[I couldn't understand about five short bits - marked with "[...?...]" - that radio host Liz Kershaw was saying. Anybody who has the sound file saved, filling in the blank spaces is always welcome. What Lene was saying I've got complete.]
-Let's welcome to the studio Lili Marlene Premilovien. Is that right?
LL: Premilovich.
-I'm sorry, somebody scribbled it off, and right up I ate it. Sorry, right, I'll start again.
LL: Close enough.
-Welcome Lili Marlene Premilovich. Call me what you want. Clutch my name, doesn't matter. Say what you like now.
LL: Yeah.
-Anyway it's good to see you, back to 6music after... it's been three years, Lene Lovich, ...
LL: Right.
-...since you... I'm well embezzled, it's good to see you.
LL: Thank you.
And as usual, visually stunning, and just that [...?... (mortuary ?)] frock, ...
LL: Oh.
...which is something very similar to something that I got in Norway in the fields.
LL. Alright. It's that black and white embroadened... embroidered design, yeah. Lovely.
-From a charity shop?
LL: From a charity shop.
-Hey, going up to my old heart. Now, we've just been told by one of our listeners, he was brought up in Hull. His dad's Hungarian, and his dad moved to Hull. And it rang a bell in my mind and I thought am I imagining this? Anyway I'm not, because I found the source of this little nugget of information there. And your dad was a Serbian.
LL: From old Yugoslavia. Hercegovina.
-Oh, not Serbia, right?
LL: No, no.
-Another fact I've got wrong.
LL: No, no, but, you know, at that time it was one country.
-Yes, right. And now it's so many. Slovenia, and Croatia...
LL: Yeah, yeah.
-Right. So Hercegovina. And why did he... it's, what I read was that he moved to Hull for his health.
LL: No!
-Thank you, because I was thinking you are from Hull. No offence though.
LL: No, no. No, he was an American, and during the war he signed up and he was, you know, sent to Europe to fight in the Second World War, where he...
-Was he in the air force?
LL: No, he was on the sea.
-Oh, right.
LL: And he met my mum, who is from Hull.
-Right. 'Cause I had a friend whose dad was Polish, er, is. And he came to the UK, [...?...] sea camp, and he joined the air force, and he was based near Bridlington in an air field. And I thought that's the East Yorkshire draw.
LL: I worked in a chip shop in Bridlington.
-Did you?
LL. Yes, I did.
-Which one?
LL: It was on the sea front. I don't know.
-I bet you probs have served me.
LL: Um, well, I worked in a few places in Bridlington. There was an amusements called Joyland. I worked there.
-Yeah? I mean, what's having you there going round? I mean, we know you were with Stiff...
LL: I lived a lot of lifes, Liz.
-We know you were a Stiff recording artist way back, you know, 40 years ago. A part of the whole Stiff label and tour and all the rest of it, and that's what we're up coming on to, because you want to do a 40th anniversary tour kicking off soon of your debut album Stateless.
LL: Yes.
-But sometimes you can't guess anything. I'm not being funny, but tell me something interesting, you know, about yourself, and apart from the fact that you make music. So here are some things that Lene Lovich has done. She went to Spain where she just happened to visit Salvador Dali in his home.
LL: Well, I stalked him.
-Why?
LL: I just hung around outside his house.
-Was this in Barcelona?
LL: Uh, a place called Cadaquez.
-Ok.
LL: Not far from Barcelona.
-Yeah.
LL: Um, I just hung around outside until he came out of his house.
-Was he nice to you?
LL: He was lovely. But his wife was a different story.
-Suspicious?
LL: She was not approving of strangers coming.
-No? Perhaps it was about... I mean, of young women stalking her husband she wasn't thrilled?
LL: I don't know. I just think that she wasn't that social at all to strangers.
-Okay. Talking of disturbing things, you were a go-go dancer on the Radio 1 road show. I think that was before my time, because by the time I was doing that, they didn't have go-go dancers, I'm glad to say.
LL: Oh, it was fun. It was fun.
-So can you remember who with?
LL: Um...
-Which great DJs?
LL: I'm trying to think. I should know this. Hmm...
-Don't worry.
LL: Can't remember, sorry.
-Don't worry, it's ok.
LL: It was a long time ago.
-Alright. Ok. Oh, on this one, which I have already shared because you'd recorded this for this last time you were here, this was your career professionally in the films before you became a recording artist of songs [plays Lene's scream]. Right, that's impressive, right.
LL: That will wake you up.
-A few years later you still do it. Don't worry, you don't have to. Could you still do that, if pressed?
LL: Oh, yes.
-Ok.
LL: Yeah.
-You recorded screams for horror films, wrote lyrics for French disco star Cerrone [pronounces it like Italian], is it that?
LL: Cerrone.
