Delia Sparrow -

- Who are you , where are you come from ...

Delia - I was born in London - I've always lived in North London. I love London!

- How did you come into music?

I used to always dance to music when I was a baby/toddler. My dad plays guitar and sings - he used to busk in London in the 60s. He did a session for John Peel in the early 70s but sadly there's no recording of that. I joined any choir at school that would let me join and had any music lessons I could.

- Your first souvenir about that ?

Hm. I still have the first battered acoustic guitar I had when I was small. It has a big hole in it badly mended with weird cement. I also have my first electric guitar that I brought with my first school grant. I still play it live sometimes - it's good!

- What kind of music did you listen when you were young ?

Me and my brother would have fights over who would get to tape the 'sounds of the 60s' radio programmes. We would hold up a microphone to the radio so you can hear us fighting in the back ground...

- Any favorite band when you were young ?

I never knew the names of anything I heard - just the songs - but I think i liked the sound of things like Everly Brothers/ Poni-Tails, Chordettes...harmonies and that slightly mournful recording sound...

- First record ?

First record I remember buying was Streetband - Toast. I bought it for my brother's xmas present but I liked it so much I kept it. I remember having the Harder They Come Soundtrack, That'll Be The Day soundtrack and a compilation called 'Midnight Hustle' which was disco. I loved them all. The other first single I remember buying is Boots by Nancy Sinatra from an Oxfam shop.

- First gig ?

First gig I went to was the Boomtown Rats - it was their last ever gig and Ireland had just won a rugby match. I got there at the time it said on the ticket (obviously when doors opened) I went down the very front and read my book til the bands came on. It was okay with the supports but when the Boomtown Rats came on everyone pushed and shoved to the front. I got very squashed. I got lifted to the back over people's heads (i'm pretty short and i was getting very pushed around...).

- Did you were in a youth cult ? Does style was important for you ? 

When I was about 10 I loved two-tone and ska. I used to have a black trilby with a little white band, I wore little black shoes with a chain across, black socks, skinny black trousers, black shirt, black and white checked tie and had The Specials/Madness all over my school bag! I tried to look like The Special I guess...oh and I had a Harrington bomber jacket - you know...with the tartan inside...

later I used to just like dressing up in general so sometime's I'd go to school in floor length velvet skirts with no shoes wearing my hair down and patchouli and lots of beads ....or another time i'd have studded belts and ripped jeans and sleeveless t-shirts and black lipstick..or i would wear 50s circular skirt with lots of petticoats, a ponitail, pointy shoes, fishnet stockings.....i guess i liked music from lots of genres scenes so would just pick and choose! I always end up staring at people who are dressed well! Style is very important to me but at the moment i just wear lots of jeans and t-shirts...

- Your past hobbies ? your best souvenirs ?

most of what i like doing is based on music. me and my friend did a fanzine when we were 16. I've written for other fanzines/magazines (music ones!) I don't really have a lot of souvenirs from gigs...i have diaries where i'd write down all the gigs i went to...

- Did you ever play in a band ?

I've been in a few bands - these are the one's who've had records out...

Mambo Taxi - all girl garagey punky pop band

Phantom Pregnancies - Nihilistic noise punky stuff

Baby Birkin - French pop - Gainsbourg obsessed garagey stuff!

Manic Cough - pop punk

The Family Way - 60sy countryish poppy

The Schla La Las - all girl indie-garagey pop

VA6 - synth-rock'n'roll!

The Action Time - rock'n'roll/punk/soul 3 girls/3 boys

The Werewandas (still going now) garage-rock'n'roll - just had a 7" single out!

The Punjab Rovers - collaboration between Mambo Taxi and Cornershop

The A-lines - all girl garage-rock band

And I'm in a band now called The Nuns who play cover versions of songs by The Monks. I'm also working on an all girl glam-rock band called Romeo Challenger (Tim Glam Chops is helping write songs!) it's very slow though!

- What kind of music do you listen now ?

hmmm....well i go out with tim purr so I can't help but listen to lots of glam-rock! luckily i like it but mostly i like the poppier side of glam-rock...i like early Sweet and i like Mud and Milk N Cookies and stuff like that - I don't mind it but i'm not SOO fond of things like Hector/Iron Virgin - the harder stuff....I work in a music venue so hear a lot of indie bands from now...the latest contemporary band I heard taht I really liked was Django Django. that was fantastic! Sort of dancey but in a very restrained way...I like garage-rock but most modern garage-rock bands aren't so good...I like Skinny Girl Diet - teen grrrl band! they're great.

- Your 5 favorite records ?

VERY HARD!!! Velvet Underground, Lee Hazlewood, Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley, Incredible String Band - they're probably my top five bands. maybe...

- Your favorite song (difficult !!! ) ? woo that's hard! When You Are King by the White PLains/Jackie at the moment!