Transcribed from an unidentified paper by Andrew Miller

Buy them drinks left right and centre

POP WILL EAT ITSELF have bounced back after being booted by their UK record company, emerging on the independant Infectious Records with what many agree is their best work yet - the daring and dark "Dos Dedos Mis Amigos" LP. The Poppies' trademark swaggering beats have taken on a harder edge and put
power in place of posturing and biting wit in place of strutting slander. In short, the Poppies are on form.

When they were summarily dropped from their parent label, it left a fewfolks scratching their heads - especially when thei next single rocketed into the top 10. At the time of the dismissal, the Poppies were
more popular than ever.

"I suppose those things are always nice, to be able to say `Well there you go, I told you so' type thing", says mercurial frontman Clint Mansell. "But all we wanted to do really was get involved with people who were into what we wanted to do, and allow us to do what we want. So there's enough personal satisfaction from that really. Other things are just kind of a bonus I suppose."

Was it an abrupt dropping?

"Yeah, I don't suppose they're ever pleasant things really. I just think people were surprised because we were, I suppose, a high profile band to a certain degree, and when we were dropped the single that came out next was top ten in England which was quite a shock to a lot of people. All I can say is that it was the best thing that could have happened. We've ended up with people, as I say, that are into what we want to do, and who are allowing us to do what we want to do. So... that's great." So what truth was there for you in the old independant vs major label argument?

"Obviously we've come from a situation where it was completely shit at a major label," Mansell says, "so the independant thing - the way we work at the moment - is working very well. But, I mean, you never can say. In two years time it may be looking completely different. You never can say. Right now we're being positive about it. We've been allowed to make the record we wanted, and the people that are working the record in the clubs around the world are very keen on it. It just seems to be an easy sitter at the moment, there aren't that many people to deal with. It's just a close-knit thing and that way we seemed to be getting results better."

The Poppies are in the midst of a big-drawing tour through England, Europe and America, and as Mansell says, they hope to "lob into Australia some time about April." The Poppies are reasonably regular visitors to our shores - which pleases everyone, really.

"Yeah, we really enjoy it there, you know," Mansell says. "It's a nice place to go - I mean, some places we have to play aren't... as amenable, shall we say? But there are still people there who want to see the band,
and with a band like us really it's quite a hand to mouth situation, if you like. We sort of have to tour to make sure people are aware of the fact that we are still doing something because we don't get a lot of mainstream
radio airplay on a large scale, so we've gotta keep on doing the basics to keep on doing what we do."

And how's the band's standing with the trusty British music press these days?

"Probably lower than whale shit as usual, to be honest," he laughs. "They never really respond to what we do. That's okay really. Obviously we'd love to be lauded all over the place and everyone saying how successfull we are, buying as drinks left, right and centre, but that's not the way it is, so you just get on with it. We've got to the situation now where... I'll say we're not beyond the music press because obviously nobody is, it's still nice to be written about and that... but we seem to have enough of a core following that looks past the press. This album has been our most successful to date. So we're not really worried about it."

Simon McKenzie