This first article in the Famous Bristol
Musicians section of Bristol Rocks is fun for me because I
went to school with Becky Bond who
became Beki Bondage. She was my mates girlfriend at one time
and I even wrote a song about her! (Although I changed her
name to Britney at the time) You can listen below! It
features Matt Collins on 'punk' vocals and was one of our
first so please forgive the sound quality. The song tells
the story of a time my parents were on holiday and foolishly
left me to look after the house.
Read the exclusive Bristol Rocks interview with Beki below.
This is taken from Wikipedia
Beki Bondage is a female
musician in the
punk
band,
Vice Squad.
Bondage is often cited as being the first punk
pin-up featuring on the front
cover of a number of influential
music tabloids such as
Melody Maker,
NME, and
Smash Hits.
She also
released a solo album of
covers in 2000 entitled
Cold Turkey.
Beki Bondage Interview with Kevin -
Bristol Rocks
Kevin: I remember you as a total rebel at school and I
lost touch with you a long time ago, can you tell me what you did
musically from the time that you left school to the time that you
joined Vice Squad?
Beki:
I was in Vice Squad when I was at school so wasn't in any other
bands or anything after leaving. Being in a band so young is part of
what made me rebellious but also I thought some of the teachers were
hypocrites and more interested in enforcing school uniform rules
than educating bright kids. Looking back I have to say I was a bit
of a nutter.
Kevin: How did your first
record contract come about?
Beki: Vice
Squad played at Bristol University and we were 'spotted' by Simon
Edwards who ran Heartbeat records. He let us record a track for a
compilation album and later we borrowed money from a guy called Bill
White to pay to record our first single, Last Rockers, which Simon
released on his newly named (by me) Riot City records, so in effect
it was more of a licensing deal than a recording deal as we paid for
the recording. Our first 'real' recording deal (i.e. the company
itself paid for the recording as well as the pressing) was with EMI.
It came about because we'd been featured in 'Sounds' etc and had
built up a local following by gigging in and around the Bristol
area.
Kevin: So you
achieved success while you were still in Bristol, I think that you
may be unique in that. What venues were you playing then & what size
of audience were you attracting at that time?
Beki: We played all sorts of venues
from small pubs in Kingswood to support slots at Bristol
University and The Locarno. Gigs were hard to come by as our
audience had a reputation for fighting and at one point we were
banned from playing anywhere in the Bristol area. I guess we'd
attract a couple of hundred people, depending on what the venue
could hold.
Kevin: Have you
made your living completely through your music between the initial
EMI contract and now or did you ever need to get a 'real' job?
Beki: I've scraped a living
only through music which is why I have no money!!! I needed to get
a 'real' job loads of time but refused to let anything interfere
with my music, and there isn't much of a demand for pink haired
tattooed people in the normal world anyway. I did a little session
work and have played in covers band as well as having my own band,
and it's all been very hard work. Sometimes I think I must be insane
to do this, other times I think it's the best thing in the world. I
can safely say I've paid my dues a thousands times over.
Kevin: What
would you say if you could travel back in time and give the 18 year
old Beki Bondage some advice about her future in music?
Beki: By 18 it was already too
late! I'd signed deals I wouldn't sign now and was totally obsessed
with music. If I could go back to when I was 14 I'd tell myself to
not join a band until I was a lot older and wiser. And be a lead
guitarist rather than a lead singer.
Kevin: What
plans do Vice Squad have for the future?
Beki: We're writing and
recording songs for our next album as well as playing gigs in the
UK. We start pre-production with the band in May and will be in
the studio in June recording new stuff as well as some older songs
from 'Get a Life' and 'Rich and Famous'. We have a tour of the US West Coast
scheduled for September followed by more UK gigs, gigs are listed
on our website
www.vicesquad.co.uk.
