Author notes: Originally published in the special 15th Anniversary issue of The Dutch Go Duran.

Face To Face – Interview Techniques 101

It was sometime September 1990 that the phone rang at the TDGD headquarters. On the other end of the line was Charna, EMI’s press officer. In itself surprising enough (record companies don’t call fanzines, fanzines call them) but the question she asked was even more shocking. Did I, and my co-editor M, want to do an interview with Duran Duran?

Haha, very funny. Now go pull the other leg!

But as it turned out, she was serious. Naturally, it didn’t take long to make up my mind. Getting my breath back before I could answer was harder. We would love to!

As soon as I had hung up the phone, panic struck. An interview. With Duran Duran. Neither of us had ever done an interview in our lives! I had just finished law school, and if there’s one thing they don’t teach you in law school, it’s how to do interviews with pop musicians. Although I had met the band upon occasion, this was going to be different. This was going to be an In-Ter-View! Sanctioned by the record company itself. As far as we knew, no precedent existed.

I called a journalist friend, Ton de Jong (in those days one of the rare journalists without a firm prejudice against Duran Duran) for tips. He gave me a quick how-to-do-an-interview lesson, and also offered a warning about Simon. He said that, while a good-mooded Simon could be a lot of fun, he did have his quirks and could be difficult. You can imagine that really helped calm our nerves…

At last, the day came. Do we have our list with questions? Check. Tape recorder? Check. Batteries? Check. Camera? Check. We were ready.

Well…

I remember that, as we walked down from M’s apartment in Amsterdam I was so nervous I actually considered throwing myself down the staircase. If I broke a leg, I’d have a very acceptable excuse not to go through with this madness. Knowing also that I would never forgive myself, I took my steps with care.

At the hotel where the band stayed, we met other press representatives. Because the band had already done a round of interviews with the important music press three weeks earlier, the media present were a ragtag of freelance photographers, a journalist from Tina (a girly magazine for the agegroup of 10-14), and of course TDGD.

The first interview would be with John and Sterling. EMI’s press officer took us down a couple of steps into a small room with a table and some chairs. The stairs were the only way in or out and when John came down them, I was feeling quite trapped. Fortunately, John turned out to be friendliness impersonated and our nerves soon calmed as we talked to John and a very ebullient Sterling.

Twenty minutes later, much too soon, the interview was over. Time for the crucible; time to go talk to Simon. We followed the press officer like meek sheep ready for the slaughter through several rooms before she found the correct one. Another small room (fortunately with two doors), a table, chairs, and, his presence taking up most space, Simon.

We shook hands, introduced ourselves, and although Simon was polite, he also slouched back in his chair, clearly wondering what he had done wrong to be subjected to interviews with fans. Heart beating in my throat, I recalled Ton de Jong’s warning. How was I ever going to survive? And as expected, the interview got off to a rough start. How long can twenty minutes last?

Then we started discussing Simon’s lyrics. And the man’s demeanor changed before our eyes.

Apparently, that was the secret button to push. His face brightened, he sat up straighter, and we ended up having quite an animated conversation. All in all, talking to Simon wasn’t nearly as bad as some magazines made it out to be. Although he didn’t want us to take a picture, sadly. The biggest revelation? The fact that he needs glasses or contacts to even recognize the first row at a concert. It explained a lot.

The last interview was another double interview: with Nick and Warren. To be honest, I was so tired after the first two interviews that I left most of the questioning to M. I also don’t remember much of it; it’s mostly a blur of disjointed images. I do remember that they were joking a lot, and were very friendly.

Today, knowing a little more about interview techniques and journalism, I realize we made just about every mistake in the book. But it was fun to do (once the nerves were under control), and a day I think back on with pride and warm feelings.

***

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