PROFESSOR & THE MADMAN : Interview with Alfie Agnew "Since the 1980s, the US also has a lot of garbage TV and film"
Born from the collaboration between two figures from the California punk scene and two iconic musicians from The Damned, Professor and the Madman brings together experiences and influences from both sides of the Atlantic. With Alfie Agnew and Sean Elliott on vocals and guitars, Paul Gray on bass, and Rat Scabies on drums, the band explores a world where punk energy meets pop melodies and the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s. Following *Séance*, released in 2020, the quartet returns in 2026 with *Dreamworld*, a new album recorded between London and California. Alfie is in an interview with Les Monstres Sacrés !
Taste question: Which three artists have influenced you the most, and what can you tell us about how they’ve influenced you? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?
Musically, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and my brother Rikk Agnew have been my biggest influences. They influenced me by teaching me how to express myself (thoughts, emotions, ideas) through a particular kind of musical harmony and through different genres.
No particular artist is disliked or banned. Often, I hated something (usually as a teenager, when I was my most narrow-minded) only to like it later. However, I don’t see myself ever being inspired by things like “corporate formula music” or “corporate formula film”. Since the 1980s, the US also has a lot of garbage TV and film. Other than things like that, I tend to be open-minded.
Intellectual question: Which 'non-musical artist’ (filmmaker, writer, painter) played an important role in the way the band evolved…
The screenwriter and TV producer Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone). Often the themes in Professor and the Madman songs peel back the veneer of society and civilization to expose the parts we don’t often like to discuss: mortality, mental illness, immorality, viciousness, corruption and abuse of political power. Serling wasn’t afraid to address those topics.
History question: Can you sum up the life of your group?
Friends, songwriters, and former punk youth bandmates Alfie Agnew and Sean Elliott reuniting to write and publish music in their middle years, with the good fortune of being backed by the best rhythm section to come out of punk (Paul Gray and Rat Scabies).
Champollion question: What is the meaning of the band's name?
Taken from the book of the same name, Professor and the Madman (PATM) refers to the personalities of Alfie and Sean. Alfie is a Professor of Mathematics in real life, and Sean used to be quite wild in his younger years. However, Sean’s sane now, and a productive member of society (mostly). We were intrigued by the duality of human nature, like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
Buddy question: Who has helped you most in your band's adventure and without whom you wouldn't have had the same evolution?
I’d have to say Paul and Rat. Sean and I had the idea for this band and started writing music for it back in 2014. By pure chance Rat became involved in 2015, and we sought out Paul in 2018. They added a lot to our sound, and their interpretations of our music added a lot. Obviously, their association with The Damned brought attention to PATM and its music. Particularly in the UK/EU.
Spinal Tap question: What's the most stupid thing that's ever happened to the band?
We’re pretty much a studio band. We play very few live shows, and live shows are where the stupid things happen! Starting a song in a live show with your tuner pedal activated so that no sound comes out of your amp is a very stupid thing that I’ve done!
Question Happy Few: What's the biggest benefit you've derived from your band, and can you tell us about it?
Sean and I are compulsive songwriters. PATM has given us a productive outlet for that. But I would add that I’ve benefitted from PATM “getting me back in the world”. Being a research mathematician and teacher can be a very solitary existence, and I’m not very social by nature. I’m initially very shy. PATM has forced me to connect with people locally and around the world again, which has been exhilarating and very healthy. We all know that there are awful people in the world, so it is very important to connect with good people.
Art question: What book, film, record and current band do you really like?
BOOK: I really enjoyed “Coming from an Off-Key Time” by Bogdan Suceava, a Romanian-American author. It’s a great read, as is “Rakes of the Old Court” by Caragiale. In the Romanian literature I’ve read, there is cynicism, mysticism, and dryness balanced with a large helping of colorful characters that make it very enjoyable. Not unlike Bulgakov. Suceava is a colleague of mine.
FILM: “Weekend” by Godard has been a recent highlight. As you might pick up from our recent single (“12 Strings and Tambourines”), Sean and I are obsessed with the 1960s.
RECORD: I currently have The Zombies’ “Odessey and Oracle” on the turntable. Before that I had Sensible Gray Cells’ “Get Back into The World” on there, a very underappreciated gem of an album!
Funny question. What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?
I can be very absent-minded. I often get dates and times wrong. As a child, eight years old, I misunderstood the date (say, a Wednesday) that I was supposed to perform with a school band at another school. I showed up to school in the morning with my clarinet, where the school buses queue up, but no other students were there. I thought I must have been late and talked a bus driver into taking me to the other school. No concert. I later learned it was the wrong Wednesday. Things like that have happened frequently, but I think the funny part was that an 8-year-old convinced an adult bus driver to give me ride across town. The bus was empty other than me and the driver!
Camembert question: What's France to you, apart from the land of wine and cheese?
France is the land of mathematics, physics, philosophy, great film, and literature. There is so much that has been done well in France. Yet, sadly, I have had limited exposure to the underground culture in France, apart from a few brief stops to play shows during tours back in the 1990s with the punk band D.I. As you will see in my answer to the next question, my exposure to French music is quite shallow.
Patriotic question: Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made by artists of our country.
I am only familiar with some of the pop music from France: Edith Piaf, Michel Legrand, JJ Goldman, Françoise Hardy. In the USA, we really only get exposed to English language music. As you know the USA is a linguistically challenged country! I would love to hear more, but I wouldn’t know where to start. Please send me some suggestions
Patriotic question 2 : Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made by artists of your country.
Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Iggy and the Stooges: Raw Power
Stone Temple Pilots: Purple
Steppenwolf: Steppenwolf 7
TSOL: Dance with Me
Christian Death: Only Theater of Pain
Alice Cooper: Billion Dollar Babies
Dead Boys: We Have Come for Your Children
Miles Davis: Blue Moods
Cheap Trick: In Color
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