style, a kind of punk, metal, pop mash-up...absolutely genius. Guess there was substance behind all the hype over this band)
2. Your love is not enough by the Manic Street Preachers and Nina from the Cardigans (Nina's vocals are hauntingly beautiful. I hope that she's more fun these days though than she was in the nineties when I interviewed her band the Cradigans and rated it as my most boring interview ever!)
3. Get down! by Groove Armada (brilliant party tune! Love Groove Armada! And I would love, love, love to see these guys play live one day. Everyone seems to agree that they are a great live act)

And my one-year-old's favorite track was NYC Beat by Armand Van Helden. Yep, he's a little raver already. Well done my boy! Mummy is proud of you!

Anyway, in June we'll be back in Belize and that's when I'll sit down and write some 'proper' posts again.

Love.....

The English music scene

After all these years, I still have to say that the English music scene is by far the most exiting in the world. We're in the UK for two weeks and I am loving the barrage of new music that gets thrown at you here. It does also make me feel a bit sad though, as I miss being part of that world these days. I hear my old colleagues on the radio here (Edith Bowen, Sarah Cox, Zane, etc.) and I have to admit, I do feel a tat jealous. Still, I know that I have an amazing life too, quite different, but amazing none the less. I life in paradise, I'm happily married, have two great kids, we're financially secure, we're healthy, we have a fun business...what more could you want really?

Anyway, I'll blog again when we get home next week.

Adios amigos!

Snoop dogg's troubles

Snoop Dogg has just been given five years probation and 800 hours of community service on gun and drug charges. He could have gone to jail instead, so he must be pretty happy with the verdict.

Still, I don't get Snoop. I mean, why is he still living like this? I interviewed him years ago, shortly after his dear friend Tupac had been killed & we had a good chat about gangster life and about his feelings for Tupac, etc.

We really hit off, because he realized that I actually understood what he was talking about. In my teenage years (before MTV) I mixed with some pretty shady characters myself in Amsterdam and witnessed things young girls wouldn't and shouldn't normally witness. Even so, my earlier experiences into the darker side of life did help me in situations like this Snoop Dogg interview. Because I understand that there are worlds within worlds, where normal rules and reasoning don't apply. It's hard to understand unless you've witnessed it from within.

Snoop totally opened up to me and I could feel a level of trust that is unusual in many interviews. Afterwards he said to me: 'You know, I thought that we would be the total opposites of each other, with you having grown up as a rich white European girl, and me a poor black guy from the hood...but we're not so different after all, are we?'

And he was right. I totally 'got where he was coming from'. But what I don't 'get' is why guns, drugs, etc. are still part of his life. There just is no need for that anymore. He is a successful artist, a father, a business man and he is enormously rich. There is no need for him to still be going round in 'those circles' where you can't be safe unless you're armed & also..didn't he give up drugs before? He really needs to start thinking about what he could be throwing away.

I do wonder if these rappers understand that you don't actually have to keep living a gangster life to be able to rap about or relate to gangster life? And anyway, what's the public's obsession with this lifestyle anyhow? It's not a lot fun and it actually is not tough or even clever. Most 'gangsters' I've met haven't been the sharpest tool in the box and that's why they all end up killing each other. As soon as there's a disagreement or misunderstanding, they shoot. It's dumb and it shows the level of fear that's actually underneath it all. Kill before anyone gets the chance to kill me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

So Snoop, sort your f***ing life out. Be an example to your children and all those misguided wannabe gangster kids out there. Even if it were to cost you your career. Even if no one wants to listen to you anymore when you start sprouting out some more uplifting lyrics (you may even want to try rapping about women in a more respectful manner) I believe that it's better to have no more hit records then to be a successful inmate. And I think that your children will agree with me on that.

Good luck Dogg!

P.S. After the interview I went on to kick Snoop's arse at a game of pool, which I thought was pretty cool. I'm normally crap at pool, but for some mysterious reason I played really well that day : )

This email made me laugh..

I received this great email titled 'my mum and Simone'. I wasn't sure if it was some kind of spam, but opened it anyhow. And this is it...isn't it funny?

Hi,

A strange title for an e-mail I know but I must explain I am from the UK and now live in Australia. My mum was clearing out my old room and came across three video tapes which she proceeded to send to me in Australia with a message saying, I thought you may want what is on these rather than me throw them out.

Anyway the other night I put one of the video tapes in the player and it was, wait for it, MTV's Party Zone from 1992 / 1993. It was excellent to watch it back and the opening line from you is "Hello I'm Simone, I'm a little bit fluey today but that's what you get when you go out clubbing a lot (chuckle) and of course you're watching the Party Zone" I laughed my head off. I used to watch your show every week back then and used to hate it when you were off on holiday and Lisa I'anson would present instead as she would attempt to dance around the studio but not very well and simply end up rocking from side to side and clicking her fingers.

My girlfriend at the time always used to say I was going to run off and marry you instead of her as I would be glued to the screen when you came on. Ironic really seeing as I have been living very happily with my boyfriend Phil in Australia for the last few years.

Also on the tape was the video for your song "Let This Feeling" With you and Ray Cokes dancing in front of it when you appeared as a guest on Most Wanted.

I remember once being a student and absolutely wasted bumping into Paul King at a 120 Minutes gig in London where the Ozric Tentacles were playing and hassling him about how I could become an MTV presenter. Needless to say he took one look at me wasted and brushed me aside.

So after watching the video I decided to Google you and low and behold your blog came up. It's been fascinating to see what you and other ex VJ's have been up to. MTV was great in those days, they actually played music rather than the really bad U.S. "reality" shows that dominate the channel these days. We only have one MTV channel in Australia and it just isn't that great.

Thank you for your blog and all the best with your family and The Belize Jungle Dome.

Cheers, Stevie

Love it!!!!

