In The first of a new section to Indie Sheffield, we celebrate still going strong 12 months on by getting personal with the first ever band to appear on Indie Sheffield - The Repomen .
Originally formed in 1991, the Repomen have gone from strength to strength, releasing their debut EP in 2001 and their most recent fourth EP this month. They tell us about differing times, from getting into NME magazine and even on Radio One, to their first ever gig in front of a handful of students.

[Indie Sheffield] The name The Repomen has to be pretty original. I understand it was taken from a movie title from the 80's film 'Repoman'. What's the story behind choosing the name?

[Denzil Watson] The name came from Alex Cox's 80's cult movie "Repoman". There's four of us so "Repoman" became "Repomen. It stars Harry Dean Stanton as a repoman in the US, teaching a very young Emilio Estevez the tricks of the trade. It's very situational and at times a little on the far-fetched side, but if you've never seen it you really need to.

[Simon Tiller] Plus it's got the coolest sound track out, including the likes of Iggy Pop, Black Flag, The Circle Jerks and The Plugz.

[Indie Sheffield] So introduce the current line up for The Repomen.

[Denzil Watson] Vocals, tambourine and keyboards
[Ric Bower] Guitar, vocals, keyboards and anything else he can get his hands on!
[Simon Tiller] Bass guitar, double bass and backing vocals
[James Hughes] Drums and occasional guitar

[Indie Sheffield] Apart from with The Repomen, do any of you have any claim to fame with any other Sheffield band that should be declared at this stage?

[Denzil Watson] Three of us have been in the band for most of our formative years, but Ric was in an indie band called the "Cygnet Committee" and I fronted late 80's Goth-types "The Poisonous Little Creatures"

[James Hughes] I played guitar from "Brian Maiden" in my formative Chester days - we were narrowly pipped at the fame post by Mansun - possibly Chester's only musical export to date.

[Indie Sheffield] You launched your new EP4 recently, start by telling us a bit about it.

[Denzil] It's the fourth in our series of our self released four-track EP's. It started to take shape back in May this year. We recorded the main tracks (guitar, drums, bass and some vocals) at Yellow Arch studios. We then brought the tracks back to The Attic, our home studio, to do the overdubs and the mixing. Lead track "Moonlight Driving" was mixed and produced by Lyndon Hobson, the soundman at the Sheffield Casbah. It's got a bit of a groove to it and was inspired by the possible sighting of a UFO while driving over the Snake Pass late one December night, hence the sci-fi sound effects half way through the song. "The Finest Line" is a more breezy number that has a definite REM feel about it and features Ric on the mandolin. "Untethered" is an acoustic number we've had kicking around for sometime while the final track, "Delta Blues", does what it says on the tin - it's a bluesy six minute wig-out with Ric taking up lead vocal duties.

[Ric] "Delta Blues" is about a car crashing into a river, told from the river's point of view.

[Denzil] So that's the second song about car crashes - what a jolly band we are!

[Indie Sheffield] So as a band what have been your highlights and low points so far?

[Simon] Acclaim from Lamacq. The Radio Session for Raw Talent last August obviously, BBC Radio Humberside is the big time! Looking forward to playing with the Undertones in December

[Denzil] I'd go along with Steve Lamacq playing "Lights out" from our first EP on Radio One. That was pretty cool and pretty much out of the blue. We've done some enjoyable gigs too; May 2002's gig at the Barfly was a real hi-octane affair. Big crowd and a really top notch sound. EP2's launch party with Lynam at the Boardwalk back in November 2001 also comes to mind. Playing with The Cranberries in 1992 in a packed Hallamshire Hotel was good.

[James] I'd have to say supporting "Puressence" last year at the Barfly was a landmark moment for me…. they're an incredible band and I've been a fan for years. I went a bit awestruck on meeting them, which is daft really because they are such down-to-earth geezers. I was also boggled by the "Reel me cuber" EP being played over the sound system straight after the Dead Kennedy's gig in Manchester earlier in the year. Simon, Denzil and I were sidling out amongst the crowds and all of a sudden I thought "hang on...I recognise this".

[Denzil] Low points? Our debut gig in Earnshaw Hall at a student music night back in the depths of 1991. It was me and Ric with one of my students on bass and a very old analogue drum machine. We couldn't hear the drum machine as there was no foldback so we went out of time. The crowd started throwing things and it all got a bit ugly. I thought Ric was going to rap his guitar round some of the students' heads.

[Indie Sheffield] So you got your demo (EP3), in your own words 'slated', in Holly's demo Hell in the NME this year. Given her reputation what did you learn from that - if anything - as an artist?

[Simon] Have you seen her recently? Her column has disappeared in the NME. Ask yourself if that is a coincidence and whether you are brave enough to give the mighty Repomen a bad review.

[Denzil] What did I learn? Erm, don't be lulled into a false sense of security when she hands out a few decent reviews and send a demo in like I did! To be honest little of what she says is of a constructive nature - which is consistent with NME as a whole. If you ain't The Stokes or the White Stripes they're not interested.

