Circus of Life interview

“Nevermore a piece in our memory,
Will to go on, will crucify, will caress…
Will circle you in two.”

So states the cover of Rise and sums up the sad demise of Getting The Fear and the birth of Into A Circle better than anything I could think up…so that's got rid of the introduction. Into A Circle could be the answer to your prayers. Their songs can be powerful and evocative of dreamy, soothing and emotional and ooze presence and sexuality. Into a Circle were formed by Bee (vocals/brilliant frontman/sordid lyrics and Freemans catalogue model) and Barry Jepson (bass/guitar/nonchalant cool poses) from the ashes of Getting The Fear with semi–permanent members Rose McDowall (vocals/ex–Strawberry Switchblade), Graham (guitar) and Pasquale (drums).

Why did Getting The Fear split?
Getting The Fear split because it was the only way we could get out of the RCA contract. Also Barry and I were spending most of our time writing together and not with Getting The Fear.

Do you think Getting The Fear promised more than you could deliver?
Getting The Fear never promised anything, people expected too much. The band had a constant struggle with a record company that wanted commerciality, fans that wanted another Southern Death Cult and the band itself which was always torn between myself and Barry and Buzz and Aky.

Why did you choose ‘Rise’ as your debut single?
The original plan for ‘Rise’ was that it would come out as soon as Getting The Fear split and split or bridge the gap between the old band and Into A Circle. Unfortunately because of contractual problems the single was delayed.

Are there any plans to revitalise other Getting The Fear songs?
Yes, maybe. We've already done ‘Dune Buggy Attack’ and ‘We Struggle’ live a couple of times.

One of the reasons ‘Rise’ stood out was because of the unusual use of violins. Whose idea was it to use the violins?
We met the violinist in the street. He just walked up and asked us if we could use a violinist.

A lot of Into A Circle songs seem to have been written to listen to, whereas Getting The Fear was always more dance–music oriented. What do you think?
In Into A Circle we can do whatever we want whereas in Getting The Fear we always had to have dance music to please RCA.

How did the interview with Forum (dodgy sex/smut mag) come about? (And I quote: “We want to get sex out of the strait–jacket of once a week in the missionary position”)
I asked the RCA press department to get in touch with Forum and see if they would be interested in doing an interview. The guy at RCA refused because they wanted to aim us at the teenie market and wanted us in Jackie and Oh Boy and stuff like that. Well, I wasn't into that, so I phoned up Forum myself and asked them and they said yes. I didn't actually say a lot of what they printed but the pictures are well fucking good!

The second release from Into A Circle was a 4 track 12“ EP. The songs—‘Inside Out’, ‘Reward’, ‘Flow’ and ‘Field of Sleep’—did a good job of emphasising their diversity. Were they pleased with it?
I'm never 100% pleased with anything we release.

Did you purposefully sign with an indie label (Abstract Records) after your experiences with a major?
Yes but that doesn't mean we wouldn't sign with a major label again. We like Abstract but the rest of the indies are a lot worse than the majors. A lot of bands wont sign to major labels because of them financing nuclear weapons etc but what a lot of people don't seem to realise is that the indie labels finance their labels by loaning money from banks all of which are up to their necks in apartheid and capitalism. All money is dirty money.

Compared with Getting The Fear, Into A Circle have had a low profile. Why's this?
We've concentrated more on the music with Into A Circle rather than get involved with the business side and all that hype. Also I hate doing interviews with the music press because they always misquote you or they concentrate on their pre–conceived idea of you. We haven't got a manager or an agent either so all the gigs we get are just through friends and contacts of Barry and myself.

The artwork and graphics on the record sleeves and t–shirts has been quite stunning. Who has done that?
Barry does all the record sleeves and I do all the t–shirts, badges, lyric books and stuff like that. I really enjoy doing that side of things.

Do you prefer working in the studio or playing live?
Working in the studio is a lot more rewarding. There are a lot of subtle things happening that people outside the band don't see.

Do you miss life in Barnsley? Do you go back there?
I moved to London when I was seventeen because I hate Barnsley. It's a very traditional town and I always got loads of hassle for the way I look and it was very difficult to get the books, records and films I was interested in. I only ever go back to see my family.

The picture cover shows stills from videos. Are there any plans to release a video?
Maybe in the summer we will release Flesh Mechanics.

I'll have to get out of this, it's getting a bit professional and serious, isn't it. “What happened to all the meaningless crap you usually get in Circus of Life” you may ask. You mean all those trivial questions that nobody gives a toss about. Hang on I've found 'em.

Have you had any occupations prior to being in a band?
Yes, I was a dental technician for 2 years.

When you were a child did you used to torture small insects and bugs?
No, I just killed them!

Do you think you're more intelligent than the average person?
Not at all.

Do you think today's youth are more intelligent/aware than previous generations?
Today's youth are constantly repressed with TV, and drugs…maybe that's the way they like it.

Which of the following do you believe in? Ghosts?
Yes.

UFOs?
No

Telepathy?
Yes.

Psychic healing?
Yes.

God?
No.

Loch Ness Monster?
No.

Does money burn a hole in your pocket?
It doesn't get the chance.

Which of the following would you most like to appear in: Eastenders, Dallas, Blankety Blank a sit–com with Felicity Kendall, Jackanory?
Eastenders because Dot Cotton give me the horn!

Have you got any future plans?
Into A Circle will release a new single in March and we will also tour England and Germany. Me and Rose are also going to record a duet…and if we make any money I'll go and live in Thailand!

If your record collection doesn't have a copy of ‘Rise’ then please don't have the cheek to call it decent. Don't let them slip away this time.

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