Conversations with Culture Icons
Antonino Tati
CR
Over the last couple of decades journalist Antonino Tati has written for a wide variety of publications, and he founded the magazine Cream. It’s a journey that has given him the chance to interview a wide range of musicians including many childhood heroes and absolute legends.
This book is an intriguing collection of interviews from the early ’90s through to the present day. It’s an update of his previous release There’s Your Quote, Mate, incorporating some material from that work alongside some new interviews.
Fame is status that rises and falls. Many of the people Tati has chatted to are huge stars, some he interviewed when they were up-and-comers, many at the during their imperial period, others long after their hey-day. Collectively they make fascinating reading as we dip in and out of different points in people’s career trajectories.
Interviewing people is an art. It takes skill. Having interviewed hundreds of people myself I can attest that you never know how it’s going to go. People in the spotlight can be charming, grumpy, confused, sometimes they struggle to say comprehensible sentences, other times they’re deep and profound or even inspirational.
People can be having a bad day. You can be the 25th journalist they’ve spoken to about their new album since they had breakfast. They can be in the oddest of places when they take your call, or often your meeting in a hotel room or bar with them in dark glasses suffering the worst jetlag.
Interesting interviews are often when you can get the celebrity to chat about anything except their latest album their trying to sell you. Unexpected stories and observations on society are all far more interesting that the working relationship they had with their producer.
Often people don’t walk to talk about the thing that people most want to know about them, it’s an art and a game, always leave the touchy question towards the end, if they hang up or kick out at least you still have something to file.
As I began working my way through the over 50 interviews in this collection, I wondered how many people included would be people I myself have also interviewed. Surprisingly the crossover was just five – Tori Amos, Taylor Dayne, Sheena Easton, Dame Edna Everage and Suzi Quatro.
If you’re a fan of pop music there’ll definitely be a few of your favourite musicians in this collection.
Kylie Minogue chatted to Tati in 1994 just as she began her indie Kylie phase releasing Confide in Me. An interview with Boy George is from around the same period. Robbie Williams chatted to Tati in 1999, bit others are more recent like Peter Hook and Suzi Quatro are more recent.
Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon was interviewed in 2000 just as they released their tenth album Pop Trash, at a time when the band had been reduced to just a trio of Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo. A few year later the band’s original five-piece line up would reunited and kick off a new era for the British pop stars.
Alongside the chats Tati shares his own personal anecdotes about the experience of chatting to the stars. From spotting Duran Duran’s former bass player John Taylor on a plane and sending notes back and forth, to hanging out with Pet Shop Boys, charming Patti Smith and upsetting Darren Hayes. Many of the interviews come with a dollop gossip, and admissions of the authors own hard partying days.
The end of the book takes an unexpected turn. An interview with Sean (P.Diddy) Combs from 1999 is included, its ends with Combs speaking about his religious beliefs, this is followed up with a post-script discussion of Combs today, awaiting trail for litany of alleged sex crimes. I’m not sure it’s an analysis the world needed.
Finally a 2017 interview with Charli XCX comes with a recollection of an awkward moment when the singer declined to take part in a fast game of word association, which is juxtaposed with a critique of her most recent videos and suggestions that seven years later she’s hypocritical in her views. I don’t think she’ll be caring, she’s been enjoying her BRAT summer. The final sign off is Tati sharing his views on feminism, LGBTIQA+ representation, pop star’s presentation and the state of pop tunes.
Overall this is a book that pop music fans will love, an interesting collection for anyone wanting to study the art of the interview; trainwrecks included. It’s a fun collection that you can dip into, reading just a few of the interviews at a time.
Conversations with Culture Icons: An Anthology of Unconventional Interviews From a Mixed Up, Muddled-Up Music Scene by Antonino Tati is available now.
