Legendary 90s musician begs fans ‘not to make love to his music’

If you’ve ever put Portishead on in the background while getting into the mood, just know that Geoff Barrow thinks it’s weird.

Apparently, the iconic musician and producer, 53, ‘can’t think of anything worse’ than someone making love to his music.

Portishead rose out of Bristol’s electronic scene in the mid-90s with their debut album, Dummy, still regarded as a landmark album.

They were associated with trip-hop but fought against being boxed into a genre and only released two more albums together.

‘I’ve heard that people were going out, doing ecstasy, coming back, smoking spliffs, and putting Dummy on. If you just listened to the music, you’d think: “That’s really chilled, man,”‘ Geoff said in an interview with The Guardian.

‘However, the worst thing that anyone can say about my music is that it’s chilled! That makes me throw up.’

He continued: ‘They’re only listening to Beth [Gibbons]’s voice, not what she’s saying, which makes a huge difference. I’ve had people actually say, “My daughter over there was made to your music,” and I’m like, “F*** off.’” I can’t think of anything worse to make love to.’

Dummy’s sound blends electronic and hip hop, giving the impression of a spy thriller or something that would be played at The Bronze in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Beth, Geoff and guitarist Adrian Utley never formally split up but have since made music separately.

While the vocalist recently released a solo album, attracting Mercury Prize attention just like Portishead’s debut album, Geoff has moved into film composing.

He was asked if Portishead would ever reunite to make new music, prompting a definitive ‘no’ from the musician.

Geoff explained that his ‘heart’ was now in movies as he has ‘so much to learn’ so for him a formal in studio reunion is off the table.

However, he insisted that Portishead have never really split up, just do different things now rather than creating together.

They have played benefit concerts over the years, including for Ukraine, and recorded Roads for Brian Eno’s Together for Palestine concert.

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