RATTY RAT RAT
Interview by Karley Sciortino
Images by Lucy Atkinson

The boys of Ratty Rat Rat are sitting around in the massive, graffiti-covered warehouse that is their strangely endearing South London home. Preparing a DIY set for an upcoming video shoot, the five are busy cutting giant palm trees out of scraps of cardboard and painting paper maché peacocks. Dressed to the nines in ripped T-shirts, gold spray-painted loafers, and see-through plastic macs that appear to be two sizes too small, it’s obvious that the intrigue of this band is just as much about the characters within it as it is about the music.

Not to downplay the music that is. The perfect combination of drunken anarchy and blissful pop melodies, Ratty Rat Rat’s songs read like a confessional tale of their mischievous and lovesick lives. With lyrics that profess “Getting it right is not for me or anyone that I know,” and drool “She’s five foot four but there’s people at her feet,” every song is its own beautifully bedraggled story.

Now, dirty with paint and glue (although it appears that even after 400 baths they are the type of guys that will never be entirely clean), the Rats take some time out of their lives to talk to us about their catchy guitar pop and mental live shows while attempting to crack the myth that surrounds their infamous London squat.

What in the world are you guys doing?

Simon: We’re designing the set for the music video for “Mexico”, our next single. It takes place in the jungle, hence the cardboard monkey hanging off of my guitar.

Can you describe your music for us?

Simon: It’s fun pop. We like the idea of writing pretty songs and then fucking them up just enough that they stay ratty.

Gary: I’d say our music is like a roast dinner - classic, to the point, and good even when the timing is slightly off.

Would you say that your music is simplistic?

Gary: It’s simplistic in a way, but I’d say it’s more organic. It’s very honest, and I think its music that can
be listened to over and over. That’s the kind of music we aspire to make really. I can listen to bands like the Strokes and the Coral on repeat. I don’t get bored listening to a certain band or a certain song.

Simon: Our music isn’t faddy. I don’t want people to listen to our music because it’s trendy. If something
is relevant and you believe in it then you should be able to listen to it forever.

Your lyrics are very candid. Would you agree?

Gary: Yes, definitely. We tend to sing a lot about the trouble we get ourselves into. Some of the things we sing about are stupidly honest. [Laughs] Probably too honest for our own good.

Simon: I also have a habit of writing bits of drunken conversation on my arms during nights out and using them as lyrics.

Tell me about where you live.

Simon: It’s a disused toilet factory in Elephant and Castle. We’ve been squatting here for about six months now. It’s a pretty amazing space. It’s got a warehouse attached to it that can hold about 2,500 people.

Gary: There are 16 smelly people living here in total at the moment. It’s slightly out of hand.

Simon: Yeah, we used to have two Japanese girls living in a 3’ by 6’ cupboard. They played My Chemical Romance on repeat for three months straight.

The Toilet Factory has become somewhat of a notorious party venue when it comes to illegal parties in London. Can you tell us a little bit about the insanity that goes on there?

Gary: Yeah, we’ve had a few big parties here. I don’t know how they get so massive, but every time we have
a party 3,000 drunken kids seem to turn up on our doorstep. Bands like Mystery Jets, Shitdisco, the Metros,
Man Like Me, and Talk Taxies have all played.

Chris: Our set at the last party was ridiculous. During out first song some random Polish guy started beating up everyone in the crowd. During the second song we got raided by the police. Best gig ever man.

Simon: We’re basically hated by the council now. They shut off our water after the last party. Luckily
our Czech squat-mate turned it back on with a spanner in the middle of the night. We’ll show them.

Simon, I heard you’ve wallpapered your room in pictures of Paris Hilton. Is that true?

Simon: Yeah. Me and Gary are having a competition. He’s filling his walls with pictures of David Beckham,
and I’m doing mine with Paris. If he wins I have to buy him a football. If I win he has to buy me One Night in Paris on DVD.

Those prizes seem a bit unfair, don’t you think?

Gary: I guess it depends on whether you’re more into football or wanking.

Simon: Our flat-mate Darren Shitdisco recently tried to join in as well. He’s been filling the kitchen wall with photos of Jordan’s son Harvey. But we’ve disqualified him, as Harvey is three times the size of Paris and Beckham combined.

Ratty Rat Rat is a weird name. Where’d you come up with it?

Gary: We had a rat infestation in our old squat. A Polish farmer named Chris was living with us at the time. He was sitting on the toilet and a rat ran up through the pipes and out from between his legs. It was such
a horrific story that we decided we needed to form a band in honor of it.

Simon: That was the same guy who poured milk up his ass, claiming it was a natural enema.

What, because there was a rat up there?

Gary: No, just because.

Have you ever killed an animal with your bare hands?

Simon: Once I had to put a fox out of its misery by the side of the road.

How did you do it?

Simon: Smashed its head in with a brick.

What have been some high and low points of the past year for you guys?

Gary: The all-ages shows are always a high point. At one gig a group of security guards formed a human chain to stop the kids from invading the stage. That was funny. To be honest a couple hundred kids doing
the conga to one of your songs can’t be bad.

And what are your plans for the year to come?

Simon: To play loads of festivals and make lots of pretty friends.