"...our guitarist hit the chord for our last number. Unbeknown to him, the compere had sidled on stage and, standing next to him he hissed, through broken teeth, "Fuck off, it's bingo."

What was the first record you bought? When, where and why? Where was it the last time you saw it?
It was 'Skweezee Me Pleeze Me' by Slade and I bought it from the long closed, and much missed record shop, Sydney Scarborough under the City Hall, Hull. I haven't seen it for years but I think it's still in one of my record cases so now's a good time to dig it out.

What was the first gig you remember going to?
It was at my school - Bricknell Junior High in Hull. The band were called Dead Fingers Talk and it was in February 1977. They then went to London, recorded an album that was produced by Mick Ronson and tried to ride on the punk/new wave wave. It was watching them as an impressionable 11 year old that made me want to be in a band. Their guitarist, Jeff Parsons, is now a friend.

What was the first band/solo artist you obsessed about?
The Beatles....and I still am....

What was the first gig you played? what was the name of the band and what kind of stuff did you play?
First gig was a bit of an impromptu jam at a friend's house for her birthday. I don't think we had a name and we played a mixture of rock and some covers (Dear Miss Lonely Hearts being one I remember). We carried on until the police came and broke up the party. Apparently they'd had over 30 complaints about the noise. I was 15.

What was the name of the first song you wrote/recorded/released?
First song I wrote was an uplifting number called Deep Depression. First song I recorded was a song about a woman leaving her husband called Don't Look Back and the first song (properly) released was an EP by a band called Cherry Mosaic - a female fronted country rock outfit.

Your first time in a studio?
This would be around 1988 and was Angel Studios in Hull. We recorded 3 tracks and they were engineered and produced by John Rowley of The Red Guitars

Describe your dream band that you'd be part of....
Any band that fuses traditional instruments with loads of synths....a cross between The Stranglers, Be Bop Deluxe and Devo

If you were stranded on a desert island with a record-deck, which three albums would you want with you?
The Raven by The Stranglers, Oranges and Lemons by XTC and Revolver by The Beatles

What is your favourite era/genre of music?
Favourite era is late 70s. I was a teenager during the punk/new wave/powerpop years and this is the music I revert to.....1979 is my favourite year because of the transformation into post punk and the interesting music that developed as a result.

...and your favourite band/artist/album of the last five years?
Favourite band of the last 5 years would be The Decemberists. Although I've liked them for a lot longer their body of work continues to interest and excite me. Live they are excellent. It's the only gig I've been to where the audience had to participate in being swallowed by a whale.

Best gig/worst gig you've ever been to?
Best gig is The Clash at Brid Spa in 1981.
Worst gig (in terms of name bands) is an early New Order who played at The Tower in Hull in early 1982. They played for about 40 mins then reappeared for an encore that they were clearly making up as they went along. Dreadful.

Who do you regret never seeing live?
Obviously The Beatles but they'd finished touring not long after I was born. I had tickets to see Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Cure in October 1979 but I got the dates mixed up and took a girl to Hull Fair instead. I missed the gig and I've still never seen either band. Bad mistake.

Have you ever met one of your musical heroes? did they live up to expectations?
I've met some of them very briefly although the best was Ian McNabb. He came to my house and did a gig for my family and friends. He was great fun and excellent entertainment. At one point he sang Sweet Caroline to my mum in the kitchen even though she had no idea who he was. A top night and a top man.

Which artists/labels have you collected over the years, if any?
Quite a few....The Beatles, The Stranglers, Ian McNabb, The Icicle Works, The Lilac Time

Beatles or The Stones or Dylan or Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin? (or none of the above?) why?
The Beatles are my favourite band. My kids say I'm obsessed. I wouldn't go that far....by I'm getting there. In such a short period of time they produced a canon of work that will never be bettered and still released stand alone singes and, up to 1966 at least, extensively toured. Just phenomenal.

What is the most embarrassing record in your collection? why is it still there?
I can't think of anything I have that is that embarrassing. If I have I've probably erased it from my memory bank. Maybe 'Ullo John Got New Motor' by Alexei Sayle. It's a shaped picture disk. I don't know what possessed me to buy it.

Is there anyone whose music is seriously 'out there' who you're into?
Mmmmm....not really. I do like a good melody and structure. The most 'out there' music I like is the track 'The Meninblack' off The Raven by The Stranglers. It's seriously weird. My kids used to ask me to turn it off as it frightened them. Also the album Flowers Of Romance by PiL. It's almost unlistenable in parts but it still keeps drawing me back in.

Which do you prefer - on-stage or in the studio? and why?
This really depends. I love the art of being in a studio and creating new music but I also like the thrill of being on stage and presenting them to an unsuspecting world. The buzz you get from an appreciative audience is second to none.

Tell us one of your 'life on the road' stories...
Years ago I started to play in a covers band to earn some extra cash. We had an audition for an agent in Hull at a working mens' club. We were told when the bingo slots were and that we had to be off stage by a certain time. We had played 3 songs and our guitarist hit the chord for our last number. Unbeknown to him the compere had sidled on stage and, standing next to him he hissed, through broken teeth, "Fuck off. It's bingo."

Describe your current/typical recording set-up (where and what)
We have a digital recording set up which we hook up to a computer to expand the number of tracks at our disposal. Between us we have a wide variety of guitars, basses, keyboards, percussion etc and we tend to build up the track that way. Mostly we master the tracks ourselves but sometimes we utilise an outside producer if we need particular help on something.

If you could go back and re-record something, what would it be and why?
I've got some pretty dodgy cassette tapes of an 80s band I was in. We had some decent ideas though. I'd love to record some of the songs we used to do - especially now we know how to play our instruments! We also recorded an obscure Monkees track called The Poster which featured on 'Listen To The Bands'. Regrettably we only made the digital release. I would have liked to have done that a little less 'poppy'.

Is there anything in the 'archives' that hasn't seen the light of day, but might one day?
There are a few Gold Needles demos knocking about that will get recorded properly at some point. And we have some 60s covers that we've recorded mainly as a bit of fun to keep our hand in recording wise. We've also done a version of 'Counting The Days' by The Sound that is going to be released on a tribute album on TBM at the end of the year.

What track, or album, that you've recorded are you most proud of?
We've just released our new album, PEARLS, and it contains a really eclectic set of songs. I'm really proud of that.

What are your recording/release/gig plans for the next six months?
We've just started work on a prog epic called 'Pigs Might Fly' that we have all written different sections for. At the minute we are trying to piece the sections together to form a coherent song. Gigs wise we are playing at The Cavern in May as part of the IPO Festival, we are doing an acoustic set at the 16th Dream of Dr Sardonicus Festival in August and we are promoting, and appearing at, 3 gigs in Hull - Duncan Reid and The Big Heads (June), The Darling Buds (September) and Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies (October).
It's shaping up to be a busy year!