James Hyman played this Dan Le Sac VS Scroobious Pip track recently on the Rinse. I nearly crashed the car trying to follow what the guy was saying. Great pop culture references. Very clever.

Is it even possible to improve on the original?

Whenever I've heard any attempt to re-record Sgt. Pepper, It's been a let-down. So will the same be true for this 40th anniversary makeover? The line-up is good ( I especially love James Morrison), but I still can't imagine that anyone can make the tracks sound as good as the Beatles did.

From the brilliant NME music website:

Oasis & The Killers to record new version of 'Sgt Pepper'

The Beatles classic gets a 40th anniversary makeover
(10 hours ago)

Oasis, The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs are to cover songs from The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' to mark the 40th anniversary of the classic album's release.

The original album was released on June 1, 1967 and to mark the event the big names will all be covering tracks from the record for a BBC2 special to be aired on June 2.

Razorlight, James Morrison, The Fratellis and Travis are among the other acts taking part.The BBC reports that Geoff Emerick, the engineer in charge of the original sessions will use the same equipment to record the new versions.

Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas said: "This will be not only a unique radio event, but a very special musical moment."The range and quality of artists involved ensure that this will be a fitting tribute to one of the great albums of all time."

There is no news yet on which track the artists concerned will cover.

What the Belizean press had to say about the recent Norman Cook/Andy Palacio recording

The Channel 7 report: Fatboy Slim & Andy Palacio: Garifuna Meets British Dance

One of them is a British producer who draws thousands to all night raves; the other is a Barranco boy who recorded his latest album in a thatch house on Hopkins Beach. Put them together and what do you get? A little bit of international dance musical sensation Fatboy Slim, and a little Bit of Garifuna superstar Andy Palacio. The two recorded last week in San Pedro and courtesy of Stonetree Records we have the videos from the four day session. Here's what it looked and sounded like.

Jules Vasquez Reporting,The Stonetree Crew flew out so San Pedro to Mata Grande Studios, four miles north of San Pedro Town to meet Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim. His idea is to marry dance music popular in Europe with Garifuna instruments, styles and singers. Add a little of the Grandmaster to that and you've got….something.

Fatboy Slim,"See what happens when English music met Belizean."

And from his end, Fatboy Slim brings a lot. As a vastly popular British DJ and much sought after remixer, he's played to tends of thousands, sold hundreds of thousands of records, and won an MTV Best Video Music Award for this song weapon of choice. But now, he's in Belize looking for new inspirations and experimenting. On what? He doesn't know.

Fatboy Slim,"You can't really explain experiments or experimental."

And that experimental urge led him to the Garifuna Collective. He wanted to see how their sounds would work on his records.

Fatboy Slim,"We arrived here with no real songs, no real ideas. I came here with a CD with beats and bass sounds from England and about half an idea of what to do and over the last four days we've hang out with the local musicians, listen to what they do, try to match the two and see what happens."

But how does Garifuna music with its African rhythms that go back centuries intersect with electronic music pioneered over the last two decades? Well, right here. In fact, this could be the textbook study. Joshua Arana playing the Primera Drum showed Fatboy how he could slow the pace, and seamlessly ride his electronic rhythm track.

After getting the percussion pattern from Cook, Giovanni Chi did pretty much the same for the turtle shell and it hit the spot for Fatboy Slim. And while Lugua Centeno was circumspect, Grandmaster felt it, right off.

You could call it roots funk - and to make it even funkier, how about putting a wah pedal on a drum? To our knowledge its never been done but between Stone Tree's Al Obando and Fatboy, they weren't afraid to try. For those who don't know the wah pedal is made for a guitar, and alters its tone. Here's how it sounded in the Fatboy track.

A murky mystery of a tone - but that's where the spirit of experimentation took them. And its that kind of experimentation that made the tracks starts to come together to the satisfaction of artists from both traditions.

But while he may aspire to play the drums, Andy isn't ready to go into electronic dance music at least not just yet. He did write a song, worked it out with Fatboy, and delivered. Backup singers Cella Torres and Deseree Arana also got in on tracks. And if that sounds plain, this is how it sounded in the mix.

After a few days of that, Arana too was made into a believer. And by the time, Fatboy Slim had finished four days of recording, he, the Garifuna Collective and the engineers had put together three tracks - which he says is just a start.

Fatboy Slim says that definitely two of the tracks will make his next album. He may also do a remix of one of the tracks from Watina. After that session, Andy Palacio headed to Europe, where he will make a live television appearance in France in support of his new album Watina.

Swimming with sharks and playing turtle shells, yes it's another hard day at the office...

Well, we're back from the jamming sessions with Norman Cook and Belizean the artists Andy Palacio, the Grandmaster and the Garifuna collective. It was just the nicest week ever with night time drumming sessions on the beach, snorkeling trips, jamming, fishing, recording songs, sunbathing and walking barefeet on the beach. It really couldn't have been any more perfect.

The first day was a bit chaotic as there were so many people at once, but things soon slowed down and good music was made in the process. Norman recorded 3 songs whilst he was here, with my favorite being a slighly more down-tempo track with Andy Palacio and the Grandmaster, which I think will be called 'GMT'. The stuff that was recorded here will not be released as Fatboy Slim, but as the Mighty Dub Katz on Norman's label Southern Fried Records.

One of the things that was interesting to see was the interaction between someone like Norman, who is of course a big time DJ/producers & these local musicians, none of which are professionals (even Andy Palacio, the biggest Belizean star, is a diplomat as well as an artist). Norman was surprised to see how all the Belizeans just froze the minute the recordings started in the studio. The whole set-up was just too alien for them & they struggled to create a vibe like they had the night before when drumming on the beach.

Ivan Duran from the Belizean label StoneTree Records explained that this was a common problem and that all their albums are therefor recorded in people's houses, with the singer set up in the kitchen, the drummers in the bedroom, etc.

