20 years ago: Profile with VNV NATION
(The following interview was first published in the Orkus! issue September 2003)
20 years ago we asked Ronan Harris (VNV NATION) the very personal questions of our “profile”. Read here in the third part, whose skin he would like to slip into, his favorite movies, books as well as the strangest job he has ever performed. By the way, this one is really something!
Who would you like to be related to?
With no one. Being Irish means having thousands of relatives. I have more than enough of them, thank you. Would you like to have some?
Whose skin would you like to slip into for a month?
To Gerhard Schröder’s, so that by the end of the month, no one would be guaranteed to vote for him.
What’s your favorite movie?
“Cyrono De Bergerac” (in the version with Gerard Depardieu) and “Der Himmel über Berlin” by Wim Wenders.
Who was the hero of your childhood?
I can’t remember exactly, but definitely no one from ABBA.
What is your favorite book?
“In the Eyes of Mister Fury” or “Trink dich fit” by Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson (available now at any well-stocked bookstore).
What was the funniest or strangest job you’ve ever held?
In New York, I once delivered gifts. I was 18, just arrived in the U.S. from Ireland and very naive. I have met more bizarre people than I could have ever imagined. One night, I was delivering something in Harlem, I suddenly found myself surrounded by some gang members, and the way they were talking to me, I honestly thought I was either never going to get home again or I was going to have to change my pants later on without fail. After a very strange and tense five minutes, we finally had a beer together, and they made sure I reached my destination safely. In the time I was doing this job, I saw someone get shot, got robbed at knifepoint, delivered to a mobster (it was like a movie), was asked by Irish immigrants if I wanted to work for the IRA (uh… no thanks); a certain guy stalked me for three days, and one guy I had a delivery for thought I was coming to kill him – what you can only imagine I experienced.
In part four, Ronan explains who he wouldn’t want to run into, what he did with his first self-earned money, and what his last meal should be.
Want more? In our May/June issue we conducted an in-depth interview with Ronan Harris on the occasion of his latest album “Electric Sun”:
Missed the predecessor parts? Click here for part 1
Enjoy VNV Nation in our “Dark Electro – Classics & New” playlist on Spotify:
