Portion Control have been firm favourites with me for very nearly two years now, so I thought that after meeting them in November at Hammersmith, I'd pay a return visit and find out what's going on within the group. Present were John and Ian, who deal with the electronics. Dean (vocals) was working.

GH = Grim Humour

GH: Well, what made you want to get a band together?

John: Partly through boredom and partly because we thought we could produce music that we wanted to hear, as opposed to having to rely on listening to other people...which had become boring about the time we started our band in '81.

GH: What sort of music were you listening to then? And, what music had you got bored of?

Ian: It was the whole spectrum that we bored with.

John: Yeah, it was just everything really. Personally, I used to listen to the Pop Group and Wire; things like that.

Ian: It was when punk got a bit...boring!

GH: Did you get caught up in punk groups then? Did you like punk?

John: I liked the thing behind punk; the force behind it.

Ian: Yeah, I used to appreciate that.

GH: It's a shame that it's degenerated into what it's become now...

John: Yeah, it is a shame but it's pretty inevitable. Y'know, it can't stay fresh forever. It was like an initial 8 months that it was really good.

Ian: The ethics and everything behind it were maybe manipulated by someone like Malcolm McLaren.

John: Yeah but that kind of ideology has kind of stuck with us. You know, we'll still say that that's the inspiration. Our ideas are akin to that sort of thing.

GH: I think that it certainly shines through in your music. It's a lot angrier than things like, say, Depeche Mode...

John: Well, it is more genuine and angry than they are. They can try and generate it but it ain't good. I can't really criticise Depeche Mode though because I can't relate to it.

GH: I thought you went down well when you supported them at Hammersmith Odeon.

Ian: The Thursday and Sunday ones were the two worst, whilst the Friday and Saturday were a lot better.

John: We did quite well on the merchandise aspect of the tour as well, which was pleasing.

GH: How long have you been living this side of London?

John: Almost two years now.

GH: Do you find it quite handy?

John: It's excellent...Central London...everywhere.

Ian: And we don't get any problems with the neighbours, living here, which is good.

GH: According to the inner sleeve of the "Step Forward" Lp it says that "Havoc Man" has been released?

John: Yeah, that was a mistake. The record company wanted us to release it and they did in fact start the wheels in motion for its release. The thing is that if you decide to release something and there's a possibility to start promoting it then you've got to jump at it, but when it was decided that "Havoc Man" wasn't to be released it was too late. We didn't really want that released because we didn't think it was worthy enough as a single.

GH: What's the next single called? (After hearing their talk of recording a new one earlier...)

John: As yet we haven't got a title for it.

Ian: It's not really complete yet...we've only a bit of lyric, a drum sequence and...

John: We're quite looking forward to it coming out because we'll be doing a video as well.

GH: Are you going to produce the video yourselves?

John: Well, it will be us but we're going to have someone who has done other video work as well.

Ian: With Test Department.

GH: I suppose that Illuminated will back that, will they?

Ian: Well, maybe not Illuminated because the next single might be coming out on a new label; "Havoc Records" or whatever.

GH: Really?! So you've not re-signed to them then?

John: No, because our contract has in fact expired, and we've been a bit disappointed with them.

GH: So is "Havoc" going to be your own label?

Ian: It'll be our own thing but through another label, which has good distribution.

GH: A major label?

John: No, it will be an independent.

GH: Oh, Gary Levermore (Third Mind Records) seemed to think that you'd hit the big time around Christmas.

Ian: Well he was wrong I think!

John: No, there isn't a great hurry. It's a fairly slow process really; I think it'll take a few more releases yet.

Ian: But slowly our support has been building up and our record sales have been growing with each release.

GH: How many do you think you'll get pressed of the next single?

John: Four...

Ian: Thousand, that is!

John: We know that three will go straight away, and then it's just a matter of the other going and then a re-press or whatever. I know this sounds pretty down but for an indie it's good.

GH: Have you ever been approached by any of the majors?

John: A few, yeah. None of them have been worth bothering about though.

