Glamour and music do not always
go hand in hand these days but
here’s a new band with a sound
strictly their own and an ultra
elegant look rarely witnessed
since old Hollywood. Laurent talks
to Nick Lockwood from Lazenby
to fi nd out more about a band that
is truly innovative.
“Unique”, “like no others”, “unparalleled”
are all terminologies that press releases love.
The truth is generally something else. But
not with Lazenby. As soon as you hear the
fi rst chords of “Listening to Joni”, you know
you are in for a treat. It is pop, undeniably
so, but thoughtful pop, catchy and different.
The album that follows is certainly a voyage
of discovery and for its listener, well worth
seeking out. Songs like “Star”, “Tried”, “Life
Goes By” could not be any different from
one another and are all held together by the
gorgeous sound of Sarah Lazenby a voice, half
way between Ella and Kylie.
A fi ve piece outfi t, Lazenby was created
when Nick Lockwood and Sarah Lazenby
were brought together by Arctic Monkeys’
manager, Geoff Barradale.
I ask: “Why the name Lazenby?” and Nick
says: “We were in the studio and I was
working with a few other artists at the time
so I wrote Sarah’s name on the tape box to
ensure he did not get it mixed up with the
others. The tape op took it as the name of
the band and said he thought it was a pretty
cool name. The collective name “Lazenby”
just stuck.”
The album “The Loft Years” was developed
in Nick’s North London loft (due to fi nancial
constraints) and the true sound of Lazenby
then started to emerge. The collection of
songs on the disc is totally eclectic, but it has
a strong personality and a production that is
simply faultless. An album that is “Fusing a
great many number of styles together into
a rock template” as Nick says, adding: “We
are just like Marmite, you either love us or
hate us.” It is true that Lazenby do NOT do
Pop By Numbers. They have been likened to
a progressive rock/pop with sixties chic, Scott
Walker style. Nick says: “We listened to a
lot of Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Deep
Purple, Pink Floyd, Crosby, Still Nash And
Young as well as Joni Mitchell. They defi nitely
had an infl uence on the album. I suppose you
could call us Blondie on Steroids!”

I ask him about the great tune “Listening
to Joni” and the story behind it. Nick says:
“It is about someone who has outgrown a
42
Lazenby 1 29/8/08, 12:41:16 pm
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