Still, Norman patiently persevered and eventually managed to get some great stuff out of everybody.

Setting things up.


Norman trying to figure out where 'the vibe' has gone:

We were all so sad to leave. Maybe the following pictures will help explain why...

Caroline Prothero from Prohibition, Nathan from Southern Fried, Norman, Andy, the kids and I on our way to Shark Ray Alley, where we snorkeled with nurse sharks, sting rays, eagle rays, turtles and more.


One of the daily fishing sessions at the end of the pier (hoping to catch dinner). Much was caught, including a crab, but nothing big enough to feed us.

The biggest fish of the week was caught by Aidan. Sadly though, it was made of fabric. Lucas' 6-year-old friend Justin kept telling people that he had caught 'a slapper' the night before, which we believe was the snapper that the boys had caught (we didn't correct him as we all found it too funny)

Drummer playing the turtle shells. Norman loved the sound that night, but was less keen on them when he got awoken at 7 am the next morning by the 'tuning of the shells' outside his bedroom door. Still, it's all part of being in the tropics.

Belizean music

A while ago I wrote about the lack of a music scene in Belize. Well, that posting was not totally accurate. There is a lot of music being made in Belize, but you just don't get to hear much of it when you live here. It's a bit like the chocolate, really. See, some of the best organic chocolate in world is grown in Belize (the 'Maya Gold' from Green & Black), but it's impossible to buy any of it in this country. The cocoa beans get exported to Italy for processing, after which they're send to the UK for packaging.

So that's the story with the chocolate...then there's the Belizean music & on the local radio stations you only get to hear 'Punta' and the artist Super G!!!! (they always shout that name). I'm no fan of Punta, so I don't listen to the radio stations much. And I thought that that was the only music that was being made here. Well, I was wrong.

See, Norman Cook wants to jam with Belizean artists. So I started to do some research for him and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of music that was actually being made here. The best stuff can be found on the label StoneTree Records. Check out their site and click on the album artwork to listen to the tracks.

I will let you know next week how the jamming sessions are going.

Oh my GusGus!

The weird and wonderful Icelandic collective GusGus is at it again. They started out an arty supergroup in the 90s, with roughly ten members, including a former male model, a pilot & a mish-mash of the some of the finest in Reykjavík's art scene; actors, singers, photographers, etc. Some left, others came, the band faced bankruptcy along the way & through it all they continued to make great music.

Does anyone know if their stage shows are still as visually exciting as they once were? If you've seen them live in last few years, please let me know what they are up to on stage these days.

Fatboy Slim jamming sessions

Very cool! I'm setting up some jamming sessions with Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) and a bunch of Belizean artists. We're gonna have a blast! I'm sure Norman will love this place!!!

And we're planning to document it all as well. James Hyman may even come and do this with me. Which means that we'll have the old Partyzone team back in action. I really hope he can make it. And of course, as soon as I am able to share any footage of all this, I will. Just keep checking in on this blog....

Madonna v. Timbaland?

So apparently Madonna considers recording a Timbaland track for her new album. I wonder if he's willing to produce the track for her though without featuring himself on it. Good old Timbaland...he obviously had enough of just being a superstar producer. These days he wants the groupies to scream for him and not just for the artists he's producing & so now he demands to feature on virtually every track he produces and to be seen in all the videos for the tracks too. He's becoming a bit like modern-day Puffy, isn't he?

For instance, it was so odd seeing him perform 'Wait a minute' with the Pussycat Dolls at MTV's New Year's Eve show. He looked totally out of place in between these long-legged dancing & pouting ladies. It didn't even seem like they enjoyed sharing the stage with each other to be honest. But it looks like Timbaland has made his mind up, he wants a bigger piece of the pie and that's it. Take it or leave it.

But anyway, he's a marvelous producer and, judging by some behind the scenes footage that I've seen of him, he's quite an entertaining exhibitionist too.

I guess this whole Madonna thing will be part of his 'collaboration' album that apparently features artists such as Dr. Dre, Elton John, Fall Out Boy, Nelly Furtado, Ludacris, Chris Martin, Björk, Missy Elliott, and more. Do any of you know when that's meant to come out?

How's this for a wake-up call?

Want to get some goosebumps? Then watch this, it's bloody brilliant! If it doesn't make you sad, mad and/or inspired to take some kind of action, I don't know what could. It makes me want to cry out to the world:

"WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OURSELVES?????? THIS IS INSANITY!!!! LET'S STOP THIS MADNESS!!!"

It's the track 'Eyewater' by Cassius and Pharrell with a video directed by Kincaid.

Please, share this video with everyone!!!!!

Celebs in rehab

Celebrity & addiction, they seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? I know that many celebs have a bad influence on each other (Think Paris & Britney, Kurt & Courtney, Kate Moss & Pete Doherty, Whitney & Bobbie, etc.) but occasionally, people in ‘the industry’ reach out to others when they think they need it.

I was a bit of a wild child too back in the MTV days & strangely enough, I got lectured to by two of the biggest addicts in music history; Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and Boy George.

Steve Tyler (who’s a lovely man, by the way) once gave me a long lecture on addictions before handing me a bottle of whiskey. We were at a party somewhere in Scandinavia to celebrate MTV’s birthday (can’t remember which one) & at this party they were only serving wine, beer and soft drinks. I didn’t drink beer or wine & wanted to drink alcohol, preferably vodka. So I was ‘on a mission’ and when Steve saw that I wasn’t going to give up until I found some hard liquor, he went to look for some on the Aerosmith tour bus. He returned with a bottle of whiskey, but looked rather worried & wouldn’t hand me the bottle until I’d given him the chance to tell me about his life, his struggle with addictions, etc. Obviously, I told him he had nothing to worry about. I was not addicted to anything and was only having some fun. I have to admit though; I did drink way too much that night and got into a bit of a pickle, so Steve’s advice didn’t really do that much for me.

