Rikki – Yeah, well I retired from music about three yrs ago now and to be honest I dont miss it. You know, the industry and everything that goes with it.

And its since then I’ve just enjoyed being at home with lady Dee, my wife. Doing the gardening and taking in the sun sets, life’s good.

 

But it was nice to do the MCR scene stories podcast. Paul sees the full 9 yards when it comes to the cities musical history. You can take it back to early 60’s/late 50’s even. Such a rich tapestry of music and he digs deep and covers it really well.

 

 

35yrs since Paris Angels, and ‘Perfume’ has aged so well and remembered as one of that scenes standout tunes, looking back what do you take from that time?

Rikki – Well, it’s a long time ago now, hey. There were seven in that band and there’s just four of us left today. When we recorded ‘Perfume’ my sister Mandy was dying, she was twenty one and had a very rare bone cancer and that effected me a hell of a lot. 

I remember Mike Johnson of early New Order fame who actually turned round to our manager of the time and said “if Rikki doesn’t do something now, I’m walking out, I cant work with this”. As I wasn’t the most prolific singer, ya know. So Mike got personal with me and said “think about Mandy now”.

 

So when you hear Perfume I’m actually breaking down in parts of it, and that’s how it was recorded. He asked me to deliver the lyrics as more ‘spoken word’ and it sounds classic in that way, but it wouldn’t of sounded like that without Mike Johnson. Together with Tajti on the moog synthesiser ‘Perfume’ came together really well.

 

There were some great times back then, like doing the two John Peel sessions 1990 and 91. He just loved us and had us back on again. It was a fantastic time, wonderful. 

Aside from ‘Perfume’ though there’s other standout songs the band put out there, ‘Stairs to the Sun’ for example 

Rikki – Ar well, that’s when we began early on around 87. I mean this was before the house scene really exploded so there was a lot of sounds going on, breakbeat, rap, electro. And Paris Angels as a group had a lot of different musical influences. 

But it’s Echo & the Bunnymen where the influence for that tune came from. 

Recorded down in a gaff in Old Trafford, where students train to become producer’s. The guy there heard us and wanted to record us, so there we just played it off the cuff really, and fell lucky.

 

I mean this is back in 87. I remember it being at the coldest time around January/February and we were all living quite broke. We actually slept in that Old Trafford studio, the producer did too. We’d wake up in the morning and just get straight back into where we’d left it the night before. Bit rough and ready I suppose. Of course with no en-suite bathroom or anything, and with plenty alcohol and other things we just had a great time there.

 

 

 

 

Did writing lyrics and performing stay with you after Paris Angels, with other groups?

Rikki – After Paris Angels I briefly formed a group call ‘Saint Jack’ who eventually were signed to the label Sour Mash, though I wasn’t in the group then. At the time I was listening to Small Faces and other groups from that era, which I would of called ‘pub rock’, very much of the casual movement of that time. Though it was only a brief period the band were together. 

We actually played PJ Bells and had a few labels come down checking us out. But it all fell to pot really, the guitar player Gordon fell off the stage pissed and broke his gold Les Paul. Off his head on downers and drunk he tripped over the monitors and just fell off. Noel the drummer then kicked his kit over like Keith Moon and walked off, and I just followed him, it was over.

 

Then there’s Gun Club with Jeffrey Lee Pearce, and as crazy as he was he was genius. Also had Kid Congo in it and Patricia Morrison, who joined Sisters of Mercy. Infact if you watch ‘ghost on the highway – Gun Club’ on YouTube it’ll give you a good idea of the group. 

But as far as writing goes though, I don’t sing anymore, don’t want to as that doesn’t  interest me now. But my writing could be described as that young kid writing a diary, and my diary is about everyday life. Also poetry, which interests me. So in that context it’s always stayed with me. Writing can be anything you feel like exspressing, whether it be lyrics, poetry or a short story. And for that can always be rewarding.

As a recovering addict and lately taking a closer look into the age old bond between substance abuse and music. Whats your take on it, and has addiction ever been part of your life Rikki?

