Call 'em what you want - acid jazzers, kitsch instrumentalists or soundtrack buffs - Corduroy have heard it all: these musos have been subjected to more labelling than a stack of Yellow Pack nappies. When the quartet arrived in Dublin recently to play the Mean Fiddler and promote their fourth album The New You at an instore appearance in Tower Records, I met up with Scott, Ben, Richard and Martin to find out a little more about the band Melody Maker readers voted the sixth best live act of '95.
Given that Corduroy have been going for six years, I asked if they considered themselves ahead of their time with the whole Aston Martin, three-button suits, and '60s retro gangster chic shtick?
"I don't think it was a question of us being ahead of our time," reflects keyboardist/vocalist Scott. "I think it was something that just interested us and if nobody else was interested in it, well, fine. We really did see ourselves as the instrumental band in the corner of every party in every film between 1965 to '75. That was kind of our raison d'jtre."
Drummer Ben takes up the thread: "As Scott says, it was transposing the stuff you'd normally hear done by an eight-piece orchestra into a four-piece band. The only soundtracks we were really interested in were either the true avant-garde or the ones that actually had rhythm. We don't have collections of current film soundtracks 'cos they often don't have very much rhythm and they're done by Michael Nyman or someone."
"People at that time had gotten used to having their instruments and were actually trying to expand the boundaries of what they were trying to do," adds guitarist Simon. "What was fascinating about themes from TV and film was that at the time you had composers influenced by young people's pop music which was all beat-orientated and 'groovy', so these middle-aged composers wanted something that was perceived as trendy to go with the film. That's what interests me, these middle-aged men playing funk with a big band, trying to interpret what trendy bands were doing at the time.
Scott: "A good example of that style of music would be Dave Allen's theme tune. But this is getting far too like we're some kind of retro-minded group which we really are not. I've just got the arse with all the 'retro' reviews!"
Despite being a riddim-driven thing, The New You does contain several slices of social conscience; 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle' confronts the subject of domestic violence and 'Supercrime' is possibly the only song in the canon of rock 'n' roll to address consumers' rights (apart from Neil Young's 'Piece Of Crap').
"If you come across something that is fundamental, when everyone either has been or conceivably will be affected by whatever the subject matter is, then it's worth mentioning," claims Simon. "Some of the strongest songs in the world are 'Let It Be' and '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' because everyone knows exactly what the bloke's talking about straight off."
Roll over Aidan Walshe and tell Captain Beefheart the news! n