And years later, I was lectured again. This time it was in a hotel room where we were continuing the night’s party. Hotel rooms have always been the real ‘VIP’ rooms to get in to, not the ones at the club. Most parties only really got going once people got back to the hotels (this is why hotel managers often weren’t too keen on ‘industry people’ staying with them, they caused to many complaints by other guests)

Boy George sat me down that night, away from the others, and gave me a long lecture on the dangers of addictions. I can’t remember exactly what he said, as I was a bit trashed at the time. But I do remember thinking: ‘Cool, I’ve now been lectured by two of the worst addicts in music history. All I need now is for Keith Richards to lecture me & I’ve done the whole list’

(Boy George, by the way, is an absolute doll and is also incredibly funny. I love him. We've had many fun adventures with over the years)

In the end, it wasn’t any lectures that stopped me from doing what I was doing, it wasn’t rehab & it wasn’t nicotine patches or being ‘born again’. I simply grew up, my lifestyle changed and I decided that the hang-overs just weren’t worth it anymore. Guess I never really was addicted to anything then, but because I seemed so wild, people assumed that I was.

So does rehab really work? Often it doesn’t. Just like nicotine patches and diets often don’t do the job. I believe that you have to make some drastic lifestyle changes & change your own self-image to make the other changes last. Once your self-image has evolved, you’ll notice that certain behaviors no longer fit this new image. As long as I saw myself as a rebellious teenager, I could go out, get trashed, make a fool of myself occasionally and be grumpy whilst I nursed my hang-overs.

These days, I see myself as a responsible & loving mother and wife, and as a professional, healthy and out-going resort owner. So obviously, I live a healthy lifestyle. It’s been many, many years since I’ve been intoxicated in any shape or form & I do not miss it in the slightest.

But what I do not understand though is how women like Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith, Whitney Houston, Courtney Love & Kate Moss (amongst others) could see themselves as loving and responsible mothers whilst going out and getting hammered all the time. I just don’t see how that works. How on earth do they deal with their kids the next day? Or do they not see their kids until after lunchtime? And when their toddlers throw temper tantrums, do the mums simply join in? I think that’s what I would do if I had to deal with a tantrum whilst being hung-over. They are hard enough to deal with sober.

Part of the problem, I believe, is that our culture makes many women in the spotlight feel insecure about ‘just being a mum’. It’s like they somehow need to prove to the world (and themselves) that they are still young & ‘with it’. What these young mothers could do with is their own support system. They should start hanging out together and with some other ‘super star mums’ that can actually be a role model for them, those in the limelight that are not scared to be a mother and a woman.

Anyone out there who wants to start this support group for these poor mums? They can get together once a week, with their toddlers (and nannies?) in tow, share their experiences, swap Gucci bags, teach their toddlers how to pouch at the cameras, etc. (sorry, I’m making fun of the whole thing again)

No seriously, these women need help. Maybe Dr. Deepak Chopra should jump in here. He has some wise things to say about addictions and might be able to help these women change their lifestyle in more ways than one.

For the sake of their children, I wish them well & I hope that not more of these women will go the way of Anna Nicole Smith or Paula Yates. And I hope that they can start by forgiving themselves for the mess they got into. They can start anew today.

So good luck ladies! May love be with you.

My Robbie Williams paparazzi hell.

Whilst I'm on the subject of Take That, I might as well tell about the whole 'Robbie Williams Paparazzi trap' that I walked into all those years ago. This is what happened:

I was at the MTV office one day, when several people started telling me that Take That were in the studio and that Robbie from the band was dying to meet me. He, apparently, was looking all over the studio for me. Now, I wasn't much of a Take That fan at the time (I was mainly into underground stuff back then) & I wasn't sure which one of the guys was called Robbie. But anyway, I made my way down to the studio to say 'Hi'.

As soon as I walked in, Robbie shot towards me. He shook my hand and said:
'Oh my God, I'm such a big fan of you' & 'Wow, my legs have gone all wobbly'.

I was gobsmacked. Here was a guy who was obviously quite gorgeous and quite famous (understatement!) & he just told me that he was a fan of mine???? I didn't know what to say.

After a short awkward silence, he asked me:
'Is that a throat sweet that you're eating?' (It was)

He followed me to the dressing room, where I gave him a sweet & where we chatted for a few more minutes. I can't remember what on earth we talked about, it must have been silly chit-chat. We were both very nervous and neither of us had the courage to ask the other for a phone number or anything else, but we both walked away grinning from ear to ear.

I was very excited about it all. He was one of the cutest guys I had met for long time & I was dying to tell someone about it. So I phoned the girl at my record label's press office as she was always going on about Take That. I had been spending a lot of time with her recently as my record was about to be released (I used to make the mistake of thinking that all those I worked closely with were actually my friends, which is a very dangerous trap to fall into in showbiz), and I told her what had happened.

I also told my best friend/manager (who also was quite into Take That) and she did ask me: 'Can I tell people about this?'

I saw nothing wrong with that. I mean, it wasn't a secret that I met him. But I guess I just didn't fully understand what was involved in this 'telling'.

So anyway, I just continued my life, doing what I had been doing. My single was about to be released and I was going up and down the country promoting it. Of course, a lot of interviews were lined up too.

And this is what happened in one of the first interviews: the journalist asked me a few questions about me and my single, but at the same time he didn't seem that interested in anything I said. I was starting to get confused, when suddenly he asked: 'So what about you and Robbie Williams?'

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, as I didn't even realize that Williams was Robbie's last name. I actually thought he was talking about the actor Robbin Williams.

