Guys thanks for taking the time out to chat with me ahead of your headline slot over at the Pavilion stage tomorrow night. I just wanted to start by saying what a cracking album ‘Saturday Night Sunday Morning’ is (you can read the Uber Rock review by Dom Daley – HERE).

 

Nic Austin: Thanks mate that means a lot.

 

Mat Sargent: Yeah Thanks. We’re really pleased with it, it was about time, and the last one ‘Faster, Cheaper and Better Looking’ was recorded and released ten years ago, especially with the 40^th anniversary of the band being next year.

 

And of course the opening track is called ‘About Time’.

 

Nic: (laughing) Yeah as I was about to say, we thought we’d better slip that one in.

 

Mat: We were actually thinking about calling the album that.

 

There really are some great songs on this new record, how do you feel it all fits in the Chelsea legacy?

 

Nic: I think we just do what we do, you know what I mean? In terms of writing songs and things we just get on with the job in hand and we try and do that as well as we can. In terms of what people think of it…well that’s up to them isn’t it. As long as we’re happy with what we’re doing, that’s what’s really important. Someone who interviewed me earlier asked about what I thought of the punk rock movement now and I was like, well that’s such a broad question, because people listen to your music and they can label things. They can say “oh that’s like 1977” or they can say “oh that sounds new and fresh” and we just do what we do, kicking it out there, and if we’re proud of it then people can make of it what they will.

 

Songwriting wise though I personally think this album just gets better and better the further on you go into the record and from ‘Fuck All’ onwards its some of the best material you have ever released.

 

Mat: You know, I think a lot of people put their strongest songs first on their albums, and we really didn’t want to put any stocking fillers in there.

 

Nic: We simply wanted to write great songs, but you know that is the problem with other bands. You’ll have two or three great songs and the rest is mediocre. We set out to make “an album” and you can’t have shit on it. The things is we are not doing this for fortune, we are doing this for us first and foremost. I mean if money did come no one is going to turn it down, but that’s not the driving force for doing anything with us.

 

Mat: Nah, it’s all about putting out great songs. In fact there were a couple we dropped from eth final track listing. We just didn’t think they were strong enough.

 

One of my favourite songs on the record is ‘Johnny Has No Respect’ which pays tribute to a certain Sex Pistols song. What’s the story behind that track?

 

Nic: Well it was Gene’s thing really.

 

Mat: It was actually going to be called ‘John Has No Respect’ and it was written about a certain politician, but Johnny flowed better in the context of the melody of the song. You are right there is a kind of ‘Pretty Vacant’ undertone to it all, and of course James played with Glen Matlock as well.

 

Funny you should mention James, because I was just going to ask about his input on ‘Saturday Night Sunday Morning’ Some of the riffs sound like trademark Stevenson monsters, I mean ‘Talk About it’ sounds gigantic (laughing)

 

Nic: That wasn’t him actually.

 

Mat: Nah, that one was me and Gene….. and Nic helped with the chorus, (laughing) but he didn’t get a credit for it.

 

Nic: I got stitched up. (laughing)

 

Mat: Like he did on ‘Rocking Horse’ and many others, (laughing) but what comes around goes around and we all kind of adopt one another’s songs. It’s never like “oh that’s James’s song” or whatever, we all adopt each other’s songs and do the best for each other that we can.

 

Nic: You know when people turn around like you’ve just done and say how much you like what we’ve done, we just think “thank God for that” because until you put it out there you never quite know what people will think.

 

I was hoping to be able to buy the album on vinyl this weekend. Are you keeping it back for the Underworld show on the 29^th August?

 

Mat: It’s available to pre-order at the moment, and the Underworld is our release party for the vinyl. It’s coming out on blood red vinyl which is great too. A lot of the collectors will love this, because Chelsea were born in the vinyl era, you know. Everyone’s collected our records on vinyl and the other great thing is that ‘The Alternative’ and ‘Traitors Gate’ are going to be released on vinyl too finally after twenty two years. They were the only two that were never released on vinyl.

