Lias Saoudi, lead singer of the English rock band Fat White Family, has been described as a drink and drug-wracked nihilist degenerate, not to mention an enthusiast of onstage nudity, Nazi history, and animal carcasses. A self-professed humanitarian, Lias rejects the nihilist label, but he’s got no problem talking drugs, art, politics, fascism, classism, gentrification, yuppification, or anything else you want to throw his way.
His band’s the most exciting thing to come out of the U.K. in years, and Lias’s voice is surely one of the most compelling. So sit back, turn off the lights, and enjoy this After Hours conversation with the inimitable Lias Saoudi.
Lias Saoudi Discusses:
- The perils of touring in America
- Playing with Sean Lennon
- Arriving in New York for the first time
- Partying in New York versus London
- The best Fat White Family gig ever
- Growing up in Ireland and Scotland
- How his musical tastes formed
- Moving to London to attend art school
- Discovering he was a singer
- His relationship with Saul Adamczewski
- The songs he’s most proud of writing
- The enemy of art
- London’s disappearing live music venues
- The birth of Fat White Family
- Pre-rockstar day jobs
- Early days at the Queens Head Pub
- Recording their first album Champagne Holocaust
- Playing in Paris on the night of the terrorist attacks
- Being politically outspoken
- His anger at the gentrification of London
- The U.S. Presidential race
- Musicians being the lowest form of human life
- The current state of rock n’ roll
- Performing naked
- Fat White Family’s drug use
- Playing live vs the studio
- What he’s reading
- The Moonlandingz
Links
Fat White Family – Live on David Letterman
“Goodbye Goebbels” – YouTube | Spotify
“Tinfoil Deathstar” – YouTube | Spotify
“Cream of the Young” – YouTube | Spotify
“Touch the Leather” – YouTube | Spotify
London’s disappearing live music venues
Eagles of Death Metal lead singer’s Paris terrorist attack comments