The 20th century boy and the cashier... an interview with Sigue Sigue Sputniks Martin Degville

Questions supplied by superfan Elliot Ashton.

"That'll be £13.50" I said, "And would you like a bag with that? Remember no returns on the knickers"

Oh yes, the life of an M&S lingerie worker was all glam...  A pair of stretchy grandma pants here, some tan popsocks here... Oh yes, pure glam....

I rested my head in my hands... you know I was going to be a rock star, a rich a famous rock star… or at least married to a rock star... Any one of Sigue Sigue Sputnik would be fine... Oh yes, those boys could dress and make music like no one else... With hits like Love Missile F1 -11, 20th Century Boy and Sex Bomb Boogie, they were my idols and I had everything they had ever done.

I was busily day dreaming about singing on stage with back-combed, outrageously coloured hair, belting out new wave hits to a full stadium... All eyes on me... All the while doodling Mrs M Degville on my receipt roll, I couldn't bare the thought of measuring up any more miserable old ladies for a girdle today... Honestly, I would have stayed in college if I knew it was this bad.  If just one exciting thing could happen today then it would make all this worth it... But what did happen next is beyond anything I could have hoped for...

I sighed as I saw a pair of fishnet stockings being push toward me on my counter... That was a little more like it... Without looking up I asked "Lovely choice, would you like a suspender belt to go with this madam?"

I heard a laugh... What was so funny?..I looked up... Oh my god, now I realised what was so funny... These tights weren't meant to be worn on the legs and this was certainly no madam!

Buying the stockings was none other than the lead singer of Sigue Sigue Sputnik Martin Degville... 

"Um... I...I..." I stuttered.

I nervously took the cash for the stockings and placed them in a bag... Handing Martin his receipt I heard yet another snicker... OH MY GOD!... I'd given him the receipt that I had doodled on... I blushed even more and smiled... Then I started garbling... "Oh Martin, I'm sorry I am a huge fan... a huge, huge fan... I've followed you forever..." I realised it was now or never... I had given up college... I had given up my driving lessons... But I wasn't going to give up on this one, I asked "Could I just ask you a few questions? My break is starting right now... We could go to the coffee shop... I promise it won't be long..." 

And to my utter surprise he said yes. 

We made our way to the lift, the coffee shop was on the top floor, but I couldn't wait...

When you first formed the band did you feel at the time it was something special and 'soon the whole world will know my name'?

"YES, I WAS BORN TO BE GLAMOROUS- I ALWAYZ KNEW SOMETHING SPECIAL WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO ME AND FORMING THE BAND WAS A DREAM COME TRUE- IT WAS A DESIRE TO CREATE SOMETHING COOL AND WILD AND TOTALLY OUT THERE BUT I WOULD SAY BE CAREFUL FOR WHAT YOU WISH FOR AS IT NEVER TURNS OUT THE WAY YOU WANT"

I looked at my uniform... He'd got that right! I thought... I pressed the lift button, it made the familiar whirring sound of the life descending to meet us.

You were probably the first band to ever sample films and classical music, at what point did you realise you were pioneering something that would change music for ever?

"WELL THE MUSIC WAS INFLUENCED BY MANY FILMS, MY FAVE BEING BLADE RUNNER AND MAD MAX BUT MOST OF ALL CLOCKWORK ORANGE. MOS INFLUENTIAL WERE THE ADDS IN-BETWEEN EACH TRACK FROM THE ALBUM FLAUNT IT. THAT WAS QUITE REVOLUTIONARY"

You introduced a generation to blade runner, a clockwork orange, terminator and made rocky 4 cooler than it should have been... Any films that didn't make the cut?

"YES -SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER"

I giggled, suddenly 'Ding' the lift was here, we got in and I pressed the button to take us up to the top floor... I also pressed Martin for more answers...

The fashion was there even before the music, did that evolve or was it first on Tonys 'things to do list'?

