The Notorious Interview

1. So first question is classic one, so introduce your band, members, work, age, hobbies and tell us how do you met each other?

Well Balefire is just me and Barry with me on Bass and lead vocal, Barry on guitars, drums, keyboards and second vocals.  We're both in the building game and that's how we met, on a house renovation job.  It was a really strange moment finding out he was Barry from Infa Riot, he couldn't believe I was in an Oi! band!  He hadn't come across anyone who knew what Oi! was for years!  You could say he's been in the wilderness! 

Our main hobby these days is just trying to survive in 2010 Britain totally fucked up and destroyed by thirteen years of socialism and an immigration policy that threw open the floodgates to any piece of shit who wants to come here and kill our way of life!  Barry is fighting off the bailiffs most days and I aint doing much better! Life is a fucking struggle right now.

2. When and why come decision to start a band and why name Balefire? I know that you played in Retaliator and Barry used to play in Infa Riot...do you play in any other projects beside Balefire?

We decided we would get together for a bit of a jam almost immediately, Barry was most insistent and I thought why not.  Then I started to write some songs that might suite how it was sounding and then we had enough material to be getting on with something.  We started to record it piecemeal, bit by bit whenever we could spare the time.  It was a long slow process but it started to take shape.  It was gonna be a full-length album but we ran out of time, I moved away from the area (170 miles away), so we left it as a mini-album.  We called it 'On The Road To Redemption' because we both really felt we had something to prove, if not to the scene, then to ourselves, in our own eyes we had to redeem ourselves.  Barry had always felt Infa Riot ultimately failed, he wanted to have free reign to record something completely organic and creative.  His songs for Infa Riot always came out different to how he wanted due to the input of others in the band and their limited musical capabilities.  This new thing would also show people how far he's progressed and grown as a musician.  As for me, well I'd left Retaliator under a bit of a cloud and felt burnt out after working on our concept album for so long, I just needed to get writing again to prove I could still do it.  We called the band 'Balefire', a medieval name for a funeral pyre, because the sound of the music is quite dark and the name suited the sound, also it's about putting the past to bed and rising up reborn from the embers!  What a load of old bollocks eh!  Oh well, we kinda liked the idea so we stuck with it.  Neither of us is doing anything else right now, but I do have something planned, but I don't really want to talk about that just yet.

3. You released CD called On the Road to Redemption, can you describe the recording session? And do you plan to leave Balefire only as a studio band or do you also think about playing live?

Recording this album was hard work.  Life just kept getting in the way and finding time was difficult.  Writing the songs and working on them was easy, me and Barry work really well together, but getting the stuff recorded, mixed and mastered was a nightmare.  It is just a ‘project,’ we'll almost certainly never take it out on the road and I can't really see any further things from Balefire.  We live four hours apart by car and logistically speaking it would be impossible, not only that, Barry's life is complicated and getting him to do anything is tricky, getting him to do something specific and soon is impossible, hence me doing this interview alone!  I wanted to do more, maybe a full album and I know Barry does, but I just can't see it happening.  We'd also need to draft in some band members if we were gonna do it live and who'd wanna work with us???

4. Both of Balefire members played in live bands before in 80´s and 90´s so are there any differences between gigs nowadays and in 80´s 90´s?

Quite a bit.  I used to go to gigs in the 80's and Barry played them and we both agree it's different now.  In Britain there was far more trouble and police intervention back then, it's a bit calmer now more about the music and the beer and less about the aggro!

5. Your CD was out on Mother Fuckin´ Sounds...are you satisfied with that label?

Yeah absolutely.  They've worked real hard, pushed the CD really hard, done their absolute best for us.  Jonesy loves the CD so that helps of course.  The only problem we had was a mix up with the finished pre-press cd.  The one that got pressed was the wrong one, we weren't happy with levels etc so we went back and remixed and mastered, but the first one got pressed.  Oh well!  Shit happens. Such is life.  It was our own fault, the label was pressing us for a deadline and we were taking forever to get it finished so it was our own fault really.

6. Your sound is completely different then conventional British Oi!/streetpunk sound, you also use keyboards...what is your musical inspiration and why did you want to create just an unique sound? Who is responsible for the lyrics and music?

Yeah I suppose it is a bit different to the norm.  We didn't set out to create a sound, we didn't try to create a punk or an Oi! album, we just played together, I wrote the songs and the lyrics which Barry really liked and that's how it came out, then when the album started to come together we could see it was taking us somewhere completely different, very rock based punk, which opened up all kinds of possibilities musically speaking.  If a song sounded like it needed keyboards we thought fuck it, let's stick some keyboards in, it worked for the 4-Skins on '1984' so why not for us on ‘There’s Something About Her’, our very own dark tribute to skinhead girls. I pushed for a harder sound than Barry really wanted but he was really happy with the outcome.  I think it's a pretty dark sounding album, even the upbeat tracks have taken on a dark undercurrent, but I still think it retains its punk feel. I see it as Skinhead Rock as I saw Retaliator, it’s rock based punk with my usual lyrics, the same kind of lyrics I’ve always written for Retaliator, in fact the songs are written just as I would have written for Retaliator it’s just that Barry’s input has taken them somewhere completely different which kinda made me nervous at first, but then I got into it and thought yeah why not do something completely different just this once.  Personally I love the CD, the sound, the mix is really professional and big, Barry’s a technical wizard in the studio, the stuff he’s learned over the years is crazy.  He’s made the Balefire sound really deep, you can almost dive into it.  Its not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea but I’m very proud of it, it’s a very grown up piece of work.  If you want “Oi! Oi! You’re a fucking cunt!,” blaring out of your speakers when you’re driving down the high street go find a two-bob Oi! band, if you want something a little more refined and technical check it out, you might just like it.

7. Can you describe the scene in your area? Pubs, venues, crews and new bands which worth to hear....

There is NO scene at all where Barry lives in Great Yarmouth and it aint much better where I live in Hastings, but the scene as a whole aint doing too bad at the moment in the UK, there’s bands coming through.

8. What about the football thing are you interested in terraces culture?

I used to be, BIG TIME, but football is shit now, it’s all big money and too many foreign players.  English football has lost its identity.  I aint been to a game for two years and I don’t really plan to.  Football is dead…. Unless England win the world cup!

9. Do you know anything about Czech republic and scene here?

Yeah, Retaliator nearly played a gig there but the police got involved and that was that.  We seem to have had contact with people from the Czech Republic right from the word go, I think our first, or one of the first interviews Retaliator did for a fanzine was from the Czech Republic (for the famous Vlad I think).  There’s been some good bands, one of the best in my opinion being Disdainful of course, their album Hated & Proud is a permanent feature in my van, great album. Excellent band.

10. Plans for the future?

I have something in the pipeline but we’ll just have to see how that goes.  Barry?  Dunno, maybe we’ll take Balefire a bit further, maybe we won’t, who knows?  The problem is, Barry was really excited to be working again, releasing something for the first time in many years, but he’s been a bit under whelmed with the response.  The whole world seems to be in the doldrums at the moment and it’s had an affect on our scene.  Just one word of support on our MySpace page and Barry is a happy bunny again, he expected the response to be big, but it’s been pretty low key, he aint sure if it’s worth all the hard work, time and effort and he’s really not sure if he can be bothered to do it again.  I don’t really blame him.  It seems that far too many people in the scene are closed off to the idea that our music has to sound exactly like Condemned 84 or it aint skinhead music (and then they secretly listen to Green Day when no one’s about!)  In the end, the main reason Retaliator fell apart was because we were getting tired, sick of getting little recognition for all the hard graft we were putting in, and once my life began to get complicated and it became really hard to fit Retaliator into my life, the writing was on the wall and the end was in sight.  If people took two seconds to give a band a little praise once in a while, a word of support on their website, it’d make it all worthwhile, let’s face it, none of do it for the money!! (What fucking money!) 

11. Last words....

Cheers for the interest Peddy and thanks for the interview.  Cheers to Jonesy for all your hard work and support, you are a legend and a diamond!  Thanks also to anyone who has bought the Balefire CD and shown us support.  We really do appreciate it, it’s all we want, just your support.

LONG LIVE SKINHEAD ROCK!

http://www.myspace.com/balefireredemption

http://www.myspace.com/motherfuck

Lies By The Far-Left Laid To Rest

Lies of the Communists and Anarchists laid to rest

A lot of lies were constructed by the internet warriors who tried to destroy Balefire along with Infa Riot.

1) Pete Roper a known Nazi!

Well as I have already explained my politics in a previous blog I feel no need to keep on defending myself, all those that know me know the truth, but I will say that if I was a prominent member of Blood & Honour or any other far-right group the left-wing would have a detailed dossier of me with hundreds of pictures of me doing the perfunctory Nazi salute for the camera.  They have none, not one, because they do not exist!

So with that information the whole basis of their attack becomes unfounded and ludicrous and falls flat on it's arse.

2)  Why did the far-left demonise Pete as a Nazi?

My only crime is to be a founder member of patriotic skinhead band Retaliator a band the far-left hate and despise because we point blank REFUSE to tow their politically correct line!  They tried to destroy us for sixteen years and failed.  They could not touch us, yeah they got the odd gig pulled over the years but that only added to our notoriety which skinheads like so ultimately it worked in our favour, ie: there's no such thing as bad publicity.  A certain fat useless geordie has been seen to froth at the mouth at the very mention of the name Retaliator.

3)  Why attack Balefire?

Because Balefire was a far softer target than Retaliator for the far-left, they could hurt Balefire because Balefire was new and vulnerable and they thought they could hurt the friendship between myself and Barry, but they were wrong.  They figured that me and Barry hadn't known each other very long and that consequently Barry would know little about me, so when they pandered the lie I was a Nazi Barry would run a mile.  I think also what they heard in Balefire frightened them because Balefire music is fucking good and more accessible to punks and skins alike!  Balefire is a post-punk rock band with the potential to do really well.  They so badly wanted us to be shit but we were not, far from it, in one of their vile attacks on one of their dodgy anarchist forums they even begrudgingly admitted as much!  They thought they could get at me, hurt me through Balefire and Barry so they went for it in a cruel and vicious way not caring about the truth or who they hurt.  They are like spoilt children!  Barry knew damned well I was no Nazi and all he and Infa Riot had to do to get through the shit storm was to stand firm and stand together, they nearly crumbled because they were newly reformed after so many years, their friendships beginning all over again so they were desperately vulnerable to attack and they very nearly imploded but for Lee Wilson right at the darkest hour seeing the light and realising that all that really mattered was his friendship with Barry, a friendship that goes back over thirty years.  He made a decision to stand by Barry and believe that what Barry was telling him was the truth (because it was).  Infa Riot have blossomed since then and have already played all over the world to packed houses everywhere, the far-left tried to prevent that for their own twisted gains, but they failed.  I have kept a respectful distance from Infa Riot and their success which hurts a bit, I feel like some kind of pariah, but I'm tough enough to not let it bother me, I helped Infa Riot through their troubles every step of the way, working my arse off for them as others around them melted away, I did this for Barry, my mate.  I've even helped them out with their bass-player recruitment problems without a single word of thanks from Infa Riot.

4) Why did Balefire release their cd with MFS

When 'On The Road To Redemption' was completed we punted it around every damned label in Europe and the states.  Not a single label showed any interest, some didn't even bother to reply.  Time went by and it started to look like all our hard work would go to waste.  I'd told Barry labels would tear our arms off on the strength of Barry from Infa Riot being in the band.  I knew there was a big demand for Infa Riot to reform so I figured they'd want this, the next best thing.  I was wrong.

Then Jonesy contacted us and said he loved it and would like to release it.  Now for those that don't know who Jonesy is, he's a well known character in the skinhead scene who for many years was a prominent member of Blood & Honour but has turned his back on it.  He'd started a non-political band and label and was perusing a different path.  He told us his label would remain non-political and was just a music label for bands he liked.  So we decided to go with it and get our album heard.  He has been good to his word, but of course the far-left see MFS as a far-right label so in their blinkered eyes Balefire signed for a far-right label.

