Lovers of the Fancy
LD Where does the name Lovers of the Fancy come from? What other names did you consider for your band?
LOTF Lovers of the Fancy is a Victorian term for boxing fans; particularly those that drunk and gambled during a fight. I think I had noticed the phrase in one of the Penguin Great ideas books and also in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. When they wanted to raise the image of boxing from street brawls to a manly art of prize fighting, they started using Lovers of the Fancy for the fans. Lovers of the Fancy gradually became The Fancy and there’s a theory that it may even have become Fans. I don’t any of us are actually fans of boxing but it’s a lovely, over-the-top and florid name and sometimes our gigs can feel a little combative.
https://finespangledsort.com/whats-in-a-name-the-fancy/
There used to be a self-help mantra that went Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better. I find I look in the mirror in the morning and say Every day, in every way, I'm getting fatter and fatter. Getting older and larger, I had wanted to call the band Richard Lamy’s Love Handles but I think James and Simon didn’t take to the idea.
LD What can you tell me about the drummer and the bass player in your band? Will you dump them both the second you get any success?
LOTF The drummer is called James and the bass player is called Simon. James is also an artist who makes work based on variations and polyrhythms. We started with drums and me playing an electric 5 string banjo. This was nice but wasn’t as versatile or as full sounding as it could have been so I switched to the guitar and called Simon to see if he fancied playing bass. Simon had played drums in a band we were in together called The Lamy Brothers but I knew that he had played double bass in rockabilly bands in the past. I’m hoping to retain them both. They are both very natural players and have a wide frame of reference which is a great help. I don’t have to transcribe anything or spell anything out to them.
LD I was impressed by your guitar playing when I saw your show at the New Cross Inn. What do you consider your strengths as a guitarist?
LOTF Thank you very much. I use a hybrid picking technique where I play with a pick between my thumb and forefinger but also pick strings with ring finger. This means I can accompany melody lines with bass notes etc. I play a lot of Chet Atkins, rockabilly and delta blues at home which is where this technique comes from. It can really help filling out the sound of a power trio like Lovers of the Fancy although it’s a little more rough and ready in the context of the bluesabilly Victoriana Stomp that we play.
LD Are you at your happiest playing music live on stage?
LOTF I am definitely at my happiest playing music with other people. Playing on stage can be amazing but it can also be terrible; it’s a very heightened experience. There are a lot of things I need to remember and coordinate: singing, playing guitar, stage antics ... and I have to combine it all in a way that looks like it’s happening naturally and requires no effort at all. Nobody notices the miracles anymore.
LD I like the lyrics to your song Miracles. Do you believe in God and have you ever been religious?
LOTF I don’t currently believe in God. The God of the song Miracles is meant to be a benevolent, aging father-figure; he is taken for granted and his children talk to him on Sundays and only ever see him at Christmas. The line in the chorus “If I didn't exist ... you’d have to invent me” is a reference to Voltaire’s little atheistic joke “If God didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
LD You’re married to a woman called Clare who works as a midwife and you wrote a song about her called Midwife Crisis, is she a fan of the song and your music? What other music does she listen to?
LOTF I'm not sure. I wrote the song about 15 years ago and have played it in various bands. I don’t know if she likes it or my music particularly although she tolerates it stoically. Recently she has been listening to Elle King, Florence and the Machine, The Weekend and Portugal, the Man. She has much more contemporary and relevant tastes than I do ... I just asked Clare and she says yes, she does like the song Midwife Crisis and that she thinks that there should be more songs about midwives.
LD Are there any songs that have the power to make you cry or any songs that always make you get up and dance?
LOTF There are plenty of songs that do both. I always used to listen to Shelter from the Storm or Mama, you been on my mind by Bob Dylan when I broke up with someone. Songs have the tendency to make me strut and pout rather than dance. Songs like She Said by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and recently I’ve been listening to The Courettes. They do some good dancing tunes. Sugar on Top by The Dirtbombs.
LD Sir Mick Jagger once said, “As long as my face is on page one. I don’t care what they say about me on page 17.” Do you relate to this quote or do you worry about what they say about you on page 17?
LOTF I’m getting on a bit now and am also a parent. I worry about everything. The great thing about having the band is that they can be very reassuring. I don’t trust my own taste, I have moments of great self doubt in a way that I never did when I was younger. I don’t know my own opinions anymore. Which is maybe a good thing, as the world changes around you. I don't know.
LD How many songs do Lovers of the Fancy have in their repertoire? How far off are you from recording an album?
LOTF We have about 10 songs that we play regularly with another couple in early stages of work. We have recorded four of those songs and they are available on spotify and amazon and all those sorts of streaming places. It would be good to get another load recorded soon and maybe get something out in the physical world.
LD What do you feel optimistic about? What makes you smile and think that life is not so bad?
LOTF Music and my family (my wife Clare, my son Felix, and my daughter Rosetta) are the things that make me happiest and that's good because during the lockdown that was all that was readily available. I think general silliness, particularly family silliness, is underrated. My one year old is called Rosetta and, when she’s happy, she closes her eyes and wiggles her arms and legs and everything she can. I like to close my eyes and wiggle too; it’s very hard to be sad when you wiggle.