"NO MYSELF AND YANA YA YA STYLED AND CREATED THE IMAGE FOR THE BAND BUT IT ALSO BECOME A PERSONAL LOOK FOR EACH MEMBER TO DEVELOP THIS INTO THIER OWN UNIQUE STYLE- IT WAS COPIED BY MANY PEOPLE- ITS IMPORTANT TO REMAIN INDIVIDUAL"

Isn't it just I thought as two women dressed identically to me got in the lift with us... Oh why wasn't I dressed cool?... Mind you, that inspired my next question...

What do you think of Lady Gaga... Do you think "Been there, done that"?

"SHE'S SHOCKING BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I WAS WAY BACK THEN- I COULDN'T EVEN WALK DOWN THE STREET WITHOUT BEING SPAT ON OR ATTACKED- THINGS ARE VERY DIFFERENT NOW WITH SOICIAL MEDIA AND THE FACT THAT TO BE OUTRAGEOUS IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE"

Now you've  used some very innovative marketing in your time, which was your favourite?
"I THINK THE 21ST CENTURY BOY VIDEO SHOOT WITH THE UPSIDE DOWN CROSS WITH ME NAILED TO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST SHOCKING AND SUBVERSIVE BUT THE CAMPAIGN WAS SCRAPPED BY EMI DUE TO ITS OFFENDING NATURE- THE SOUND AND IMAGE WAS ENOUGH TO MARKET A VERY NEW BAND USING COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS TO CREATE A NEW ROCK N ROLL SOUND GEARED TO THE FUTURE"

Was the 'bottle throwing' incident the beginning of the end or did it help your image?

"THAT WAS A DISASTER ITSELF AND SO THE SPUTNIK ENIGMA STARTED TO FALL TO EARTH- I HATE VIOLENCE OF ANY KIND AND THE PRESS RAN WILD WITH THE STORY WHICH WAS MOSTLY UNTRUE OF THE EVENT THAT HAPPENED"

The lift stopped and we all shuffled out... Oh crap, I thought... there was my boss... I hid my face and hoped that hse had missed me... Actually...

Did Tony [James] run the show? Or just do the talking? With him and Janet street porter around it must have been hard to get a word in!?

"TONY AND MAGENTA DIVINE OF COURSE CAME ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL IDEAS FOR THE BAND BUT THIS CHANGED AS MYSELF AND NEAL JOINED- I CREATED THE MUSIC AND MELODIES WITH NEAL AND THEY CONSTRUCTED THE MARKETING OF THE BAND"

We got to the cafe and ordered our coffees at the self service desk, the place was pleasingly quiet... we paid, collected our coffee and sat at a table by the window.

Love missile f1-11 is the best video ever made, that's a fact not a question! - Sorry How long did it take to make? 
"LOVE MISSILE TOOK 4 DAYS TO FILM AT A VERY HIGH COST AT THAT TIME-WE WANTED IT TO LOOK LIKE A TRAILER FROM A SCI - FI MOVIE NOT JUST A BAND ON STAGE"

when you closed the fan club, you refunded everyone's money, plus the interest, and sent them an exclusive 12" vinyl record..that's very generous for a band that used slogans such as 'ultra violence' and 'fleece the world' 
"WELL THAT SHOWS THAT WE CARED ABOUT OUR FANS- THE SLOGANS WERE ABOUT OTHER ISSUES THAT WERE REFLECTED IN OUR SONGS"

how did the all female roadies come about?

 "I CHOSE THEM FOR THEIR LOOKS AND ATTITUDE AND LOYALTY- THERE WAS NEVER A FEMALE ROAD CREW THAT LOOKED LIKE MOVIE STARS UNTIL WE CREATED THEM"

Can I have a clockwork orange t shirt please? My two wore out in the mid 90's

"LOL SOS BUT DONT HAVE ANY ARCHIVE TEES LEFT- I DONT HAVE ONE MYSELF"

Whose idea was the frightmask? It's still a very original image even 28 years later!

