Interviews with Richard Kingsmill

Kim Deal opened up to Richard Kingsmill in 1993 about the making of The Breeders triumphant second album Last Splash.

The album came six months after the sudden and surprising announcement of the end of her other band, Pixies. Kingsmill wanted to also get Kim’s take on the split of that seminal band, and how she felt about now leading another successful group.

In 2001, PJ Harvey finally made it to Australia, off the back of her award-winning Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea album.

The English artist had thrilled music fans all the way through the ‘90s, right from those blistering early singles ‘Dress’ and ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’. Her albums ranged from the austere Rid Of Me through to the gothic textures of To Bring You My Love, with each of them consistently scoring high on end of year album lists.

A couple of nights after seeing her live for the first time, Richard Kingsmill spoke to PJ Harvey about her latest album, the dark personal times she went through five years earlier, and how she felt about her relationship with Nick Cave going public.

On their OK Computer tour of Australia early in 1998, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke gave just one interview while he was here.

Richard Kingsmill spoke to the illusive singer about their landmark 3rd album, how he felt about his band getting snubbed by The Grammys that year, and also five songs that changed his life.

In December 1994, Nick Cave spoke with Richard Kingsmill about the five songs that changed his life.

Cave reflected on the influence artists like John Lee Hooker, The Saints and Bob Dylan had had on him as a writer and performer.

He also spoke about the lengthy Lollapalooza tour he and The Bad Seeds embarked on that year after the release of their 8th album Let Love In. He even touched on the next project he was then thinking about - Murder Ballads.

In October 1995, a few months after the release of the Foo Fighters debut album, Dave Grohl gave his first Australian interview since the death of Kurt Cobain.

He spoke to Richard Kingsmill about now being the frontman of his own group, where all these songs of his had come from, and what plans he had for the future. He also reflected on the three Nirvana albums, as well as his memories of recording the Unplugged album.

In September 1993, Robert Smith of The Cure spoke to Richard Kingsmill about the five songs that changed his life.

They spoke about Jimi Hendrix, Nick Drake, David Bowie, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Sex Pistols. They also spoke about the state of play within The Cure following their massive Wish tour of 1992.

In February 1997, on the release of his 21st album Earthling, and just a few weeks after he celebrated his 50th birthday with a huge concert at Madison Square Garden, David Bowie spoke to Richard Kingsmill.

They spoke about his ever-changing career, the weirdness of ‘80s, what it felt like turning 50, and his then passion for Drum ‘N’ Bass.