Boy George says she has the face of a goddess, something that hasn’t changed she first came to public attention as the made-up beauty on her friend Steve Strange’s seminal video Fade to Grey (Visage) in the early 80s. But Princess Julia’s throne at the height of the London electro scene means that she’s known as much more than just a pretty face.
Is this your first visit to Australia?
Yes, I’m really excited! We don’t really have a travel plan as such, although we’re going to hook up with a few people here who’ve been to visit in London before. Who knows, without a structure there’s a lot of room for mischief, so we’ll see what happens!
What is it about electro that excites you?
I love the fact that electro takes its influence from all different genres; pop, punk rock, avant-garde…it relieves the monotony that sometimes develops within clubs.
I think the media have latched onto the term, and are using it to categorise a particular genre, but even within something as specific as ‘electroclash’ there are subdivisions – electro, beat wave and so on. It can all get a bit silly, but I think the point is that music keeps evolving, so that there’s always something fresh and new. We need to keep pushing those boundaries!
Your ‘all-time top 10’ is a pretty diverse list…comprising of Depeche Mode, Yoko Ono and Kraftwerk. Does this reflect the diversity of your sets, or is this the nature of top 10s?
Well, I see an overall theme in my top 10, in that they are all eclectic reference points for me – they shaped my understanding of music at various points throughout my life. That’s the fun thing about electro, it’s like a fabulous journey that draws on so many different areas of life and music.
You’ve always had a strong presence in both the fashion and the music world. Is there an inherent connection between the two?
Totally – they’re very much connected! I saw this when I worked with fashion designer Antonio Berardi on some catwalk shows; both fashion and music are concerned with creating a certain mood or ambience. One of my fellow resident DJs at The Cock in London is a fashion designer, and another is a fashion photographer – so the gap is definitely closing between the two fields. They’re both creative, expressive forms of art.
Are you happy with the way your current releases have been received? – Eurotrash Boy and Spin Me Round?
Yes, they’ve both gone really well. I spoke to Pete Burns (Dead or Alive lead singer) recently, and we actually sold out! We weren’t supplied with enough records, so we really could have done more with it.
Mark Moore & Princess Julia Australian tour dates:
12th July – Kink @ The ArtHouse, Sydney (BUY TICKETS)
17th July – Baja, Kirra Point
18th July – Connections, Perth
19th July – One Love @ The Prince, Melbourne
