Mercury Q&A: Foals

Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger?

Yannis: Baboon. Cause they’re really angry and they have red arses.

What is your favourite drink?

Yannis: Erm…scotch. Single malt scotch. McCallen.

Jimmy: Gin

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Jimmy: Gillian Anderson.

Yannis: Same here.

Kylie or Dannii?

Yannis: Kylie. I wanted to say Dannii, but she’s just kind of annoying.

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Yannis: Greek folk traditions.

Jimmy: I’m a jack-of-all-trades.

Yannis: Fish?

Jimmy: Yeah. fish.

What’s your favourite shape of pasta?

Yannis: Tortellini so whatever that shape is.

Jimmy: Bows, but they’re really hard to cook cause the inside is much thicker than the outside.

Watch Foals – ‘Spanish Sahara’

Mercury Q&A: Kit Downes Trio

Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger?

James: I mean it depends on the badger or the baboon.
Kit: Yeah, badgers are violent.
Calum: Baboons have got the opposable thumbs thing going on. Let’s just give an answer.
James: Baboon.
Calum: Baboon.
Kit: Badger. Can we try it out some time?

Who was your first celebrity crush?

James: I can’t remember.
Kit: Anna Kornikova.
Calum: I dunno.
James: It’s still on going.
Calum: You mean Lauren Laverne? Oh yeah!

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Calum: Family Guy.
James: Doctor Who. The old one. Not the new one. Favourite? Tom Baker….Colin Baker’s pretty good too.
Kit: Tennis.

What’s your favourite shape of pasta?

James: Fussilini.
Kit: Eh? Fusilli.
James: Yeah that’s it.
Calum: I like the shells. Catches all the sauce in it.

Watch Kit Downes Trio – Jump Minzi Jump

Mercury Q&A: Villagers

Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger?

Badger…No! Baboon. They’ve got sharper nails.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Claire Danes

Kylie or Dannii?

Which one’s which? Oh, Kylie. I like Nick Cave. Didn’t she go out with Nick Cave?

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Erm….Architecture.

Who’s your favourite architect?

Le Corbusier.

What’s your favourite shape of pasta?

Fusilli.

Watch Villagers – Becoming A Jackal

Mercury Q&A: Corinne Bailey Rae

Who would win in a fight between a Baboon and a Badger?

Badgers are fiercer I think.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

I think I had a misplaced crush on Elton John when I was about four. Or someone from Sesame Street.

What is your favourite shape of pasta?

Straight forward spaghetti

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Frieda Kahlo

Watch Corinne Bailey Rae – ‘I’d Do It All Again’

Mercury Q&A: I Am Kloot

Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger?

John: The apes, well the chimpanzee is the most dangerous of all the apes and in fact it is more dangerous to be in a confined space with a chimpanzee than with any other animal on the planet.

Andrew: It’s a baboon though this isn’t it. It’s gotta be the baboon. I know the badger’s gnarly, but it’s gotta be the baboon. Just the size. It’d trample on it.

John: If the badger was in it’s set and the baboon went underground.

Andrew: But how’s it going to get in?

John: Well. It depends who’s attacking who. If the baboon was attacking the badger and the badger was in it’s set…..I think the answer is, it depends on the circumstances.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Andrew: Blondie, Debbie Harry.

John: I think it was Marc Bolan.

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Andrew: Vespa scooters.

John: British superbike racing.

What’s your favourite shape of pasta?

Andrew: I like the bowties.

John: There’s only spaghetti. The rest of them don’t chew right BECAUSE of the shape.

Andrew: It’s good to be asked some sensible questions.

Watch I Am Kloot – “Northern Skies”

Mercury Q&A: The xx

What’s your favourite shape of pasta?

Oliver: Panini?

Romy: Panini is a sandwich.

Oliver: Oh. Penne.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Romy: Leonardo Dicaprio

If you were to go on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject?

Oliver: Music.

Jamie: Yeah, Music. I think that’s a good one.

Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger?

Oliver: Baboon

Romy: Badger

Watch The XX – Crystalised

Abz

When we compiled the book Baboon Vs Badger last year one of the very first answers we received was from Abz Love – or, as you may remember him, Abs from 5ive. We enjoyed his bizarre email reply so much that, for better or worse, we were spurred on to finish the book.

It’s Abz’s birthday today, so here, word for word, is the email the Abz sent us when we asked if he’d be prepared to wade into the great Baboon vs Badger debate.

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yo it would be a pleasure!!

hands down the baboon would win..the dexterity of it’s fingers means it cud rock a ninja outfit!! that combined with a night time strike just when the badger’s leavin a club & it’s all ova..

peaaaaaceeeeeeeee

abz

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For this, and many more celebrity answers, treat yourself to a copy of Baboon V Badger.

The Eurovision stars speak to Popbitch

We’ve been rattling out some sprint interviews from the Eurovision frontline via our Bambuser channel, asking them all the important stuff that you really want to be know.

So meet Josh Dubrovie. He’s got the unlucky task of representing UK. Josh was by far and away the best thing on BBC’s contest to represent UK. But sadly that’s not saying much as the song and production are toss. If we were conspiracy theorists we’d perhaps be positing that BBC took one look at their budget, decided that hosting Eurovision in 2011 was the last thing they wanted to do and then chose the song accordingly. (Our bet is that this is the route most European countries went down this year, barring the two Central Asian republics and Israel).

Anyway, Josh is a good sort. So give him your patriotic backing by placing a few quid on him to do OK on Betfair:

He likes Louise Redknapp, badgers and creme brulee. But you’ll never guess what his favourite record is:

And if you want to see what Ireland’s Niamh Kavanah had to say about the great Baboon v Badger debate, then click here…

It’s what the people want to know!

Baboons wouldn’t have to get rescued from water

But this badger did:

This badger got stuck on some rocks in Newquay. According to the BBC, he was caught out by the tide, but “not injured”. It would take quite a lot to injure a badger of that size, but having said that, a baboon wouldn’t get itself into such a sticky situation and have to be rescued by the RSPCA and the RNLI.

Embarrassing.

Full BBC article.

Birmingham obviously picks baboon