Peter Capaldi’s life in a teenage Glasgow punk band and a public apology to the Cocteau Twins
Peter Capaldi – aka Malcolm Tucker, Dr Who, the universal screen delight and an Oscar-winning film director – was the singer in the punk band the Dreamboys in the late ‘70s who put out a single when he was at the art school in Glasgow. And then became an actor. And then - in the grand tradition of actors who’ve made albums, Hugh Laurie, Scarlett Johansson, Jeff Bridges and Keanu Reeves among them – released St Christopher in 2021. He’s just recorded a second, Sweet Illusions, and talks to us in this extremely funny and entertaining pod about …
… how his sole motivation was “a burning desire to be on the telly”.
… the difference between fronting bands and being in plays.
… how he grievously stitched up support band the Cocteau Twins at a gig in Grangemouth.
… a teenage love of Slade - “a bit terrifying but still a bit safe”.
… first-hand evidence of the connection between Blakey from On the Buses, Adolph Hitler and Beatles.
… “you have to write a hundred songs before you can write a good one”.
… arriving at art school in ’76 a Neil Young fan and his overnight transformation – “peroxide hair, PVC trousers and bright red crepe sole shoes”.
… seeing Simple Minds at the Mars Bar in Glasgow, Jim Kerr with his Shakespearian haircut, “strange, powerful, imaginative, post-glam”.
… forming the Dreamboys and “trying to be big, clever and Kafka-esque”.
… the stigma of being virtually the only band in Glasgow not to get a John Peel session.
… writing the “bizarro pulp” lyrics for the Dreamboys – “we couldn’t decide if we were the Cramps or Talking Heads”.
… what’s required, “apart from a terrible Scouse accent”, in playing John Lennon onstage and George Harrison onscreen.
… auditioning (comedian, actor, TV host) Craig Ferguson as the band’s drummer.
… how Bill Forsyth launched his acting career: “one minute you’re supporting Altered Images, the next in a movie with Burt Lancaster”.
… forming a duo with Keanu Reeves when filming Dangerous Liaisons in Paris – powdered wigs in the daytime, guitar/bass punk-thrash at night.
.. the romantic Edward Hopper charm of Glasgow in the ‘70s - proto-goths, street lights, rain.
… how Dr Robert of the Blow Monkeys and four months filming The Suicide Squad in Atlanta spurred him into writing songs.
… the greatest record of all time.
Order the Sweet Illusions album here:
https://shop.lastnightfromglasgow.com/products/peter-capaldi-sweet-illusions-vinyl-lp-cd-lossless-dl
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Word In Your Ear
Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.
Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians and authors in front of an audience.
Over these years they've produced hundreds of hours of material. As of the Current Unpleasantness of 2020, they've produced yet hundreds of hours more with a little help from guests kind enough to digitally show them around their attics such as Danny Baker, Andy Partridge, Sir Tim Rice and Mark Lewisohn. For the full span of the Word In Your Ear world, visit wiyelondon.com.
Get bonus content on PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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