-Yeah, again I'm wrong. And this one I like as well, another claim to fame on your CV. You happened to be in Coventry, the Locarno ballroom. I'm like talking about, you know, venues, small time venues today. 1972, when Chuck Berry...
LL: Oh.
-...arrived and recorded his most dodgy song ever. You know, the complaints about it, there was people trying to get it banned, they said they were upset with the sexual innuendo.
LL: Yeah, "My Ding-a-Ling".
-But you're singing on it, because you were in the crowd.
LL: Yes. Yes. I always do.
-So you had to sing...
LL: "My ding-a-ling. I want you to play with my ding-a-ling".
-Right, ok. It's not my favourite Chuck Berry record. But I know that meant you were on Chess Records, which was quite cool.
LL: Oh. That was cool.
-Yeah. So then let's go to the Stiff recording years. And this is what you got, you're going on out on Friday, the 8th of March Riverside/Newcastle, G2/Glasgow, Brudnell Social Club/Leeds, ...
LL: Huh-huh.
-...O2 Institute/Birmingham Friday the 15th, then you're going to Manchester/Club Academy, Waterfront/Norwich, The Garage/London, The Concorde/Brighton, the O2 Academy/Oxford on the 23rd, Saturday the 23rd. We're highlighting small venues, look, like, you know, not, I suppose, stadia and festivals. They really nurture musicians and talent.
LL: Yeah.
-So are you looking forward to it?
LL: I really am looking forward to it.
-Ok.
LL: We've been rehearsing and that, and it's been wonderful to play all the songs in one go. Because, I mean, we had been playing the odd one or two from "Stateless" all along, But this is gonna be in its entirety. Plus a few extras of course.
-And is it in the order as it is on the album?
LL: Of course not.
-No, because when you're in the audience, you go to one of these album performances, and you're in the audience, and you're thinking 'Ah, this is great. No, wait a minute, that's not the track which should be next'. You know, the people around you are getting all twitchy and that, saying "Oh that's not the track. I was expecting that". So why did you change it, right?
LL: Uh, well, because it worked better backwards. We are doing it in the right order, but backwards.
-Oh, right?
LL. Yes, we're doing it backwards.
-I don't have a track list in here, so it depends, the biggest song, "Lucky Number", what is it about sitting in the set?
LL: Well, I think it's fairly early on in the set.
-Ok, let's have it now. Here it is.
[plays "Lucky Number"]
-So the album "Stateless" was an immediate hit when it was first released by Stiff Records. Now it's been in the fans' affections for forty years. But are you hoping that you'll get like completely new people in the audience as well?
LL: Well, I mean, I think there's a couple of generations sort of coming up. Since it's really so... um, usually we get quite a cross-section of ages coming, and original fans bring their family and their children, and...
-Yeah, brilliant.
LL: ...and, you know, it's complete right if people are there. And I'm always surprised and amazed.
-And I'm not gonna say this with you. Because you'll correct what I say, "No, that's wrong, Liz". You've got two over-punky ladies.
LL: Yeah. My girls?
-Yeah.
LL: Yes, I do have two daughters.
-No. Of the people, alright, well, you know, Barbara from The Passions.
LL: Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, we have Barbara Gogan from the Passions doing some of the shows with us, and we also have Leslie Woods from the Au Pairs doing some of the other shows with us, so I'm really looking forward to that.
-And when you say "we", is it the band that you had before when you were going round a few years ago?
LL: Yes. Yes, we've been together a few years now.
-Going to... well, what about your wardrobe then? Because we both like a good charity shop find. How do you decide, what's the [...?...]?
LL: It's a mystery. I like to see what's on offer and be inspired.
-Well, happy packing. 'Cause I always mention this, I couldn't imagine packing for a tour, 'cause [...?...] spouting off [...?...] visiting a friend. [...?...]
LL: Well, I like to find things as I go along. And I just...
-Yes, little gems. Treasures that you find. Well, have a wonderful experience, and did you ever think when you were recording "Stateless", that album, back in the late 70s, that, you know, you'd still be making a living doing this, or did you think that you'd have to go back to the screaming?
LL: I think I'd probably be dead by now.
-Oh. Do you want to bring the party down? Thanks, Lene. Try!
LL: So I mean, you know, this is extra time I've got now.
-Hey, but anyway that's a great attitude. So I'm going to play another track off "Stateless" and the tour as a set starts on the 8th, Friday, the 8th of March at the Riverside in Newcastle through to Oxford, O2 Academy Saturday, the 23rd of March. Have a great time, ...
LL: Thank you.
-...Lene. [to the audience] Have a good time if you go and see Lene and the band and the guests. And this is on that album, so you're bound to be doing this...
LL: Yes.
-..."I Think We're Alone Now". Here we go. Thanks for coming in and seeing us again.
LL: Thank you.
[plays "I Think We're Alone Now"]
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