When he saw how confused I looked, he said:

'Robbie Williams. The guy from Take That'
'Oh, him. Yes, we met recently'
'So is it true that he is a fan of yours?'
'Well, yes apparently so.'
'What did he say when he met you?'
'Oh, not much. Just that his legs had gone all wobbly'
'So have you guys been going out since?'
'No, I only met him that one time'
'Has he phoned you since?'
'No, he doesn't have my number'
'What would you say though, if he asked you out? Would you say yes?'
'Yes, I think I would. He's a very cute guy'

And that was it, that was all I said. But it was the start of a bloody tabloid nightmare. Suddenly everybody started writing stories about me and Robbie & about how I was 'The most hated girl in Britain'. The whole thing was just a pile of crap. I started to receive some pathetic death threats from Take That fans (I was never scared that anyone would ever actually hurt me though) and when the press got a whiff of how angry all these Take That fans were, they started saying that I had two 24-hour security guards with me and that I was fearing for my life. Again, a load of crap. I have no idea where all this nonsense was coming from.

Anyway, Robbie obviously thought that I had run straight to the tabloids to sell my story and to get publicity for my single. Okay, so my name was now in the news, but I was deeply unhappy about the whole thing and extremely embarrassed. This so wasn't me. I had never experienced the Tabloids before and had no idea how that whole sleazy world operated.

I never did have the courage to bring any of this up again with Robbie, even though our paths crossed repeatedly. I was too embarrassed about my gullibility at the time and was worried that Robbie wouldn't have believed me anyhow.
So from that moment on he kind of gave me the cold shoulder. We'd talk to each other, but only as much as we had to. We both ignored what happened and I would watch him pick up several girls in front of me over the years. Did he do that on purpose or couldn't he have cared less? I have no idea.

Still, I guess it was a blessing in disguise. Because I liked him at the time, he liked me...something might have happened between us if it hadn't been for all of this. And let's face it, the guy does not have a particularly good track record when it comes to relationships. So maybe I did get some public humiliation out of it, but at least I was spared the possibility of a messy relationship with a guy who has major personal problems.

So, there you have it. That was one of the most infuriating & embarrassing experiences of my life. Nothing compared to what celebrities go through these days with their own paparazzi hell, but humiliating for me none the less.

So how is Robbie these days anyway? Did I hear he's in rehab again? I hope he'll find his peace, the guy seems to always be looking for 'something' in all the wrong places. Obviously, LA is not really a good place for finding peace & neither is London. Too many hanger-ons & too much temptation. The boy should take a leaf out of my book and spend more time in nature. I think he needs it.

Anyway, I wish him well.....

Take That!

I'm delighted to see that Take That have managed to make such an amazing come-back, because they're just the nicest guys ever. The thing that always impressed me about them was how genuine their interest was in their fans & how much time and energy they put into signing autographs, taking pictures, etc. Whatever it was the fans were asking for.

Most artists that I've met over the years have been very selective in who they were being nice to. So whenever we filmed with them, they would be very friendly to me, the director, the producer & whoever else who seemed 'important'. But Take That were an exception. They would treat everyone equally. They would spent time with and afterwards even remember the name of the person bringing the teas and coffees. And when they came to the studio repeatedly, they would ask after people's sick family members and whatever else they remembered from the conversations they had last time. This was all the kind of stuff that happened behind the camera and something the larger public never got to see, but it's something that really impressed me and always stayed with me.

Their overall attitude also rubbed off Robbie Williams, even when he was in the midst of his 'rebellion'. I remember stumbling out of a Paris hotel after a particularly heavy night with a small group of people that included Robbie Williams & Brian Cannon (The slightly insane photographer of most of the old Oasis album covers and the inspiration for the lyric 'Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball')

Anyway, Brian and I legged it into the car as fast as we could, we did not want to look at and/or talk to anyone. We just wanted to make it through that day without puking or collapsing & I know that Robbie felt as bad as we did. Still, Robbie stopped to talk to each and every fan outside that hotel, with us cursing him and telling him to get his arse in the car or we were going to miss the bloody train (there was a general strike in France that weekend that included all the airports, so we all had to take the Eurostar back to London)

Still, back to Take That. I'm just happy that after all this time they are back. And I love their new track 'Shine' and the video for it, in which Mark Owen looks a bit like the Artfull Dodger. Very cute.

It is kind of bizarre though to think of them as a boyband these days and pictures of them pouting at the camera make me laugh. They just seem to old for that now. Still, if anyone deserves renewed success, they do.

Now, I still need to write down the whole stupid tabloid trap that I walked into back in the Take That days. Where the newspapers branded me as 'The most hated girl in Britain' for allegedly going out with Robbie (which wasn't true). Anyway, it's a long and embarrassing story so I'll have to really sit down for that one.

Bastards!!!!!

I can't believe it, Utube has banned several of my clips. My music videos, my interview on Harald Schmidt, etc.

Why? Because of copyrights? But I'm actually the person in those clips & I personally paid for the making of those music videos (out of my royalties). So whose rights are we talking about here?

And anyway, no one would ever want to use any of these old clips again, so why can't they be posted on Utube for those few people who have an interest in being nostalgic? I mean, come on! It's so bloody greedy, this 'we're just holding on to everything until the end of time with no interest of ever using it' stuff.

I think that after x-amount of years these things should become public property and Utube could be like a public museum. But no...the big guys are not interested in sharing. All they want is money! (Sorry, I'm getting carried away here. But I just get so annoyed with these bloody corporations and their rules and regulations)

Hmmm...I'll have to get creative and find another way to get this stuff back on my blog. So watch this space.....

Sounds of the tropics

We've just come back from San Pedro on Ambegris Caye, one of the Belizean islands. With blue skies, white beaches, dolphins playing off the coast in the afternoons, what more could you possibly wish for? Well...maybe a fully equipped recording studio? But of course, you won't be able to find that on a little Caribbean island like Ambegris Caye? Haha, that's where you're wrong!

