In 2014, Scotland held a referendum on whether to be an independent nation again or remain part of the UK. Like all binary referenda it caused great division and highlighted the tribal fault lines between those who wanted to leave and those who wanted to remain. This division still troubles today. The one good thing that came out of this referendum was a “hip-shakin’, garage-groovin’, punk-glam chaos” band called Fat Cops. For all the disharmony caused by that public vote, the formation of the Fat Cops made it all worth it.

The band consists of: Robert Hodgens (guitar/vocals) aka Bobby Bluebell from the legendary band the Bluebells. Hodgens has worked with and written songs for Brian Wilson, Ian McCulloch, Dave Stewart, Bananarama, and Texas; Euan McColm (guitar) a highly respected and often controversial journalist who has a rep for telling it like it is; Chris Ayre (bass/vocals) an IT guy; Neil Murray (keys) a doctor who is sometimes known as husband to Harry Potter-creator J. K. Rowling; Al Murray (drums) aka the Pub Landlord, comedian, actor, descendant of novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, and also known by some as “one of the funniest men alive”; and Chris Deerin (lead vocals) journalist, writer, contributor to the New Statesman, and director of Reform Scotland.

This group of craggy middle-aged men were introduced to each other through political disagreements on social media. When they eventually met up over a few beers one summer’s day in Edinburgh, they quickly discovered their shared love of music and a desire to play together. They called themselves the Fat Cops coz they looked like the kinds of characters who’d play cops in series like BBC’s New Tricks.

Despite the differences in political opinion and location, the quintet brought themselves together to record an album Fat Cops in 2018. The timing was fortuitous as they found themselves (almost) stranded in a studio in Scotland during the heavy snowfall brought by the “Beast from the East.” With all transport cancelled, the band was faced with the dilemma of either resorting to cannibalism or laying down some of their best tracks.

Thankfully, they chose the latter.

Released earlier this year in the UK, Fat Cops is a brilliant gem of an album, one of the better records released this year. It’s the kind album that once-upon-a-time would have been an “Album of the Week” in most of the music press, received considerable airplay from John Peel, and got the band photographed for the front cover of ye olde NME.

Fat Cops filters the group’s tastes in punk and glam and dance music, with nods to the Stones, Primal Scream, the New York Dolls, Roxy Music, Sweet, and even a little bit of Nick Cave. I caught up with Robert Hodgens to find out the who’s? why’s? and wherefore’s? of Fat Cops and you should seriously consider giving their debut album a listen.
 

‘Young at Heart’: When Robert Hodgens was a Bluebell.
 
How did Fat Cops come about?

Robert Hodgens: It began basically on Twitter with me pro-Scottish independence, of course, responding to what I saw as a Unionist cabal of Euan McColm, Chris Deerin and others .

Inevitably the chat turned to music were we were pretty much on the same page .

Did you know each other before this?

RH: Euan, who I had fleetingly crossed paths with in the past then came to a Bluebells gig at Mono. We decided to meet up and explore each others guitar and record collections. We arranged a jam with [journalist] Kenny Farquharson from the Sunday Times which led to us forming Best Picture with [crime novelist] Ian Rankin on vocals.

How did the Pub Landlord get involved?

Concurrently on Twitter we had drawn the attention of Al Murray who invited us to his show in Glasgow. Al sent along some songs and we began working remotely as of course Al lives in London. Then Chris Deerin became involved in the writing process and I discovered two things: Al is a great drummer and Chris is a great singer.

What about Neil Murray and Chris Ayre?

RH: Neil Murray who was playing with us in Best Picture and Chris Ayre who had been in bands previously with Chris Deerin joined us for a full rehearsal/get-together. We just clicked musically and socially. We committed to recording an album and it all fell into place.
 

Fat Cops.
 
How did you write and record the album?

RH: The songs came easily as did the name—which just seemed to fit six mature adults with a healthy disregard for convention. We wanted to make a noise and be disrespectful but show our love for the music we grew up with.

What was the response to the album?

RH: We were very lucky and very pleased with the reaction to the record. It was way beyond anything we could have hoped for.

Before global domination, what’s next for Fat Cops?

RH: We have a lot to look forward to. And making music in a band?  Honestly, there’s nothing better.

Buy Fat Cops’ album here and if you’re in Glasgow, then check them out at the Garage tonight.
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Duglas T. Stewart: The incredible pop life of a BMX Bandit
An Exclusive introduction to Book of Shame: Acerbic rock for those ‘who’ve been through shit’
The Father of Prog Rock speaks: Exclusive interview with Billy Ritchie