However, regular purchasers of ZTT's legendary Frankie product will have been more than used to the dulcet speaking tones of The Lads on the band's' B-sides.
One September Monday was the first example featuring on the flipside of 'Relax', Paul Morley in conversation with frontman Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford. Swathed in sinister echoes, featuring manic laughs and accompanied by an eerie soundtrack, this genuinely gave this writer nightmares, Big Brother promising he'd taken it back to the shop to stop the terrors. The bastard lied to me but it meant he kept his copy of the Relax 7" so all was not lost. Time has been kind to One September Monday, its sinister edge still apparent today. The full transcript can be read here.
http://www.zttaat.com/track.php?title=72
This was followed up with One February Friday on the B-side of fellow million seller Two Tribes. This time, Morley chats with the other three, Peter Gill, Mark O Toole and Brian Nash. Less menacing in tone, the Lads chat about fame now they've reached the top and a good laugh is had by all. Parts of the interview also featured without the instrumental backing on the various Two Tribes 12 inches, at times linking the mixes of Two Tribes contained within. The sound of a giant raspberry at the end of this one meant it didn't stop me from hiding under the covers when the needle hit the groove.
http://www.zttaat.com/track.php?title=65
Finally, Holier Than Thou, an extra track on the 12" of the Christmas Number 1 that never was, The Power Of Love. This wasn't an interview and more the band larking about in the studio giving out a Christmas message to a million Frankie fans. Listen closely and you'll also hear producer Steve Lipson, then Frankie's engineer.
http://www.zttaat.com/track.php?title=224
