Kula Shaker on making Govinda: ‘Crowds would sing the lyrics as, “Go cash your giro giro”’
‘It was great to get a song that’s entirely in Sanskrit on Radio 1.It has a power that’s beyond us.We’re just the vessels’It’s not our song; it’s as old as the hills.The first time I heard it was in a Krishna temple as a kid.George Harrison was the first person I know of who recorded it – it’s the last track on 1971’s The Radha Krsna Temple album.
We were all living together as a band in Swiss Cottage, London, and that record got played all the time.So I had it absorbed.The first time we played our version was at Glastonbury festival in 1993.We’d smuggled ourselves in, in the back of somebody’s van, then blagged our way on to the stage in the Hare Krishna free food tent, which seemed appropriate.The arrangement with the droning chords and the chant in the middle pretty much happened on the spot.
We continued to play it every night at every show for two years until we got a proper record deal.It’s one of those songs that continues to evolve and surprise you however many times you play it.It’s not just a song.It’s a doorway into thousands of years of tradition, woven with philosophy, ontology and history encapsulating the promise of spiritual adventure.We’re still discovering things now, because of the song’s origins.
You have to have a mood of service towards it because it belongs to the world.It’s one of those songs where the band are getting as much benefit as the audience.As for the lyrics: Sanskrit is often called “the language of the gods”.Why on earth would you not want to try that in a pop song? Govinda is one of the “intimate” names of God, which translates as “reservoir of pleasure”.On the whole, any of the names with the prefix “Go” (meaning “cow”), like Gopal or Govinda, glorifies Sri Krishna’s youthful time as the divine cowherd, who protects the cows, plays his magic flutes in enchanted forests and steals the hearts of heavenly milk-maidens.
It always got a reaction live.There was never a beige response.One of the turning points was when we were touring our debut album, K, to a sold-out show in Blackburn in front of 2,500 people in various states of intoxication with their arms in the air, singing this ancient spiritual folk song.I thought to myself: “God, we’re not in control of this, are we? This has got a life of its own.” It was the perfect, miraculous convergence of sublime and ridiculousness, and that’s what pop music should be.
We were playing around the north London Camden scene but also going out to the West Country and playing to a very different, often very hippy crowd.Our drummer is from near Glastonbury, so if we could play Glastonbury Assembly Rooms alongside some psychedelic sitar player, we’d jump at the opportunity.We’d always loved the hippy music of the 60s and 70s, and had been equally fascinated by Indian classical music and eastern mysticism.A friend introduced us to the Bengali musicians who ended up playing on Govinda, who were a Hindu family from east London.We worked with John Leckie, who had produced the first Stone Roses album and before that, this brilliant psychedelic record by the Dukes of the Stratosphear.
The verse is repetitive but we’d been listening to the George Harrison version for months, so it was quite easy to get down.There’s lots of the tambura – the four-string sitar from Indian classical and folk music that gives the droning sound – and the tabla (the hand drums) all over the record.We had to remember that we were still these whitey westerners, laying down our groove.It was great to get a song that’s entirely in Sanskrit on Radio 1, although I think most people saw it as one of those gimmicky songs.I remember people at early gigs shouting the lyrics as: “Go cash your giro giro.
”Some old songs you get tired of playing live, but Govinda always feels fresh, so we always finish live sets with it,It has a power that’s beyond us; we’re just the vessels,All we have to do is play and let the universe do the rest of the work,Kula Shaker are performing at Chalfest, Stroud, 18-19 July, and Lakefest, Eastnor Castle, 6-10 August
UK interest rates fall to 4.25% as Bank of England announces a quarter-point cut
Bank of England policymakers have cut interest rates by a quarter point to 4.25% to cushion the UK economy against the impact of rising economic uncertainty.The widely expected move from the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), its fourth cut since last August, also carried a warning that the UK economy would slow by a further 0.3% over the next three years in addition to dramatic cuts to its forecasts made earlier this year.In a blow to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, the MPC said a combination of uncertainty surrounding the impact of US trade policy on the global economy and clouds hanging over the outlook for the UK meant growth would be almost stagnant for the rest of the year
British Gas owner suffers shareholder rebellion over CEO pay packet
The owner of British Gas has suffered a shareholder rebellion after handing its chief executive a multimillion pound pay packet while energy bill payers struggle with record levels of debt.Nearly 40% of Centrica’s shareholders voted against the board’s pay plans at the energy company’s annual investor meeting in Manchester on Thursday, after rising criticism of boss Chris O’Shea’s pay during the energy crisis.O’Shea’s basic salary rose 29% last year to £1.1m to take his total pay packet, including bonuses and share-related pay, to £4.3m for the year
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4.25% and welcomes US-UK trade deal – as it happened
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has hailed the news that Britain and the United States are expected to announce a trade agreement in a couple of hours.He tells journalists at today’s press conference that the Bank has been following the issue very closely.Bailey says he hasn’t been briefed about the situation, and doesn’t know the content of the deal.But he says:We do now have news that suggests there will be an announcement, and we welcome that news.I very much welcome it, and I think it’s very well done to those involved
Mood-boosting rate cut is a fillip for Reeves but leaves future uncertain
Thursday’s interest rate cut to 4.25% is the fourth in a run of reductions that kicked off last August. It represents a fillip for Rachel Reeves, who will hope it helps revive the feelgood factor for gloomy British consumers.The Bank of England’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) has passed judgment on the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war for the UK – and expects modestly weaker growth and inflation to be the result.Lower global energy prices as markets anticipate weaker demand, and cheaper Chinese imports, are likely to bear down on costs, the MPC has judged
BlackRock to order senior managers back to office five days a week – reports
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset management company, is reportedly preparing to order its senior managers to work from the office five days a week.The New-York based company is expected to tell its staff as early as Thursday that about 1,000 managing directors around the world should work in the office full-time, the Financial Times has reported.BlackRock last told staff in 2023 they had to go into the office at least four days a week. More junior staff will still be allowed to work from home one day a week under the new guidance, according to the report.BlackRock, which has more than 21,000 staff around the world, is one of many big American corporations calling time on an era of remote and hybrid working triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic
EU targets US aircraft and car exports in new list of potential tariffs
The EU is considering imposing tariffs on US aircraft and car exports in a fresh attempt to persuade Donald Trump to drop his current and proposed tariffs against the EU.If acted on they will hit Boeing hard but also include further categories of US exports including chemicals, electrical equipment including cameras, health-related products and some foods such as sweet potato and nuts.At the same time Brussels has launched a consultation with member states on potential litigation against the US over the blanket 20% reciprocal tariffs the US president announced last month.As the EU prepared for the possibility of a prolonged transatlantic trade war, Trump reached an agreement with the UK and appeared to softened his position on China.The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and Washington’s chief trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, are due to meet China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, in Switzerland on Saturday for talks that could be the first step toward resolving the trade war between the two countries
Ten UK energy firms to pay £7m in compensation after overcharging error
Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce share prices soar as manufacturers welcome US tariff cuts
Wikipedia challenging UK law it says exposes it to ‘manipulation and vandalism’
Tech giants beat quarterly expectations as Trump’s tariffs hit the sector
Australia welcomes Owen Farrell omission but Lions get backing as firm favourites
IPL cricket suspended amid growing India-Pakistan tensions