Beeb
Issue 13
23 April 1985
IT’S THE STRAWBERRY (SWITCHBLADE) SEASON!
It seems it was only Since Yesterday Strawberry Switchblade hit the charts with that successful single. They soon followed it up with another, their current release Let Her Go, and now have an album out, too! Certainly, Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, two former Glaswegian punks who’ve strikingly ‘switched’ to polka-dots and ribbons, are proving highly-fashionable this present pop season – and talkative, too!
Do you buy your ribbons per square yard?
Rose: Yeah! Then we cut them into strips.
Jill: Sometimes, it goes in our soup. And it makes crossing the road extremely hazardous!
What is your favourite country?
Both: Scotland.
Rose: When I wake up in the morning, I sometimes still think I’m in Glasgow and I look out the window and say ‘oops, I’m in London’
What is your favourite restaurant?
Rose: Anywhere that does boiled potatoes and cabbage. When I lived in Glasgow there were potato fields near me, so I used to go and dig up my own dinner.
Jill: We’re vegetarian, you see. My pappa used to grow tatoes in the garden.
Why did you want to be pop stars?
Rose: To have a good laugh and show off. I just want to sing! Can I sing all my answers now?
Jill: Oh, no!
What did you do last night?
Rose: I watched TV.
Jill: I did the Trivia Quiz for Radio One and I didn’t get any questions right, except at the end!
What did you have for breakfast?
Jill: I didn’t have breakfast.
Rose: Some mineral water. We’re saving our breakfast for lunch, so we can eat more!
What makes you happy?
Rose: Chocolate. I like pralines. Yummy yummy!
Jill: My favourite chocolates are those really expensive, fresh cream ones from Belgium! (sigh!)
Did you have a teddy when you were young?
Rose: Yes, and I still have it.
Jill: I’ve one in my bag right now, that I carry round with me.
If you weren’t a singer what would you like to be?
Rose: A singer!
Jill: A famous artist.
What makes you laugh?
Rose: Jill
Jill: Rose!
What do you clean your shoes with?
Rose: Puddles!
Jill: Occasionally, I use a brush and polish.
How do you see yourselves in 10 years time?
Rose: I’m sure I’ll be able to sing a bit better because my voice will have got used to it.
Jill: We’ll still be involved in music. But I want to be a presenter on breakfast television.
What do you watch on TV?
Rose: I love documentaries – nature and animal ones. And I really, really, really love medical documentaries. I wanted to be a brain surgeon when I was young. The teacher went round the class asking everybody what they wanted to do and I said, ‘A pop star or a brain surgeon’.
Jill: Top of The Pops – and Grange Hill. That’s great!
Have you any pets?
Rose: I’ve one deaf cat, called ‘Mr Greedy’. But she’s a female and she’s white.
Jill: I’ve three cats.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Both: (singing) ‘..and they called it Puppy Love..’
Jill: We both bought that. We didn’t know each other then.
What other jobs have you done?
Rose: I worked in a baker’s shop, and I used to eat cakes galore.
Jill: I used to work in a flower shop – my mum’s!
Do you play a sport?
Rose: No.
Jill: My only exercise is stretching out of bed to reach my cup of tea.
