Petulas 4 Favourite Things in Dave's own words............ 
Comments by Dave Wolfe via e-mail
Well mike, as you requested, here is P4FT in my own words. All the 
dates are fictional, as I've no idea when I joined and left, and 
how long I was there for. 
Still............ 
"I was more recruited than interviewed for this thang, and only 
about a month after I'd heard that the band existed. Having played 
the Portishead festival (a-woo-hoo), Mike left in a fit of pique; 
something to do with Scott I believe. Anyway, Scott came into the 
shop I worked, said that he'd been told I played bass, and would I 
join? I did know both Scott and Mike - I went to primary school with 
Mike, and cubs with Scott. Hadn't seen either for quite a while. 
Having been (re)introduced to everyone - Mike, Scott and Ted, an 
abrasive little man who is now one of my closest friends, we started.
The music was fun - no pretensions of grandeur - just stupid songs 
with an amusing take on life. The players however, weren't. Ted was 
good, no problem there, but Scott.... well, it wasn't so much a 
case of delusions of grandeur, as delusions of ability. He just 
could not sing. While constantly trying to sound like Kurt Cobain, 
which grated for a start, he would blame his failings on everything 
else available - the mikes, the soundman, Ted's brother. Still, 
after relentless piss-taking, mainly from me, he got fed up and left. 
I was now in a band with no original members left, no singer, 
and no guitarist. No stopping me now! Mike returned with a little 
persuasion, moving up a rung to six-string stardom, but didn't sing. 
So, Andy Baker entered the picture. A strange choice, his former band 
having been a psychedelic affair, covering the likes of Interstellar 
Overdrive. Still, it seemed to work. This was, as far as I'm 
concerned, the golden age of Petula's. Before and after never matched 
up, and we had fun. The first gig we played together, at the Inkworks, 
we were second on the bill. First up, Dive, no-one danced. Then we 
played. Wow. I know this isn't very modest, but we rocked! Dan Bright 
guested for a cover of Bodies, and everyone was up and jumping. 
The Pudding followed, and most sat down (although I love 'em), and 
pretty much all went home by the time The Time Flies started - no 
less than they deserve. Someone also let down the soundman's tyres - 
harsh, but fair. 
As quickly as it got good, it started to get bad. Mike decided the 
band needed a change of sound, well actually, several. Every week 
pretty much. We would no longer play any old songs at gigs, but a 
brand new set-list each time. With odd time sig.'s, which for some 
reason were imperative. This was too much I liked the old stuff, 
and so did the crowd. And what was wrong with the sound? It was 
quality bad punk, and we did it well. We weren't an acid-funk-jazz-
blues-beatbox-boy band. We were p4ft. It got to the point where the 
set-list was changing so fast that Mike would turn up to gigs with 
the bass-lines written on a piece of paper and I'd sight read all the 
songs. I had enough, and at the Brewhouse, walked off stage mid-song 
and sat down with a pint. What's the point of being in a band if you 
don't know what you're playing? We might as well have been session 
musicians for Mike. 
Then Mike sacked Andy. No real reason was given, the first I heard 
about it was when Andy told me. I lost it then. Chewed Mike's bollocks 
a little over that. He had no right to make executive decisions 
autocratically. 
This was it for me. I quit soon after. Andy's replacement was chosen 
by Mike without real audition, and didn't, I felt, meet up to 
requirements. Upon my departure, I heard from many friends that 
"It was a bummer Mike sacked you". Eh? He has now finally conceded 
that I left of my own volition. 
We still have the odd reunion, get together and play a bit of Ned's. 
In the words of Oscar Wilde, "it was, in the most part, a fucking good 
laugh" 
Dave 

Petulas 4 Favourite Things in Lucys own words............ 
Comments by Lucy Whitfield via e-mail
Joining Petula's Four Favourite Things was simultaneously both the worst and
best drunken mistake I ever made.
The worst for a number of reasons. For a start, I'd barely had 6 months of
bass guitar lessons, and really hadn't a clue what I was doing half the
time. The music wasn't to my taste either, and as for Scott Legge.My mother
once described his vocals as a cross between Zed from the Police Academy
films, and Reg Gumby in Monty Python. His behaviour was also akin to a
gumby, with a sprinkling of teenage yob around the edges. I can only hope 
he's improved with age.
However, as with most adolescent experiences, being with P4FT had its good
points. I got to play at the Thekla and be a rock star for an evening - even
if Ted does still believe that he unplugged the bass half way through
(listen to the tape and you'll find it's still there). I got to watch my
younger sister work her way through my band members, and fought my own fair
share of admirers off too. And I learned an awful lot about bands and
teamwork that I still use in my musical activities today.
Quite apart from joining Petulas, I made quite a few silly mistakes in those
couple of years, not all of them alcohol induced. Part of being a teenager -
and apologies to all involved, you know who you are.
A mistake it might have been, and in all the experiences I gained from
Telekinesis, a short-lived P4FT side project, were probably better - but
Petulas got the ball rolling, and for that I'm grateful.
Lucy