|
|
Fashion shoot from the interview. Click thumbnails to enlarge. N UNO: Hello Suze. (laughter)SUZE: Hello luv. N: My name is Nuno Bettencourt. I'll be your interviewer and I also happen to be your husband. Before we start, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your voice and your band and most of all your body. S: Awwwww... N: Now I want you to relax and be completely honest with me. Just think of me as your gynaecologist, not your husband. S: You can't say that! N: Yes I can. Now, when I first laid eyes on you, it was one of your videos on television and I started wondering "What is she like?" Do you realise how much sexuality you reek in your videos? And if so, are you purposely torturing all the men and lesbians who are watching? S: Uhhhh... that's lovely. That's just your opinion, though. Uh, no I wasn't but thanks for telling me. N: Well, are you concerned about how you come across to your public? Because I've had bad experiences where, on paper and especially through television, you can get misinterpreted. Has that ever happened to you? S: Yes, yes... all the time. N: For instance? S: A lot of people don't really realise that when you do this for a living, when you're on tour, you're touring, like, four or five nights a week. You know, people get sick every now and again and sometimes you don't feel like doing your job. Just sometimes it's like - you might be sick, or have some problems with family or whatever and you can get mistakenly reviewed sometimes. But that's why it'd be such a horrible job being a critic, wouldn't it? I think that'd have to be the worst job in the world. N: That's my next question - critics. Did you read this? S: No, I didn't. N: Should they be allowed to take years of work, give it a few listens, and share their opinion publicly? S: No. I'd like to know where they get their credentials from. Basically, let's say, in print, right here right now, that all critics suck. N: There you go. S: Yeah. Anyway, it's only their opinion, but the trouble is that most people don't kind of see that sometimes. N: I think any record you buy should have a go for at least a month... S: Definitely. N: And then it usually grows on you. If it doesn't, then... S: Although, it takes you a week to read a book. N: What do you mean? Anyway, try to respect anyone whose only contribution to music is their opinion. S: That's absolutely bloody right too! God I'm glad I married you! N: That's why you married me! Uh, while we're talking about critics... being married, how important is it to you that I really enjoy your music? S: Ummm... N: 'Cause I sometimes get nervous playing you my new stuff... S: Yeah, I do too. But I think it's a real bonus if your partner can appreciate what you do, you know, especially if you're a creative kind of person. But then I'd expect you to be honest with me and there things that I know you're not keen on, that you don't love, but you always tell me you do so I don't even know if you're being honest any more! (laughter) N: Oh, but I love everything you do, honestly. Except for... Alright, on a more serious line, what are your thoughts on masturbation? And where is the best spot? In the shower or... S: Uh, thoughts on masturbation? All men do it, only some women. N: Only some women? So do you... S: (Laughter) Not telling you! N: I mean, I don't think you should knock it - it's having sex with someone you love. Do you, um, flirt with other men when I'm not around? Or just when I'm around? S: Only when I'm on stage. N: How far do you think people who are married should be allowed to go? As far as flirting... S: So how far should you be allowed to go as far as flirting, in a marriage? It depends how you define flirting. N: Well, how do you define flirting? S: Some people in public are a little more... Some people are shy, some people are a lot more overt than, say, you would be in public. Some people are just very happy, social people. N: Okay, so you're a happy, social... S: It depends. I mean, I'd never, you know, flirt overtly with anyone else, ever. Not knowingly anyway because I'm in love with someone, he's the only one I want to flirt with. N: Who's that? S: Some guy I met a while ago. Yeah, and then you've got to define flirting. N: Oh, you know... S: Kissing? Would I kiss anybody else is basically what you're asking. N: No... S: Well, it could be my Dad... N: OK, your Dad. I'll take care of him later. So, what is the first thing you think when we wake up in the morning? Is is (a) breakfast, (b) sex, (c) your breath or (d) none of the above? S: Your breath! N: My breath? Oh, great... S: I think of going back to sleep again. N: OK. How do you like being married so far? Do you think we've changed since we've been married? S: Ooh... we're going through the 'first year of marriage' syndrome. N: Post-marital syndrome? S: It's great. Best thing I ever did. Best thing I've ever done. N: Do you think we've changed at all, toward each other? S: I think that before you get married it's all very... you're completely... N: on trial... S: No, what's the word? You think a lot more about... N: ... what you're doing. S: Yeah, just because... N: Sort of a bit of walking on eggshells. S: You're comfortable, but you're not as comfortable as you are when you get married. You get very comfortable when you get married. N: So it's sort of like, right now, for instance, I could be brushing my teeth and you would just go to the toilet. S: Yeah, that's right. N: Comfort zone. It really is the comfort zone... S: Only wees, though. N: That's right... S: We haven't progressed to the... N: Not when you're giving birth to a baby skunk... S: Don't be so graphic... N: Baby skunk? That's very cartoonish. S: I think we should tape over that bit. N: No, you can't... Alright. I was thinking we could talk about when we first met and how bizarre that was. S: When I first met you, you looked completely different to any picture of you I've ever seen. Completely different. And so did I to you. N: Basically we walked into this... S: lobby of this hotel in London... N: ... we got in the elevator and then we couldn't believe how we looked... S: I thought you were some stranger, which you were, even though we'd spoken on the phone for about three months before that. But, I think that pretty soon