Somewhere, deep below the dirty pavement in the heart of the metropolis lies the International HQ of The Be Foundation…
As the rest of the daytime world sleeps, the Be-Team has been busy preparing an all-out assault on the world media and its associated networks, and we are now delighted to offer YOU a glimpse at the strange first fruits of our summer season, in the shape of ‘Last Week Hot’s Topic’.
Let us explain… Every week you will be able to read a fast and loose interview with some of the wonderful music guests who provide the Saturday night entertainment at Be, recorded as they step from the hallowed Proud stage and into the vice-like grip of our mystery reporter. The idea is to have a different hot topic every week AND (here’s where it gets highly ingenious) our interviewees always get to choose the topic for the following week.
And what better way to kick things off than with Mr Edwin Foal, fresh from rocking the BE dancefloor with his DJ set on 7th June?
As it was our first time and you need to start somewhere, the topic was picked by our humble selves, and our interviewer being French, it seemed obvious to discover more about Edwin’s relationship to this (amazing) country, its rudeness and raw meat… Here he is shooting from the hip and pulling no punches.
What was the biggest stereotype you had of France before you went there?
E - That everyone was really rude.
Really? That’s horrible!
E - I know it’s a terrible stereotype…
Did you change your mind when you went there?
E - Yeah, of course. It was a stupid thing. I wouldn’t say French
people aren’t rude but they’re not especially rude, they’re as rude as
English people… Anyway, I’m a rude English person so I don’t know…
What’s your funniest memory of France?
E - We played a show in Paris and all went for dinner to this
restaurant. The guy who was doing our light show ordered a “steak
tartare”. He didn’t know what it was and none of us heard him order it. It finally came to the table, and we all had our lovely steaks - cooked - while he was faced with this plate of raw mince with a raw egg on top. The look on his face was incredible. I ended up eating about half of it… And it’s not nice! Although I wouldn’t say it’s unpleasant… I was a bit confused by it because it doesn’t taste nicer than cooked meat, it doesn’t have an interesting flavour, it just tastes like raw food. I didn’t get it.
But then you get all the sauces on it, and the chopped onions!
E - Yeah, it wasn’t unpleasant, I enjoyed it, but the look on his face…
So what’s the best food you had in France?
E - We didn’t really go to good restaurants, so we had a lot of pasta… But the way bands get treated in France is really nice, you turn up to shows and there’s this awesome platter of food, fresh bread, fresh vegetables, which you don’t get in England or anywhere else in the world. Table wine as well! You sit down for a meal with the promoter and there’s wine on the table, it’s amazing. The first time we went to France was at la Fleche d’Or and we got there and there was all this bread and free beers in the afternoon, then dinner was served with wine and then we played our show and got two bottles of champagne and a bottle of cold vodka… It just feels a lot more communal, it feels like the bands are there with the promoters, talking together, whereas in England or in America, it can be quite hostile, almost as if it’s just about making money…
What’s your favourite song linked to France, either a French song or a song that would remind you of France for some reason?
E - I don’t know… I’m trying to think of something I actually like,
but… I just genuinely can’t think about anything! I’m very bad at
getting stuff out of my head, sorry….
Can you pick next week’s hot topic?
E - I want the topic to be about cheese, it’s one of the best things in France!