5)  That notorious interview

The only interview Balefire ever did was in fact done by me without Barry's input for a Czech Oi! website by a skinhead (Peddy) in a non-political Oi! band (Disdainful).  The far-left of course claimed predictably the site was a far-right site.  In the interview I have a dig of the then Labour government's open-door immigration policy, bemoaning the fact that foreign undesirables were free to come and go as they pleased such as drug dealers, murderers, rapists and war-criminals, but of course the far-left announced to the internet world that I'd had labelled all immigrants as scum!  So yet another predictable distortion of the truth.

6)  So what did the far-left achieve by their actions?

Not a lot really.  They lost a few friends from their own camp as even some of their mates realised that attacking Balefire and Infa Riot was unfounded and just plain wrong!  A laughing stock springs to mind.

Balefire remains to bit an enigma though, the Facebook page still has only around 150 likes yet the cd has achieved healthy world-wide sales.  I suppose some of the shit has stuck as shit will, but it's a shame as Balefire deserves better, I am very proud of Balefire and the far-left and people's indifference will never change my feelings on that.  

Balefire Lyrics

On Senlac Hill

Every year he wanders the hill where the men lie still,

You can see him in the fading light fall to his knees as the feard takes flight,

All around in the terrible mud there’s a lake of blood,

Now we’re lost and the king lies dead, the Devil runs free and the gods have fled!

Now we’re looking back on a thousand years

And the names live on in the pubs and beers

And ghosts they walk through the streets of Hastings…

And on Senlac Hill

Every year I’m driven to the hill where they won’t lie still,

In the night they show me how they died, they won’t go away they won’t be denied!

In the dawn I shiver in the grass but the night has passed,

In my eye there’s a terrible pain but it fades like a vision of a doomed campaign

Now we’re looking back on a thousand years

And the names live on in the pubs and beers

And ghosts they walk through the streets of Hastings…

And on Senlac Hill

Every year I wander on the hill where the men lie still,

You can see me in the fading light fall to my knees as the feard takes flight,

All around in the terrible mud there’s a lake of blood,

Now we’re lost and the king lies dead, the Devil runs free and the gods have fled!

Now we’re looking back on a thousand years

And the names live on in the pubs and beers

And ghosts they walk through the streets of Hastings…

And on Senlac Hill

On Senlac Hill!

2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©

The Pub From Hell

Lost in the night just trying to get home, and getting nothing on his mobile phone,

The diesel ran out on a long dark road, he started walking so the story goes,

The boozer appeared all aglow in the dark, his fate was sealed and the devil laughed.

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

He’d been to the match but he’d been thrown out, he’d made his name as a bit of a lout,

He wandered through unfamiliar streets, he’d ‘f’ and blind at all the people he’d meet,

The boozer appeared all aglow in the dark, his fate was sealed and the devil laughed.

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

Johnny was a villain he was on the run, leader of the gang he was number one!

The filth got busy the job went bad, they’d run him ragged all across this land,

The boozer appeared all aglow in the dark, his fate was sealed and the devil laughed.

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

There’s a psycho drinking in the pub from Hell, he’ll kick your head in your teeth as well,

He’ll put the boot in and give you a slap, so just keep walking and don’t look back,

It’s an evil place and it just appears, with it’s evil bogs and it’s evil beers!

2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©

There’s something about her!

She’s the one, who struck me dumb, she’s the one, there’s something about her!

It’s in her eyes, can’t tell no lies, I’m mesmerized I swear on my life!

Tonic suit, or in her boots, blue jeans, there’s something about her!

Button down, down the old town, I want her for the rest of my life!

By my side, I’m so full of pride, she’s my skinhead girl!

Misunderstood, and much maligned, the only one I want in the world!

She’s real smart, a work of art, she stole my heart, there’s something about her!

Kinda tough, but soon enough, she’ll show you that there’s more to this girl!

English rose, heaven knows, I’ll tell you this there’s something about her!

All said and done, she’s the one, I’ve really gone and fallen for this girl! 

By my side, I’m so full of pride, she’s my skinhead girl!

Misunderstood, and much maligned, the only one I want in the world!

English rose, heaven knows, I’ll tell you this there’s something about her!

All said and done, yeah she’s the one, I’ve really gone and fallen for this girl! 

By my side, I’m so full of pride, she’s my skinhead girl!

Misunderstood, and much maligned, the only one I want in the world!

She’s the one, who struck me dumb, she’s the one, there’s something about her!

