Bill Drummond is sat opposite me, stirring his tea and debating whether his new book, ‘17’ is more accessible than his last one, ‘45’. I tell him I think it is; I think it’s an addictive read that'll connect with people, even if they have no idea who on earth this Bill Drummond person is. I also think it's faster and funnier than '45'.
Bill's not so sure. In the book itself, he worries that the concept of The17 might just be well, too wierd to understand.
It loosely concerns an imaginary choir that he’s determined to recreate in reality. Over the last few years he’s been inducting people into it, seventeen at a time. Problem is, it's not just any old choir; it’s also the sound of Year Zero. A sound that’s devoid of melody, rhythm and influence. It references nothing. In other words... it is indeed wierd.
He finishes stirring his tea and I clear my throat. This is the moment I’ve been dreading; I’m about to ask if we can do a conceptual interview. It's a fairly pretentious idea and I'm dribbling with paranoia that he's gonna hate it. And yet... there's something in his new book that urges people to follow their ridiculous impulses...
“It goes like this, Bill. When I was 17 my school mates and I would imagine that we were in imaginary bands too. We were disgustingly rich and famous - the biggest rock stars in the world. But because teachers were always on our backs, we had to conduct our interviews in secret - via our sketch books. So eh… what I’m basically proposing is that in tribute to our fantasy bands, we conduct this interview in writing, on some sketch paper.”
He doesn’t waste a second. “Yep!” he claps his hands together, “Let’s do it!” And thus, the following manuscript is born...
*** THE 17 IS OUT NOW ON BEAUTIFUL BOOKS ****
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