Presenter: Here we are then from Radio 1 and in a corridor with Spin, a pop-⁠star.

Speaker: Hello.

Presenter: Spin, is this your name then?

Speaker: No, it’s not; it’s just that most people think that ‘Crispin’ is too embarrassing to call me. They call me Spin because it’s the only kind of abbreviation that you can make from a terrible name like Crispin.

Presenter: Fine.

Speaker: It’s not my fault, you know; it’s my parents’. From a very early age, when they called me it, I would cry for months in my cot, and they didn’t know why, because I couldn’t explain that it was because they’d named me Crispin. But then I got it out of my system. It could have been worse; I could have been called Darrell.

Presenter: Where did you study?

Speaker: Yeah, my parents said over and over again that university could improve my chances of career development. So, I went to Sheffield. I did philosophy and theology but I dropped out after two years. I took a year off to get into pop music, and I always thought I might go back, but I’d never enjoyed school. And I used to get into a real panic before the exams. In fact, even now I feel nervous about all this stuff and the idea of going back never happened. No, I don’t really like universities as places, to be honest. They give me the creeps.

Presenter: What were you like then when you first went to college?

Speaker: You know, I was 18, and I was into this kind of Communist thing, and I thought I was a real Communist but it never occurred to me to join the Communist Party. We got a house of our own, and we were the only people in the whole of Sheffield University to have a house of our own so it became like a commune and we were like members of some secret society. In fact, our secret life was rather innocent. You know, everyone would come around, and there’d be 20 or 30 people there having parties.

Presenter: Have you learned much in this last year? Because, you know, you’ve just grown, and people’s respect for you has grown so much in the last year.

Speaker: We were pretty much ignored last year. And then it started changing for our people all of a sudden this year. I think it’s because everyone’s kind of revived themselves. We brought back to life some forgotten ideas and we also got interested in folk music. I think we’re doing something new now. Our work is really creative and rewarding. This is the greatest satisfaction of my life. I’ve met many people, some of whom have been an inspiration to me. That really is Hollywood. It turns into a film; it’s just like a fantasy world.

Presenter: Have you written any new songs then? Is there an album coming out?

Speaker: There is. I’ve got a kind of library of ideas. But the problem is that I have to be on my own. It’s like, you know, when you’re a little kid, and you’re playing in the corner of the living room with your cars or whatever. You’re in the middle of this fantasy, and the moment you notice your mum saying ‘Ah, how sweet,’ and looking at you, the magic charm disappears instantly. But I’ve increased this library, and I’m going to leave in December. I’m going to rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere, and work really hard.

Presenter: You’re one of the few pop-⁠stars that we never hear talking about cars or your bank account. What do you do with your money? Better yet, what’s the first expensive thing you bought?

Speaker: The first expensive thing that I bought was a house.

Presenter: What was it like owning your first home?

Speaker: At the time I bought it, I had no idea how famous I really was. It was across the street from a school and we had kids coming across all day knocking on the door. It was crazy. The house was on a main road, it was a busy road full of cars but that didn’t bother me. The problem was the people around. Sometimes when I went out I had to cover up most of my face. So we put an end to all these problems, sold the house, lost a part of money and bought a new house. That’s probably the best investment I’ve made, my new house.

Presenter: It all sounds as though you don’t like your fame and your fans.

Speaker: Why? Music fans are among the most reasonable groups of people in the whole world.

Presenter: Sounds great! Do you mean that fans going wild at the concerts are perfectly reasonable?

Speaker: You know, I don’t like people to go wild. But I’m sure that keeping feelings of irritation and annoyance bottled up is a really bad idea. For starters, where would you find a bottle big enough to contain the oceans of anger created by someone calling your favorite band ‘rubbish’ or ‘good dinner-⁠party music’? If you leave all that stuff inside, you’re asking for headaches and other health problems. So, let your emotions out!

Interviewer: Our guest today is Chris Nash, who is widely recognised as one of the most creative photographers in his field. He has held over 40 exhibitions of his dance photographs worldwide and has worked with world renowned dance companies and choreographers, and my first question is: what inspired you to become a photographer?

Chris: I kind of came at it from an odd angle. I was studying fine art at college and as part of the course we spent a week in the darkroom. I found it a bit like magic watching the pictures develop. At the time, I was making a lot of big pieces of sculpture and because I didn't have anywhere to store them, I would have to take photographs of them and then destroy the sculptures. This was a bit heartbreaking, really, so I took real pride in the images and gradually began to develop a greater interest in photography.

Interviewer: Did you have any formal training?

