Published: Friday, 07 August 2026 22:35 | Written by NI Rocks |
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Faster Pussycat is one of those bands whose name is synonymous with the Sunset Strip scene in L.A.; evidenced by their appearance in the iconic rockumentary “The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 – The Metal Years” in the same year that their debut album was released in 1987.
Next month, frontman Taime Downe is bringing the band back to the UK for the first time in almost ten years and to Belfast for the first time since 2013. I was very fortunate to be able to have a chat with Taime via Zoom on 29th July and you can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 7th August.
We focus on the tour, the recent history of the band and future plans.
The upcoming European tour stops in The Empire in Belfast on Sunday 13th September.
Faster Pussycat is joined by Blacklist Union and by Lorraine Lewis with Femme Fatale. Lorraine was a guest on the Show on 22nd May and Tony West from Blacklist Union will be on the Show on 14th August.
NI ROCKS – Hi Taime, thanks for taking some time to talk to me. It’s about 4 weeks now until the band comes over to Europe. It’s being billed as “celebrating 40 years” – which kinda sits nicely between the band being formed in 1985 and the debut album in 1987. What can fans expect from the shows?
TAIME - Just songs. (Laughs) We're going to hopefully get there. You know, it's been nine years since we've been over to the UK and Europe; since 2017 and that was like freshly sober too so that was different for me as well. We're just coming over and playing - we have a few new songs we got. We're gonna play some old shit some new shit and hopefully we'll have fun you know. I'm going over there and I wasn't really planning on doing any touring this year and then it came up. A couple of festivals came up and I was like, we're going to go over there, let's do a run. We haven't been over there. We were supposed to go over in 2020 and, you know, it all happened that year. So the world ended for a while. But we're just coming over and we didn't know what we were doing really. The agent was like, yeah, you know, they want you over there. So, we started putting the stuff together. They were doing it. And they came up with - what do you think of Blacklist Union and Lorraine? And Tony (West from Blacklist Union) is a good friend of mine and I've known Lorraine for ever, since we were 20 or 21, something like that.
NI ROCKS - I was gonna come on to that.
TAIME - Yeah, we both moved to LA around the same time. And then Tony, his band and his buddy Brian, his guitar player, is a good friend of mine. He's another Seattle boy. So I was like, well, this is cool. That was a kind of a little pleasant surprise. And then we just kind of been getting shit together. That's all we've been doing for the last month or so is just preparing, getting stuff lined up over there for travel and all that stuff. So looking forward to it.
NI ROCKS - You mentioned it was 2017 that you were last in the UK. The last time you were in Belfast was 2013 on one of the previous tours. Do you remember much about that last Belfast show or UK tour generally?
TAIME - I remember flying in and it was really cool. I just wanted to be on a motorcycle and be able to ride through some of it. But yeah, I remember the gig was weird. We were in some like weird little place, it wasn't even like a venue. It was really strange. It was fun to go there because I'm part Irish and I had never been to Ireland ever. And that was my only time, but we were in and out of there so quick. We didn't get to spend any time in the town or go anywhere. And the venue that the gig was at was just like a bit weird bar.
NI ROCKS - Yeah, it was upstairs in Voodoo, which is quite a small place.
TAIME - Yeah, it wasn't like a venue. We still had fun; don't get me wrong. It was fun, but it wasn't like. Yeah, that's what I remember. The gig was a little weird and we didn't get to really do anything. I still have a pillbox I use. I used to use it for other things. Now I use it for what it’s actually for, but it's my Belfast pillbox.
NI ROCKS – How do you think the UK and European crowds compare to those at home in the US? Some bands we spoke to have said that fans in the UK or Europe are more responsive, more engaging. Do you think that's the case?
TAIME - Well, I'm looking forward to it. It's been nine years. I'm fuckin 61 now. I can't remember that far back. But I'm looking forward to it. We used to go over quite a bit; every couple of years. And now it's been, you know, it was it was a while from that, the pandemic. And then, you know, it was three years there. And before that it was like, yeah, 2012, 2013 or whatever it was before that was five years there. And this time it's been nine years. Luckily I'm still walking, I don't need a walker or a wheelchair or anything like that. Danny might, but we'll see. He's good.
