Bent are a lovely band of the electronic variety. They hail from Nottingham, and have no desire to move to London.

I always liked their records, but it wasn't until we saw them late last year that I realised "Must Own Everything. Now." Even though their mic was cut off for most of the show so we couldn't hear their vocalist.

If you don't own any Bent recordings, please go to Bent World to have a listen to snippets from their album Programmed to Love. And then you will buy it. Besides the LP, I would strongly suggest you pick up "Music For Barbecues" because it's lovely, and the cd single for "Always", so you can see the video where Nail plays a damsel in distress and Simon fights King Kong. Unless you're prepared to sit up all night watching M2 in the hopes of catching it in between Papa Roach and some other nu metal crap.

Anyhow, here's the interview Simon kindly agreed to (poor guy, don't think he realised how much I would natter on at him!)

Tell us about the legend of Kid Dragon (so crap he's fab"breakdancer" who performed with Bent...)

I'm afraid that the legend of Kid Dragon is a mystery to us all, but I can say that he used to be a mild mannered milkman...anyone who can dance that badly and have no shame is beyond me. It makes me giggle though, because I don't think any of us were ready for him becoming a legend, as he always gets mobbed... He's done quite a few gigs with us, and he gets more ridiculous every time.

...and tell us more about filming at the mall with him. (which was played in the background at their show)

I wasn't there, but there is a section after he does his "jackson" move where an old guy walks by and punches the cameraman in the belly.. always makes me laugh....after we made the film, we knew he'd have to do his bit live.

We loved your fairy lights and "It's a Party!" atmosphere at the Scam Night (Contact Theatre, Manchester). What sort of feedback have you had about your stage show?

That was the first time we ever had a party on stage...the idea was created that day, as we hate dealing with seated audiences, and discovered that most of the acts that day were quite dark sounding...so we thought let's have a party. I got so excited about it.....we were meant to play pass the parcel at the end, but we had a time limit...oh well...but even the record company rang to say well done...now that is bizarre!

Was it this past December that you played in South Africa? What was it like? Where else have you played of note outside the UK?

Yes, we played last December, and it was amazing....we were djing, but there were about 2000 people there and they were filming our hands on a huge screen and that added the pressure a bit. I went on safari...seeing animals in their natural habitat is mind blowing. Most of our gigs have been abroad...I think the highlight so far, was when we supported Orbital in Athens.

How did you get involved with the soundtrack for Spaced? (personally, I think that you and Simon Pegg must have been separated at birth!)

I didn't even know about that, sometimes tracks get licensed without us knowing about it, i.e. every god damn chillout compilation know to man.... Thank you Ministry of Sound. hmmmmm......is he the blonde guy? I'll have to analyze him now....

(Nerds please note, the song used was "Exercise 1" in Episode 2.6)

...on the other side of the coin, does it feel strange to hear your songs in a bank advert or shows like Popstars?

Yes, it can be mad.. My family went literally apeshit when Swollen was being played in the Queen Vic in Eastenders.
I thought it was highly amusing.

I have to ask this... who is the German girl on "k.i.s.s.e.s."? And the meowing kitty on Downloaded For Love? And the singer on "A ribbon for my hair"?

Oh, that IS a secret! :-) (Waaaaah! - Ed.)

I have horrible memories of being forced to listen to Nana Mouskouri but even I like how you transformed her. What do you think gives you the ability to "turd polish",as you were quoted in one interview, without turning it into a kitchsy mess? In fact sometimes you remind me a bit of Kid Koala (who also uses less-than-fashionable samples) - do you like him at all?

I have his record, it's quite amusing. It does do my head in after a while though...I have a love hate relationship with kitsch things... I suppose we like to make music that doesn't rely on novelty or humour too much, as you can only really tell a joke once.

Are there any embryonic Bent recordings floating around - and what are they like?

There's a lot of material floating around...I mean lots! Over 120 finished tracks and unfinished sketches, well, I dread to think. Probably terrible too, if they're not finished...

Your record covers are...unusual! I have to admit that I've had more than one person say to me "I've heard they're good...but the sleeves put me off." Which leads me to ask - are you purposely trying to break the mould of people assuming that beautiful music has to be packaged in a conventionally pretty sleeve?

That is a very difficult one... People from Europe tend to favour the art work. That's an interesting observation you made. The album was repackaged for the States...they were just not getting it...I can tell you that the new art work is very different...that's all. ;-)

Do you ever buy things off eBay? Some complain that it's driving prices up - but then again it's helped some people find things they might never have come across otherwise, like Star Wars bed linen, Smash Martians and a complete VHS set of Battle of the Planets.

It's great..don't use it much....but how amazing is it that you can get all these lovely things? I have an ELO belt buckle, a TRON soundtrack on vinyl, and an A TEAM t-shirt...what more can I say?

Prized records?

A pressing of Pet Sounds from the first run, the Tron soundtrack of course(very rare!), and some penguin cafe orchestra... I love all my records though!

Records that have the best sleeve, but rubbish music?

Erm....ooo.....I'd have to say Zero 7 hehehheheheheheheehehhe... Kidding. That award goes to my Fonz record...he looks cool but he must be deaf.

My friend Mike tells me you thanked an old friend of his, your art lecturer from college, in the liner notes for Programmed To Love (and that he was exceedingly over the moon about it!) What's the story there?

Tim Rundle? He's an inspiration, and he taught me a lot. When I was studying art and all things creative he gave me (and Rob White the sleeve designer and long time friend) a lot of answers, but also a hell of a lot of questions. It sounds corny I know, but he gave me a lot of fuel to go and do what I needed to, and now I'm in the position I dreamt about every day, which is a lot to be grateful for. I still see him from time to time...of course, he doesn't realise how much of an influence he was! Mad link there!

END BIT

We all want to know what the new album will be like...do tell!

Well, you may like it, you may hate it....but I think it's more Bent than the last one!