Where have this new band The Dandy Warhols sprung from

�

A.� The Dandy Warhols have come from Portland Oregon, but they are anything but new. The hit single Bohemian Like You has been lifted from their third album the intriguingly titled Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia.

�����������������������

Q.� So where have they been until now < xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

A.� Like a lot of great bands�- Pulp spring to mind�- The Dandy Warhols have been busy living up to their initial promise, and forming a growing and increasingly fanatical fan base in the process, but being ignored by the world at large.

�

The band - whose vocalist Courtney Taylor-Taylor is�pictured on�our home page -�formed in 1994, and signed to a local small record label, recording their debut album, the optimistically monikered Dandys Rule OK, which increased their potential as 'the next big thing'.�The Dandys were already wise enough to realise that as a hotly tipped band, they were in an enviable position, and they spent a fair few months trailing the A&R representatives from a number of record companies around their favourite Portland restaurants, and flying first class here and there, while they made up their minds. After deliberating, and spinning out the free hospitality for as long as possible, the band signed with Capitol Records.

�

Q.� So that's where the inevitable fame and fortune came from

A.� Surprisingly not. Having signed in 1995, The Dandys presented their new record label with what should have been their second album, and waited for the six- or seven-figure royalty cheques to roll in. What happened was one of the rudest awakenings in the recent history of popular music. In a scenario that even the streetwise Dandy Warhols could not have predicted, Capitol rejected the album, because it had 'no hit potential'.

�

Q.� That must have been some wake-up call!

A.� It was! The band returned to Portland, and decided to write some hits, and give the company what it wanted, instead of what the band thought the company ought to want. Reuniting with original producer Tony Lash, the second album The Dandy Warhols Come Down�- not an inappropriate title in view of their recent history�- yielded an MTV hit single Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth, and the band's career was saved.

�

Q.� But this sounds like it was years ago.

A.� That's because it was�- the band's second album was released in 1997, and they've spent from then until now working their way upwards from being championed by the tuned-in few, until they finally hit paydirt with album number three.

�

Q.� Which was

A.� Last year's Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, which sold respectably, and started an increasing interest over in the UK.

�

Q.� From the critics

A.� No, from the fans. Critics all turned their noses up at the band, some said they sounded 'too British', a strange criticism to make, given the overall sound the band were aiming for.

�

Q.� What sound was that

A.� As the name implies, the band have a fixation with all things 1960s in general, and with the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol in particular. The band's sound owes much to the fuzzed guitars and wailing keyboards of their Factory forbears, and Taylor-Taylor would be delighted to be compared to his hero Lou Reed.

�

Q.� So why are The Dandy Warhols suddenly in the singles chart

A.� Because of the power of television. The trend for using pop music to sell products on TV took off in the 1980s with Levi Jeans, who hit on the idea of making interesting videos, and soundtracking them with pop single hits. The fashion caught on, and through this year, it has accelerated even further. It's a moot point whether TV ads sell records, or the other way around, but using The Dandy Warhols' Bohemian Like You to plug Vodaphone has seen their single crash into the Top Ten, and their albums sales increase with corresponding vigour and volume.

�

Q.� What do the band reckon to that

A.� They are probably quietly amused. Having spent so long looking for fame and indeed fortune, they are no doubt keen to embrace all that success can throw at them. Keyboard player Zia McCabe has already indulged in a variety of media-baiting stories, including advising various journalists that she drinks her own urine, and is not in fact a good enough musician to have played on the band's records. Tales of her occasional topless appearances on stage can be verified with photographic evidence�- the spoken bits remain unproven, but add a degree of spice to the band's press portfolio.

�

Q.� And next

A.� The Dandy Warhols are certainly capable of sustaining their newfound fame�- they are an excellent band who've been around long enough to know how the game works. The collection of songs on the Thirteen Tales album proves beyond doubt that they are a long way ahead of any one-hit-wonder tag that may follow them, and they will doubtless consolidate their success with a new album�- in production at the moment�- and some more solid touring. As an album and a live attraction, they come recommended. Mobiles are optional.

�

If you need the answer to your musical question, click here

By� Andy Hughes