Family values

Whatever you think of Fat White Family - and I, for the record, remain unconvinced about the quality of all of their albums, latest effort Serfs Up! included - there's no disputing that they give good interview.

Patrick Clarke's conversation with Lias and Nathan Saoudi plus Alex White for the Quietus might not have been quite as explosive as Alexis Petridis' recent meeting with Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, but it nevertheless exposed much of the creative tension and simmering resentment that (still) exists just beneath the surface, particularly between Nathan and Saul Adamczewski but also between the two brothers. Clarke noted that at one point the interview became "akin to a marriage counselling session as the brothers air[ed] their grievances indirectly through me" and later "descend[ed] into incomprehensible bickering" but concluded with the trio in broad agreement and Lias claiming, "I like to think of myself as a flaccid Mark E Smith".

Meanwhile, when Quietus founding editor John Doran spoke to them for the Guardian, part of the interview was conducted in the sauna and swimming pool of the band's local health spa. Doran also picked up on the continued tensions between Nathan and Adamczewski, and outlined in more detail the extent to which drugs have impacted both positively and negatively on inter-band relationships and creativity. Meanwhile, Lias expressed his fury at being branded a racist for using a racial slur that has often been directed at him, and Nathan couldn't resist another opportunity to take a pop at IDLES ("We should crush them").

Thanks to the Sunday Times, Fat White Family now find themselves receiving flak for some of their previous comments on Tories. Given that the other band singled out by the Times, Killdren, have now had their Glastonbury appearance cancelled, there will no doubt be considerable pressure on the organisers to pull the plug on Lias and chums too. Whatever happens, they're unlikely to remain quiet on the issue.