Man Like Milan, TOUCHMAN LIKE MILAN
Published in Touch, the original uk urban music magazine
Where do you go to interview a band from north London? Italy, of course.
Man Like Me aka Johnny (vocals, production), Pesk (fuzzbox) and Ed Laliq (kazoo) have invited me on a beano to Milan to see them play at Club Plastic, so off we go. We meet at Gatwick, and an economy airline flight later (“No I do not want to buy a scratch card.”), we’re being met the other end by the club’s promoter. He is wearing some rather sharp neon socks and clutching flyers for tonight. So far so bueno.
After the sound check it’s straight to the nearest drinking hole for several litres of Nastro Azzurro and some deep insights from the band. Topics of conversation include favourite garage lyrics (DJ Deekline: ‘Sexy Cinderella / I like the way you shake that figure’), how you say Man Like Me in Italian (Uomo Come Mi), the dangers of EU ecstasy (“I was trying to open a mound of rubble with my house keys!”) and what the band are like live.
Johnny: “It’s glorified karaoke.”
Ed: “Glorified?”
Johnny: “Okay, it’s just karaoke! We perform to a backing track so we like to do a few dance moves like a boy band. And if a gig isn’t going well I take my clothes off.”
On to Plastic for the weekly hoedown London Loves... They take to the stage in sharp suits and Tommy Cooper hats and launch into a set that takes in their future hits Doughnut (Yeah I fell for you real hard / topped up your Oyster card) and Single DAD (All I did was bang her / I’ve made a slight clanger) but it’s their current electro grime single Oh My Gosh that makes Milan’s hip young things go wild. And for an encore Johnny drops his jeans and belts out a cover of On a Ragga Tip. SL2-fuelled sweat pours down the walls.
With swagger, charisma and a Prince meets Prodigy vibe on their side, these lads will go far. But tonight, after one too many rounds of tequilas (four), we’ll be lucky to find our way back to the hotel. Man Like Mashed.
Words Helen Jennings