"YES I HAD A BAD HAIR DAY AND PULLED A FISHNET OVER MY HEAD AND PULLED ALL MY HAIR THRU COS I WAS BORED WITH IT- I THEN APPLIED EXTENSIONS AND HEY PRESTO THE LOOK WAS CREATED- ITS STILL A SECRET HOW ITS FINNISHED LOL"

So, it's not all your own hair?

"NO I USE GOAT HAIR FOR MY EXTENSIONS"

I wondered what that would look like....

And whose idea was the 'star whores' t shirt?

"THAT WAS TONY- TAKEN FROM THE STAR WARS LOGO- WE ALWAYS PLAGIARISED FROM EVERYONE- JUST LIKE MALCOM MC LAREN DID"

Looking back, what was the high and low point ?

"FOR ME IT WAS HAVING SUCH A GREAT TIME RECORDING/ TOURING/ WORKING WITH GEORGIO MORODER AND PLAYING AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL- THE LOW POINT WAS THE SPLIT WITH BAND MEMBERS / THE DEMISE OF THE BAND AND NO RECOGNITION OF WHAT WE TRIED TO CREATE IN A NEW BRAVE WORLD OF MUSIC"

Sputnik has continued in one form or another after all these years, do you still stand fo the same things or has your direction changed?- after all, you 'invented the future' and lived through it.

"I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED ELECTRONIC MUSIC WITH THE COMBINATION OF EDDIE CHOCHRAN GUITAR TRASHED IN AND DUB VOCALS ADDED- I ALSO LIKE THE BIG BEAT THAT FLOWED WITH IT- YES I STILL DO THE SAME KINDA THING BUT WITH BETTER SOUNDS AND GROOVES- I LIKE TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY WITH MY MUSIC"

Who are your influences? Both fashion and music?

"BOWIE/MARC BOLAN/ ELVIS/FRANK SINATRA/ROCKABILLY/SOUL/50'S GIRL BANDS/ ANYTHING REALLY THAT CATCHES MY ATTENTION"

And if you could do it all again, would you change anything? 

"YES I WOULD HAVE USED DAVID BOWIE TO PRODUCE OUR ALBUMS"

We sipped our coffee cups, it had been a fabulous chat, I could stay here all day I thought... What was next? Oh yes... A question that I had always longed to ask...

So, Martin, did you ever wear your 'costumes' just down to the shops?

 "ALWAYS! WHY GO OUT AND LOOK DRAB? LIFE IS BAD ENUFF AS IT IS LOL"

I laughed hard, I was having the time of my life... Nothing could spoil this moment... Nothing could ruin this, my greatest day... Nothing could.... Nothing... Oh crap something could... There standing in the entrance to the cafe was my boss, tapping her stilettoed foot and glaring at me...

"It wasn't your break was it?" Martin guessed... 

Oh well, I thought, now I would have all the time in the world... Maybe I'll even try being that rock star? 

For more information on Martin and Sigue Sigue Sputnik go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik
or visit their website at http://www.sputnikworld.com/

The young man behind the old mask - An interview with 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' star, John Dugan.

"Pam! I shouted... Pam, where the hell are you?!" 

She been gone for an hour now, our car had broken down on the way to a party and she went to ask for directions at this house we'd passed along the way... It looked creepy, but she wasn't scared, not like me... I didn't want to go there so I opted to stay with the car... With the radio on full blast, praying that someone would pass and give me a hand... Anything not to have to go to that weird looking house... But now, here I was, making my way there... Pam and I had been friends for too long for me to leave her, although admittedly it had crossed my mind.                                                                                                                                                                I walked through the gate, There was something sticky on it, I wiped it on my trousers, probably oil, I thought, damn these were new jeans....

I tentatively stepped onto the old porch and knocked on the door... I could here laughing inside, my heart raced, I wanted to tuen and run, but I thought of Pam... I heard foot steps and a male voice proclaiming "I'll get it"... And then the door handle turned and my heart felt like it would explode in my chest... The door jarred and who ever was behind it started struggling to open it... This was my chance I thought, but no... I must stay and find my friend...

The laughter continued inside the house and the man struggled with the door, I couldn't distinguish male from female and certainly couldn't pick out Pam... 

