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Lucas Renney - Interview

What are the Virgins up to at the moment?

At the minute we've just about finished sorting out the b-sides and artwork for our next single 'I Am A Camera', which will be out on Bunker UK Records in a few months' time. The a-side is taken from our widely acclaimed album 'Songs Of Praise', which came out on XL Recordings last year, and is still available in all good record shops...

Who are your heroes?

Roxy Music, The Velvet Underground, Prince, Will Oldham, Gram Parsons, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Galaxie 500, Pavement and a hundred others which we've listed on our website www.thegoldenvirgins.com under the heading 'Heroes and Heroines'. 

What are your thoughts on the forthcoming gig with the Stranglers in Sunderland?

I've always liked them, so I'm looking forward to it. When me and Neil Bassett, drums started our first band, we used to play 'Nice and Sleazy' alongside Cure, Pixies and Joy Division covers. And we still sometimes attempt 'Golden Brown' at soundchecks, but that weird time signature is a killer... 

What's your opinion of the current North East music scene?

Well, it seems to be the best it's ever been, in my opinion. Lots of bands getting noticed and signed, and A&R men making the effort to come up and check people out. And the Radio One Big Weekend was quite a coup...

What's your favourite way to relax?

Either reading in the bath or drinking in the pub. Or vice versa.

What's your favourite bevy?

I'll drink anything except meths or lighter fluid. But if you see me in the pub, a pint of any lager apart from Stella would be very nice, thanks...

Where do you see yourself in ten years time?

Immortalised in bronze, a five-hundred-metre-high statue of myself, bestriding the River Wear like Rod Stewart on the cover of 'Atlantic Crossing'...

Do you have a message for the world?

That last bit was a joke.

History - The Golden Virgins
 

The Golden Virgins are a musical group whose output so far has been recorded at home in Sunderland, in the North East of England. Their highly acclaimed - and now very rare - debut single 'I've Seen the Light' was released in September 2002 by Rex Records, and, shortly after its release, the band signed to Hero Music Publishing and XL Recordings, with a view to creating some of the greatest albums and singles in the history of recorded music.

The Golden Virgins came into being when the former members of Sunderland scene godfathers Brilliantine managed to get hold of a four-track recording device. Over two drunken nights they recorded three songs: 'I've Seen the Light', 'Staying Sober' and 'From the Garage to the Country'. After months of listening to these recordings, the band became convinced that the songs were better than anything being played on the radio, and duly sent off a demo to labels they thought might be interested. The resultant A&R scramble has now passed into music business legend. Rex Records emerged victorious and released the home-recorded demo as the band's debut single.

Suave, enigmatic and aloof, The Golden Virgins have no truck with much of what passes for modern music; whether it be the dire chart-cover-fodder peddled by the latest crop of stage-school non-entities or the idiotic smack-boy posturing of the so-called 'alternative' rock scene, The Golden Virgins' response to such a dearth of individuality is an unequivocal thumbs-down.
Links

www.myspace.com/thegoldenvirgins
www.thegoldenvirgins.com
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