Rikki – Yes, addiction has been a part of my life and will be forever as you’ll know yourself. For me I guess it was around the post-punk scene where I first got into anything, which was cheap speed around 83. Then from there it builds up doesn’t it, on to acid and mushrooms, or ‘shrooms’ as we called them. As well as smoking pot constantly, which I gave up about 25 years ago now. 

Then heading into those years of 86/87 there was something starting to change,  you know. It was 88 when I first went down to the ‘Hot’ night at the Hacienda on a Wednesday night, and I paid £30 for a pill.

It was from there I started doing lots of ecstasy, but then by 89 I was onto cocaine.

And that’s it, you come from an era that was if anything a positive and very social drug scene, Acid House. Only for it all to quickly turn the opposite direction

Rikki – Indeed, around 91 the band were making good money from Virgin records, though I say making good money we were really paying it back in the same way. 

But I remember turning round to the rest of the Angels and saying “let’s put a grand together and I’ll make 2-3 grand back for us”. So as a little experiment if you like I went and scored 100 doves and was going to knock them out with a friend at the time, but we ended doin 75 of those pills between us. We sold about 15 and just did the rest, off our heads for about 2 weeks. 

 

And then it all came crumbling down, the shit hit the fan. I was living in India House on Whitworth street which was such a party house, quite hedonistic really. And at the time of course you thought it was great, but that scene got out of control and in the end just went dark.

 

It wasn’t long after that you’d hear Kurt Cobain on MTV and the rise of grunge. You know, a change in music and its whole vibe. But like every scene it was meant to change, it was meant to come to an end. When the embers are dead there’s no use in blowing on them, just let it go, it’s over and rightly so. 

 

Did you continue to write and sing during this time?

Rikki – Yeah, It was 2015 and John Robb signed us to Louder Than War music label and I was in a group called ‘The New Southern Electric’. And everything was looking good with a lot of inter-play with a big indie label in America.

But by then I was smoking crack again, smoking the foil again.

I was also diagnosed with Bipolar. Trauma based which the psychiatrist put it down to the loss of my sibling. Next thing though the group turned round and sacked me.

We we’re actually putting out some good stuff, song’s like ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘Brown Eyes’ and we were getting fantastic write ups. But I was such a mess at that time, at breakfast it’d be a bottle of vodka and smoking the crack. Last thing I did was something called ‘Unknown Territories’ with a few other people, which was totally electro-house. 

It was then me working with groups was over. I didn’t need to stand on stage and sing anymore. It was after a gig we played I told the project, as that is what it was I didn’t want do anymore. 

If anything I just wanted to write, you know.. like say Bukowski. That low life literature. But my days performing and recording was done.

 

So how’s things now, and what are you up to today?

Rikki – There’s a lot of forgiving people out there, and bless them as I found my now partner and started to settle down. I currently work down at Spirit studios in Ardwick, I’m actually maintainance. Working around music students who can be clumsy beggers, breaking things, pulling doors off and stuff but I suppose they keep you on your feet. Working part time with a tech but it’s OK at Spirit. It’s got its history with the likes of 808 State, the Stone Roses and Lisa Stansfield recording there, before it moved to Ardwick where it is now.

Mani.. your memories of the guy?

 

Rikki – First time I met Mani was during the release of ‘One Love’ and then a few other times over the years. My partner Lady Dee knew him also and the thing with Mani he was always friendly with everybody. You could be down in the dumps and he’d just bring a smile to your face and brighten everything up. Honest, funny and a cool guy who’d always have you smiling, he was like a sunflower. 

And lastly.. what are your current favourite new groups and artists of today?

Rikki – There’s many bands and always something catching your ear. I’d say for me lately- Stepford Wives and Nico Harmony are really good. Comparing to say back in the 90s it’s obviously so different, you’ve got to gig and play so hard and the major labels don’t pick up on anything really, unless your making a million on Spotify. Myself today I prefer to stay at home and look after the garden, but what I would always say is thank God for music yeah, and thank God for life.

VIDEO – The New Southern Electric – Mother Earth