Mata Grande Studio has just blown my mind. I'm absolutely in love with it. Not only is it a professional, fully equipped music recording studio, it's actually one of the nicest I have ever seen. All these overpriced London studios are just boring, dingy places in comparison to this. Now, there were no recordings going on whilst we were there, but I've been told that the acoustics are second to none & I can believe that, because it's obvious how much thought has gone into the whole place.

So the set-up with this studio is that the bands or artists recording there get a whole private resort thrown into the deal, with 2 swimming pools, a private beach, etc. And it's totally tucked away (only to be reached by boat) so no one should ever bother them there. Ebbe, one of the owners, totally understands the rock & roll mindset too, proven by the fact that he's buying tons of silly 'boy toys', like radio controlled helicopters, boats and off-road cars for the bands to race with in between takes (this next to the well-stocked beach bar, of course)

As you can see, my little boy Lucas loved being in the studio too.

Anyway, I'm very excited about this new gem of a place here in Belize and I'm sure that I'll be spending a lot more time there in the future.

Play with the changes

4 Hero have done it again, they've released another beauty! 'Play with the changes' is a just a fantastic album. I've always loved these guys. Their music is so diverse and composed so well. If you haven't heard 'Play with the changes' yet, go do it now!

Oh, and just for old time's sake, some classic 4 Hero for you all....

You've come a long way baby!

I've always been a sucker for Drum n Bass. There's nothing like the full body work-out you get when dancing at a good DnB night. When the DJ was really good, I didn't even want to intoxicate myself in any way as it could get in the way of my dancing (you never know how things might 'fall' from time to time, know what I mean?)

Some of the most memorable club nights I have ever attended have been DnB nights, with a vibe that is impossible to explain to anyone who wasn't there. It was a mix of danger, decadence (at a later stage) and explosive devotion from its followers. Instead of putting their hands up in the air, people would throw flames up or just hold up their lighters on the highest setting (DJ Hype told me that on some nights people were even firing guns in the air, although that would have been a bit too much danger and excitement for my liking). The crowd on the dance floor and around the DJ booth would just go insane on some tracks, demanding several 'rewinds' to keep them happy.

The Partyzone was around at the early days of Jungle, which over time became Drum and Bass. I remember interviewing the likes of Goldie, Roni Size, DJ Krust, DJ Hype, Zinc, Fabio, Grooverider, etc. on a regular basis. Now, it took a fair while to get accepted by those in the jungle/ Drum and Bass scene. Many were very anti media and thought that we (James Hyman and I) were just jumping on the bandwagon. So some of my hardest interviews have been with DJ's and producers from that scene. My God some of them were moody. Although none of them ever beat Rebel MC. He was the biggest s**t I've ever had on the show.

Still, like I said, I did love the DnB scene. And the best set I ever watched was by DJ Hype. I can't remember the name of the night, but it was somewhere in Germany. When Hype played the stage was full of other DJ's, producers, etc. Normally people would leave after their set was done, but here they had nowhere else to go, so everyone stayed and watched Hype. And they all just freaked out when they saw him play. The guy is a bloody genius & he mixes with an ease that I have not often seen in anyone else, he even looks slightly bored or disinterested whilst doing it. It's such a turn-on to see such a genius in action. So I did end up have a slight crush on him back then. Not that the guy was particularly good looking, but just because he was so cocky and talented. I never told him or anyone else, though : )

I've always had a soft spot for geniuses. I can't help it. It's just so bloody sexy to see that kind of confidence and skill. Guess that's why I ended up marrying a genius myself (no, not a DJ, but a man with many talents including football, search engine optimizing, other 'nerdy' computer stuff, plus an outlook on life that's genius in itself ; )

Anyway, I'm digressing...back to DnB.


The minute I moved to another kind of jungle (the one here in Central America) I stopped looking at what was happening in the DnB scene. I literally haven't looked back since that November in 2001 when we moved away from London. I still listened to my old DnB music when working out, but that was it. But recently I decided to take a quick peek at what's been happening in that world.

And it's great to see things like DnB TV , to see all the old faces still doing their thing & to see the talent that has emerged since I disappeared from the scene, like Logistics and of course Pendulum. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

Oh, I do miss a good dance now and then.....

My old music videos

It's always a shock to me to see how dodgy my dress sense was back in my 'raving' days. Especially the outfits in 'When love rules the world'. Still, we've all had our moments and I guess it's all part of 'growing up in public' like I did.

Apart from that, I do enjoy looking back at these clips. They bring back so many good memories. Floating on that love heart at the thermal springs in Iceland and cutting my foot open when I jumped off it one day (I was in agony throughout all the dancing scenes, but tried not to show it). And then there was the dancing in that silver flashing kaleidoscope thing in 'Let this feeling' & suffering a short epileptic fit from the strobes. No seriously, I did have a lot of fun doing these videos. For instance, I loved doing the the flying scenes on the Andrew Logan Pegasus sculpture & enjoyed working with my dear friend Matthew Glamorre who directed the 'Let this feeling' video.

Matthew organized some brilliantly bizarre club nights (I guess he still does) & we hang out quite a lot back then. Here are some of my favorite Matthew Glamorre memories:

1. Going to several spiritual sites in England with Matthew and some friends (the Goddess day trip), with Matthew Dressed up as a rainbow for the occasion. We got some funny looks at the motorway restaurants and petrol stations that day ; )

2. Watching men in business suits breakdancing at one of his clubnights

3. Sitting down on the dance floor, playing 'pass the parcel' that same night

4. Matthew's various theme parties in London brothels

5. Andrew Logan's 50th Birthday party, which we all celebrated whilst shooting waterguns at each other

6. Some other strange day trip Matthew had organized where a mix of extravagant dressed-up Londoners loaded themselves into a double-decker bus and went for a picnic in the country side (doing games like the egg & spoon race and the 3-legged race).