[Ric] I'd rather have someone say it's shit or they hate it because it means you're pushing something further than 'it's okay' to push it; extreme reaction is better. Although it could be that it really is shit!

[Indie Sheffield] You've been around the circuit for a while now and there have been a lot of acts come and go in Sheffield, but who has stood out in the past, and who at current do you think could go all the way in the industry?

[Simon] I don't see 'going all the way in the industry' as something that's particularly desirable for an act. Rich Hawley is putting out consistently great stuff and I hope he can continue to write and produce much more of the same. It's unlikely you'll see him filling an arena or becoming incredibly famous though but that's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. I don't think Sheffield needs an enormous selling band, what the city does best is push the boundaries of electronic music from Cabaret Voltaire, through Warp acts and onwards.

[Denzil] Yeah - I'd go along with that. Rich Hawley's a classic song-writer in the mould of Roy Orbison and, to a certain extent, Elvis Costello. Of the bands from Sheffield that have made it big, Pulp, Hawley's old band The Longpigs and Cabaret Voltaire have been my favourites. At a more local level I've always enjoyed watching and playing with bands like The Special Agents and The Moon. I hope The Moon go all the way in the future - they're a top set of boys. I was also impressed by Ormondroyd when we played with them the other week. I think they've definitely got what it takes to make it big on the indie scene.

[Ric] The big boys are obvious. My old faves were The Bollweevils and The Glass Hammers. Matt Howden from the latter band still produces great stuff. There's basically anything you could want out there, you just have to look to find it.

[James] I've always enjoyed a spot of G-G Action….and is now a bad time to mention Def Leppard?

[Denzil] Perhaps not, given all the fuss about The Darkness at the moment.

[Indie Sheffield] So before a gig, what sort of things do you do to psych yourselves up backstage? The word backstage being used loosely referring to the fact that not all venues have a concealed artists area.

[Denzil] You're right there. There aren't too many 'proper' back stages - although the Boardwalk's got a good dressing room.

[Simon] We 'persuade' Denzil PVC trousers are a fashion mistake and his bum does look big in them.

[Denzil] Ha, bloody ha. You were just jealous of them weren't you? Usually, prior to going on stage we're busy sitting on the door collecting money.

[Ric] And tuning up the bloody 12-string. That takes most of the evening.

[Denzil] We haven't got a ritual way of psyching ourselves up. Perhaps a Repomen group hug and the recital of the Repo code.

[James] Aye, we've yet to experience the joys of having roadies, but the twenty spiritual gurus we hire for each gig ensure we enter the stage in a thoroughly focussed and rock'n'roll manner.

[Indie Sheffield] Daft question, but if you were offered that break by sealing a record deal, would you drop everything and take it?

[Simon] No way, record companies are the Devil. You won't be hearing that we've had a Fatboy Slim remix done to market our single

[Denzil] Yep! Sure would. It would have to be the right label - one that gave us 'artistic control' plus gave us a big enough advance to keep us all in the lifestyle were accustomed to! So that rules out most labels then.

[James] Don't you mean the lifestyle to which we could easily become accustomed to?

[Ric] It's all bollocks. All you need is someone famous to cover one of your songs.

[Denzil] Which song in particular did you have in mind?

[Ric] 'Eyes on the road' by Blue

[James] What about 'Lights out' by Stevie Wonder?

[Indie Sheffield] If you could tour with any band who would that be?

[Denzil] In the fantasy stakes it would have to be either Nirvana or Joy Division in order to get an inside view of two of rock's most tortured souls. For bands still around, it would have to be The Flaming Lips for the fun value plus the fact that they're old stagers like us.

[Simon] And we could go on stage dressed as animals!

[Ric] And we'd get in free.

[James] I'd have loved to tour with Elvis and his entourage….guess we still could - aren't they doing the rounds at the moment?

[Ric] Yes…I think one of the members is missing though - the fella that wears the jumps suits.

[Indie Sheffield] What comes first? The lyrics or the music?

[Ric] "Music first, my dear, then the lyrics". A prize CD for the first five people who spot where that quote came from.

[Denzil] Steady on Ric, that'll bankrupt to Repomen merchandising stall.

[Ric] Actually they develop together. Like walking home pissed with 'lyrics' on one foot and 'music' on the other.

[Denzil] For the odd song I've started to write recently it tends to be a riff on the piano, from which comes the melody - to which the words then fit.

[Indie Sheffield] So what are The Repomen's plans for the future?

[Ric] Having a cup of tea, maybe a pint later.

[Denzil] World domination and signing for EMI. Erm, well no not that. Supporting the Undertones in December and starting to write and record for EP5, plus more gigs in Sheffield and perhaps further afield in Manchester and Leeds again and Nottingham.

[Indie Sheffield] Thank you gentlemen. Don't forget to catch The Repomen at The Casbah this evening (Mon 27th Oct).