Machine Gun Etiquette ... Shoot The Band

Jeremy Cunningham/the Levellers

You can usually judge a band by the company they keep. You want to hang out with starlets and sycophants? Congratulations...you're Kurt Cobain and you'll soon be dead. You want to hang out with accountants and business advisors? Congratulations...you're Gary Barlow and you'll soon make the front page of the Daily Mail for all the wrong reasons. You want to hang out with either god or satan? Congratulations...we've already forgotten you even existed. Walking the tightrope of celebrity is no mean feat and, let's face it, everybody's going to laugh when you screw it up.

It's more reliable to gauge a band's potential longevity by the strength of the supporting pyramid which keeps the thing afloat.