 

Talking about the origins of the band and the song ‘Right To Work’, I was only thinking whilst putting these questions together, the world hasn’t changed much in four decades has it.

 

Nic: Not really no. I think it’s got worse possibly. I think that song is actually more poignant than ever in fact. It’s funny isn’t it punk rock was supposed to change everything, and it did to some extent, but unfortunately not always in the right ways. It wasn’t necessarily our fault you understand. It was just that the money got hold of it. It’s very strange because so many things people say to me in life every day would not be possible without what punk rock brought to the table, and unfortunately it wasn’t all good that that happened. I think right now there is a grass roots movement building up again fighting against that, people like the South London Punk Rock Collective you know. There’s all sorts of really good things going on, and when you go to these shows, we did one not so long ago, a charity all dayer in New Cross, the spirit of the people involved was like stepping back in time, but in a good way. It made me realise that a lot of people still have their hearts in the right place. You know for me it’s about the fact you stop and take the time to ask what the hell is going on in this world?” irrespective of the music. That is what the spirit of punk rock is all about. It’s the same with Rebellion, this is great, and this is the biggest thing of its kind in the world today and….

 

Mat: There’s nothing else like this anywhere in the world.

 

Nic: It is a real show of strength Rebellion, for the likes of us it’s like the NUM or something (laughing) we just have to make sure it doesn’t get crushed.

 

Mat given that I’ve seen it for sale this weekend, I have to ask what is like to finally see ‘SEXDRUGS AND HIV on the shelves, or merch table?

 

Mat: Oh well you can imagine after twenty years, it’s a big big relief, but most of all its just great to finally be able to share it with people. It’s such a brilliant piece of music, and I’m not just blowing my own trombone here, and it’s been great to come here to Rebellion and finally give everyone who was a part of it a finished CD you know.

 

So was there anyone you didn’t get you would have loved to have got for the album?

 

Mat: (long silence), umm maybe Keith Moon (laughing) that would have been a good one wouldn’t it. I think that basically everyone who played on the album was brilliant, and it was always done on the availability of the musicians in question. There were a few I contacted who simply couldn’t take part or didn’t want to. So it’s hats off to all the people who did. I think one of my favourites is the Chelsea song on there, ‘Nightmares’ which was on the ‘Traitors Gate’ album. I tried to get as many Chelsea musicians as I could with Derwood from Generation X and James on guitar, Nic did backing vocals and Stuart Soulsby who played on ‘The Alternative’ and ‘Traitors Gate’ played drums, all trying to make it a really good song.

 

I have to ask, will there ever be a volume 2?

 

Mat: (laughing) I think I might need some funding for the next one, plus if it took as long as this one, I’d probably be being wheeled around in a wheelchair.

 

Getting back to Chelsea then, what’s next for you guys?

 

Mat: We have four shows left on this tour. High Wycombe on the 28^th August, Camden on the 29^th and then it’s the Undercover Festival and Skegness, and then we’ve been tending to write some new stuff, because as I’ve mentioned already it’s the 40^th anniversary of the band, and the idea is to put out an album towards the end of the year, possibly September.

 

Nic: We’ll have to see how it goes though, it’s a lot of bloody hard work Mat (laughing)

 

Mat: Plus we do all have our other bands, that’s why James is not here this weekend. He’s off playing with The International Swingers somewhere or other, (laughing) but we have got a bit of time off now, so we have time to get into writing mode.

 

Forty years for you guys and twenty for Rebellion next year, you planning on coming back to make it a double celebration?

 

Nic: I’d like to.

 

Mat: If they’ll have us (laughing) we’ll see what happens after we headline the Pavilion stage tomorrow night (You can read Uber Rock’s review of that performance – HERE).

 

Well, I wish you every success with that show guys, and thanks again for taking the time to talk with me today.

 

Mat and Nic: Thank you.

 

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To pick up your copy of ‘Saturday Night And Sunday Morning’ – CLICK HERE