Where are you from? Why are you called White Town?
Two reasons:
- I’m Indian. I was born there and we emigrated to Britain when I was three years old, in 1969
I chose the name of the band to represent some of the experiences I had as a kid, growing up brown in predominantly white towns. As you may imagine, it wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs.
- I was also alluding to this bit of history:
Around the forts the first signs of segregation were already apparent – the European and Indian communities lived in separate settlements with very distinct characters. In the case of Fort St. George, Madras, the main fortifications surrounded the warehouses and other military buildings, and the so-called ‘white town’ had another ring of fortification separating it from the ‘black town’.
(Source: IndiaNest)
I love ‘Your Woman’ BUT what is it about??? Are you a man/woman/transsexual?
Ummmm…well, that’s a toughie. When I wrote it, I was trying to write a pop song that had more than one perspective. Although it’s written in the first person the character behind that viewpoint isn’t necessarily what the casual listener would expect. I’d been reading a lot of Wilhelm Reich and Andrea Dworkin and they both influenced the lyrics in different ways. Yes, I’m a geek.
So, these are some of the things it’s about:
- Being a member of an orthodox Trotskyist / Marxist movement (as I was for three years in the 80s).
- Being a straight guy in love with a lesbian (ditto).
- Being a gay guy in love with a straight man (not tried this one yet).
- Being a straight girl in love with a lying, two-timing, fake-ass Marxist.
- The hypocrisy that results when love and lust get mixed up with highbrow ideals 🙂
The last time I checked I was male. But as for gender….that’s another kettle of fish 🙂