TH’s interview via ctbureau.co.uk - love it, Terry is me hero, period.

Terry Hall’s singing and song-writing — a potent mix of laconic humour, cynicism and sharply observed social comment — have made him one of the most unique frontmen in British music. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s he helped to spearhead the hugely popular ska revival as lead vocalist with The Specials, whose hard-hitting mix of ska, roots reggae, punk and rock scored a run of seven straight Top Ten singles, including such classics as Gangsters, Too Much, Too Young and Ghost Town. Hall left The Specials at the height of their fame to form Fun Boy Three, ushering in a musical eclecticism seldom heard in the pop charts and on mainstream radio. Dubbed ‘a man who has had more bands than a short-wave radio’, he has spent the past two decades hopping from project to project: his bands the Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas (with Dave Stewart), appearances with Tricky, Gorillaz and the
Lightning Seeds, and two solo albums. What has remained constant throughout Hall’s
long and varied career is his distinctive persona and cynical lyrics mixing political
and social commentary with everyday ennui. He currently lives and works in Islington
where his number one priority is sorting out his teenagers.

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Who are you? And what do you do for a living?
My name is Terry Hall and I am an all round entertainer.

Do you trust yourself?
I could never do that.

What have you done since you woke up this morning?
Smoked four cigarettes and opened my mail.

What is your earliest memory?
Trying to throw myself off a wall to avoid school.

Do you believe in life after death?
No way.

Which historical figure would you like to take out, and what would you like to show them? *Alexander Graham Bell. I would like to show him a mobile phone and then give
him a good slap.*

Were you a popular child?
I was a lonely child.

What is the meaning of life?
There is no meaning, that’s why it’s cool…

Do you scare easy?
Say boo! and I jump.

When and where were you most happy?
Barcelona, European cup final: United: 2, Bayern Munich: 1.

If you could make any one thing free for all what would it be?
Food.

If you could have put a stop to any one thing in the last 50 years what would it have been?
Bono forming a band.

Which public space do you like best?
Old Trafford.

Which private space do you like best?
My mind.

Do you subscribe to a particular belief?
Drink water… eat food… breathe a lot…

What do you like most about fame and success?
Champagne, birds, and Peter Stringfellow.

What do you do for fun?
Fun?

What one thing would improve the quality of your existence?
An alternative to lithium… that works!

Who was the first cultural figure to influence you?
George Best.

What was the first thing you produced/ participated in that you are particularly
proud of?
Gangsters: The Specials.

What is your number one priority?
To sort my teenagers out.

Why do you do what you do?
There’s no choice.

Who do you most like to talk shop with?
David Cassidy… It’s an imaginary conversation.

What is your principal defect?
There isn’t one.

What is your most marked characteristic?
My charm.

What would you like to be better at?
Ice hockey.

What quality do you most like in man?
Silence.

What is the quality you most like in woman?
Wit.

What is sexy?
A two a.m. picnic.

What is your favourite sound?
The tannoy at football.

What is your favourite word?
Twat.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Manic depression.

Do you collect anything? If so what?
American outsider art.

Which work of art do you most covet for your home?
Rothko.

Which book do you keep returning too?
The Yellow Pages.

What do you predict for America?
Greed and growth.

What is humanity’s biggest failing?
Humans.

Please describe the space you are in?
A dark green room, a rusty day-bed, rugs, big window, books, an ice hockey game.

What is the best bit of advice you can give to someone who wants to succeed?
If at first you don’t succeed, forget it.

What piece of music would you like played at your funeral?
If You Go Away by Scott Walker.

Is life serious?
No way!

Tell us a joke?
Waiter walks over to a table of Jewish mothers having dinner and asks ‘is anything ok?’

What is love?
Love is blind.

If you were to ask any two questions of any two living people, whose work/life you admire, what would they be and whom would you ask?
Patti Smith and Audrey Tatou: Do you fancy a drink? Will you marry me?