THE night before Moby was due to play in Liverpool he decided to visit nightspot Cream, but was refused entry.

The ironic thing was that as he stood in the doorway, it was his music blasting out of the speakers, writes JAMES SCANLON.

It's the latest in a long line of strange occurrences that New York's most famous Christian vegan has experienced recently.

He has done the James Bond theme, and his current album Play has become a phenomenal success worldwide.

From television commercials to countless compilation albums, there seems to be no cease in the demand for his work.

"The strange thing is, and I feel a bit immodest saying this, that the record is doing better now than when it first came out," he admits.

"Normally you put out a record and it does well in the first fortnight and then tapers off. But now, nine months after the album came out, it's doing better. It's uncommon but I'm very happy about it."

With its unusual mix of sampled blues, hip-hop and classy piano, Moby's chameleon-like persona makes it virtually impossible to pigeon-hole his music.

"It's like a double-edged sword," he says. "It's confusing because people don't know where to put my records in the shop, but it's nice because I have complete freedom making the records.

"Nobody has any genre expectations for the records I make." Moby's forthcoming single, Natural Blues, containing the emotive line "Oh Lordy, trouble so hard" is another classic from the album.

"As with a lot of the album, many of the vocals were recorded 40 or 50 years years ago, and Natural Blues is basically a very emotional, plaintive song."

The video is about his best yet. He explains: "It's about me as a 90-year-old in a pensioners' home looking back on my life. In the end I die and get carried away by an angel."

On stage, Moby unleashes awesome power, yet he admits to having low self-esteem.

"I think that is ingrained into who I am. I don't have an arrogant ego, but maybe a strong and clueless sense of self. I'm just a little guy who makes records."

Moby plays Manchester Academy on Friday, February 25.

Hit the decks... DJs' invite

TALENTED DJs are invited to play for the chance to clinch a weekly residency at a Blackburn bar.

Management at Cubes in Duke Street will offer hopefuls a chance to demonstrate their skills on Thursdays, starting on March 16.

The best DJ will be chosen to play weekly at the night, to be dubbed Studio 55. The music policy will be garage, house and funk. Anyone interested should drop a demo tape off at the bar.

Valley whirls: Scapegoat's hopes

GRUNGEY teenagers Scapegoat hope for music industry interest when they play a top venue in Manchester next month.

The band - comprising John Yates, Tim Crabtree and Ant Roberts from Read and Clitheroe drummer Neil Clarke - play Manchester Roadhouse on March 24.

They hope that city music publishers will be at the gig to check out their blend of metal, grunge and dark 60s rock. John said the band had also received a couple of management offers.

The group's EP Just So You Know is on sale in Picadilly Records in Manchester as well as selected record shops across East Lancashire.

The Ribble Valley lads also play Bradford Rio on April 29.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.