Tears of utter fear welled up in my eyes as the door suddenly broke free of its jam and sprang open... I looked up at the figure... Oh god I thought, was this the end?

I looked up, closed my eyes for a second and looked again... Oh my god... Oh my freakin' god... This was no slacked jawed yokel, ready to chop me up... 


This man in front of me, of whom I was so terrified, was none other than John Dugan, star of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre... And behind him laughing and joking was Pam and others... "Sorry!" Called Pam "did I worry you? I was having such a great time, come in and chat!"  


John Dugan (born 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) as Grandpa Sawyer. He also did a cameo as a police man at the end of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). [Wikipeadia] 


 John passed me a beer and we started chatting... Well I started asking questions...

Now, you were only a kid when you played the old man...     you were actually younger than your on screen 'grandson'

"I was the youngest cast member, at 20 years of age, playing the oldest

cast member."

I heard that after getting into the old-age makeup, you decided that he did not ever want to go through the process again, meaning that all the scenes with him had to be filmed in the same session before he could take the makeup off. Exactly how bad was it?

"Firstly, they only had two sets of the make-up prosthetics, and I shot for two days. It was extremely uncomfortable. The summer Texas heat plus the added heat of all the lights and the lack of ventilation made it damned near unbearable. 

I would actually be afraid to attempt the same thing at my age now, for fear of heat stroke."

... and on top of that, you were in make up for five hours!?

"Actually, the first time it took seven hours, and the second time they got it down to five hours to apply."  

Did you ever think you would pass out? 

"I never really thought I was going to pass out at any point during shooting, I  was in great shape being 20 years old."  

You filmed for 36 hours straight, how many breaks did you take?

"There were a lot of setups, so we took breaks often.  However, I couldn't  remove the makeup.  

Did you manage to get any sleep in all that time? 

I did not sleep at all during that time, but I could get into a meditative sleep and kind of "zone out" if I needed to."

We both suddenly became aware of a faint wurring sound, like a food mixer... Time for Magarita's maybe? 

The film was shot in chronological order, apart from your part, did the rest of the cast mind?

"I didn't realize that the film was shot in chronological order, and films are  rarely shot that way.  I don't believe anyone minded but you would have to ask them to be certain." 

How was Tobe Hooper to work for? How did he feel after 36 hours?

"Tobe was great!  Tobe knew what he wanted and he was very focused to get what he wanted out of us. And after 36 hours, he probably could have gone another 36."

But Edwin Neal, who played the Hitchhiker, said that making the film was more miserable than his service in Vietnam and said that he might kill director Tobe Hooper if he ever saw him again.... How do you feel about him?

"I was angry for years about not having been asked to do any subsequent films, but at this point in time I would be very happy to see him." 

That's nice, I thought...

The script was entitled "Leatherface." At various points before the film's  release, the title was switched to  "Stalking Leatherface", "Head Cheese" and  finally "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", which is the title you prefer? 

"Head Cheese, absolutely, because that was the title page of my script."

I heard that a family was actually living in the house that served as the Sawyer family house.Was it true that they rented out their house to the film crew and continued to stay there during the entire shoot? Is this true, what were they like? How did they react to you guys? 

"No, I don't think they stayed.  I remember meeting some of them briefly, they were kind of an extended hippie family living a communal life. I remember there were pot plants growing the back yard.  They seemed fine having us there."  

 ... And during filming, the crew discovered that one of the residents had been cultivating a marijuana field; fearful that production would be shut down if they were found near the  plants, the filmmakers called the Sheriff, who never arrived to investigate.

"I was fully aware of the marijuana plants there.  I know nothing of the sheriff being called at the time."

I also heard that the human skeleton in the house at the end of the movie was a real human skeleton.

"Yes I was aware that most of the bones on set were human remains and that they were from India.  We were all aware of that."  

During the dinner scene towards the end of the film, you have to repeatedly use a mallet to smash Sally's head in. I know it didn't show an actually contact, but did you use a real mallet?