Ian: Only a very tentative approach. I mean, if you don't rush round with tapes for them all the time, they soon lose interest in you.

GH: So you're not going to grovel to them?!

John: No!

GH: Do you gig much now?

John: Well apart from a couple of nationwide tours, errmmm...

GH: Apart from that, because that's an exception.

Both: Basically no, then.

John: Well, we're going to Spain. We'll do a few concerts there and a couple of Tv bills...

Ian: And then maybe do one in London after that.

GH: The "Step Forward" album's very mixed isn't it? I mean, there things like "319", which are really like tinkly, aren't they?

John: Yeah, they were sort of, like, deliberate fillers really. We thought that Dean's vocals were fairly heavy going through a whole album so we decided to break it up a little bit with these little 'teabreak' bits!

GH: Yeah, the rest of the album's fairly punchy, isn't it?

Ian: Yeah, well the main tracks on the album are fairly punchy...which is standard Portion Control!

John: The fillers are like soothers almost, to get you down after one track and to get you ready for the next.

GH: Who's that doing the talking at the end of side one and at the beginning of side two...is it you two?

John: Yeah, that's us in the kitchen! Out of some of the letters we've received somebody thought it was taken from 'Only Fools And Horses'...

Ian: We obviously couldn't do that though.

John: That track used to be our intro on the Blancmange tour.

GH: What would you consider to be the best tracks you've ever done?

John: Well, as a reference point to Portion Control...if you have not heard any of our stuff before I'd say that the Lp 'Step Forward' is the best thing, without a question of doubt.

GH: What are your influences to writing these things?

John: Partly, computer games but they don't actually inspire you to do the music...I think it's just the enjoyment and want to do the music.

GH: Have you ever done any John Peel sessions?

John: Yeah, only one, which we did around the beginning of '83. It's all come out on record since then though...not the same versions however.

GH: Have you any favourite bands that work in the same field as you?

John: I don't know. I mean, I like little bits that I hear from all different people but I haven't really got a favourite anymore.

GH: I used to think that it would be someone you got dumped in with, like T.G. or whatever...

John: We've never really understood why though...

GH: Neither could I. I hated T.G....I couldn't see the point really.

John: Well, I did like T.G. a lot but anyone who likes us doesn't particularly find any interesting T.G.

Ian: Every single thing we've done has always had a strong beat.

GH: You don't still use the same rhythm machine as you did early on, do
you?

Both: No way!

(Talk on how they put their music together ensues...consequently leading to computer games...)

GH: I heard that you was going into making your own computer game?

Ian: We was trying to encourage someone to writing one for us.

John: But we can't program so we was going to come up with the basic ideas for the game and then get someone to program them. It did start to come together but then it dropped off because there was the big problem of making it as good as some of the top ones...which is near enough impossible. We thought it was best to leave it, because we can
compete on a music level but can't really compete on computer software!

Interview & layout - HAVOC MAN
Interview typing - RICH
Caption quotes - PC info card

"Pulsing from the capital city. Built in with radio interference, echo decay and attack (!). They play funk, punk and rhythm. No cheap rip-off, no compromise. Hearts pumping, elbows twitching, feet gone AWOL. The senses are numbed (they easily submit)."

"THIS IS LIKE the hottest New York dancefloor cut intermingled with embryonic punk. Burning like fire, like Johnny Rotten fronting the Contortions, George Clinton up front with Throbbing Gristle."

"I saw that group. There were three of them. Skinny guys from South London, hungry looking. Like, electronic punk. Sequencers going crazy, melodies on top and one of them out front swinging his arms round like he's gone crazy.

"He spat out the words, it was really infectious, dripping with emotion, y'know. The other two stuck at the back mixing and cutting, playing keyboards. Tall shadows above a spaghetti junction of wires. And slides flickering all the time.

"Theyre an awesome sight."

© Grim Humour fanzine

Digital assistance and credit: Simon Dell <simon@stroppy.demon.co.uk>