It’s in her eyes, can’t tell no lies, I’m mesmerized I swear on my life!

Tonic suit, or in her boots, blue jeans, there’s something about her!

Button down, down the old town, I want her for the rest of my life!

By my side, I’m so full of pride, she’s my skinhead girl!

Misunderstood, and much maligned, the only one I want in the world!

2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©

A Hard Rain

There’s a day that’ll never come, as sure as hell and the setting sun!

A time of peace and an end to war, a time good men have been praying for!

Bring it on, bring it on! Judgement to right this wrong!

Bring it on, bring it on! Before we reach the end of this song!

A hard rains gonna come it’s gonna come, and wash away all the fucking scum!

And leave the streets all nice and clean, a brave new world if you know what I mean?

Bring it on, bring it on! Judgement to right this wrong!

Bring it on, bring it on! Before we reach the end of this song!

All chavs with their guns and knives, will beg and plead as they end their lives!

We’ll find fuel everywhere we turn, our balefires will just burn and burn!

Bring it on, bring it on! Judgement to right this wrong!

Bring it on, bring it on! Before we reach the end of this song!

And when it comes it’ll sweep aside, all the shit and the filth worldwide,

We’ll start again and we’ll be reborn, we’ll have lived though the judgement storm!

Bring it on, bring it on! Judgement to right this wrong!

Bring it on, bring it on! Before we reach the end of this song!

 2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©

HEADFUCK

           

HEADFUCK!

So you’re sitting on a plane, going out your brain,

You know you’re gonna die, you know you’re gonna fry,

The plane is going down, will ya burn or will ya drown?

You know you’re gonna die, yeah you know you’re gonna die!

And then you see it, it’s sitting on the wing out there,

Can you see it?  it’s laughing like a mad thing!

Why can’t you see (what I see?) I See!

Why can’t you just (believe?)  Believe!

Why can’t you see (what I see?)  I see!

Why can’t you see it?

HEADFUCK!

So you’re laying in your bed going out your head,

Coz there’s something in your house and it isn’t Mickey Mouse,

Nah it’s something really bad, something really fucking mad,

And it’s coming after you yeah it’s coming after you!

And then you see it, it’s sitting on the wing out there,

Can you see it? it’s laughing like a mad thing!

Why can’t you see (what I see?) I See!

Why can’t you just (believe?)  Believe!

Why can’t you see (what I see?)  I see!

Why can’t you see it?

HEADFUCK!

Why can’t you see (what I see?) I See!

Why can’t you just (believe?)  Believe!

Why can’t you see (what I see?)  I see!

Why can’t you see it?

HEADFUCK!

2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©

While it Dies

I don’t know, I just don’t know, just what to believe!

I don’t know, I just don’t know, is it time yet to grieve?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, I don’t think you realise,

I don’t know, I just don’t know, I can’t tell their truth from their lies!

Sit back!        They fooled you with their lies!    

Sit back!        It’s right there in their eyes!                         

Sit back!        Now listen to the cries!                   

Sit back!        And watch while it dies!      There’s something in the air!

I don’t know, I just don’t know, just how this can be?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, why no one can see?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, why don’t you fucking realise?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, you act like it’s such a surprise!

Sit back!        They fooled you with their lies!    

Sit back!        It’s right there in their eyes!                         

Sit back!        Now listen to the cries!                   

Sit back!        And watch while it dies!      There’s something in the air!

I don’t know, I just don’t know, now where I can hide?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, what train I should ride?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, now where I should be, mate?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, a place where our people are free!

Sit back!        They fooled you with their lies!    

Sit back!        It’s right there in their eyes!                         

Sit back!        Now listen to the cries!                   

Sit back!        And watch while it dies!      There’s something in the air!

           

I don’t know, I just don’t know, now how we can fight?

I don’t know, I just don’t know, the nation’s alight!

I don’t know, I just don’t know, I don’t think you realised,

I don’t know, I just don’t know, now sit back and watch while it dies!

Sit back!        They fooled you with their lies!    

Sit back!        It’s right there in their eyes!                         

Sit back!        Now listen to the cries!                   

Sit back!        And watch while it dies!      There’s something in the air!

 2008 Roper & De’Amery Music©