Melody Maker

19 October 1985

Sharp Fruit

Strawberry Switchblade have dumped the polka dots, recorded Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ and started indulging in solo projects with the likes of Psychic TV! What’s the story here then, girls? Investigative reporter: Helen FitzGerald. Picture: Paul Rider.

‘We didn’t wake up one morning and think hey! – let’s do a hi-energy version of Jolene!’

Jilly Switchblade giggles as the obvious question is posed (aren’t these journalists boring?). ‘But we’ve always like Dolly Parton, we’d recorded the song for a radio session and we loved it. We thought the whole concept of us doing a Dolly Parton song was quite funny, quite camp,’ she blushes, ‘and really there was no way we’d ever write a dance record ourselves so this seemed tailor made’.

The fact that the single in question isn’t exactly setting the charts on fire is a travesty of justice… as a cover the song is inspired (the Strawberrys twist pathos into a parody with a wicked sense of humour) and as a turning point for Rose and Jill t might also be significant.

For a start the polka dots and ribbons have been relegated to the back of the wardrobe; today Jill looks almost demure in plum, while Rose is a shocking contrast in a black plastic catsuit with a very revealing bodice and black patent lace-up stiletto boots. What’s happened here?

But it’s not just the clothes that serve to dispel their loathsome cutesie-pie associations.

‘I think people think that we spend all our free time sewing or making ribbons,’ Jill sighs. ‘I really want to get away from that nice idea that people have about us. It’s so boring’.

One thing that should persuade people to alter their preconceptions is the release of their solo projects. Jill: ‘It’s not always possible to do everything you want in one band so we’ve been working separately with other people which has been really good for both of us – and in fact I think has improved out writing together as well’.

Rose has just completed the backing vocals on the new Psychic TV album (a long way from ‘Since Yesterday’ eh?) and is co-writing and working with Bee, formerly with Getting The Fear, and otherwise known as notorious Barnsley androgenee Paul Hampshire.

Jill, meanwhile, has been in cahoots with Steve Bronski. The plot thickens.

Jill: ‘Yeah, I’ve been writing some songs with Steve, we met at TOTP and working together is brilliant. If we write something and nobody likes it then it doesn’t have to be released. With Switchblades we’re writing stuff that the record company is waiting to hear – there’s an amount of pressure on us. Working with someone outside that is really good’.

Both hope to release their individual projects soon.

Rose: ‘The PTV thing was just baking vocals, I’d known Alec Fergusson for years and he asked me to work with them, but the material I’m writing with Bee is serious, we plan to release it as soon as we can’.

The image change s merely a part of a concerted effort to escape from the misinterpretation of their previous persona. It’s hard to be taken seriously when people assume that you’re cute but stupid.

‘Oooh I used to get so angry sometimes at the way we were treated,’ Jill fumes, ‘like we didn’t have an idea to put together between us. We still have all the polka dot dresses and wear them sometimes but these are the clothes we like wearing now. People get annoyed though, when you change in any way. We did a series of public appearances last week and some people seemed to want their money back because we weren’t exactly as they’d seen us on telly’.

In the ‘Jolene’ video Rose’s wardrobe could definitely come under the ‘kinky’ heading.

‘Noo,’ she squeals, ‘I’m not… the thing is that I’ve been wearing rubber and plastic outfits for years, it’s just that people didn’t get to see me in them’.

‘The thing is that we’d really like people to see our sense of humour,’ Jill argues. ‘It’s something I think they’ve missed in the past. Because of our songs and the way we sing they tend to think that we’re really insipid. We’re not, we’re wild women!’

Recently Jill and Rose have been to Japan (Jill loved it but Rose spent the whole time wandering around the hotel dressed in her housecoat and a tiara) and have been writing songs for a new Strawberry Switchblade album. Their last one was almost exclusively electronic, so will they want to do things differently this time?

‘It would be great to do some things with a band, basically on the last album everything tended to sound the same,’ Jill confirms, ‘obviously we’ll want to make this one more textured’.

Rose: ‘We want to do something a bit more exciting to make it more exciting for us. It is difficult for us to predict exactly how the songs will change but I think if you get to the stage where you haven’t got the courage to progress or try something new then it must become like a job… like working on Woolies or something’.

Jill has her priorities straight too: ‘I know that this business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and believe me we don’t spend all our time dong dead glamorous things. But once it’s still fun for the both of us, once we enjoy writing and all the associated things, then we’ll be alright. It has to be fun d’you see? Once it stops being fun we might as well forget it. But I think that won’t be for quite a while yet,’ she chuckles, adjusting the wired corset that threatens to cut off her air supply completely. ‘We just think the whole situation is quite daft so we might as well enjoy it while we can’.