Saturday, August 13, 2016

Tricky / This much I Know / ‘I've got family members I haven't spoken to in 15 years’

Tricky
Photograph by Andrew Kuykendall

This much I know

Tricky: ‘I've got family members I haven't spoken to in 15 years’

‘Bjork was so good to me. She’s a free spirit so she knows how to be with a free spirit’: Tricky

The musician, 48, on spending 200 grand on a car service, standing Madonna up and screaming at spiders

Johnny Davis
Saturday 13 August 2016 14.00 BST

I got a lot of love in the beginning because of my story. People knowing that I lost my mother made everything real. It wasn’t like a pop star thing. It was real blood and tears.

I’ve been doing some shows with Massive Attack and it’s great to see them after all these years. People say, “Why don’t you do more shows, use the opportunities?” But it’s not work I really want at the moment. I’m mainly putting stuff out on my own label. I’m still doing what I love but at my own speed, in my own vibe.

I spent 200 grand on a car service over 18 months in New York. The driver, Vladimir, a Russian guy with half a foot became my mate, because I’d see him so often. He’d come in the house and watch boxing.

Madonna asked me to produce an album for her but I turned her down. I was supposed to meet her in the lobby of my hotel, but I couldn’t wake up. My mate called and said, “She’s down here, what are you doing?” And I’m like, “I’m tired, call me back when I’ve woken up.” So that wasn’t a good look.

I’ve got family members I haven’t spoke to in 15 years. I was at an awards ceremony in London, and this girl comes over to me and she goes, “Hey, how are you doing?” And I was, like, “Babe, how are you? You look very familiar…” And she goes, “Yes, I’m your fucking sister.”

I’m a soppy bastard. I cry at absolutely anything. Lethal Weapon, the fight scene at the end – you can see it on YouTube. That fucks me up right there.

My most embarrassing moment was with Ben Stiller. I was in a club in New York and he came over and said, “Oh, I’m a fan, come and have a drink.” But he was with this girl, and the girl kept looking at me… I’m thinking, ‘She’s making him look like an idiot.’ So I said, “What the fuck are you looking at?” Then he goes to me, “That’s my sister.”

I don’t believe in death. I just don’t think all that love and all that energy can just disappear into nothing.

Björk was so good to me. She’s very independent and she doesn’t suck your energy. She lets you be you. She’s a free spirit so she knows how to be with a free spirit. That’s the only sort of woman I could see myself staying with.

One of my brothers must have done 12 years in jail, on and off. We look very similar. I’ve been stopped by the police and they thought I was him. I showed them on YouTube who I was. That was a shock to them.

I don’t like creepy-crawly stuff. Girls can pick up a spider and just chuck it out of the window. No way, I’m not doing that. I actually scream.

THE GUARDIAN