|
Question: (SORRY, I missed the first question, but I got the first answer:) George: I said in 1989, 90... Well... what I actually said was... is that I wouldn't be on the radio or TV or anywhere else, above all if I hadn't anything to say, and today I've got many things to say. But also, just I've relaxed my attitude to it, you know... I was... it was ten years ago, I was a different person, I had definitively have enough. But now I... it doesn't feel uncomfortable. Question: Why did you write Outside ? George: I read actually in magazine, very interesting. I read that magazine about... four or five weeks ago... They talked about, they asked people about their sexual fantasies, and... actually no, it wasn' t four or five weeks ago, it was before I wrote the song, it was before I wrote the song, and I read.... it was about a survey, and even if you don't know how they make it, maybe betwen them at their office... but well. I read that the top women's fantasy, was for 60% of them to have sex in a public place and that gave me idea that I could write "I know you want to" and it can meet everybody. Question: Did you have fun making the Outside video? George: Oh yeah, it was a lot of fun! I'm gonna make a longer version for the clubs, sometime in the next couple of weeks if I get time, I'm gonna put it in a ... do a new edit because we had real porn stars, some of the people really... in the video are actually porn stars and we really had a lot of fun. Question: What's exciting in the fact of having sex in a public place? George: Oh! You'll have to find out that by yourself! Question: Why are you wearing a cop uniform in the clip? George: I'm wearing a cop uniform for the exact same reason that I'm dancing in the disco toilet... because... I think it's funny! Question: What is the video message? George: It's... a few things really. A few messages I want... First and for most (...) message for me. It's like... No is like "fuck the police" [laugh] Fuck the police, I'm sorry that's my message. And the press... and people who try to destroy public figures for no other reason than to show that they can. But... it was really... you known behind my... what I needed to say is that... is also saying two things. One is that sex is sex wherever it's guys, girls, whatever... that's exactly the same... We're all getting the same pleasure from it... hopefully! And the other was just the constant... the idea of people having their sex lives policed by other people. And they vaguely gonna be big brother things... realising that we... I mean there has been some researches, about violence and cameras in general. And you would just not believe the place where they are cameras. In this town, there are cameras in place you wouldn't imagine. That's true. People tell you, 'OK, it's for the well being of the society, you have to be filmed when you are there, there, there and there' and I think it's incredible, you don't know where it stops. it's true it can help us, protect us, but if you let this happen, you don't know where is the end. And it concerns everybody, not only pop singers, when you are close to a camera, it's the same, and above all ridiculous. Question: Today, are you more comfortable to talk about your sexuality? George: I don't really talk about my sexuality, I've done this with CNN and... I think people have done this for me. I use it to say 'this is my sexuality and I'm perfectly fine with it' even if everyone would love, you know the press and the media would love me to be a sad closeted homosexual. I'm a perfectly happy gay man... so... I guess I used that. If I was not comfortable with that, I really can see myself dancing around in the toilets, you know... but I'm comfortable with this. There I am. Question: Is it important to provoke? George: Not really, I mean I'm not... it's not like... it's really in my general nature, I mean I don't often try to provoke... I don't think. In this particular case, it's like I felt it was my one chance to be subversive. I had to do it ! Question: What do you think of American justice ? George: I don't think it exists actually. I mean in my own experience it doesn't really exist. I would say America is an incredibly corrupted country, and I think very few Americans don't actually knowledge that themselves. They probably don't like to ear it from a... an English man, but believe me, there are things that happened, even after the arrest, the whole course of events between, getting arrested and getting sentenced, say four weeks later, there were some scary stuffs going behind the scene. It is not.. not a pretty place to be. (...) I think the trouble in America... I think it's really very very sad. America really, has some pretty tuff questions to ask itself very quickly otherwise I think there's gonna be some trouble. Question: Have you got someone in your private life who you can tell all your secrets? George: Have I got some secrets left ? [laugh] I've got nothing left, you know, I don't even need a confident any any more! Question: Are you preparing something? George: Absolutely, I guess I'm going to... painting and decorating... I don't know [laugh] I think probably... this album... there are 3 singles coming out of this album, so that'll be the best part of next year. So I guess in the year 2001, something like that. It sounds so strange 2001. Question: Tell us about your duet with Mary J. Blige. George: It's a Steve Wonder cover, I've done some before... this is very special. Her vocal is absolutely fantastic, I think... and what else should I say... it on the album... buy it! [laugh] Question: Who would you like to duet with? George: The only person at the moment I would like to work with is Lauren Hill. I did ask actually. But they said she'd love to but she's having a baby. So... Or she's having a baby because she doesn't want to work with me! [laugh] or... or she's having a baby! Question: Do you like some French artist? George: I love Daft Punk. I wanted to work with them but they said 'no'. Question: Oh really? George: Yes, Lauren Hill said no, they said no... [laugh] I'm going! Question: What's a pop star life like? George: What is it like for me? Life is like... I spend a lot of time working in studio, and the time I don't spend working in studio, I spend it with friends, and eating at the restaurant and doing a lot of things I'm really privileged to be able to do, but actually are quite common places. I don't spend too much of my time doing thing that pop stars are supposed to do. I live a much quieter life that... So really... My life is probably not as exciting as people would imagine. What it means is working and relaxing as everyone else. Question: What is your ambition today? George: My ambition, I think... I don't really have any particular ambition. My ambition is to... be happy, to stay happy and the things I pray for are... I think I pray for a life that I can get only an enjoy without any kind of huge disaster happening. Cause I've had so many disasters... of late... that... really all I look forward is to... my hope are... getting free the rest of my life without getting too much pain I suppose. Because right now things are great. I have had terrible times recently. And I know what it feels like and I'm very afraid of feeling like that again. But right now everything is great so my ambition is that things can stay this way. Question: What would be today's final message? George: One day you'll be able to ear as much of English music as you like! [laugh] That's my message to the... no [laugh] My message is just I guess... Thank you to everyone who still supports me... and ... I hope that you'll enjoy the greatest hits. Transcript by David Lebois: Two hours of hard typing... enjoy! This interview was trancripted from the French radio NRJ. It was previously recorded in London and broadcasted on November 18, 1998. The interview took place last week in an hotel in the center of London. The interview was partly played in English, but fully translated in French. A last comment: the English-to-French translation says that there would be a new album and some touring in 2001, but I only understood in the English part that GM was talking about an album. This translation (…) is really bad... They also translated that he was arrested in the toilets with a male prostitute who was wearing women clothes! That's why I tried to do my best to type only what GM really said (i.e. what can be heard in English...) Dave Thanks Dave, a great job! |