In a "front room in the dregs of the Earth" amidst drug dealers and gun runners is how Republica's vocalist Saffron describes the band's first working location in South London, as she joined Tim Dorney and Andy Todd in their quest to return clever lyrics, identifiable melodies, and relentless, driving upbeat music to London's stagnating club scene.

"It had fragmented into the opposite of everything it was meant to stand for," says the fiery singer. "We were getting pissed off with all the music we heard. No lyrics, no proper melodies."

If Saffron is the public face of Republica, her co-conspirators Tim Dorney and Jonny Male are the potent, quietly enigmatic powers in the background. He may have been weaned off his rusks by The Clash and sundry invigorating chemicals, but Tim has an enviable ability to combine chaos and a clear head

S a f f r o n...
'I don't get it when people say "Just a pop band", I think being a brilliant pop band is the highest thing you can aspire to. Pop music is something that's both throwaway and something that changes your life. That's what we want to achieve - disposable brilliance"