NI ROCKS – You mentioned Lorraine Lewis. I did an interview with Lorraine a few weeks ago and she mentioned that she had first met you back when you were working in Retail Slut days in LA. There is quite a bit of history there in terms of Femme Fatale. Was that an obvious choice in terms of getting Lorraine on board?
TAIME - I didn't know she was doing it first. They were talking Blacklist Union and Lorraine came into the picture because Lorraine and Tony are dating. So they're a kind of a new couple. And I was like, oh, cool. I like both people. I've been dealing with my own shit so with this whole tour, I'm just like, just put something together that I like and bring it to me. And then they brought me those guys. I thought perfect. They're both friends of mine. So that's I want. I want this tour to be just fun for me. I've had a pretty brutal year and a half - and I had some good things too. But it's like having those guys over there too, it'll be fun because Tony's been one of my friends since all this shit happened. He's always calling and checking in on me and making sure my head space is good and shit. And that has meant a lot to me over the last year or so. Having that; that itself was a pleasant surprise for me - having Tony and Brian and then Lorraine into the picture. She is so sweet. I don't really know anybody nicer. So just having that on the road with me over there in the UK and Europe is going to be pleasant.
NI ROCKS – It’s a great lineup. Lorraine also mentioned that you and Tony (West from Blacklist Union) were good friends so it was obviously a good choice to get the three of you together as a touring set-up.
TAIME - Yeah, it's just fun. It's fun going out with friends. I mean, last time we went over there, we went over there with The Answer and Mr. Big. We were friends a little bit with the Mr. Big guys, a little bit. The Answer, we didn't know them at all. And it was a lot of fun, but it's fun going over there with somebody you actually know; which we really haven't done. Most of the time we've played over there, we've had different bands from out there playing with us, touring with us and stuff. And it ended up being fun because you didn’t know them, but by the end of the tour, you're all buddy buddy and hugging. It's like going to camp when you're a kid, you know what I mean? So that's fun too. But having the year I had, just be able to go over there with some friends, it's going to be a lot less chaotic. And, you know, I'm a lot older now, too. I don't drink and, you know, all that, all that shit. So it's a little bit more peaceful. Just get to business and do some rock and roll.
NI ROCKS – We mentioned earlier that the band’s debut self-titled album celebrates 40 years since its release in 2027. There were some re-issues between 2013 and 2019; but are there any plans for a 40th anniversary re-issue or anything like that?
TAIME - I don't know. There are no plans yet. I'm still working on tunes. So it's like we'll see. I don't know. We'll see what pops up. After the fall, after this run, we'll see what comes up for the new year. I'm still working on some new tracks. So, who knows. 40 years! Who would have thought? I didn't think.
NI ROCKS - It's hard to believe.
TAIME - 40 years. I know! I'm just like, did some shit recently with Slash and Duff at Jennifer's thing. It's like we've been around forever. He just turned 60. I'm 61. It's just like we're all fuckin’ almost senior citizens. So it's like, okay, it is what it is.
NI ROCKS - I'm not too far. I'm 57, so I'm not too far behind.
TAIME - Yeah, at least we're still here. You know what I mean? When you say what should fans expect. They get to see me standing upright! Well, who knows? It's a month. A lot of things could happen in a month at our age (Laughs).
NI ROCKS – I thought we’d play something from that first album now. And again, do you want to pick a track? You can pick one of the well-known ones or one of the last well-played ones. What do you want to play?
TAIME - We're going to be opening. I don't know if you have “Motorbike”, but we're going to be opening up with that, but we're going to be playing the good shit. We're going to play “Where There’s A Whip There’s A Way”.
NI ROCKS – Actually, I wanted to talk about “Motorbike” later, so I'll play something from the first album first, if that's okay.
TAIME - Sure. Fuck I don't care. “Cathouse” if you want.