"The mallet wasn't real but the handle was, and there was an incident where I accidentally cut her scalp with the handle." 

OOOh... was she ok?

"Marilyn was fine, just a small nick with a touch of blood"

And is it true that they actually had to cut Marilyn Burns finger as the prop wouldn't work? Did you suck her actual blood then?

"Yes apparently I did, but I was not made aware of this fact until last year at a convention in Atlanta."

There was that noise again, but no Magarita's... ahh... It didn't matter, I was enjoying that chat and the ice cold beer. 

Some urban legends say that the the "real" Texas Chainsaw Massacre took place near Poth, do you know the truth? Or the supposed truth?

"Yes, I do know the truth."  

Which is...?

"The true story behind the killings is that it is complete fiction..."

Since the film's original release, the location used as the Sawyer family  house has changed completely. It's now an open field, with no indication there had ever been a house there... Have you ever revisited?

"No, but I will be visiting at the end of the summer with the remaining cast for a reunion event."

So, how often do you see the rest of the cast?

"I probably see everyone about once a year, but not always at the same time." 

The film's distributors Bryantson Pictures were allegedly discovered to have Mafia connections, that must have been a surprising discovery... Or were there any hints? 

"The distribution process came after we finished filming and we had no part in any of it.  I didn't find out until years later about the apparent connections."  

According to John Larroquette, his payment for doing the opening narration was a marijuana joint. Did you get a whole bag?! Seriously though, on such a small budget, What did you get paid?

"Suffice it to say, not enough."

How do you think the other films stand up again the original? 

"I haven't seen all of them, but from what I have seen the original is by far the best."

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ranks at #1 in Slant Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Horror 

Movies of all time. What's your number 1 film? Horror or otherwise? 

"I don't really have a "favorite movie."  I love all genres of movies and it would be impossible to pick just one." 

Would you like to work within other genres, or stick to horror? 

"I'm an actor, I will do anything."

But why predominantly horror?

"Because that's what I get asked to do."

So, lastly...  if they were real, what do you think the Sawyer family would be doing today?

"Probably they would own their own meat market.  Hehe..."

I finished my beer, it had been great, but we were still late for the party, I looked around for Pam, had she already called the breakdown service? I thought... But she was not there... No one was there... I looked at John, he looked as scared as me... Those noises were getting louder... That was no food mixer... We ran to the door... Shit, it had jammed again... 

"Pull! pull!" I screamed at John... Finally the door broke free... But not before we had caught a glimpse of what was following us... It was leather face himself, brandishing a chainsaw in on hand and Pam's head in the other... 

We ran out onto the road... this was the part of the movie when a truck was meant to come passed and save us... But there was was no bloody truck... John and I panicked and ran off into the fields with the roaring sound of a chainsaw behind us and I knew for certain that I was never going to make that party....

For more info on John go to: 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0240811/ 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dugan 

We need you for an interview... An interview with the Psycho from Stripes Conrad Dunn

I walked in nervously, was I really going to do it? I didn't really have a choice, my mom had chucked me out, I had no money for gas or food... and I was down to my last half Zagnut... I just had to...

I walked up to the desk "I wanna sign up" I said in a quiet voice...
"You what boy?" Came the booming voice from the man sitting, starring at me from behind the desk... He looked mean... He looked like he'd seen some action and that scar on his neck was from no tattoo...

"I want to sign up to the army"

"You want to sign up do you boy... Tell me..." He leant closer "Do you have the balls?"

"I... I... I... " I stuttered... 

"Ahh, leave him alone" Came a voice I recognised, I looked behind me, oh my god it was... It was Stripes star, Conrad Dunn!

Conrad Dunn (born Los Angeles) is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in Stripes (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in Days of our Lives as Nick Corelli, a misogynistic pimp who evolved from bad guy to romantic lead. He returned to the name Conrad Dunn and began working extensively in Canadian as well as U.S. film and television. He excels as a villain, and has found depth in such TV films as We the Jury (1996) and the miniseries The Last Don (1997–1998). For two seasons he portrayed the superlatively competent freelance detective Saul Panzer in the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002). [Wikipedia] 

What a gent, I thought and followed him to an empty table by the exit... If anyone could tell me  the best reasons to join the army it would be him, so I asked him about his career and what has to be my favourite army movie... Who needs Platoon when you've got Stripes.... eh?!