Chris: Not really. I spent more and more time in the darkroom. The tutors were the artists making work that was photographic based. The darkroom technician at the college was great. He was a professional photographer and introduced me to John, the photographer I assisted when I left college. I wanted to do things and John would tell me what I would need, what equipment, what books to read. I kind of taught myself, but he was there to help with any questions I had. The best way of learning is doing.

Interviewer: You just said you worked as an assistant. Is this a good way into that career?

Chris: Yes, absolutely! In fact, I think it is the best way. When you see a photographer working on the job, you come to realise, get a clear idea of what photography is about. You have to deal with a lot of talented people: models, performers, makeup artists, etc. All of them have their particular habits and eccentricities. You need to be able to draw the best out of them and to be really patient. Ideally, when you are at college, you are taught all the basic techniques, but when you come out there is a whole lot of other stuff to learn.

Interviewer: What was your first camera or the first photo you took?

Chris: A really cheap plastic camera. I had that when I was twelve, and then I bought a single lens camera when I got to college. Then I went back to a plastic camera. I saw this exhibition where a photographer had to use a really cheap camera called a Diana. It had a cheap plastic lens on it, which made everything go fuzzy and dreamy. I wanted to get the same effect, so I went to a lot of markets to try and pick up a second-⁠hand camera. I had two which I would carry around with me.

Interviewer: When did you become interested in dance?

Chris: It was while I was studying in London. At that time the dance centre was at a college, so I met a lot of dance students and saw a bit of contemporary dance. I thought this would make a great subject for photography, so I encouraged one of the dance students to go into the studio and let me take some photographs. I was fascinated by the results and sent the pictures into a competition and I won. I won 50 pounds worth of photographic materials. That got the ball rolling. This was about 1979.

Interviewer: Do you go to dance performances of the people you photograph?Chris: Yes, but not very often. The way I work is a bit back to front. When I take pictures, it's usually way in advance of the actual piece being created. Working with the dancers, I can only imagine what the future performance will be like, and it is interesting to find out if the work I have done corresponds to the real play. So, sometimes I will go and see the premiere. It is important for me to see if the photographs make any sense and if the piece is how it was originally described to me.

Interviewer: What do you enjoy most about your career?

Chris: With the exhibitions I've done, I've got to do lot's of travelling. I've got trips abroad on shoots, which can be a great thing. Also, I have really enjoyed working with dancers and working with creative people. Dancers always have a lot of energy and are always active. When you ask them to do things, all those little directions, they have absolutely no objections. When you work with other people, who don't have the physical training, it can be difficult to work in the same way. I love going to see dance performances, but it's different when you work with dancers. It's right there with you and it's really exciting, that's what I love.

Int: You probably have heard about Ian Fleming, who was the first to create the famous spy James Bond. Another writer, Raymond Benson, continued Fleming's book series about Bond. Now Raymond has retired from writing Bond books, but is willing to share his experience. So, Raymond, when did you first start reading Ian Fleming’s novels about James Bond?

Raymond Benson: I first saw one of the James Bond movies, "Goldfinger", in the cinema when I was 9 years old and I was blown away. I immediately started reading whatever Bond books I could get my hands on. By the time I was 11 I had read them all even though I was too young at the time to fully comprehend them. I re-⁠read them again around the time I was in high school, and that’s when I figured out what was so good about these books and I’ve re-⁠read them several times since.

Int: You’ve been involved in the Bond fan community for a long time. How has it changed over the years?

RB: The Internet has changed it in many ways. Back in the 70s and 80s, there wasn’t a whole lot that could bring fans together and that’s the thing the Internet has done for them. In the past there were only fan clubs that published Bond magazines and some of the bigger cities held conventions where fans could meet each other more or less frequently. Now that the fans have the Internet they have created millions of Bond websites.

Int: Are you still a Bond fan?

RB: Of course! But it’s different now. I will still see the films as they come out and probably read the books if and when they are published. But the days of me writing articles about Bond are gone. I like to think I’ve moved on. There are plenty of other things that keep me engaged. I’m a huge fan of many different things, from various types of music and films to other authors and genres.

Int: Do you think Ian himself would have found the popularity of the series unexpected? *

RB: Yes. He didn’t think they would last so long. Unfortunately, he only saw the first two films and never got to enjoy the huge success that Bond brought others. As he once said, ‘It’s all been such a joke.’ However, I don’t think he would have appreciated the way James Bond is portrayed now, the way they’ve made him more politically correct, a ‘nicer’ guy, so to speak.

