Chester Articles: Interview with Pete from adorable/Polak (part II)

Fake seemed quite a progression from Against Perfection. You must have been disappointed with the muted reception it received.

A couple of nights ago I listened to the LP for the first time in about two years and I noticed how introspective both musically and lyrically it was. At the time there wasn't any particular game plan on how the album would sound. Fake is low key, which at the time wasn't what Creation wanted or for that matter, what the outside world wanted.

There are some adorable tracks floating around of the songs Boy-King, Carbaret and Falling for You. What were these?

The demos you refer to were failed tracks done for the Fake session. I'm not really into the lost tracks.

If you things hadn't turned pear shaped and you were able to release another single from Fake, what would it have been?

"Road Movie" was originally going to be a single in between the two LPs, but was pulled at the last moment. I wish we could have released "Submarine" as a single. My least favourite of all the adorable singles was "Kangaroo Court". It was released because Creation were on at us to release something with more of our live sound to it, so we released a single with a sound more in mind than the actual song. Mistake.

I always thought that from Against Perfection "Crash sight" or "Glorious" would've been good choices for singles, perhaps in place of "Favourite Fallen Idol". What are your thoughts on Crash sight" being used in BBC promos recently?

Both "Crash sight" & "Glorious" were in the running to be singles at some stage. "Glorious" was recorded as a second single alongside "Saint", but we weren't happy with the recording, whilst "Crash sight" was recorded in the "Homeboy" session with Alan Moulder, but again it didn't sound quite right. I always thought that "Crash sight" sounded like a massive single, but went off the idea as things got on. I like "Fallen Idol" as a single because it was a bit different from the other 45's. Creation wanted to release "Cut 2" instead of "Idol" but we talked them out of it. For all the down sides of being on Creation, we must give them credit for often allowing us to do what we wanted. I haven't actually seen the "Crash sight" promos on the BBC, but its nice to know we are still worming our way into the nations psyche.

Did you have any ideas for a possible third adorable album?

The ideas for the third lp were: a) To experiment more with samples and electronic stuff and b) To look at using accoustic guitars more (a bit like "Man in a Suitcase").

Any reason your not wearing a black suit in the Fake inner sleeve? How many white jackets did you own anyway?

I always wore white. I had two jackets.

(sans) sunshine smiles

adorable promo B&W photo

Pete in black jacket shock!

Polak live

A friend of mine saw you in Brisbane (Australia) and was appalled by your stage presence (not acknowledging the crowd, chewing on a piece of paper and then spitting it out), so much so that she shouted "you're a wanker" as you were leaving. Do you provoke these kind of reactions in Polak shows?

I wasn't into chummy-mates-with-the-audience performances, hence Ms.Brisbane's reaction. When she goes to see a play, do all the actors wave and smile at her after each scene? My performances are now slightly less hostile, but I won't be getting people on stage for sing-a-longs. I once ate some flowers on stage in Japan that a fan had handed to me, and they started stinging my mouth mid-song. I thought I was going to be sick. Serves me right really.

Pete in crucifix pose

"Homeboy" and "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" are fantastic video clips. Did you have much input into them or were they mainly Tom Laurie's vision? Did you like making clips? Any memorable experiences?

I did have an involvement in the video ideas, often writng an original script idea, that the director would then take in his/her direction. I studied film at university, so I was often brimming with ideas, but it could be very frustrating when I had an idea in my head and the director would appear to know what I was talking about and then when we turned up on the day it was obvious that we were on two totally different wavelengths. We did a video for "I'll be your Saint"; the idea was a dark brooding, church-like atmosphere. "We've got a disused church for the shoot" says the director on the phone. Great. We turn up on the day and it turns out the church doesn't have a roof! Hmmmm....not much chance of that dark, candle lit vibe we were going for. Tom Laurie was the best director we worked with by far, I rate him highly. I've no idea what he's doing now. "Homeboy" was my fave video. In "Sistine" the paint got everywhere, Kevin used to wear earplugs when he was playing live and four months after the video, when he took the plugs out after a gig he would still find paint on them from his ears!

