DELIRIOUS? face questions dreamed up by their devoted fans.

Delirious

It's a horrible wet November day as I head to the offices of Furious? Records armed with a pile of questions from Delirious? fans. The offices are small, busy and peopled by those dedicated staff members who keep the Delirious? machinery moving. There are explanations that any week now, the whole outfit will be moving to more spacious accommodation. This will no doubt be of relief to the band's manager Tony Patoto who has been barred from his own office while the band occupy the room to meet the media. They should be on tour but a virus has taken Martin's singing voice so instead they are talking, not playing.

As we gather, Jon places a CD on the stereo, soon a remix of "Deeper" comes pounding out of the speakers. The band look at each other quizzically. No one can place who or where this remix might have come from. They like it though and for a split second engage in a dance. Then it's time for questions!

For the previous fortnight I have been hurriedly meeting Delirious? fans on the internet and gathering questions for the band. The lads enjoy trying to identify which questions are British and which come from America. Here are the best! We sit down on Japanese-style low settees and the questions begin...

Have you had any particularly memorable Thursdays as a band? (Scooby, Maidenhead)
Martin: "I can remember one very specific Thursday which was when we released the 'Deeper' single and getting to Thursday, we heard the mid-week position and I remember thinking, 'We are going to make that top 20,' and it was a great feeling."
Stu G: "Thursdays are normally good for me personally because it's an even sounding day whereas Fridays are an odd sounding day!"

Did YOU feel the mountains tremble? (James Ots)
(The band break into laughter, there's a pause as all wait for Martin to answer!)
Stu G: "In your spirit, brother."
Tim: "Isn't that a question we're asking everyone else?"
(I point out that James has asked it back!)
Stu G: "We asked it first!"
Martin: "When we played Wembley stadium, it was what I could imagine in my head of feeling something move. Some great force of people singing together. That was almost like standing beside a mountain and feeling the tremor."

Were you really that happy? (Dennis Arsenault, Canada)
Martin: "I'm happier than I've ever been in my life before."
Stu G: (deadpan) "Ecstatic."
Martin: "We're happier when we don't play it!"

When you were at Glastonbury did you meet any other bands? If so what did they make of you? (Al Rollo, Coulsdon)
Stew: "I held the door open in the toilet for one of The Corrs. I actually let her go in first because I thought that was a Christian thing to do! We met Lenny Kravitz, Skin from Skunk Anansie, Al Green came over and gave my little baby a kiss."
Stu G: "A couple of them like Skunk Anansie and James from the Manics we'd met before in America because they're Virgin artists. They just know us as a band. With other people that you meet with at events like that, you don't really have any opinions of what they might think of you because you're just meeting them like a hundred other people might that day."

Will we be seeing the return of the sixth D: member (Elvis) at any point in the future? (Al Rollo, Coulsdon)
Jon: "Elvis is alive and well but he has left the building for the moment."
Tim: "He's punctured."
Martin: "Apparently, he's running a kebab shop in Rio de Janeiro."

Do you not feel the band strained sometimes what with it being impossible not to take your work home 'cos you're all (more or less) one family unit? (Al Rollo, Coulsdon)
Stew: "Is that one of our wives asking that? We're all different; some of us talk about work more at home than others. I think it can be difficult, although we're so involved with it that it's our lives, so we do take it home with us. The family are all living it as well, although they're not out there gigging on stage, they are part of the decision making because decisions are discussed at home, but it is difficult sometimes."
Stu G: "When we're in the studio or writing, that process doesn't stop when I get home so it's more difficult then."

Why is the mellowest part of "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" also the part where you say, "...like we're dancing now"? (Ian Barker, Ohio, USA)
Martin: (tartly) "I'm dancing in my heart." (He grins!)
Stu G: "What's really funny is when you're playing and see people trying to dance at that point. They're all building up to something and then it's aaaaah!"

Can any of the band preach? (Marc Lungley, Aston Uni, Birmingham)
Tim: "We all probably have but none of us probably can!"
Martin: "Well, I've got a message to bring. I can't preach but I can sing." (He laughs) "And me and my brothers here are going to sing redemption songs."

What new songs are you working on? (Jonathan Lonczak: NY, USA)
Stu G: "We've got half a dozen things brewing and we're looking forward to getting stuck into them next year!"

When's the next album? (Abby, Warwick Uni CU)
Martin: "We're starting recording in January and we'll just see where we go."

Will the next album be full of statements explaining that you're not selling out? (John Bury)
Jon: "Probably, we're not backing down."
Martin: "You mean statements about not selling out like, I'll get to heaven, I'm not backing down, Beautiful Son, and stuff like that, yeah?"
Jon: "Just the wishy washy things."
Martin: "Stuff that was on the last album."