m: Have you been to Hamleys [mega toyshop in London]?
amanda "Oh yes. When I first went, I spent £107 on Sanrio stuff and I felt really guilty. But now Harrods is actually cheaper for Sanrio stuff."
m: People do connect Hello Kitty with you. I had my t-shirt on on Monday...
steven "You were down as a 'Hello Kitty Cutie', weren't you?
m: Someone [revealed, a year later, to be Carl from 'Fancy Biscuits' fanzine! Sorry Carl.] ...first they said, 'where did you get your t-shirt?', and then he said, 'are you going to see bis?'.
amanda "Aaah.."
steven "Oops."
amanda "But that's okay."
steven "I suppose if you see a really bland suit or something, you can say, 'Where did you get your suit? Going to see Cast?". So, yeah, that's probably better for us. Or, "Like your scooter - going to see Ocean Colour Scene?"

n: Did you get to meet any bands when you were on Top of the Pops?
steven "We met Cast!"
amanda "He's tiny, he's the same size as me! He was like, 'It's the bis girl!', and I was just like, 'You're really small!'"
john "We exchanged nods."
steven "Who else did we meet? No-one exciting..."
john "Gary Numan."
steven "Gina G was on!"
amanda "Dubstar."
steven "And there was that guy...oh, what's his name...
john "Robert Miles."
steven "No...Kendo, who did a song called...erm..."
john [in hilarious falsetto] "I need a lover!"
steven "Yeah, that one. He was dead nice! He was like, 'Oh, I really like your record', and I was like, 'Yeah...I, erm, like yours too..."
john "We were on before Peter Andre once and he had to do the end bit five times..."
steven "'Cos he was rubbish!" [john mimes perv-dancing] "He couldn't get that last twirl right."

n: Have you had to meet any fat businessmen?
steven "We don't have any fat businessmen. Gary [Wiiija] is just like a wee twelve year old boy. We're like, 'Gary! Does your mum know you're out? Does your mum know you've just signed bis?'. Yeah, so we only have to deal with him and the Beastie Boys so...not really a fat businessman among them."
john "The Beastie Boys took us to their house.
steven "Yeah, we went to Mike D's house, that was quite good. We went in the swimming pool that was in the 'Sabotage' video!"
amanda "We met his wife. And they've got a dog called Rufus which is big and furry."
steven "Yeah...go sometime!"

m: Do you get recognised a lot in Glasgow?
amanda "Yeah! God, I was standing in Central Station the other day and I honestly had about ten people around me in a semi-circle. I couldn't see past them; Question, question, question...Waaaah! It's really embarrassing 'cos they just look at you as if you're meant to stand around and just start talking."
steven "Yeah, it's like, 'Hi, you're Steven from bis'. Yep. Silence. And?

amanda asks john to have a look outside the cupboard to see if they're meant to soundcheck yet. john pokes his head out and reports that 'the gear' is being set up so we bid our farewells for just now
steven "It's getting a bit hot in here anyway."

We stay to watch the soundcheck and to take a few photos and are treated to an a capella 'School Disco', a preview of 'Dinosaur Germs' and 'Poster Parent' and a completely riotous version of 'Kill Yr Boyfriend'. Amanda's vocal check is something everyone should hear too (and you can, a bit, on the album just before 'Popyura') - it really is fab.

The gig itself was fantastic fun - non-stop pop hits. Amanda was wearing a nice dress made out of Care Bears curtains and a pair of hovercraft on her feet, while Steven sported a school shirt with a hand-drawn bis crest on the pocket. They also had a mega backdrop of manga bis but sadly manga manda (erm..?) was hidden by the equipment. "You'll have to make do with the real thing", joshed Steven. I liked the use of musical accessories (recorder for 'Icky-Poo Air Raid', megaphone for the stomping 'Monstarr' and -hey!- cowbell for 'Secret Vampires'). The best thing about bis is their energy and their sense of fun - they're constantly moving, swapping places, using different instruments....no way could you be bored at a bis gig. Every song is a jump-up-and-down top pop tune and the new songs were sounding fab, especially 'Sweet Shop Avengerz' and 'Antiseptic Poetry'. I wish they'd played 'Keroleen' though so manda could do her cool Bikini Kill screaming and growling - grrr.

And since then, it's been delight after delight. The next day TOTP2 showed the 'Starbright Boy' video, possibly the best pop video ever made. It's got a really cheesy storyline and it's dead funny - Steven completely plays up to the camera when he's miming and Manda's rap bit (wearing a blonde wig!) is so cool. And the bit at the end when John goes, 'we could call ourselves......bis'. You have to see it.

Then 'the New Transistor Heroes' - I love the pretend sleeves for every song. I like the 'Monstarr' one best. I couldn't believe 'Popstar Kill' when I first heard it - it's so funny and so cool. Other faves: 'Photoshop' (it's really sad, especially the little bit of music at the end), 'Monstarr' (yay!), 'X-defect', 'Popyura' and 'Poster Parent'. The b-sides for the recent singles have been well up to standard especially 'I'll Get You Back', 'Ninja Hi-Skool', 'Girl Star' and 'Cookie Cutter Kid'. The two 7" idea wasn't a rip-off but are we seeing the beginning of a lapse in bis' amazingly high standards with the 'Sweet Shop Avengerz' remix and the 'Popstar Kill' demo? I bought the american 'This is Teen-C Power!' 10" for 'Kill Yr Boyfriend' which sounds so much better and the artwork is so ace too. And finally, 'Popsong' with Pink Kross - bis, you do too many good songs too often, I can't cope!

Interview by Marceline Smith and Nicolette Smith
Photos by George Bean and Marceline Smith