Int: Although the era of the cold war is over and spies are slowly becoming a thing of the past, do you think the public will ever lose an interest in James Bond?

RB: They don’t show any sign of doing so. The same can be said concerning fiction and movies about spies in general. You see, spies are not necessarily linked to the cold war  — we had spies in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and we have spies today. Spies will never be a thing of the past. There will always be something for Bond to do.

Int: How does it feel not to be writing Bond now? What have you been doing with yourself in the past two years?

RB: Well, for seven years the job gave me the opportunity to travel the world, meet lots of people, and get my name into the publishing world. The income wasn’t what people sometimes think it was. You’d be surprised how many people automatically assume I was making millions of dollars. But I made the same amount of money as I would have made at an office job. Now that it’s over, I have to find ways to supplement the writing income. There are days when I miss the job, but overall I’m relieved not to have that Bond thing hanging over me.

Int: Do you have any advice for the next writer, whoever it may be?

RB: Make sure you’ve got a thick skin and stay away from Bond websites! Don’t get me wrong, the fans are very valuable to the Bond industry and I say God bless them all  — even the ones that didn’t like my work. I certainly didn’t expect everyone to. One must understand that it’s a much tougher job than it seems. The pressure to produce on a timely basis is immense. It’s a balancing act between pleasing the publishers, the readers and pleasing oneself.

Presenter: John, you’re one of very few major designers who are publicly committed to being fur-⁠free.

John: I haven’t used fur in my collections for over 16 years. I haven’t used leather for probably almost as long.

Presenter: What’s your opinion about using artificial animal products, like fur and leather, for example? They look so much like real fur that people might get the wrong idea.

John: You’re absolutely right. The technology has advanced so much that you’re able to get the look and feel of real fur. And also leather  — with leather, even more than with fur, the technological alternative is so obvious that there is no argument about it. It’s more durable and the price..., well, it varies a lot, sometimes it can cost as much as real leather. But the problem is that you’re propagating the idea that fur is acceptable by wearing it, because a lot of people can’t tell what is real and what is not real. You know, I’d refuse to use even artificial fur, but I can’t because of my clients, for whom fur is a status symbol.

Presenter: Is fur still a big deal in fashion? It seemed to go out of fashion for a while.

John: I know. I just got back from an appointment uptown. The weather was so nice I decided to walk down Fifth Avenue. The amount of furs that I saw on people and the amount of fur trim  — whether on men’s jackets or baubles hanging from hats to full length coats  — is surprising. And as an expert in this field, I can tell what is fake and what’s not, and the amount of real fur out there is shocking.

Presenter: I think your fight for cruelty-⁠free fashion is really tough. What about your opponents?

John: There are a lot of them. For example, the Scandinavian fur industry is one of many. It keeps trying to bring furs back into fashion. They educate young designers about the different animal furs available, giving them furs free, and helping them integrate fur into their designs. I’m actively engaging with young designers as well but in a different manner. In addition to my own participation in the ‘Cool vs. Cruel’ design contests, I’m a guest lecturer at some very prestigious city design schools. This semester I’m challenging students to create a collection ‘without any animal products’ at all.

Presenter: So are only industries like the Scandinavian fur one responsible for fur in fashion or are there any other reasons?

John: Of course, there’s a financial aspect to it. You know, I could have got millions of dollars in fur licensing by now. I could be rich. I would be able to live a much better lifestyle than I’m living right now if I had taken these offers. But I sleep in peace at night knowing that I'm not part of that. Then there's also this, you know, ‘well why should I worry about animals’ attitude with a lot of people who are in fashion. I think this is a major problem here. They only think about themselves, and their reputations. They are self-⁠obsessed. They are the worst!

Presenter: What do you think are some ways we can get the fashion-⁠wearing public and designers to care?

John: I think just constantly making them aware of the cruelty involved. Just a continuous bombardment with information. I believe in protesting without violence, of course, that’s exactly what we’re trying to fight against  — violence against animals. It’s a slow process which could be compared, maybe to..., for example, to the long-⁠lasting fight of black people for their rights. A hundred years ago people also thought that black people shouldn’t have the rights of white people. And 30 years ago people thought that smoking was okay for you. It’s all a matter of becoming a more advanced society and more caring individuals.

Presenter: John, are you a vegetarian?

John: You know, I’m trying to become a vegetarian. But having been brought up in a traditional way, it’s always a battle. I eat red meat once in a while. Now and then I also have chicken. I think today vegetarian food is available not only for well-⁠to-⁠do people but for everybody. The problem is dietary habits you have had since your early childhood. They are difficult to change. I know it’s a slow process, but I hope by the end of this year I’ll have completely cut meat out.

