Lean, Mean and Obscene

I’m shocked. 

The Jezebel twins, J and Mike Aston sit before me in some cluttered Sloane Square office, and I’m shocked. Their fragile, press profile dissolves like microwaved ice, and the two tousled, extrovert individuals reflect nothing of the precious preconceptions about their band which have stifled them for so long. 

Gene Loves Jezebel are recently home from an exhausting US tour, during which they were confronted with bigoted abuse from New Order and Echo And The Bunnymen (both billed on the same tour). I had heard that it was something to do with the huge ratio of rabid GLJ groupies! 

J: “Yeah, something like that. The other bands just found it a bit strange that’s all. 

Mike: “It’s a kind of phenomenon to them.” 

J: “New Order enjoyed the tour, but I don’t think Mac did at all.” 

Mike: “It was OK towards the end.” 

J: “Everyone was OK except Mac. He was a bit of a pain in the arse. Mike liked him though.” 

Mike: “In the beginning, but he was OK. He’s fragile, y’know?” 

It seems like a really odd package of bands to go out and tour together. 

“Yeah, it was. But it worked surprisingly well,” says J. “We were special guests, so we were opening every night, which was hard going for us. But we learned a lot.” 

“We played places that none of us could’ve played on our own,” explains Mike. “We were doing arenas and stuff, but the few thousand that each band drew made it work.” 

“It was short and sweet, what more can I say?” 

Tell me about the women. I believe you had some real psychopaths running around after you. 

J: “Yeah. It’s kind of flattering for a while, but it gets quite heavy. Sometimes it’s really scary.” 

Mike: “But…you never go to bed alone. There’s always someone to keep you warm.” 

J: “The Jezebels always have time for a lean, clean, obscene woman. 

BUT, THERE’S no rest for the wicked. On returning from their Stateside jaunt, GLJ barely had time to retouch their lip gloss before embarking upon an extensive European and UK tour which wound up in London last week. 

Moonlighting (arguably the most fashionable detective show on television) is featuring their songs, meanwhile GLJ are all set to release their first CD single ’Gorgeous’ this week, which will follow their Top 60 hit, ‘Motion Of Love’. 

“We had our highest chart position ever with ‘Motion Of Love’,” says Mike. “It actually got to number 56.” 

Do you think you’re finally finding some sort of stable foothold within the slippery UK rock jungle? 

J: “I dunno really. You just make a record. It’s a good record, and hopefully people will pick up on it…” 

Mike: “And if Radio 1 play it, it’ll be a hit. If they don’t, it won’t.” 

J: “Most bands are morons surrounded by artist. Gene Loves Jezebel are artist surrounded by morons.” 

‘Motion Of Love’ was the first single culled from GLJ’s fourth album ‘House Of Dolls’, an erotic, beautifully structured opus which introduces a pointed songsmithing style alien to the Jezebels’ previous endeavours. I wonder if their marked impression on America over the last couple of years is inflicting any commercial pressure on the band? 

“The reverse is true,” announces J. “Our success has given us a release. The pressure’s not as strong now.” 

“We sell enough records to be able to create what we create,” adds Mike. “It’s just coincidental that this record deals in three and four minute pop songs.” 

J: “We took eight months off to write ‘House Of Dolls’, which was a real luxury. The ‘Discover’ album was done all over the place in all sorts of mitigating circumstances. It was a real nightmare.” 

Mike: “But we learnt, and by the grace of Beggars Banquet, we got away with it.” 

So, is ‘House Of Dolls’ the big one? 

“It should be by rights,” asserts Mike. “It’s a great album. It’s physical, it’s vibrant – it deserves to be played and heard. But if nobody buys it, it doesn’t matter cos’ we’re still gonna make another one.” 

OK, persuade the suspicious UK consumer to purchase “House Of Dolls’ rather than, say, ‘Lindy’s Party”. 

Mike: “What’s ‘Lindy’s Party’? 

The Bolshoi’s album. 

Mike: “Well…we’ve got more hair than them. Aaaaaagh, no. Just kidding. God, they’ll hate us for that.” 

J: “I think people should buy both records. It’s only a few packets of cigarettes difference isn’t it?” 

Mike: “We play an entirely different style of music to any other band. That’s a good reason. We’ve got great songs; songs of intelligence, beauty, sensuality, and that’s just the B-sides!” 

Do you ever feel that you have been victimised by the dictates of British fashion? 

Mike: “Yeah. There’s like this big macho kinda thing. All the guys dress up like bandits don’t’ they?” 

“Someone has to be a flagship I suppose. And we’re become one in a sense,” sighs J. “We’ve stayed together doing what we do, when a lot of other groups have split or changed under pressure.” 

It’s unusual to see a rock band who haven’t abandoned everything they’ve ever done, slung leather jackets over their shoulders, grown beards and kicked out a naff heavy metal record this year. 

J: “Very naff.” 

“Those bands just can’t compete with the Aerosmiths and Zeppelins of this world. I don’t see why anybody would want to possess a Cult record,” whispers Mike. 

“God, I never slag people off, or at least I try not to. But it’s so easy sometimes. I wish I was a journalist… Give us a job!” 

Gene Loves Jezebel have been through more line-up shuffles than a Vegas deck, but they explain that away as the establishment of ‘real chemistry’, now maintained with guitarist James Stevenson, bass player Pete Rizzo and drummer Chris Bell. However, I wonder if as singers both twin brothers J and Mike suffer an ego problem? 

J: “As brothers, we’re very, very, very close. 

Mike: “It’s tough working together. We don’t have fisticuffs, but we do go walkabout occasionally.” 

What about your encounter with Prince? I’m told he’s a big fan of yours. 

“Well, I was just wandering around one day, and I tripped over him,” laughs Mike. 

“He’s supposed to be a big fan of our music, but he just said hello to us,” shrugs J. “Maybe he’s told the rest of the world a lot more.” 

He certainly has.

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