Rock bands can be at their most prickly when journalists try to pin unwanted labels on them.

But #Crime (that's not a misprint, just pronounce it Hash Crime) have seen it all before.

And they're happy to count themselves as one of that relatively rare breed in the 1990s - the Goth band.

Goths are a much-maligned breed but #Crime are the kind of band who ought to give them a better name.

The Bradford-based six-piece have been together for 12 years and in that time have developed their own distinctive style which makes them stand out from the morass of mascara and crucifixes, even though most of their songs have a dark theme.

Vocalist Debra Turner says the band were recently called Cybergoth - not a bad description for their blend of futurism and retro rock.

Now #Crime are launching a determined bid to make their mark on the music industry - after a successful recent support slot with The Damned, they are planning more gigs and have a new three-track CD available.

Simon Carter, also known as Quinch, who is the band's programmer and second guitarist said: "We've recorded lots of stuff in the past but mainly just for people we know. This is the first one to have escaped."

Guitarist Craig Shepherd added: "We've done lots of material, at least three albums' worth over the years. Then we started to realise that people actually liked it."

For about three years #Crime were effectively out of action because of band members' other commitments but now they have a settled line-up, also featuring backing Kay Finch on backing vocals, Emma Long on keyboards and Pogz on bass.

As well as supporting The Damned at Rio's, #Crime performed at the launch of the Nexus club's 24-hour licence.

Emma said: "It was weird playing with The Damned. They looked just like they used to when they were on stage but beforehand I didn't recognise them.

"We thought 'Oh no, who are these blokes on stage?' before we realised it was them."

Simon Ashberry

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.