OUT TODAY! THE NEW WILLIAM LOVEDAY 7" - 500 ONLY
New 7” single out now on two different colours! (limited to one of each, per person)
150 copies - KHAKI GREEN 350 copies - LIGHT BLUE
The William Loveday Intention
a short interview with William Ivy Loveday
by Carl Lampenschwarz
There is some confusion over the different names you record under. For the listener can you explain why there are so many different changes in group names, dosnt that just confuse the buying public?
Yes, and that's a good thing. To be alive, relevant and a true artist I believe you’ve have to remain a moving target. When ever there is a significant change in personal, or the type of music we are playing, we change the group name. for instance CTMF is a very similar line up to The Chatham Singers, but we change the group name when we play ‘sit down blues’. The Musicians of the British Empire, where very much a version of The Buff Medways, but with a different bass player. The Mighty Caesars where The Milkshakes, but minus the other guitarist and singer. You could say it's out of respect for the groups for what they truly are.
Where does the name Billy Childish orginate?
That was a nickname given me during the punk rock days. My friend Button Nose Steve named me Billy Childish because I would pretend to be mentally retarded in public. Before that I was called Gus Claudius.
Why Gus Claudius?
When I was little my mother called me Gustov. The Claudius was added because I was a fan of Robert Graves.
Isn’t your family name Hamper?
Yes, but only after my mother married my father when i was aged five. My birth certificate is William Ivy Loveday. Loveday being my maternal Grandmother's maiden name. It was her (Ivy Loveday) who registered my birth.
How many other names do you go by?
I’m known by different names to different people. It depends on what hat i am wearing. It can get quite concussing, for instance as a painter im known as Billy Childish, but I have never painted under that name.
What name do you paint under?
None. I don’t sign the paintings with a name at all.
And now your group is called The William Loveday Intention.
Yes, I thought I would use my ‘real’ name as these songs are close to who I am. Plus the group has a very different direction, (and intention).
Thank you.
It's a pleasure - I hope you enjoy the tunes.