Can you tell us about the band's history? Which are your first memories?

We formed in November 1979 and began gigging late in 1980. We never intended to be a Mod band - it just happened. Originally we were into punk/new wave and you can tell that from our earlier material. In 1982 we released the single "Love is Dead" on Whaam records. In late 1982 we replaced drummer Andy Orr with Paul Guidotti. We continued gigging throughout 1983 and1984. We played in Rome in December 1983. In 1984 we released our second single, "First Impressions". The band split on October 1984 and reformed in October 1987. We've been playing on and off ever since. One memory that really sticks is when we played a little pub called the Seabright Arms, in EastLondon. This was early 1981 and we'd only played about six gigs. We didn't expect much of a crowd but about 300 mods turned up and we went down a storm! Not bad considering we were more of a punk band at the time.

The band was formed in 1979, at the dawn of the 2Tone Ska Revival.You also wrote a song 2Tone related ("2Tone girl"). Which are your memories about that? Any of you have been into Ska?

I don't think Ska music was a major influence on us. I remember the scene at the time had some good bands like the Special AKA - in fact Roddy Radiation was one of my favourite guitarists at the time. Although we wrote the song two-tone girl, it wasn't a reference to the two-tone ska movement. The song was written in about 1978 before two-tone released any records.One of my memories of the SKA movement was a gig we played supporting Bad Manners. Buster was a great bloke and the band were ok but we went downlike badly.I think we were lucky to get away from that gig alive !!

It seems you and the singer formed a great team.You also played together in the Combine. But you also maintained the same line-up over the years with very few changes. Are you good friends beside playing together?

We've all been good friends for ages. Myself, Chris and Mick have been friends since 1979 - 20 years ! We grew up together. I like working with Chris - he's a great singer and I think that the songs that we've written together really define the Small World sound.

What do you do for living beside playing? What did it bring you on a stage after years of absence?

I work for a major UK bank designing computer systems. Mick sells mortgages, Chris is the purchasing manager for a University and Paul is a manager for a major retail company. All pretty boring really but it all helps to pay the mortgage.

Which are the bands you liked most at the time? Was there any rivalry between bands ? Did you have any special friendship with bands of the early 80's?

My favorite bands at the time were the Jam, Prisoners, the Times and the Alarm. We used to get on well with Ed Ball from the times, all of the Purple Hearts, and Long Tall Shorty. I bought a Rickenbacker guitar from Paul Weller (which I still have today) and he invited me down to the studio for some of the recording of the Sound Affects album.

Detour released a great double LP with all you could desire from the "Small World". Are you satisfied with this record? Dizzy is also one of your biggest fans.he told me that you're the best mod band ever .

I like the Detour album as it covers our whole recording career. I wish we could have found more of the original master tapes as some of the tracks on side one were taken for an old cassette so the quality is as good as we would have wanted it to be. However, some of the later stuff is very good. My favourite songs are "Fight to Survive, Hooked and Seventeen". A lot of our songs were strong enough to be singles.

Although there are signs of a rebirth of Ska in Europe, the Mod scene is less fervent, more underground and things are going more quietly. What do you think about it ? There are many british pop groups that refer to mod bands, but , aren't they obscured the whole scene?

I'm not really that much in touch with the current mod scene. It seems a lot different from when we were involved in it. Back in the early 80s there seemed to be a lot more bands around and things seemed to be more dynamic. Nowadays most mods seen to be more into old soul records than supporting live bands. Perhaps things seemed better in the 80's because I was 17at the time. Now I'm in my 30s I'm not surprised if things seem less interesting.

Which are your future projects, following the release of "Slight Detour"? Are you working on new stuff?

We're not really doing much at the moment. We would like to gig more but the Mod scene in the UK is dire so there's not a lot of opportunity for live bands. We are planning on writing some new material which we would like to put out as a single - so watch this space.

Any chance of having you here in Italy?We would love to play in Italy again.

We've played in Italy twice before - in 1983 and in 1988. I still have contact with Pierre from theUnderground Arrows, with whom we toured in 1988. So, if anyone wants to promote some Small World gigs in Italy - let me know.

Is there any young band that you suggest us to check ? Any good pub, venue,club to hang out while in your part of England ?

I'm not really in touch with the grassroots Mod scene in the UK. The bands that I currently like are Silver Sun, Montrose Avenue, Teenage Fanclub.I'm into the vocal harmony thing in a big way.

Is there anything that you would like to add thatI didn't ask you or that you'd like to tell SpyTime readers?

I'd like to just say Hi to any one in Italy who saw us play live in1988 or anyone who saw us at the Forum in London in May. The Mods Mayday gig was awesome. Here comes the plug: if you like pure power pop and good melodic songs then get hold of a copy of our double album "Slight Detour".Thank you Matt for your kind review.