Craig Walker of Power Of Dreams
What's on your rider?Beer, wine, Jack Daniels, Jameson whiskey, vodka for the drinkers. Red Bull, a selection of the world's finest sparkling water for the non-drinkers.
What would be on your fantasy rider?Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol, cocaine.
How do you get to the gig – limo, taxi, walking?I think for the Dublin shows we will use those guys on Grafton Street that pull you along in a box, the human/horse carriage thingymajigs.
What's the best gig you've been to?My Bloody Valentine at the London Town and Country Club, 1991. Lovelesshad just come out and was, to my astonishment, even better than I sn't Anything. Kevin Shields is the greatest living Irish musician, in my opinion, and one day in the future will be as celebrated in Ireland as much as Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. The gig was sublime, a spiritual experience.
And the worst?Ian Brown at the V Festival in Chelmsford, 2002. Don't get me wrong – I like Ian Brown and like his voice on records, but by Christ this was bad. He sang every syllable of every word of every song so out of tune that it made me think he was doing a Les Dawson and taking the piss – but I'm still not sure.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?There are loads of shit venues on the "toilet circuit" in the UK that I hope I'm never forced to go back to. The best is L'Olympia in Paris.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?I once said "good evening Nagoya" to an audience in Osaka.
Have you a special stage wardrobe?Yes. I hate going to see bands that make no effort and look like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?Soiled Y-fronts.
What's your best tour story?An Archive show in Germany was very strange. It was in an industrial estate in the middle of nowhere. The audience looked medieval: hunchbacks, trolls and the like. Throughout the show we could hear German voices calling out "vish you ver here!". We found out after we had come off stage that we had been billed as a Pink Floyd tribute band!
- In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. Power of Dreams play Whelan's, Dublin tonight and Sunday, and the Pavilion, Cork on Saturday
