On the verge of releasing their debut album, we caught up with the “mobileAct Unsigned” winners Envy & Other Sins to give them their toughest challenge yet: our 20 Questions! (Can I say I feel particularly old my the fact that their first record ever bought was an album by Space….).

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Eccentric English pop.
2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
‘Spiders’ by Space, from some music mail order club.
3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Don’t get up in the first place. Schoolboy error.
4. What’s on your rider?
Real ale, dark rum and bananas. All the major food groups!
5. How do you get ready for a live show?
We generaly spend about two hours in the van bickering, arrive at the venue and start playing poker, get bored, spout some nonsense, lose Mark for a while and then shamble onto the stage.
6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
I think we all love playing Shipwrecked. Its not always appropriate but if the crowd are into it its amazing.
7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
R.Kelly videos.
8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Well, the stoat is the faster of the two but the goat has a size advantage and horns. I think the stoat would edge it in a hand to hand situation but the goat would probably have the upper hand in a more tactical exchange.
9. What was the last album you bought?
The last album I bought was the Howling Bells last album (it’s amazing!) Mark got me the best of Bryan Ferry for christmas which pleased me a lot.
10. If you could rid the world of one song - what would it be?
‘Same Jeans’ by The View.
11. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Has to be Bryan Ferry. Or Peter Faulk.
12. Dead or alive. What 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Bowie, Roxy Music, The Kinks, Led Zep and Ben Folds Five. (I know BFF would be a little out of their depth but so would we and I love them.)
13. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Sgt. Peppers.
14. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
We once played in Glasgow and a kindly young lady let us stay the night in her flat because she had the hots for Jarvey. In the morning we all said our goodbyes and clambered into the van, only to discover Stu our sound man was nowhere to be seen. Eventually he came round the corner and it turned out he’d been having a shit when we left and had emerged ten minutes later much the suprise of our host.
15. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Making this album would be pretty difficult to beat.
16. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
Someone once told me that if you make it appear that you’re useless at everything you can avoid a lot of responsibility in life. It has become my personal mantra.
17. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
My beautiful fingers.
18. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
I’ve just got into the Flashman books. I’ve read three on this recording session and they have all been great. I’m not really into films (although I know thats not a very fashionable thing to say) but we watched The Good The Bad and The Ugly in the van the other day and I really enjoyed that.
19. What three things could you not live without?
Drums, Beer and Michael Palin.
20. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I once worked on an oil rig in the North Sea.

Links
Envy & Other Sins [myspace]