Alice Nutter

The Exclaim! Questionnaire

BY EXCLAIM EXCLAIMPublished Nov 17, 2016

Who are you?
Alice Nutter, Chumbawamba

What are you up to?
Just had a baby, Mae Rose (I'd be a sad fuck if she was ¡§a project¡¨). We're releasing an album WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

Hometown and current HQ:
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
That's not in Ireland. When we were in the U.S. people kept asking us if we were from Ireland, because we don't speak the Queen's.

Current fixations:
Watching: Ali G, Mark Thomas, Chris Morris „o all British comedians but none of them tell jokes. Listening: Moby, Asian Dub Foundation, Nina Simone. Reading: The Firm, Jake Arnott „o gay gangsters ruling the East End with a combination of violence, sharp suits and show business pizzazz. Eating: anything you can make with one hand whilst holding a baby. Usually a biscuit.

Mind altering work of art:
Scorcese's Goodfellas. Kurasawa's Seven Samurai. Sex Pistol's Never Mind The Bollocks. Crass, Stations of The Crass. Bill Hick's comedy

Most memorable/inspirational gig? And why?
First Crass gig I ever went to in 1980 because they'd taken all the tricks the fascists used in the rallies of the '30s „o red, black and white banners, films, group all dressed in black etc. etc. and subverted them to far less evil ends. They were a very clever bunch of people. I was so impressed that I left my leather jacket in the cloakroom hoping someone would nick it. Because it was a Crass gig nobody did.

What should everyone shut up about?
Pokemon, supermodels

Your greatest strength/weakness:
My friends

Your vital daily ritual
mascara for me and clean nappies for Mae

Guilty pleasure:
I'm breast-feeding so the illegal things I like are on hold right now.

If I wasn't playing music I would be...
Driving a bus

Your most memorable day job:
Pretending I could paint and being faced with 1200 figurines on which I was supposed to paint the faces.

Best/worst advice received:
Don't respect authority just because it's there. There's plenty more fish in the sea.

I would drop everything to play a benefit for...
A naked mud wrestling match to the death between Rush Limbaugh and a Conservative British politician called Ann Widdecombe. What a pair of evil, self-serving bastards.

What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
¡§Find My Baby,¡¨ Moby. The Slits. Reading Susie Bright

What personal trait would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed? And have you?
To get kicked out of Chumbawamba it would have to be something very, very extreme, like chopping a foot off another band member and refusing to apologise. We've lasted such a long time and are such very good friends because we're all prepared to persevere with each other. To get kicked out of my bed all you have to do is: wear aftershave, talk shite, call me baby, have a hairy back, keep mentioning Chumbawamba. And yes I have.

When I think of Canada I think:
Dry

Music and sex: Is there a difference? Why?
You don't have to wash after playing music.

Strangest brush with celebrity:
I haven't got a celebrity anecdote. I've met a lot of famous self-obsessed wankers, but they were all boring. Does that count?

What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
Building a granny flat at the end of my garden for her.

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