• complete unauthorised DVD documentary of Placebo
• dicography [albums/DVDs/singles/soundtracks etc]
• digital trivia quiz
• running time, 60 minutes

Old men giving their opinion on Brian Molko and 'Placebo' ...the question is, do we care? Well I think that all depends on what kind of fan you are.

I for one am obsessive compulsive when it comes to being a Placebo fan so anything I can get my hands on is a bonus just to check it out... but I don't worry that I'm alone, it seems that a lot of Placebo fans have this sort of fanaticism about them.


What to expect from Androgyny? Being an unauthorised DVD before purchase you'll already have it in your mind that there can be no music or extensive footage of the band, so you shouldn't be surprised to find that this is exactly the case. What you will find are interviews with journalists, producers, Brian's old drama teachers from Goldsmiths College, an old band-mate/friend of Steve's, Simon Breed, and Jessica Otterwell, a fan representative, from Placebo Palace.

This DVD provides fans with their staple information, hardcore fans generally will have heard a lot of the facts which are relayed throughout the DVD such as how the band was formed, and originally being called Ashtray Heart etc, that said it was interesting to hear the stories from different perspective, often with a little tidbit thrown in not previously told.

Given the title of the DVD, 'Androgyny', obviously you know to an extent what sort of discussion is going to be on the table; of note for Suckerlovers we get to hear a bit about the beginning of Brian's gender bending days, watch an interview with Richard Smith from Gay Times Magazine and hear an amusing story from Simon Breed about Steve in drag on the set of Velvet Goldmine.

Throughout the DVD we are given some footage of the band, be it from old highschool/band photographs, and a few snippets of interview footage have snuck their way in to hold our focus, such as:

"I thought that you know, within the band, if I could get to a point where I could be either confusing or as attractive to men and women at the same time, then that was a positive thing, umm, because desire and attraction, we feel, is something that is very much shades of grey and is not black and white" - Brian Molko

Also of note are snippets of Brian and Steve discussing how the press had labelled the androgynous singer a, 'drug-crazed-sex-dwarf' and an entertaining little clip of Brian at the European Music Awards having a go the press for being more interested in Linkin Park than Placebo, and fair enough on his part!

As a fan I did find a few things amusing and perhaps worrisome. On the back of the DVD it seems someone in the editing department let a boo boo slip through. The DVD is listed as having a special feature of an 'extensive Muse discography and digital trivia quiz'! Don't worry I can assure you that these are actually PLACEBO items, though given Brian's supposed apathy toward this particular band you have to find the irony entertaining. Once you get to the quiz itself it is actually fun to reinforce what a Placebo geek you are, not all the questions are gimmes, though I still dispute the answer to #9 and say that the title to Placebo's first single was Come Home, not Bruise Pristine, but that's debatable on a technicality...


So from the usual details of 'nerd meets jock, band is formed', Steve and Brian sharing an apartment, to the lesser known, Brian stripping in drama performances, you're presented with 60minutes of Placebo information. As I've mentioned, whether this is the DVD for you will ultimately depend on whether you're all that interested in the back story of the band, and if you know it already, whether you care for the slithers of new information offered up.

At the end of the day, you might be the same as me, I don't really care what anyone else has to say about Placebo, I've got my own opinions and love the band for my own reasons, but I'm always intrigued to hear people from the scene and people from the band's past give their opinions as it helps me as a fan strengthen or weaken my own perspective on certain issues and I think that is always beneficial.


If this does sound like the DVD for you it can be purchased from major record stores, the Chrome Dreams website or from amazon.co.uk.