About No Flags Etc - Band Members.
Rob (Thomas, Bass); No Flags Etc began in 1986 and it's only guitarist Wayne (Hughes, Guitar) and I that have been with the band since the start. I had been in bands before, most notably "What to Wear" in the late 70s before I went to university and when punk was at its height.
Sian Wilson (Vocals): Sian has been singing with NFE since the very early years, in fact she only just missed out on singing at our first gig. The innocent and pure qualities of her voice are a perfect vehicle for the simple, yet powerful melodies for No Flags Songs. She's also a captivating performer and transfixes audiences, bringing them closer to the stories and allegories that form the heart of a classic NFE song.
Paul Boorman (Guitar): Paul has been one of Swansea's leading guitarists for the past 20 years, playing for many years in the Stiff label offshoot band, The Squirts.Initially brought in to contrast Wayne's more acoustic tones, Paul now takes the lead on most of No Flags Etc. tunes, bringing a strong complementary electric tone to Wayne's acoustic groundwork.
Niall Feldman (Keys): Having done an intense apprenticeship working with UK indie classic rock band The Enid, both playing and studio engineering, Niall joined No Flags also from playing with Paul in indie band The Squirts. Essentially replacing the third guitar in the band, Niall introduced more scope to the range of the No Flags sound while at the same time allowing space for the acoustic work to glisten.
John Corbett (Drums): John has one of the most impressive pedigrees of any musician playing in Wales today. A veteran of the 1960s Star Club in Hamburg, John's track record includes playing with Engelbert Humperdinck, the Temperance Seven (on No 1 hit "Winchester Cathedral") and a host of other household names. His drumming is the backbone of all the No Flags Etc repertoire.
About No Flags Etc - Background Notes
Extract from an interview for Apple Crumble Records, Tokyo, Japan in 2006
When/why did you start the band "NO FLAGS ETC"?
Rob; We were really just continuing an interest that we had always had, but at that time we found a group of like minded individuals to pursue that interest - creating thoughtful, thought provoking guitar and acoustic guitar driven pop music that could bear repeated listening. We felt that we might have something interesting to say!
Niall; I suppose Wayne and Rob are the creative core of the band - they work together to write the strong melodies, sophisticated lyrics and counterpoint bass parts that are the classic signature elements of the No Flags sound.
Where's the band-name "NO FLAGS ETC" come from?
Rob: I'd love to say that the name was an affirmation of our collective belief that music knows no nationalities and borders (no flags etc) and that it is a globally recognised means of communication. The truth is, however, rather different. We sat around the table in the kitchen of the guy who was our drummer at the time and three of us each came up with a word that we would like to see in a band's name. No Flags Etc was the result. I seem to remember the Etc was my contribution.
How was the indie musical scene in Britain in the late 80s?
Niall: At the time No Flags etc started it seemed to be part of an uprising in melodic song writing in the UK. This may have been a reaction to the destructive and raw sounds of the late seventies, followed by the synthetic,electronic early eighties. Punk had injected energy into re-opening live music venues, and synthesizers didn't do much to fill them, there was a gap waiting for acts that could play acoustic instruments and write strong melodies.
What bands/artists were you influenced by?
Rob: My formative music period comes from an 18 month time between 1976 and 1978 when I was very much in to The Clash, Television, Richard Hell and lots of dub reggae stuff (King Tubby, Augustus Pablo), but I think our sound has something distinctive about it. Maybe it's a Welsh or Celtic thing.
How did you join the compilation for the Firestation's "Leamington Spa"?
Rob: Uwe at Firestation Records wrote to what used to be my home address (it's on the back of the "Wonderful" 12" single) and the letter was forwarded to me. He asked about the old record and its availability and this quickly progressed to us sending him a couple of tracks for inclusion on the album. It was all a bit strange really, because the only contact that we had previously had with Germany was a few copies of the single that an old friend of mine (from What to Wear in the 1970s) had sold.
How did you get together with the Canadian label "Hi-Rise"?
Rob; I met with the CEO of HI Rise at a show in Cannes (France) in 1996. We got talking, got on well together and continued to swap ideas for some time after. That led eventually to us spending two weeks at Rockfield recording five of the tracks that feature on "From DNA to Yesterday". Sadly, the Hi Rise thing didn't really work out, for financial reasons mainly, but the experience of recording where Queen, Mott the Hoople, Oasis, and goodness knows who else had recorded was fantastic.
What are the stories you tell in your songs?
Rob: The usual things, I guess - birth, life, death and everything in between. "Right Hand Man" represents the first time I was able to articulate anything coherent about my younger brother's death and the enormous part he had played in my life. "You Skin Me Smaller" takes you into the territory where love is a potentially dangerous emotion, where the desire to know every bit of someone becomes all consuming, like peeling off the layers of an onion until you find there's nothing left. "Tears" deals with domestic violence, "Take a House" the conflicting pressures to conform and the strong desire to rebel, "You're" is about being very very angry with your girlfriend. I think all the songs chart how the domestic and day to day can lead to the exploration of experiences that are pretty universal and common to all really.
What's the best moment in writing songs?
Rob: The best moment in writing is when the collaborative process really comes together. We all have different ideas lyrically and musically and that is very productive and healthy, but there is a moment when you bring it all together when you know you have the beginning of something that is going to work. That is the point at which, hopefully, you are creating something that didn't exist before. There is a big buzz for all of us in that
What's your hometown like?
Niall; You may remember a film released by Polydor a few years ago called Twin Town, it was co-written by a friend of the band, Paul Durden and is an accurate, gritty representation of what makes Swansea a special place the "ugly, lovely town" that was the birthplace of Wales' best known poet Dylan Thomas. The city itself is a meeting place of the natural beauty of any coastal seatown and the industrial wastelands of steelworks and oil refineries that are Swansea's industrial heritage. With a large student population it's a fantastic place to find influence and find support for a performing band.