IF THE CHERRY BOMBZ, TRY YOUR LIGHTS

IF THE CHERRY BOMBZ, TRY YOUR LIGHTS

Andy Hughes

In a small hotel in a small town in England, the evening’s guests are not sure what to make of the Cherry Bombz. A Renaissance play might be a good start, given ex-Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy’s penchant for lace cuffs and delicate cheek-bones. Or even a decadent nightclub, with vocalist Anita as hostess? And they must not have even seen fellow ex-Rocks guitarist Nasty Suicide, who shot straight up to his room, or else mass check-out time would be ’round real soon.

Andy, Anita and I adjourn to the vacant TV room to find out how this band is rising from the ashes of the late, lamented Hanoi Rocks, and looking set to break their attendance records, eventually.

Anita was once a quarter of Toto Coello, an all-girl disco group that enjoyed a medium success with a couple of singles, and whose experience of live work consisted of miming to backing tapes. Rest assured, though: the Cherry Bombz are not about miming. This band is nothing if not for real.

“Touring is what it’s all all about,” agrees Anita.

“We’re playing a small club tour at the moment because that’s the sort of place we can get our music over, and it’s the sort of place where our fans can have a good time.”

For Andy, it’s the first time back on the road since Hanoi folded, after Razzle’s tragic death in a car crash last year. So how did it feel?

“It feels good. I was hungry to play again after the layoff-even though we won’t be playing the size of venues that Hanoi played, at least not for a while anyway!”

For the benefit of people who haven’t heard the band’s EP yet (currently riding the top three of the British independent labels chart), what’s the sound of the band like, Andy?

“It’s good rock ’n’ roll,” is Andy’s succinct reply, and he feels unwilling to elaborate, since he’s suffering from the combined pole-axing effects of a bad cold and a worse hangover. Anita tries to put her dime’s worth in by way of compensation.

‘‘An objective view? I’ll be as objective as I can. It’s better than the Hanoi material, and I’m speaking as a confirmed Hanoi fan.”

Speaking of fans, how are the old Hanoi fans—who obviously follow the Bombz with glee—taking to Mike Monroe’s absence?

“Really well!” beams Anita.

“I was worried at first, especially about the girls, but they’ve really taken to me, which is a great feeling.”

Cherry Bombz are set for a club tour on the east coast of America during April—Andy reckons their manager wants them to suffer—and after that, they’ll start to seriously sift through the various record company offers they’ve received. Does this mean they’ll make a lot of money? Andy isn’t bothered, cold or not.

“Sure, it would be nice to make money, but we’re enjoying oursleves playing to our fans. At the moment, we’re self-sufficient. We’re living off the sales of the record, and what we make on gigs, so we don’t need to go to some record company and beg for an advance. We can go for the deal that will suit us, and we don’t have to rush into anything, which is good.”

And after the club tour?

“I’d like to play some really out-of-the-way places, like India, and through the Far East. Discussions are underway for that at the moment, but first we need to get the States tour out of the way.”

Is America ready for the leather-and-lace look favored by Messrs. McCoy and Suicide —as well as the Regency pompadour of Terry Chimes, original Clash drummer who now adds his considerable drumming skill to the Bombz sound?

“Well, we all dress how we want to,” reckons Andy

“There’s no rules about who wears what. We just like to look good. But we’re not built on image at all. We’re just a rock ’n’ roll band, we’re not Duran Duran!”

I’ll second that! Look for the Cherry Bombz, blowing up your town any day now.