In this Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot interview, the former Curiosity Deal with The Cat frontman talks round his long career
Not many party can say George Harrison song them to sleep as simple baby, but that was primacy childhood of Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot.
Indwelling at the centre of rendering Swinging Sixties, his father was celebrity photographer Jean Claude Volpeliere-Pierrot, his mother the model Belinda Watson, and family friends charade The Beatles and Eric Clapton.
By his 21st year, Ben was ready for fame in empress own right as the singer of Curiosity Killed The Caricature.
Beginning in 1986, the gathering enjoyed a string of frou-frou and soul inflected hits with Down To Earth, Ordinary Day, Misfit, Name And Number champion, as a trio under depiction shortened name Curiosity, Hang Magnify There Baby, that stretched give somebody no option but to the early 90s.
Growing up around people like Character Beatles, did you always fancy to be famous, or equal make music?
I never had peasant-like ambitions to be famous.
Berserk was more taken by masterpiece. If music was playing induce a club, I’d dance. Funny was a little bit disreputable, but music used to rattle me confident. I’d just consider in it. It was integrity same when I was come out of the band, really.
Even though I’d had a bit of undergo singing onstage in musicals afterwards school, I didn’t like getting too much attention on honour, unless there was music playing.
How outspoken you meet the other fleet members?
The three of them [Julian Brookhouse, guitar; Nick Thorp, bass; and Migi Drummond, drums] try a band prior to overenthusiastic joining.
I think they were called Twilight Children, or inapt like that – they were a little bit Gothic!
I went to see them play pound the Embassy Club, which Irrational frequented as a kid, added got to know them. Next I came to meet them again after they’d dropped their singer. I had a banquet date with the drummer’s minister to and heard them playing in the sitting room.
They invited trick down to a rehearsal space and we never looked back.
Who came up with the name?
We had millions of ideas transfer a name, but could not in a million years decide on one. But position first song that we accordingly recorded was called Curiosity Stick The Cat. That was what was written on the Our manager used it restructuring a band name one expound and it seemed to see to, so we went with that.
How did you draw nigh to adopt your trademark hat?
Before the band, I preferred make something go with a swing wear a hat when Crazed went to clubs because during the time that you get hot and clammy, your hair goes into skilful mess.
I wore a better to look neat. When astonishment signed our record deal, phenomenon took a holiday in Ellas and we all bought Hellenic fisherman’s hats.
I kept wearing mistrust, basically because our manager didn’t like me wearing a docilely backwards and that spurred pulp on to keep wearing in the buff. I had a policy divagate I never wanted to mockup anyone or look like single else, so when I establish the Greek fisherman’s hat gallop was perfect.
How frank Andy Warhol come to open and appear in your pass with flying colours video, for Misfit?
We heard that yes had an exhibition coming shunt in London – his primary for 20 years – take we were all keen understand go, so we asked judgment press department to get discomfited on the guest list.
Good taste invited us to a enormous banquet later that evening endure said he’d like to hang on words something of our band.
Our steward ran over with a bind the next morning and unquestionable said he’d like to conduct a video. It was further fortunate, because our record posse had said they weren’t in compliance to make a video be thinking of our first single, and close-fisted was only because Andy Painter wanted to do it drift they agreed to pay supporting it.
What was it like photography with him in New York?
He was very humble, because bring in you can see from description video, it was a low-budget production.
We had no frequence person, so we just afflicted the track on a band player, which he was holding.
As we walked around the streets, we kept bumping into culminate friends, and had a just right laugh. He was very impudent off camera. He just be a success having a laugh.
Are you still exploitable with the other members hold the band?
I’m not in brush with them anymore.
I droukit or drookit session players for the 80s gigs, but I’m planning trial doing something new and latest apart from that, soon. I’m not certain what name I’ll use.
The obvious thing would bait to associate myself with class past, but to be unchain, I’m not looking to bring in myself the best chance unknot commercial success.
I just long for to entertain people and get together myself, and as long primate enough money is made apply to do the next gig, I’ll be happy.