Radio Interview with Pat Marsh

Limahl, how are you?

I’m great, I hope you were singing along there in the studio.

Well, I think everybody sings along cause it’s so infectious that song.

What’s amazing about that song is every language can sing along, so obviously I’ve traveled the world performing the song cause it was #1 everywhere, including top 5 in America, and it’s a nonsensical sort of lyric, in foreign languages they have no idea what it means, they sing it back to me, it’s just got that kind of sound doesn’t it?

To be fair, you sort of cornered the market in nonsensical lyrics didn’t you? Cause ooh to be ah was also very nonsensical in a sort of way.

It was. But we weren’t the first, there are quite a few, the one I really like is, I do this live, last night I heard my momma singing a song, of course they all sing it back to you, chirpy chirpy cheep cheep, now what’s that all about, you know...?

Now what’s all this Saturday night TV show about?

We’re all victims of the new TV reality craze, talent contest. It’s nice because it gives us older artist, if you like, from a couple decades ago a chance to shine again in an environment that’s slightly unnerving in the sense that you’re going to be judged, What does he look like now? What does he sing like, what’s his hair like, can he cut the mustard?

To be fair it was the hair style the girls really loved wasn’t it?

Oh, I don’t think it was just the hair come on...

The hair or the talent then.

I think the hair was part of it, I’ve never denied that, but I think the songs were good, the band had a good look and the old vocal cords were not doing a bad job.

So what do...Kajagoogoo will not reform for this TV show? It will just be you, won’t it?

Yeah as the singer and writer of the song, co-writer of the song of course I work in the capacity with the song and no there won’t be a reunion of the group, we tried that a year ago, we did it for one off for MTV, actually, but we met a few weeks after and it’s not going to happen.

Fair enough.

Let’s talk about something else.

Fair enough, obviously hit a bit of a raw nerve there, you worked in production haven’t you since and also you toured. Weren’t you on tour with What A Feeling?

I did do What A Feeling we came to Northampton.

Well there’s a thing...

Yeah?

We’re in Kent!

Yes, oh, sorry Kent we came to Kent as well, don’t know why I had Northampton in my head. What happened was in the 90's I was basically behind the scenes, a bit like a foot baller goes on to become a coach or an actor becomes a director. The interest in the early 80's was gone, sadly, it came back in about 97 one of the major labels released an 80's compilation that was very successful and so another company did it the same and then of course the market was saturated with everything and anything to do with the 80's, and the phone started ring and so I started doing Limahl shows and then I went right full circle into theater, which brings me to the show What a Feeling which was a 9 month tour and the great thing about that tour was doing 8 shows a week for 9 months really kind of solidified any doubts that I had in me, that I could still do it because I was doing it. It was just great for my confidence because you do wonder can I still do this, can I get out there and cut it and connect with the audience.

And you certainly can from what you say although, you’re up against, on Saturday night, some tough opposition, cause you got amongst others Gloria Gaynor competing against you, I will Survive, a good strong song and she’s been performing for years.

Yeah, that’s the thing, people say to me, what do you think your chances are and it just depends really on how people perform on the night, how do they look, how do they come across. I think regardless of what people like, the old hits, they’ll judge it there and then and of course we’re in the hands of the viewers with the voting so it’s going to be tense.

Will it be live?

Live, even worse, so if you sing a deaf note they can’t edit it out.

And you will be singing, you know sometimes, I do hesitate to say this, they do record it in advance don’t they and mime?

It’s absolutely live. It is?

Yeah, and that’s a bit unnerving, I did it last year in Germany I did a similar sort of show, there’s just something different about live tv. It gives you the shivers.

So what happens? We hear the performance we vote and if we vote for you for example do you go on to the following week?

Slightly different format to the other shows. What happens is on this one it’s going to be 5 brand new artists every week, and if I did get through I would go to the final which is 7 weeks later.

Wow!

Yeah!

And how important is that exposure for you, if you did make it to the final? That would presumably be a small amount of money in the bank for you and open many doors.

Well yes there’s a fee involved in doing the show but I’m really not thinking in terms of that, I think it’s obviously a chance to shine again, remind people that you’re out there. What is amazing to me is I met young people and they say oh yeah I know that song but had no idea who sang it and that is a bit scary cause you think wow it really is a long time, it’s 22 years.

But you could be, there could be a kind of Tony Christie phenomenon, couldn’t there?

It would be great but I can’t really go there emotionally Pat because I don’t want to set myself up to have that sort of disappointment. So I’m just going to go down, enjoy it, my mother’s coming from Wigan and my brother is coming down as well, I’m going to have friends in the audience, some fans cheering me on and I'm just kind of try to enjoy it, it will be nice to meet Gloria Gaynor, Howard Jones, Tiffany and the Honeyz. And treat it as a fun day out really.

Really, I think you have a strong chance.

You smooth talker. Oh no, I do, I mean Tiffany ok, the song I Think We’re Alone Now is quite catchy, but Tiffany you know it was a one hit wonder wasn’t it, let’s be brutal now the Honeyz, I don’t think so, Howard Jones possibly, but I don’t know if he’s got the performance techniques, I think you’re main contender is Gloria Gaynor.

Right. Not that it matter’s what I think.

Oh I got to have a word with her, got to give her some chocolate and plug up a vocal cord or something.

What time’s it on the screen?

5.45pm ITV Saturday Night, can I just appeal to the viewers, if you’ve seen me in concert anywhere or you’ve seen me in theater or you’ve met me or I’ve signed an autograph or you’ve just enjoyed something I’ve done, please give me that all important vote, I’m sorry if I sound like a politician, but I would love to be ib that final!

Fantastic, I guess your fan base is still quite big.

And it’s growing all the time. I just finished my new website, if I can mention it www.limahl.com and it’s had thousands of hits already, it’s only been up 2 weeks the new site. I did have a sort of make due site before that, but I’ve spent months putting the new site together and it’s wonderful, because the fans all over the world talk to each other and it’s really sort of nice for them and for me and its nice to see it, I’m seeing it.

Do you chat with them sometimes?

Oh,i’m great to the fans, actually somebody left a message in the guestbook saying they stopped following somebody else because they felt that the artist didn’t care about the fans. A few weeks ago, I did a big show in Germany and I sneaked some of my fans into the after show party, so I’m that good and I take pictures with the fans and I sign everything and anything that I can. Without the fans, you know, forget it.

It’s payback time on Saturday night.

Payback time.

Best of luck to you Limahl, thanks for being with us, GOOD LUCK!

Thank you Pat, thanks very much!

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