Fending Off The Fyffes

Supergrass singer Gaz Coombes says no to a backstage 'nana in Japan. Gaz - long heralded for his resemblance to far-flung televisual martial arts hero Monkey ("is funky", remember?) - has also attracted the odorous interest of a company who are re-launching Hai karate aftershave. This high-kicking brew threatens to leap out of the closet of '70s nostalgia if the Britpop trio scent their 'burns with the stuff - so they're pondering hard about this deeply hormonal, adolescent whiff of Christmas past.
The pan-sexual sweat of Supergrass's rock 'n' roll enticed a manic Mexican sax player to join in one of their shows last month. The band were playing to be-suited honchos from their American record company on the third floor of a New York apartment building when this enterprising horn-blower leapt on stage claiming to be their long-lost fourth member. Not so unexpected was the "Danny factor", which scuppered Supergrass's hopes of releasing an EP before the end of the year. The drummer disappeared for a couple of days when they had booked up studio time, and as a result they only completed two new tracks. Shame!

Q - December 1995