Interview By Christine Toner

How did you come up with the name?
We saw Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" together just after we formed. At the beginning of the film The Rivera’s tune "California Sun" is playing and we realised that we wanted to make records exactly like that. It’s in the desert and a road sign says "The Needles, 50 miles". It was quite clear what we had to do.
Also Johnny Wolfe had a mug from "The Needles" in the Isle of White, but I think that's by the by.

How did you get together?
At school. We all took packed lunches, apart from Paul who had dinners. Ultimately we were short on numbers though so there you have it.

Who are your musical influences?
Pretty much anything and everything that we know of from the start of music and song right through –folk, classical, blues, showtunes, country, skiffle, rock'n'roll, folk(again), garage, psych, soul, reggae, new wave, hard rock. Until the point some time during the 90's or 80's (reports vary) when people decided not to bother having talent or doing their homework. There are of course exceptions but that would be telling.

How would you describe your music to people in five words?
Savage Blocks of Youth, Wisdom and Harmony.

How would you describe your live shows?
Like when they brought electricity to Scotland. Some people laughed, some people cried, some people screamed, some people died. Everyone that was there remembers it though.
And now they can see in the dark.

Your Myspace page jokes about visits to A&E, have there been any actual injuries on tour?
I don't know how you'd describe it with your heathen magick and medicine, but I've only just gotten over a severely mis-set pendulum I suffered in Hartlepool.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Get our manager to make us famous, finish writing and recording the best music ever made and get out there and save some souls.

Have you always wanted to be in a band? What did you want to be when you were kids?
I wanted to be in a band ever since I saw The Monkees on TV when I was 4. I also wanted to play drums with fluffy spoons in a pipe band and play for Aberdeen FC, who were Champions of Europe back then, either as Jim Leighton, the goalkeeper, or Gordon Strachan, the Gordon Strachan. You don't really see funny-looking guys playing football at European level these days though so I should probably forget that dream.

What has been the defining point of your career to date and why?
When we played in Texas guys in hats liked us and that's all I ever needed to know.

And most embarrassing?
Probably the cycling top era. Although I also appeared on television alongside Keith Chegwin around this time which I'm quite proud of.

What one thing would you like to achieve by before you die?
I just hope the books balance that I've done enough good to make up for any bad. That and I want us to be the first band on Mars, both figuratively and literally.

What's your favourite venue to play?
A campfire in a forest in Slaughter Creek, Texas. If that's booked I'll take Nice'N'Sleazy or King Tuts in Glasgow.

What one album would you take to a desert island and why?
Roy Orbison 20 Golden Greats. Beautiful sand and sun, nobody about to bug me. Keep things tragic, magic and glorious.

Which mobile ring tone do you currently have?
Just the one it came with. I don't know how to change it.

http://www.theneedles.net
http://www.theneedles.bebo.com
http://www.myspace.com/needlesuk