An interview with Bob Bartey and Marcus Lazarus of Banned On The Run.

What would you do if Paul McCartney turned up at a gig one night?
Bob: I wouldn't let him sing anything - not Macca stuff anyway!!
Marcus: Panic - Gods knows how much we owe him in royalties!!

What was the hardest McCartney song to learn and why?
Bob: Standing Stone. I can never remember the words!
Marcus: The bloody Melody 9 - why need ask?!

What is the greatest song riff Paul has ever written?
Bob: I don't do riffs - you'll have to ask Marcus!
Marcus: I've got two personal favourites - 'Juniors Farm' and 'The World Tonight'. Also the "Oh Yeah" section of 'C'mon People' is a special favourite of mine!!

When on stage, do you actually imagine that you are Paul, or are you just Bob?
Bob: Just me - but I can see him, now and again, especially after a few pints!!

What are you thinking when you are on stage?
Bob: Help!! What comes next!!
Marcus: If I am not worrying about the others getting bits of a song wrong, or trying desperately to remember the first few notes of a solo (check out the video for Liverpool 97, Royal Court. 'Go Now' - Arghhh!!), or remembering which patch on the effects unit does what or working out if the guitars are in tune (especially Bob's) or looking to see if the others are enjoying the set…You get the general idea!! (Bless! Too much stress for Marcus!!)

Which do you prefer, Wings or McCartney solo?
Bob: No preferences - Paul is Paul!
Marcus: As you would expect we don't really have any preferences. Although Wings was supposed to be a 'band' with a famous bass player in it, it was still the McCartney presence in everything they did that shone through, so personally I view that era as an extension of his solo work, rather than a different project altogether.

How often does a band like Banned on the Run have to rehearse and have you ever thought of doing an acoustic Paul set - Rockshow style?
Marcus: Convention sets are always different to the normal sets we take out in the pubs and clubs, so we usually end up rehearsing a few days/weeks before the event, for special numbers. Liverpool '98 when we played The Royal Court we actually rehearsed the full set the night before! God knows how we got away with it! If you have got the video, you will see the bass player is constantly looking at his notes on the floor! As for the acoustic set, it is something that keeps cropping up as a suggestion every now and then, but never seems to materialise. Bob and I have gone out as a duo doing McCartney numbers with just acoustic guitars and the reaction has been pretty good - especially for our version of Rocky Racoon!

Jo Rishton
TWIL Issue One July 2000