Talking To... Divided Opinions
Just over ten years ago, popular thought was that Divided Opinions were on
the verge of a significant breakthrough. The band had produced a couple of
highly regarded demos. Record companies were apparently talking about putting
pen to paper and then the band just vanished from the scene.
Well Divided
Opinions have returned with a harder more folk rock, folk indie sound and pretty
much with the same line-up. The opportunity to bridge a ten year gap was just
too much for us to resist, so we picked up the phone and gave band leader Joolz
a quick call to put us back in the picture.
#J=Joolz #N=Neil
#N I remember some early demos and things looking like they were about to happen for you and then it all went quiet, what was the story there?
#J There was a couple things happening. There was a major shake up with the band that was sort of caused by the interest. One of the record companies basically said they weren’t impressed with the line-up of the band, but we wouldn’t do anything about it, because the person was a friend and one of the original members. Eventually, it sounds so silly now, on one drunken night we had an argument and I told her to get lost. Well told her what the record company said. We were getting things back on an even keel. Our sound was developing, then I think the stress of it all got to me. I got really ill. We were rehearsing one night and everyone said that I was looking a bit yellow and I collapsed. I had liver failure. The doctors at the hospital didn’t expect me to make the night. Obviously I did survive the night, but they couldn’t find what had caused the peritonitis. They were worried that I could go into septicaemia at any moment. Other organs were showing signs of failure. They couldn’t find any drugs that would work. Then after about two weeks of being on death’s door, I turned the corner.
#N It was like the body started healing it’s self.
#J It was also that before the collapse I was eating properly either. I wasn’t like a raging drug queen or anything like that. I was working full time as well as being in the band. I was running the band and not eating at all. It was my body telling me I was doing too much. It just packed in. I was losing weight rapidly, but my stomach looked like I was ten month pregnant, but I wasn’t even noticing that. I let things go to far. I got siroccos and I have to live with that and I now live a life of perfect health.
#N What made you put Divided Opinions back together?
#J I don’t know. After I’d been really ill, I just gave up. I’d got fed
up with music, doing everything. There just came a point….The thing that did it
was all the boys in the band, during the time that I was ill still carried on
rehearsing and came closer together as a band. They didn’t have much to
rehearse, they got together for a jam every week. I didn’t know that until one
of them got in touch and asked me when I was going to come back. They kept going
for me.
#N Did they always know you were going to return?
#J They hoped that I would return. There was a lot behind my illness. There was also a lot going on in my head. I didn’t think we were as good as we were being told. I didn’t think I was any good, even when Divided Opinions were getting a lot of respect. They kept going as a way of keeping me going. It’s a different sounding band now, but that there is a band is down to them.
#N Whilst I only came back across you this year, but when did you get back together?
#J Well we almost did earlier, but then I had a baby, despite being told
I probably wouldn’t. We played our first gig in September. We started rehearsing
when my baby was six months old, but about three years. Properly with the first
gig, September. We haven’t been going long, but we really enjoyed it so despite
saying I wouldn’t, we’re back.