NME photo

How do you approach songwriting in Polak, do you come up with lyrics and the melody and Krzys (or the band) goes on from there? Was adorable a team effort?

I tend to write the melodies for Polak and then work with Krzys on details of a track including the lyrics which are largely a joint effort. Recently though we have been working on songs more as a band, jamming ideas out. Adorable songs were usually based around a bass line or guitar hook written by either Wil or myself; the songs were far more sketchy in their initial stages.

Who came up with those terrific bass lines (Homeboy, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Kangaroo Court and Submarine etc)?

Wil wrote most of the basslines including "Homeboy" which was the whole thrust of the song; I wrote the basslines for a handful of tracks including "Sistine Chapel" and "Kangaroo Court". I'm not sure who did "Submarine".

"Submarine" seems to be full of sexual metaphors?

"Submarine" is not an exercise in Freudian allusions, it's about people's pasts haunting them, shadowing them.

How introspective are your lyrics? "Man in a suitcase", "Lettergo", "Road Movie"? seem quite personal

The songs you refer to are internalised lyrics, whilst songs on the first LP "Fallen idol","Sunshine...", "Crash sight", "Saint" are far more about the external.

You seem reluctant to talk about your lyrics. Do you want people to interpret them themselves?

I would like people to interpret my lyrics, but I don't want to make it too easy for them by giving them clearly labelled signposts. On a minor point, you may not know that "Man in a Suitcase" was the title of a 60's English detective TV show, about a loner P.I. who is always on the move.

You drew inspiration from French film and other "cool" art throughout your adorable phase, is this still a source you use when writing for Polak?

Polak have the ability to be pretentious (Pete, Krzys and Simon in a band together makes this a certainty) however a sense of humour is important. I love films and TV, my brother loves surrealist art (he is a lecturer at Norwich school of art). One Polak song is about Yves Klein - a French sixties situationalist artist, but its not quite as pretentious as it sounds!

The last single you ever released "Vendetta" included the song "This House is Rotten" as a b-side which seems ironic considering what happened soon after. Coincidence?

"This House is Rotten" is again about your surroundings taunting you, though the allusion you make to our situation with Creation is strangely apt. "Everything's fine" (b-side of "Sistine") was inspired by something that one of the Creation bods kept on saying to us when it was quite clear we were in a right pickle, however the song is not about Creation.

HOMEBOY
"I want to drown
beneath the waves
I want to dig myself
a shallow grave
And hold you up
for all to see
I want to cut you up,
I want to watch you bleed,
ever so slowly

You're so beautiful"

SUBMARINE
"I'd like to be alone
Away from your port of stone
But your lighthouse
is calling out
You, coming up for air
Have locked on to my
distressed flare
Run aground,
all hands going down

You are like a submarine
Gliding under me
And you hounded me out,
you hounded me down"

The Sunshine Smile cover picture
is from the french film
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc

Are you surprised that there is still a sizeable following and remberance for adorable, especially on the Internet

Yes I am surprised by the following adorable still commands - we always said that we were aware that we might not become popular until after our artistic death, and it would appear that this may still happen. The interest in the Polak website has also taken us by (pleasant) surprise - we're getting 10 or so visitors a day. The thing I like about unofficial pages are the fact they are written by fans, exchanging snippets of rumours etc. (though often some of the adorable rumours are grossly untrue, I still enjoy reading them).

From the NME (29.2.92) "...If a fan came up and spoke to us, we'd probably be pretty rude. Yeah, I hope they have a good time and that it's because I performed a good gig...But at the end of the day I don't wanna talk to them." Is this still the case?

I find talking to people I don't know awkward, especially if they are full of praise and awe. I'm not that interested in talking to them still, no disrespect intended.

Any final words?

Remember ..."I'm going to come back soon in another life" ("Vendetta"). I'm out of here - Pete

Official site
(news, merchandise, photos, bio)

Unofficial site
(news, rumours, links)

Ajay's site
(news, pictures, lyrics, sound clips, mailing list)

Wandering Minstrel's site
(lyrics, guitar tabs, sound clips, self glorification [adorable fanzine])

Adorable at All Music Guide
(bio, disc)