Interview With The Paddingtons (4/7) By Joe Hakim Photos By Ray Ribeiro and The Paddingtons at The Adelphi By Darren Rogers

(1/7), (2/7), (3/7), (4/7), (5/7), (6/7), (7/7).

Photograph Gallery   The Paddingtons Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,    Gallery 4,    Gallery 5.

"Rough night," he says, handing me the tape recorder. I go over the brief outline of the article and he nods intently. Cilla and Mo have had time to adjust to my strange habits and demands - the late night phone calls where I change a single word because it makes the whole thing read entirely differently, things like that - but it's been more of a crash course for Ray. I've always insisted that writing is a form of psychosis, and the messy process of actually getting the fucking piece written can be quite gruesome to witness.

I leave him to go home to sleep off whatever it was he was doing, and I set off to Lloyd's. As I'm walking down Bev Road, a group of about five chavs run past me pursued by a couple of coppers. The chubbiest chav gives up and stops running. Panting, he lights the cig dangling from his lips and waits for the coppers to reach him. The coppers stop and arrest him, but his mates get away, so the sacrifice isn't in vain I suppose. It may have even been planned.

After a while I reach Lloyd's place and I knock on the door. Lloyd answers and lets me in, and I walk through to the kitchen. Marv's sat at the table with Lloyd's girlfriend and Stuee Le Page, the guy who's filling in for Marv. I shake everyone's hand except Marv's, because it's covered in this plastic shield thing and I don't want to be responsible for any more damage. "This is J," Lloyd says. "He's writing an article about us." Stuee and Llyod get their guitars and coats, and Llyod's girlfriend gives us a lift to Josh's place. "I'll see you guys down there" says Marv.

It must be such a fuckin' weird situation for him, I think as I'm leaving. What a fuckin' thing to happen, and what a time for it to happen in...

We pull up at Josh's. "That's our old tour bus" Lloyd says, pointing to a haggard looking white Leyland van. "We're still using it to get about, but it's fuckin had it." As we get out of the car and get the guitars from the boot, Josh greets us at the door wearing just his boxers, munching on a slice of cheese and tomato on toast. "Shit, are yer getting ready then?" Lloyd asks as we walk inside. Grant's crashed out on the sofa watching MTV2. There's a plate next to him, and the crumbs make it clear that cheese and tomato on toast must be a traditional Paddington hangover cure.

"I've just woke up," he says. "I was fucked last night, I tell yer." I sit on one of the armchairs. I feel like a strange sweaty guy in a huge green coat clutching a carrier bag and a notebook, and that's exactly what I am.

"J's gonna interview us," Lloyd says to the others. "You can start now if you want," he says, looking over at me. I take the tape recorder out of my pocket and it occurs to me that I have absolutely no idea how it works. I fiddle with it for what seems like forever (a phrase I've used before, but in very different circumstances), and it emits a sickening grinding noise. Eventually, a red light goes on to let me know it's recording.

Continued ...next page

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtsey and Copyright ©  Ray Ribeiro and Darren Rogers 2005

Photograph Gallery   The Paddingtons Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,    Gallery 4,    Gallery 5.

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