Presenter: Here we are then from Radio 1 and in a corridor with Spin, a pop-star.
Speaker: Hello.
Presenter: Spin, is this your name then?
Speaker: No, it’s not; it’s just that most people think that ‘Crispin’ is too embarrassing to call me. They call me Spin because it’s the only kind of abbreviation that you can make from a terrible name like Crispin.
Presenter: Fine.
Speaker: It’s not my fault, you know; it’s my parents’. From a very early age, when they called me it, I would cry for months in my cot, and they didn’t know why, because I couldn’t explain that it was because they’d named me Crispin. But then I got it out of my system. It could have been worse; I could have been called Darrell.
Presenter: Where did you study?
Speaker: Yeah, my parents said over and over again that university could improve my chances of career development. So, I went to Sheffield. I did philosophy and theology but I dropped out after two years. I took a year off to get into pop music, and I always thought I might go back, but I’d never enjoyed school. And I used to get into a real panic before the exams. In fact, even now I feel nervous about all this stuff and the idea of going back never happened. No, I don’t really like universities as places, to be honest. They give me the creeps.
Presenter: What were you like then when you first went to college?
Speaker: You know, I was 18, and I was into this kind of Communist thing, and I thought I was a real Communist but it never occurred to me to join the Communist Party. We got a house of our own, and we were the only people in the whole of Sheffield University to have a house of our own so it became like a commune and we were like members of some secret society. In fact, our secret life was rather innocent. You know, everyone would come around, and there’d be 20 or 30 people there having parties.
Presenter: Have you learned much in this last year? Because, you know, you’ve just grown, and people’s respect for you has grown so much in the last year.
Speaker: We were pretty much ignored last year. And then it started changing for our people all of a sudden this year. I think it’s because everyone’s kind of revived themselves. We brought back to life some forgotten ideas and we also got interested in folk music. I think we’re doing something new now. Our work is really creative and rewarding. This is the greatest satisfaction of my life. I’ve met many people, some of whom have been an inspiration to me. That really is Hollywood. It turns into a film; it’s just like a fantasy world.
Presenter: Have you written any new songs then? Is there an album coming out?
Speaker: There is. I’ve got a kind of library of ideas. But the problem is that I have to be on my own. It’s like, you know, when you’re a little kid, and you’re playing in the corner of the living room with your cars or whatever. You’re in the middle of this fantasy, and the moment you notice your mum saying ‘Ah, how sweet,’ and looking at you, the magic charm disappears instantly. But I’ve increased this library, and I’m going to leave in December. I’m going to rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere, and work really hard.
Presenter: You’re one of the few pop-stars that we never hear talking about cars or your bank account. What do you do with your money? Better yet, what’s the first expensive thing you bought?
Speaker: The first expensive thing that I bought was a house.
Presenter: What was it like owning your first home?
Speaker: At the time I bought it, I had no idea how famous I really was. It was across the street from a school and we had kids coming across all day knocking on the door. It was crazy. The house was on a main road, it was a busy road full of cars but that didn’t bother me. The problem was the people around. Sometimes when I went out I had to cover up most of my face. So we put an end to all these problems, sold the house, lost a part of money and bought a new house. That’s probably the best investment I’ve made, my new house.
Presenter: It all sounds as though you don’t like your fame and your fans.
Speaker: Why? Music fans are among the most reasonable groups of people in the whole world.
Presenter: Sounds great! Do you mean that fans going wild at the concerts are perfectly reasonable?
Speaker: You know, I don’t like people to go wild. But I’m sure that keeping feelings of irritation and annoyance bottled up is a really bad idea. For starters, where would you find a bottle big enough to contain the oceans of anger created by someone calling your favorite band ‘rubbish’ or ‘good dinner-party music’? If you leave all that stuff inside, you’re asking for headaches and other health problems. So, let your emotions out!