Presenter: John, what first made you aware of the cruelty involved in fur?

John: I think any intelligent person, no matter how old he or she is, realizes there’s death involved with this type of fashion. And you read about it and just become aware of how savage this industry is. When I was a young designer, I had a bunch of fur, which I used in one of my collections. And I thought, ‘Oh how beautiful, how fabulous!’ My clients also admired the collection. But then I became aware of what goes on, and I guess, more mature as an individual and a more of a caring person about the environment and the lives of helpless animals. It’s really depressing to realize that we aren’t doing enough to protect the environment. Maybe I even shouldn’t be showing fake fur. With the technology today artificial fur looks so real that by wearing it you are advertising it. I would like to help as much as I can with any of the organizations that want to help protect animals, including vocal protests as well as financially.

Interviewer: So, Kara, your family moved to the United States when you were about eight, and you had already been attending an ordinary school in Mexico and started learning Spanish as your native language. As far as I know, there was nobody in the family who could speak English. So, when your parents got a resident’s permit they considered the situation thoroughly and started attending a language course at elementary level in Mexico to have a better chance of getting a job in the States. And you started learning English at school with a bilingual program only when you moved to the US, didn’t you? Was it difficult? How did you feel?

Kara: You know, like many other children, I was really scared of not being able to communicate with strangers. But coming at an early age like that can make things much easier. Children learn differently. The child’s brain is like a sponge  — it absorbs everything around it. A child doesn’t even know why he or she is doing this. When it comes to learning languages children seem to be more comfortable with sounds and intonation than adults. He says a word three times and it’s his forever. He picks up words and makes sentences, and it doesn’t matter what language he uses  — the first or the second... or maybe the third. He learns them using the same method.

Int: Oh, and what did you think about bilingual education in the United States?

Kara: The school I happened to go to had a great bilingual program. They actually helped us to continue our Spanish speaking education both in reading and writing, which was great. But a lot of kids who were born and raised speaking Spanish, are deprived of that because most schools in the US don’t have bilingual programs. Once these students start school and start learning English they stop speaking Spanish in the family. Partially because they want to fit into the English speaking environment as quickly as possible. In a couple of years they cannot read or write Spanish.

Int: Now, you’ve also taken classes in French in high school. Do you think it was easier to learn French through a textbook or to learn English being thrown into the United States and having to learn it?

Kara: I think learning a second language made it much easier to jump into a third language. You already sort of have a foundation for a new language environment. But it depends a lot on the teachers and the way they teach the language because I can read textbooks and try to understand what they are teaching. However, it’s a lot easier when I have a real expert in front of me who knows the language, who can answer my questions and not only that: an expert I can listen to and hear the pronunciation and make sure that I’m doing it correctly.

Int: Kara, in your family setting, when you are having family get-⁠togethers, do you normally speak English or Spanish or is it a mix?

Kara: It’s definitely a mix; some people call it, Span- glish. I have some younger relatives who speak English; they were raised here and speak it well. So sometimes we feel more comfortable speaking in English. But there are a lot of my relatives who moved here when they were old, and never had an opportunity to learn English  — therefore I speak only Spanish to them. There are also times when talking to a certain person in English in school or in shops, I suddenly forget a word or it pops up into my head faster in Spanish, so I go from English to Spanish and then back and that’s when we call it Spanglish, just because it’s a little mixture of both.

Int: And what about your nephews and nieces? I know they were bom here in the United States. How is their Spanish?

Kara: Well, that was actually something we often talked about in our family because we didn’t want them to lose that part of, you know, their heritage and their culture. They have been surrounded by English since they were born and started speaking it when they were about two years old. But we wanted them to speak Spanish too, so we decided we would mostly talk to them in Spanish, especially for the first five years of their life. Because when they start school they come home and they suddenly just speak English and don’t want to speak Spanish anymore. So we try really hard to speak Spanish around them, at least at home.

Int: Kara, being bilingual you have a lot more choices than, say, I do with things like movies, music, books. When you go to the store and buy a book, do you normally buy it in English or in Spanish or does it just depend on the book?

Kara: I think it depends not only on the book; it depends on the mood. You know, there are times when I really feel that I forget certain things if I don’t speak enough Spanish, so then I go and buy a Spanish book so that I can keep up on that. I sometimes buy books by foreign authors that are translated into Spanish if they are really interesting. But, you know, there are times when I just want to read a really good book and the translation is not exact. So if the book is written by an American or English writer, I buy it in English just because I want the real thing.