After a train diversion, Rm13 jumped on the last bus to Brighton and legged it down to the Prince Albert. Why you ask? To meet with Louisa Carr and Lucy Dalton; 2 out of 3 of the Brighton based punk outfit Teasing LuLu.
Rm13 and the girls try and settle themselves in the back room- no one realised it was reggae night, so amid the loud singer whos slurring away into the PA system and the steady thumping of the bass, we end up taking refuge in the girls toilets of all places. Sitting elegantly on the window ledge is Lucy (vox & bass), while Louisa leans against a door smoking her cigarette with style; (Rm13 is trying to find a place to stand thats not near the dubious liquid on the floor but is close enough so we dont have to shout from the other side of the room).
I was trying to start a band that was just girls begins Louisa, we had so much trouble trying to get it together so we thought well have one last try and we went to the Guitar and Amp Centre in Brighton and put up an advert. Lucy had an advert in there looking for people
Lucy: They had bands down like Morcheeba and all these different people, and I was like who?.
Louisa: Then we met up in Borders coffee shop and chatted
Lucy: No! I e-mailed you and you replied and said you were into all this Bubblegum Pop and all these people I had never heard of.
Lucy went for it anyway and Teasing LuLu became an all girl three piece. Unfortunately their original drummer, Becky left and Stevie Styx (who is a guy by the way) stepped in; since then theyve been recording and gigging. Lucy later tells Rm13 how they tried recording in a professional studio, but as far as they were concerned it was awful and you can do so much better at home.
Lucy: Next year were recording with JJ from The Stranglers.
At the mention of this Louisa jumps up and animatedly tells Rm13- Hes my hero! I dunno if you noticed on the recording, but its pretty obvious! For her it was The Stranglers that pushed her into the glorious hell of Rock N Roll. When she got a bass for her 16th Birthday all she did was sit in her room playing Stranglers songs. Lucy on the other hand played a few other instruments including the flute before she moved onto the guitar. For Lucy it was Damien from Blur. I fell in love with Damien and was like Ive got to meet Damien man!.
Rm13: What was your first gig like?
Louisa: We had this really scrappy rehearsal tape and we only had four songs right!
Four songs! And we were like lets go get a gig! straight away! We were
really excited but we were awful! We had to repeat songs cause we didnt
have enough to fill up the set. But we loved it!
Lucy: It was the first time we saw our names on a flyer Louisa cuts in again- in tiny letters at the bottom. But it was good enough to keep us wanting more.
Despite the fact that theyve been going for two years now, Teasing LuLu are still unsigned. Its a travesty! Louisa shouts at the dicataphone (Rm13 agrees) weve had some people, but the way it goes is that people get interested and nothing happens. This, Teasing LuLu reckons is because they dont fit in with anyone else and as girls in a band its hard to be taken seriously. I think with girls she continues theyre not sure what to do with girls in bands- we just do our thing and have a laugh. Lucy leans over and with a solemn expression firmly points out that its not a hobby. But despite this, theyve never been heckled- they say theyve seen it happen to other girl bands, but theyve never had a problem.
Both the girls and Rm13 agree that the last chance women had to really be IN a band was during the Punk era of the 70s/80s, and since then record companies are still not too sure what to with bands like Teasing LuLu.
Louisa: I know were good and can play as well as the boys can, and weve proved that we can rockbut we shouldnt have to prove it.
Rm13: Where do you see Teasing LuLu in the future?
Louisa: You always hope you get a record deal- thats what we want, to put
something out and go on tour.
Lucy: Just releasing our records. (Although they later decide that ruling the world would be an added bonus).
Rm13: If you were a drink what would you be?
Louisa: A drink?
Lucy: Errrrsomething basic- lager!
Louisa: Lager! No something a bit more complicated than that!
Lucy: Zambooka
Louisa: Yeah.why?
Lucy: Because… (A long silence ensues) it makes you feel gooood!
Louisa: Everything
Lucy: We could make our own!
Louisa: Our own cocktail!
The both in unison- a bit of cranberry, vodka, lime
Lucy: You gotta have lime in there
Nearly an hour later, Louisa and Lucy decide theyre a Bitter Top. Why? Because its not too simple and its not sweet and its not girlie. So thatll be a Bitter Top please mate.
Emily Warner (28th Nov 2004: Prince Albert, Brighton)
Original Interview here: http://www.roomthirteen.com/features/65/Teasing_Lulu_Interview_28th_Nov_2004_Prince_Albert.html