Hmmm....I did have a lot of fun with him. Guess I should try and get back in touch & see how he is. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. Enjoy my little moments of pop:

Latest from Toby Amies

He's always been a great presenter, that Toby Amies. I loved him back in the days at MTV & he still cracks me up with this new showreel of his.

And he is one of the only people that I know who can get away with the writing the following sentence in an email:

"I have finally returned from Tasmania full of Antipodean vigour for 2007" (any idea what Antipodean means, anyone?)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the guy is not only funny, but extremely intelligent too.

And I remember him as one of the veejays that were very 'real', if you know what I mean. There was no bullshit with him, he didn't suck up to anyone. What you saw was what you got. A bit like Ray Cokes and Steve Blame. Actually, Kimsy and Enrico were genuine too, as far as I was concerned. Some of the other veejays became too big for their boots after a while. I won't mention names here as many of those affected surely will have come off their high horses since then, so I won't drag them through the dirt.

Still, Toby was one of the ones that I always liked and respected, even if we weren't the closest of buddies at the time. He was the indie kid, I was the little raver...we mixed in different circles.

Have a look at his showreel if you haven't done so already and let us know what you think:

http://www.moneymanagementuk.com/showreel.asp?showreel=Toby%20Amies

My appologies for the blogging silence

Sorry people, but we've just come back from our Aruba trip, which was filled with lots of time on the beach and hanging out with family. No time for music blogging. But I'll make sure I'll catch up a bit in the coming days.

I dug out some old MTV tapes at my mums and will try to digitize them soon. I was looking for my James Brown interview, but sadly enough couldn't find that. I did however found my first ever interview! My show with Tina Turner (what a first interview to have!)

I hope the tapes haven't deteriorated too much over time. I'll let you know soon.

Play me another fat one!

I received a funny email today from a person who is thinking of coming to Belize for a holiday (or vacation, for those of you from the States)

Anyway, he was asking me if I could give him the 'inside track' on who would playing here in Belize over the Valentines day period and which parties or festivals will be on in Belize during that time.

Well, what can I say? No one will be playing here. No one ever does. There are no parties in Belize ever to speak of (as far as I'm concerned)

I mean, there are 'parties' here sometimes, but not the kind of parties you and I would have in mind. The only music that gets played in Belize is Punta (which I hate) and these days (lucky enough) also Reggaeton.

Anyway, if you are expecting any big name DJ to ever play here....forget it! The nearest places to go and party and/or to hear dance music would be Playa Del Carmen or Cancun, Mexico.

Belize is really funny when it comes to music. It must be one of the only places left on earth where people don't know who Madonna is or who the Beatles were (Which is also the reason why more and more celebs decide to spend their free time here) I asked one of our tour guides recently if he had ever heard of Micheal Jackson and he answered 'Yes, I think so. Is he that black dude who looks white and who wears gloves?' He didn't know what his music sounded like, but had seen the child molestation court case on CNN.

Anyway, for me it was bizarre moving from a place and a scene where music was everything to a place where there isn't even a decent radio station. The radio stations here play a random mix of dodgy music, from Reggae to soppy songs from the fifties & US Rap to Country. It's like someone went through the bargain bins and donated all the records that were worth less than 50 cents to the Belize Radio stations. It's a sad state of affairs.

Dance Music (obviously) never made it into Belize and probably never will. Raggeaton is the closest they'll ever come, I think.

Personally I'm too busy being a mum to be going out clubbing these days anyhow. So I'm alright with it for now. I do miss having an occasional dance, but I'll try and get my fix when we come back to Europe this summer. And thanks to James Hyman's 'Rinse' CD's I do have a steady stream of good music to listen to in the car.

So Dan....thanks for your email. I'm sorry it made me laugh, but this 'music thing' is a constant joke amongst us here. Still, you are more than welcome to bring your girlfriend to our quiet jungle lodge & we'd be happy to organize all kinds of adrenalin filled adventures for you. But if you want to check out some cool DJ's on your travels you may want to skip a trip to Belize.

Let me know what you want to do....

The ever elusive Ray

My God, Ray Cokes is crap at updating people on his life. He keeps promising to write something for me to post here, but then nothing comes. Even his MySpace page hasn't had a new posting since July 2006. What's up Ray? Sort it out!

By the way, I can't get that 'tickytacky' song out of my head. You know, that song from the series 'Weeds'? It's actually called 'Little boxes' & I just love it. The lyrics are so funny. If the series 'Weeds' has not been shown in the country that you live in, do check out the soundtracks (series 1 & 2) to that show on Itunes. They are great. And aparently there is a third season coming in 2007.

Some more 'Sound of 2007'

Oh my God, I've just been saying how great MIKA is, but I just had a listen to him on Itunes and that track 'Relax, take it easy' is just horrendous! I don't mind the club mixes, but the radio mix is crap. Still, he's good live. I also like that track from 'Just Jack' (who is also on the Sound of 2007 list). But Itunes only had one track of his though. What else has he done?

Oh, and this whole 'New Rave' thing is just a load of nonsense, isn't it? I really can't see anyone doing any fancy moves to the Klaxons (or am I missing something here?)

Sound of 2007

Flamboyant pop singer-songwriter Mika has been named the best new talent in the BBC's Sound of 2007 music poll.

Check him out on 'Later with Jools Holland' (Jools was our old neighbour back in London, by the way)

This guy is very cool indeed. He has the looks, the voice and the lyrics. Great, great, great! People are comparing him to Scissor Sisters and Freddie Mercury & my little boy Lucas seems to think that he looks like our friend Bart ; )

Have a listen....

What a great way to start 2007!