after that, you started looking the same. N: Just depressing after that. I looked better when you first saw me and then I started looking like, you know. It's funny because fans always say that when they see you... S: ... how different you look. "God, I thought you were taller!" They always say that. N: Let me see. What is the biggest secret that you've kept from me? S: Can you keep a secret? N: Yes. S: So can I! N: Ha, ha, ha. Alright, here's one. Now that I'm kidnapping you off to the States, what happens to the band? Do they hate me for that? S: Yeah, but not because you're kidnapping me. They are coming over and we're going to spend a bit more time over there, you know, but we'll still be coming back and forward a bit. It's their time to do a bit more flying. N: Do you think that after people read this and you answered that question it'll be taken that, basically, you'll be living there, although you will still be living here. Do you think that Australia will be upset at that? S: I think they'll be glad to get rid of me. (laughter) No, I don't think so. And if they do, who cares? That's a bit of a small-minded attitude to have, really. Not small-minded, but just narrow vision... N: Narrow vision meaning that they need glasses... S: The fact is I married someone who lives in America, and that's where we've decided to live. N: What do you think about the fact that when you say America, you add an 'r' to the end of it - 'Americar'? S: Well, how do you feel about it when you say 'Americar'? N: Extreme - do you reckon they're any good? S: What about the Extremes? N: Do you reckon that they're any good? S: The Extremes are hot thugs, man. N: Yeah, but can they play? S: They can play. The guitar player can play. N: OK, speaking of extremes, do you follow Christ? Or, um, God for that matter? S: Do I follow Christ? Religion, I'm still learning, but go on. N: Christ. Are you a follower of Christ? S: I believe... N: This could mean our marriage... S: I believe that Jesus was a very important prophet, and I believe in faith and I believe that the spirit lives inside. I'm still debating that old creator thing, but I do believe that the human spirit is the strongest thing there is. N: And the Bible, the Bible itself. When do you read the Bible? Let me tell you what I think. It's sort of like, uh, it's more or less a book, actually I think it's a great... S: Bloody good read, the old Bible! N: ... bloody good read, but the only problem is I think when people read it they don't basically get the message. I think it's just a book of common sense. S: I agree. I think it can be interpreted in so many different ways and people can take it way too literally and I think a lot of it is folklore. And I think folklore can also be misinterpreted. N: Yeah, but don't you think that a lot of folklore, it's sort of written in that way. The parables that it's written in are only to make points that people understand, basic common sense. What do you think about, for instance, the very square thing of sex before marriage? S: You have to have really thought about it before you go ahead and have a relationship with someone. You've got to know the person, you've got to feel... What if you marry someone and you just don't... N: Yeah, but that's simple communication... S: But I think, you know, you're going to know by kissing someone whether you're going to marry them, don't you think? N: Well, the only point that I wanted to make was that people think it's like a square thing, like the Bible mentions it, but I think that when people don't have a sense of responsibility, you get things like pregnancies, diseases (which is a bit of a moral issue). So I think that when I read it in the Bible, that's how I interpreted it... S: But I don't think that it's saying that you can't have sex before you get married. I just think they're saying that you've got to think a lot more about it than just getting physical pleasure out of it. Bit more spiritual than that. N: Yeah, I don't know about in this age, but it should be. Alright, that was too heavy, let's get out of it. Along with religion, how important is childhood, growing up, parenting, your parents - how important do you think that is? S: That's the most important thing. That's your character. Your parents give you your security. I believe, you know, when people start talking about censorship and with what music kids shouldn't be listening to, I believe that censorship lies with the parents. I don't think any performer or anyone is responsible for what they say if it's in the right environment, you know. I'm saying that the responsibility lies with the parents. Don't have kids until you're ready to. Don't have sex until you're ready to have kids. N: Wow. And how will you be with your children as a mother? Will you beat them? All 12 of them, will you be beating them? S: I'll be beating them into line after you. We'll line them up... N: Instead of hitting them I'll just tell them I'm not their Dad... S: ... mental torture. (laughter) Nah, I don't know. I'll have to see what it's like to not sleep for three nights and then see how much patience I've got left! (Laughter) I don't want to ever hit my kids, but, you know... maybe I'll hit their Dad... N: Yeah, hit their Dad. I like that! Last question is - when we turn 64 what do you think we'll be like? Do you think we'll still have the same attraction thing, sexually as much as mentally? S: You've got this sex thing with this interview haven't you? N: Yeah, I'm addicted to you. S: Absolutely, definitely. N: What I mean is, watching people grow older, do you think that society makes you more of a tired person - the way you dress, everything you do? S: Nuh. I think that older people dress for comfort. They're through with this fashion thing. They just want comfort, they don't care any more, you know... N: So they're not wearing work boots, jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt on a hot day like I am, right now... S: that's right, they want comfort, you know, and I think that everybody hopes when they get married that when they're 64 they'll still feel the same about each other. Even when I'm 61. Maybe not when I'm 67. But 64 maybe. N: Wow. I'd just rather die before I get old. (laughter) S: That's it. See ya. Happy Easter. |
|
