8. RammsteinMutter
They’re great, aren’t they? It’s impossible to talk about Rammstein without smiling! They’re so ridiculously over-the-top which is almost silly but it’s not; they’re fucking brilliant. I’ve seen them so many times and you get nothing less than a great, great gig.
I’ve met them quite a few times now, actually. I went backstage and they gave me this specially imported vodka that they like. They are such a lovely bunch of people. And with the live show, they’re just the best thing I’ve ever seen. I saw them at Wembley Arena and the show started and it was just genuinely awesome – and that’s in the British use of the word and not the American where they mean ‘good’ – and it was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen; vast and phenomenal and about halfway through it the whole back lowered and there was another show! And I’m like, ‘Fucking hell!’ It must have taken them a year to build it! I’ve never seen anything like it! Just amazing! It really was the biggest show I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe it; it was absolutely phenomenal!
The last time I saw them was up in Nottingham earlier this year and they had this gantry that lowered down from the ceiling and they walked across it from the mixing desk to the stage and then they came back across it to play on the little podium. I loved it!
In my day, I did play gigs on that scale. When I did Wembley Arena in ’81, at that time that was the largest moving structure ever. It was 86 feet wide and it had eight motors that would lift it up and it had men in it who controlled the motors who would make it shoot up and down. It was brilliant! I’ve done the big show thing but that’s why I was so impressed when I saw Rammstein. It blew mine into the dust! Jesus Christ! You know what it takes to design that stuff and to pay for it. I’ve still got the little Numan car. It’s in my dad’s garage. Well, actually, it’s in his garden because it’s made of aluminium so it doesn’t rust. He leaves it outside – he’s got no respect!