I received the nicest email the other day. It told me something that I was always quite aware of, but that no one ever told me directly; basically that the Partyzone and MTV in the nineties were so important in uniting young people from all over Europe, the former East Block countries, the Middle East, etc. We brought youth culture to places where it was hard to get it any other way. We educated kids musically, opened their minds and gave them the feeling that they were part of something.

That thought always meant so much to me & I took the role as 'messenger' very seriously. Uniting young people was something I really wanted to do and it was also what attracted to me to the whole dance scene, that whole feeling of all being one. Guess I'm just an old hippy at heart : )

So anyway, I loved getting this email. Check it out:

Hi Simone,

I found your wonderful blog the other day and was so happy seeing some of the old partyzone footage and also finding that you have followed your dream in such a beautiful place like Belize.

I must say I was addicted to PartyZone (in its last 2-3 years of existence because I didn’t have cable before) and sort of lived for those Friday nights. Basically everything that I knew about dance music was due to your work and dedication. And believe me, a 16-year-old boy to have heard about (and listened to) Laurent Garnier, Derrick May, Carl Cox, Moby or Marusha in 1996 in Bucharest, in post-communist Romania, was a rare occurrence.

Now it looks so simple, go on the internet and find whatever you need, but back then, your 2hr show was one of (if not the only) source of information, music and club-culture for all these eastern european countries. You couldn’t buy that kind of music, there were only pirated cassettes from Poland with shitty music and no CDs or vinyls. So I would record cassettes from the TV speaker to keep that music and listen to it again and again.. so, yeah.. it’s fair to say: “Simone, thank you for influencing my life as much as you did as a teenager and for giving me that kind of musical background”. And also James Hyman, I didn’t see him on camera but I remember his name appearing on the credits screen together with a bunch of people (researchers or whatever).

Anyway when the show ended (I remember you being at a snow party somewhere saying “it’s over guys, they’re taking us off the air”) I was pissed on MTV for that and for all those other changes that started to make the channel to what it is now (common and useless hit rotation machine). 10 years later I’m working as a programmer/designer and, thanks to you, involved in the clubbbing scene here with http://www.nights.ro/; you on the other hand gave up all that crazyness for a quiet life in a tropical resort. That change must have been really tough at first, I mean I would freak out to live in a place with less than 2 million people around, but there’s a time when I do think about family and kids and getting away from this fast pace, but I’m still young and I guess I can take some more clubbing for a few years or so. I wish someday I could be lucky and bold enough to take a decision like yours. For the moment, I’ll put Belize on my destination list if I ever decide to take an extended trip like that, it looks fabulous.

I wish you and your family a great 2007, with only good things coming your way!

All the best from light-snowy Bucharest.
Cosmin.

Merry Christmas!

I guess you're all well into the eternal hang-over that is the Christmas season.

Nowadays there are no office parties for me, no frantic shopping sessions, no 'Christmas number 1' nonsense (Thank God, so much crap gets released that time a year) and no Christmas tree.

We're in the middle of construction as we have to finish our new accommodation by the 28th. In the meantime, the resort is full & my babysitter is on holiday.

So what I'm trying to say is that there is little room in my head for music, blogging, etc. I will check in again after Christmas. Have a good one!

I'm having a bit of a Faithless day

Okay, I'll promise to stop going on about Faithless and 'To all new arrivals' after this. But I just love that being a parent has been such a muse to their new music. As a mum, I can totally relate to the lyrics on 'I hope' and the little kid's voice on 'Music matters' melted my heart. So big up to all the mums and dads out there! May we all be so inspired by this, the hardest job on earth. Enjoy your little angels!

Outrageous!!!

After reading up a little on Faithless today I was outraged to discover that MTV banned the video for Bombs when it came out last September. The video shows how war and violent images have become part of our everyday life. It is social commentary at its finest! So why was it banned?

So from being the ones to play Faithless when no one else would, MTV has now become the corporate giant that does not allow people to express their dissatisfaction with things like the war. All I can say is that I am happy that I was part of MTV at a time when it had a social and political conscience.



This video also reminds me of the old Damien Loeb paintings, which were actually the ones he was working on whilst I was staying with him years ago. They depicted pictures of beauty pageants and other cute images in front of explosions and other war scenes . Quite disturbing, but incredibly powerful.

Faithless

Yes, they've done it again. Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz have produced another musical gem with 'To all new arrivals'. It really is a great album & something that is even playable in my serene jungle setting here in Belize (a lot of bands/acts that I used to listen to simply sound 'too urban' and chaotic here)


When Faithless released their first album 'Reverence' no one seemed to be particularly interested in them. I believe their label was even thinking of dropping them at the time (or am I getting confused with Moloko? I'd have to check with James now, I'm not 100% sure anymore)

Anyway, when James Hyman (my old Partyzone producer) and I first heard 'Reverence' we got incredibly excited. This was one of those albums that we phoned each other out of bed for. One of us would occasionally discover a track or an album at 2 or 3 in the morning and would instantly wake up the other as we knew that there weren't many other people who would freak out to the same level as we did about music, so this is something we shared with each other. We would virtually be screaming, jumping up and down and just generally be so excited that would not be able to go back to sleep. Being passionate about what we were doing with the Partyzone doesn't even do it justice, being obsessive about it is more accurate. We lived for this stuff. And we especially lived for 'discovering' gems like Faithless.

So we contacted the label, set up Faithless' first ever TV interview (on the Partyzone of course) and we even supported their first tour! And the rest, as they say, is history...

A few months later they flew James and myself out to Amsterdam to join them at one of their gigs as a 'thank you'.

To this day, my proudest achievement as a Veejay was playing a small part in the breakthrough of new artists to the mainstream. Acts like Faithless, Moloko, Prodigy, Tricky, Goldie, etc.