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Alfie Caretta practises his dance moves as he gets all set to cover The Prodigy as part of the OAP band The Zimmers |
ZIMMER FLAME!
OAP band that made it in US set to cover Prodigy hit Firestarter
POOR old international superstar Alfie Caretta. At 90 years old you’d think this Archway crooner would be able to have a rest.
But no sooner has the lead singer of the Zimmers got the hang of The Who’s 1960s hit My Generation than he’s being asked to sing a cover version of possibly the most controversial dance music anthem of the 1990s.
This time expect strange grimaces and bizarre hand movements from Alfie as he gets to grips with the Prodigy’s 1996 rave offering, Firestarter.
Just back from Los Angeles, where he appeared on the Jay Leno show and chatted with actor George Clooney, Alfie admitted that he had never heard the Prodigy track.
But after I handed him a CD, he had his first taste of the Prodigy at his council flat in Wedmore Street on Wednesday night.
After the first play, Alfie didn’t know what to make of the song.
“It sounds like a load of old rubbish to me,” he said. “What’s this bloke trying to say?”
However, after the second play Alfie became strangely animated, first nodding along to the “wheezing” music, then tapping his knees and finally standing up and shuffling rhythmically.
How did he feel about the words to the song? They included phrases like “I’m the bitch you hated, filth infatuated,” and “yeah I’m the pain you tasted, well intoxicated”.
Alfie replied that he thought the singer was angry about something but the OAP wasn’t sure what it was.
“It’s all right – we’ll have some fun with it,” said Alfie. “It’s all for a good cause.”
The Zimmers are a group of pensioners assembled for a BBC documentary about ageing early this year. Their cover song, My Generation, proving that OAPs have still got what it takes, reached No 26 in the pop charts with all proceeds going to charity.
Alfie has attracted a fair share of female admirers since his many TV appearances.
“I’ve had strange women come up to me in the street and kiss me,” he said. “It’s very nice.”
Talking about his five nights in LA – the first time he had ever visited the States – he was still bubbling with excitement. “I stayed in a very posh hotel and was given my own king-size bed,” he said.
“We went out to eat a lot and I had the best steak of my life.” |
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