Ok, I have to ask about Harold Ramis, I recently interviewed the lovely Dana Barron who raved about Ramis as a director, but what was he like to act alongside?
"Had little interaction and few scenes with Harold Ramis. Seemed nice enough."

And  Ivan Reitman?

"Had even less interaction with Ivan Reitman. There were a num

ber of actors from second city backgrounds and they made up a kind of inner circle that huddled and came up with bits not in the script. [I] was as not in that group."

How did you get the part?

"Auditioned in New York, as was there studying with Stella Adler. Actually was flown to LA to read for Murray's role, but luckily Murray decided to do the part."

Did you know that Francis is Norman Bates' middle name?

"This is the first I've heard there was any connection between Francis and Norman Bates. Had heard character based on someone Murray knew."

Now Psycho was very intense, how did you get into character? 

"Psycho" just a very well written part. I just played what was on the page."

With a cast as great as it was Ramis, Murray, Reinhold, Candy and all... You must have some great stories? What were they all like? Did anyone stand out?

"Candy did a very nice thing, having actors in platoon over for a spaghetti dinner his wife made for us. Also Murray had the studio ship out a copy of " Boeffer's Gun" for us to all watch as a bonding experience. Really nice sentiment, although it was an odd choice. Military story, to be sure, but extremely dark."

Did you do any training to get into the role?

"Only training we had was for the rifle drill routine, which we spent many hours to perfect. The people in the stands were locals from around Ft. Knox, which is where it was shot, and they thought we were actual soldiers doing the routine, which was very gratifying."

And what was your favourite line?

"My favorite line was "all I know is I finally get to kill someone""

Ok... So how fun was it watching the mud wrestling? How much of the guys cheering was real? 

"Not surprisingly the only visit to the set by friends of the cast from SNL and SCTV came on the days we shot the mud wrestling scene. They all happened to be male. Nothing like a bevy of bare breasted cocktail waitresses to get the boys to show up."

I could imagine...

I hear that, apart from Candy, you were the only one to know the lyrics to 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy', how quick did the others pick it up?

"Murray  and Ramis were certainly old enough to remember the song "doo wah diddy", if they somehow didn't know lyrics was probably that they didn't like it, and always changed channels when it came on back in the day. Thankfully lyrics incredibly simple and repetitive, so it was easy to teach to the younger members of platoon, who were too young to remember it."

John Larroquette admitted that he was drunk during most of the filming... Did you notice?

"For some reason when first arrived at hotel in Kentucky where cast was staying, only other person there was john Larouqette. By default we had dinner together, and remember it all these years later as cordial and uneventful. Do remember we were at  hotel the night john Lennon was killed , and john was extremely upset.

My only other recollection of him was a production of "End Game" that he and john Deil did in LA. Kit was very good."

So you've done all kinds of acting from Soaps to film, how do you feel that soap opera acting is different to film? 

"Soap opera acting shouldn't be any different than film, but the demands of turning out a full script a day, as compared to a handful of pages on a film, make the soap experience much more of a grind. The fact that you're always having to struggle just  to get on top of so much material, makes it a harder and less desirable situation. Unless you've done it, hard to appreciate the demands."

"So boy" came a sudden shout from the other side of the room disturbing our chat... "Are you gonna' join or not?"

"Erm... " I thought to myself... The army could never be as fun as it seemed on screen, so I replied... "No... Not today...I think I have another vocation in mind..." And, saying good bye and thanks to Conrad, I made a sharp exit from the office. After breathing a sigh of relief at my lucky escape, I got out my phone and started to dial... 555 LEARN TO ACT... Yes, that was more like it... Treading the boards would be much more me than storming the beaches anyday...