Chris Holland-Hill meets Gene Loves Jezebel and finds out they're not averse to playing houses of ill-repute

Camden High Street at about eight in the evening. I am approached by a very ill looking chap with black hair that looks as if it's made from brushed nylon strands.

'Er... Scuse me man yer can't lend us any change can yer? I wouldn't ask but, like, Gene Loves Jezebel are playing tonight and, like, I rilly wanna see 'em but, like, I aint got no cash. Man.'

His Johnny Thunders pallor, black garb and buckled boots, tie dye t-shirt and selection of CND badges soften me into shoving a quid into his hands. I wander away muttering to myself about 'the youth of today'. Little did I realise that I had just encountered a new hybrid species of human being. Formerly known as Homo Pseudo Vampirus ('goth' to you) now known as... er... the 'hippy goth'! No more Siouxsie t-shirts and Alien Sex Fiend badges. A sort of early Seventies hippy style of speech is affected, conversations revolving solely around drugs and psychedelia, even through 'drugs' to them means four hemp seeds in a mouldy tissue at home in the bath room; their understanding of psychedelia runs to a scratched copy of The Cults 'Love' l.p. and a very scratched copy of Hendrix's Greatest Hits. But Gene loves Jezebel? I always thought that they were a dance band-cum-Banshee protege. How wrong can you be eh? The band themselves don't think anything of the sort.

James Stevenson, ex-Chelsea and Generation X guitarist cuts in. "I think we're about to transcend that and we're definitely going to in the States because it doesn't apply there. People are really into us as a band there and we have a lot more support anyway. The goth thing just doesn't exist there to the same extent. I mean in Virginia or North Carolina you don't get goth rockers lurking about."

Peter: "It all stemmed from one dodgy NME writer anyway. Er-... what's his name? Mat Snow isn't it?"

The rest of the band nod in cheerful agreement. And they have good reason to be cheerful with their latest l.p., "Discover", going straight into the charts at number thirty two. Not only that but they, or at least Mr. Stevenson, is confident of their impending mega-stardom. A Led Zeppelin for the Eighties or a new Wham!?

James: "Yes. No I really think it's going to be big. That's not just bravado. I've played in a lot of bands but there is something totally original, different and unique about this one. That's why I joined!"

There is certainly a level of commitment from James as the band's last guitarist quit halfway through a tour and James joined, learned the set and gigged with the band in just three days! Some achievement. The band's drummer Chris Bell has remained very quiet. The band think that real progress has been made in the States where, due to the the size of the place, it becomes a lot more difficult to put the band in any one category. In America they're just another British rock band. With funny haircuts may be, but even the yanks have got used to that by now.

Peter: "I think that they're a lot more open than British audiences."

James: "People are so much more interested out there. Also you've got thousands of radio stations which is really good. The radio and T V. here are a joke. Especially Radio 1 and BBC1 because they're run by a load of ex-Sixties hippies. They're still listening to the Beatles, they're just so out of touch."

So will the band appear on Top Of The Pops given the chance?

Chris: "Yes because we're so much more exciting than most of the people who are on there."

James: "It amazes me how a band like the Bangles can get so much coverage. They were on the Tube about three times in one year. Some producer at Channel Four who grew up with that sort of thing heard it and thought 'this is great.'

Chris is still very quiet. What is the man hiding? Time I think to ask questions about this man's past...

Chris: "Well I started off with the Thompson Twins and then I went on to Spear of Destiny. I played with Specimen on their American tour as well. That was funny, a real classic tour."

Aha! so this is his deep dark secret. And all along they were trying to convince me that they weren't a bunch of gothic hippy pseuds!

"No really, they just sacked a drummer and I was out in the States so I played with them. We played in a brothel in Toronto. Toronto is such a seedy place too. It looks very clean with no graffiti or rubbish but there are loads of seedy bars and strippers. It was really funny playing in a brothel because the girls were out in the audience." I stare in disbelief but I'm assured it's true.

So with a dodgy background and a bright future the band can maybe look forward to the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll lifestyle that they would like to become accustomed to (starting to read like something out of The Sun innit) (Yes, your fired -ed). So tell me boys do you have hundreds of women clamouring at your dressing room door just to get a glimpse of you in your nylon Y-fronts?

"Well yes." At this point I must admit that I didn't phrase the question quite like that to them. "They seem to like Jay. I got this this afternoon" he says reading the ending from a multi-coloured letter. It pledges total and undying love which seems quite strange. I only ever met her once for about five minutes!" James sighs and puts down the letter.

Well what can you say? I wish them the best of luck with world domination and hope that I get invited to the victory party. It'll be wild.