• 07/05/00 - Liam Keegans
• 14/01/00 - Tony Cornell
• 12/01/00 - Rob Martin.

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A Reply To Tony Cornell's Biography of The Bebop Dustbins by Mr. R. Martin, lead singer 1984-1985. I was outraged but hardly surprised and yet secretly pleased at Tony Cornell's out-pourings. Let me tell you why. The truth is that, at the time, I always had my doubts about dear Tony Cornell although the rest of the band would hear none of it. They would berate me for my reservation and suspicion about the bloke. He was an agreeable enough person but there was something about him which I didn't feel comfortable with. I kept on saying that one day he would turn against us and spell our downfall and humiliation, like some sort of irresistibly corrosive Trojan Judas. The band of course stood up for him and said I was being paranoid, egotistical, self-obsessed. They felt he'd done nothing to deserve our distrust and that, in this instance, I was being a prima-donna. I felt uncomfortable when alone with him for I was convinced he was saying "Oedipus Rex" to me but in such a quiet voice that I couldn't be sure. When they weren't around, he seemed to be taunting me with this phrase. I now realise, on reading Tony Cornell's writing about us, that we have indeed ended up in an Oedipus Rex situation. Journalistically and hyper-spatially, Tony Cornell, the bastard, has shagged us senseless and has now killed us off, in order to claim the crown. He comes across well and has managed to usurp the biographical glory that should have been ours but which he skilfully colonised, annexed and then conquered. Yes, I had asked Alan to get someone who knew the band to write a piece for your site, and you might say therefore it,s my fault if Alan picks the wrong person. But I hadn't expected the gross libel I see on the Net. Admittedly, Tony was a 'friend' or rather what we considered at that time as a friend. However, Time is not only a great healer but is obviously a great poisoner too, as the passage of a decade or so has evidently soured Tony's view of us. What are the true reasons for his withering attack on us? He supposedly made these explicit in his article but this is a case of 'mock explicit'. I do not believe his stated motives. The real reasons for his betrayal of us remain hidden. I feel a desperate, last-ditch rear-guard action is required from us and we must now resort to the age-old tactics of an exposed, naked Island band that has been backed into a corner without a towel. We will have to lash out hysterically in the dark with testicles while trying to hide our denials with our hands. 1. I deny that we only ate rice and Pot Noodles. 2. I deny that we were fools or idiots or boasters. 3. I deny that our music was poor, unmelodious and under practised. 4. I deny that we bleated. 5. I deny that bit about impersonations. 6. I deny that we were a Boy Band. 7. I deny that we were good-looking and that we had gorgeous bodies. 8. I deny that there was no tedious, heavy laundry work for Tony Cornell to do. If denials fail, then blacken the name of your adversary. Although an efficient worker, Tony was a tedious, officious little man, given to lecturing us continually on punctuality, precision and the history of barbwire. We had an ambivalent attitude towards him. He pissed us off with his aloofness and seriousness and was often a pain in the arse. And yet we put up with him and even enjoyed his company at times on stormy winter nights. For example, Rick showed me Alan's diary from that time. Here is a telling entry. Tues. 19th Feb. 1985 Fucking jealous of Cornell.Wish I was as rigid, erect, straight and military precise as him. The BASTARD.Hate the way he deliberately walks past me very slowly with his chest out, knowing I'm seething with envy.After practice, Cornell made us hot chocolate.Excellent. Rob being prat - thinks Cornell is saying eedipus(sic)rex at him. And lastly he hardly mentions the band at all. He is a GIT and a BASTARD. I hope he rots in his filthy lies. He has written disgusting lies about us. Here is the truth. We were, in fact, a hard-drinking, hard-shagging, hard-swearing Rock band who took loads of drugs and were very popular with girls.

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