Q: How did Radio Rubbish come together as a duo? Can you tell us the story behind Sir Sidney Squacko and Lord Jonny Macko?
A: We first met playing together in a very different band. We were always frustrated it wasn’t punk enough, so when that band broke up we formed Radio Rubbish to fulfil our punk ambitions. Sir Sidney Squacko hails from the land of scrumpy and walking scarecrows called Wurzel Damage. Lord Jonny Macko comes from petrolhead Essex. Jonny’s very proud of his roots and will happily show you the pretty parts of Essex if you’ve got twenty minutes.
Q: What inspired the creation of your pirate radio ship, HMS Radio Rubbish, and how did you come up with the idea of broadcasting punk rock from it?
A: When we were kids all the best music in the UK came from pirate radio stations. Eventually they got all respectable and that and became community stations and got these silly adverts. We want to go back to the days when pirate radio ships like us roam the seas, tracked by a massive Royal Navy gunship
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Jonny Macko’s well into his London Drill. Sid Squacko loves The Jim Jones All Stars and all them dirty rock’n’roll bands.
Q: Your sound mixes punk with ska, reggae, and other genres. How do these diverse influences shape your music, particularly in “Maga, Maga!!”?
A: MAGA MAGA!! is particularly punk, though the way it’s mixed is also influenced by the way Lee Scratch Perry mixed the Clash’s Complete Control. We love that crossover of punk, post-punk and dancefloor culture. You can hear that a lot more on our forthcoming album, which for example includes a straight reggae melodica tune in the style of Augustus Pablo and a post punk cover of Love Is The Drug featuring popping 80s style funky bass.
Q: What’s the process like when you and Jonny sit down to write and record together? How do you balance your different backgrounds and styles?
A: Because we’re sailing the world on our pirate ship broadcasting punk 24/7, we do it all on there. One of us will like write a song in their cabin or up on deck and we work it all up from there. Our different backgrounds and styles complement each other, which is what makes Radio Rubbish work.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “MAGA MAGA!!”?
A: We were worried Steve Bannon might go on Truth Social and criticise the EQing on the mix. We didn’t want to leave ourselves vulnerable to attack from far right audio nerds, so we got it mastered and that.
Q: You mentioned that classic punk songs used to get banned, and that’s what made the message powerful. Do you think music still has the potential to be banned or suppressed in today’s world?
A: From enduring negative messaging about rappers through to the ban on music in Afghanistan and North Korea, we’d say that was a hard yes.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Jonny Macko: Going for dead as it’s a much bigger field – Delia Derbyshire. Sid Squacko: I’d like to go and hangout at the Crossroads with Robert Leroy Johnson, if he’d have me. I mean how wrong could it go?
Q: Your new album is coming out this Christmas. Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect? Will it continue with the political themes or explore other ideas?
A: There is some more political stuff. There’s a song about conspiritualists and the January 6 riots and songs about the pandemic. This album’s about telling the world who we are, so there are some cheeky covers, like a version of Buzzcocks’ What Do I Get? what opens up like a Roy Orbison ballad and then goes all Steve Albini.
Q: Lastly, if Trump were to hear “Maga, Maga!!”, what do you think his reaction would be? And what would you say to him if you had the chance?
A: He’d probably dance around a bit. Then suddenly catch the words and be all like “wait, what? Daawwwww you guys!!” If we met him we’d say “we know you. You’re off The Apprentice aren’t you? Are you Alan Sugar??”
