By Sally Churchward.
It’s a crack, she’s back.
It’s almost impossible to hear the name Rebublica without having the band’s evergreen earworm hit Ready to Go start playing on loop in your head.
You don’t even need to remember it from its release, 30 years ago.
The song – iconically belted out by lead singer Saffron and which she has has described as one of her ‘perennials’ because year on year it carries on making money – is a staple of contemporary culture, cementing its place by being a theme song for Sky Sports football, and popping up in everything from Ted Lasso to Captain Marvel.
Now Saffron is back on tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the song and the band’s self-titled debut album.
And she’s going back to her roots, not just the black and red ones of her iconic hair style, with the album being re-released by Sony on black and red vinyl, but to the intimate local venues (such as The Brook in Southampton) like the ones the band played in before they became household names, with hits like Drop Dead Gorgeous and From Rush Hour With Love, and which she is passionate about supporting.
Those 30 years have taken Saffron (Samantha Sprackling) on quite a journey. After nursing her mother, Saffron retrained as a mental health social care officer. It wasn’t something that she needed to do financially, but a choice about what she wanted to do with her life.
She then found herself being called almost into battle, as a frontline worker during the COVID pandemic.
It was an intense time, and one that has very much stayed with her. And although she has now taken a step back from her work in mental health, it is something she continues to be extremely passionate about, and which informs how she lives her life today.
She says her interest in care work was something that rubbed off on her from her mother, whose career saw her looking after physically disabled babies.
“It was something I did because I wanted to do it,” she says. “I met all these amazing people with dementia, schizophrenia, learning difficulties, Downs Syndrome. I was so happy doing all this work.”
She explains how she found herself thrown in the deep end when the pandemic hit.
“COVID happened and I didn’t have my music, there was no live music, and I didn’t know if it would ever come back. Then I got this letter and it basically said’ you’re going on the frontline as a key worker in mental health’ – so I was like ‘great OK, alright’.”
She remembers the experience vividly, from driving around in the dark with no other cars on the road to going into the ‘red zone’ at hospital accident and emergency departments to support her clients.
“I was speaking out for my clients’ rights because they might be non-verbal so I was their voice. People were scared. There were armed soldiers. It was like an apocalypse.
“But what everyone was doing was so important and we were all helping each other and there was that comradeship of the first responders and the ambulance people etc.
“At A&E triage, they saw me coming, but in the end we had mutual respect, because they knew I was fighting for my clients and I didn’t want them to be scared. ‘Don’t just leave them in the corridor because you’ll have to deal with me!’.
“I always felt that – because I’m a punk rocker – I was on the frontline and I would fight for and protect my clients. I was honoured and privileged and I learnt so much from the people I was supporting.
“It was the making of me. It humbled me that I could use these skills: music and art. I would do dance and things to keep everyone feeling safe and not frightened.
“My clients often didn’t understand what was happening and thought it was their fault that they couldn’t go out for trips and walks and that alone was heartbreaking. And they were scared. So it was so important.
“It’s up to each of us to choose how we react and behave and if we can help others.”
That caring attitude is still very much front and centre for Saffron today, even in relation to her music.
We are talking today to promote her forthcoming tour and the re-release of the album Republica, but while she is far more interested in discussing mental health, and even when we are on the subject of the tour, compassion for others is at the front of her mind.
She’s delighted when she realises I am based in Southampton, having had a great time in the city earlier in the year, taking to the stage at the Summer Sessions as part of Alex James’ Britpop Classical show, and she’s excited to come to The Brook, where Republica will be playing on October 17th.
“I’ve heard it’s a great little venue,” she says and is pleased when I agree.
“The whole point of this tour – apart from 30 years and all of this, you know Sony are re-releasing our album on red and black vinyl – it only comes once, let’s go back where we started and support independent grass roots local venues,” she says enthusiastically.
“We love it. We want to be near the audience, all together, and say ‘thank you’ to everybody.
“The main thing is to help all the local communities,” she says, adding how important small venues can be for local people, providing an important hub for people to connect.
“It’s not just music, it’s comedy, kids’ clubs, food banks, people with dementia and disabilities having somewhere to meet and come together. These venues are the heart of places, where people can still meet in person.”
I mention to her an observation I read in an interview with Jon Stewart of fellow 90s band Sleeper, who said that so called ‘heritage bands’ play a key role in keeping live music venues going, suggesting that perhaps it’s down to the lack of investment bringing new bands through.
Saffron agrees.
“Yes absolutely, that was my intent even before I knew Sony would re-release the album – that we go back to where we started, these small places, because it’s so essential, but also, it’s not just music venues, it’s like the theatre or pubs. They can’t go black, they have to have people every night.
“Some of them are so important, to people’s jobs and as a place where maybe you’ll go there one day and say ‘oh my god I’ve just discovered my new favourite band’. Keeping that vibe of community going for all ages.
“It’s really hard to fund and keep those places open. So many pubs have closed in Britain, and Britain is all about pubs!”
She also believes established bands like Republica have an important role to play in supporting new musicians, and is full of praise for the support bands on the forthcoming tour.
“We’ve got amazing bands with us – our friends The Empty Page from Manchester who are an amazing riot girl type band. Kel (Page, the lead singer), who is a star, she played with us in Manchester and it was ‘right you’re coming on tour with us’, and Trampolene, who are these amazing lads from Wales who again have got that fire.
“There’s still this passion with up and coming young musicians so let’s support them.
“For me, I’ll pass the baton on and that’s kind of my duty, so I want to gather as many new bands and say to everybody ‘here’s some new bands and there’s us and you might know a few of our songs and you might come and have a great night out with your mates’.”
Saffron’s passions for music and mental heath are abundant and interlocked. We run way over our allocated interview slot, having a long side discussion about mental health provision – “Oh I’m not bothered, we’re having such a lovely chat” she says when I mention the time.
And they are also contagious. It’s clear she believes passionately in everything she does and has done, from supporting community mental health to bringing people together by banging out belters.
“Music is important for people’s wellbeing. Something that, even if it touches one other person, that’s so helpful,” she muses. “You remember a moment, a happy time. You can enjoy it with your friends and family. It means so much to me to get that out.”
The 30th anniversary special edition of Republica’s self-titled debut album will be released on October 9th, featuring the original album, plus the rare 1997 live recording of A Day At The Races.
Republica’s tour kicks off on October 16th at Strings on the Isle of Wight, comes to The Brook, Southampton, on October 17th and continues until November 29th at Thekla, Bristol.
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