Born and Bred in Thorner
By John Wheelhouse,
East Leeds Magazine, November 2010
Sean Carr made worldwide headlines when he married Yevhenia Tymoshenko - the daughter of 'The Eastern Evita' and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. He relocated to Kiev and not too much has been heard from him since in the UK.
Five years on, Sean has opened an Italian in Kiev, which has just won Ukraine's best restaurant award. He and Yevhenia have been voted Ukraine’s No.1 celebrity couple by Elle magazine; he counts Armand Assante and Steven Seagal among his friends; and the Kiev Post has just voted him ninth most influential foreigner in Ukraine. Michael Palin even stopped by on his New Europe series.
But for all the plaudits, Sean's passion is in Rock'n'Roll and he’s not let his move to Kiev stop the music. Previously the front man for Leeds band Paris in the Fall, Sean called for sidekick and former Whitkirk resident Mick Lake and together with three Ukrainian musicians formed the 'Death Valley Screamers.' They've had four number ones and several other hits in Ukraine; have just released their fourth album "Back in the Dog House"; and are big in places as far flung as Israel, Eygpt, Russia, Georgia and bizarrely… Honduras. A couple of years ago, they played to a cross-generational audience of a quarter of a million at the Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations on Kiev's main square. We caught up with Sean at his former local, The Fox in Thorner.
"I can't really get my head round the awards to be honest, all I do is scream down a microphone and frighten small children. Maybe it's because we're a bit of colour in what can be socially a very grey country. Most people would have liked to have seen more change since the Orange Revolution. Politically, I try to keep my head down, I'm a performer not a politician but marrying into a family as politically powerful as I have, it's not always possible.”
It seemed obvious Ukraine is a much different place than here to live and clearly Sean finds the internal politics of the country very frustrating. He visibly brightened when asked about his band and recording studio.
"We played Sziget Festival in Budapest to 70,000. We were on the same stage as Muse and Kasabian. I recognised a Yorkshire accent back stage and started to talk with the bass player from Kasabian who is from Rotherham. After a while he said I know you, you were that **** Michael Palin went to visit in Kiev!”
Whether it's travelling to India to make a video with controversial Bollywood producer Sanjay Dutt or over to Hollywood to film with the American Chopper cast and rock band Skid Row, Sean's life these days is anything but uneventful.
"The whole Bollywood thing was unbelievable. It's a city in itself, a really opulent city and outside there’s desperate poverty. We linked up with Skid Row because the Ukrainian lads couldn't get visa’s so they stood in on the video. Filming with the American Chopper cast was like a dream come true, I absolutely loved the program."
Talking about poverty and injustice it became obvious there was a little more to Sean than screaming down mics and scaring kids. He does have a big heart. Years ago he sponsored a child in Kenya's education. Today that child is a doctor and they're still in touch. Recently, one of the proudest moments of his life came with the song Fallen Friends.
"We were on tour in the mining region of Donetsk and I promised we'd write a song dedicated to miners of the area. We got together a choir and orchestra made up of real miners." The result was a single that really touched Ukrainian hearts and was number one for twelve weeks.
My next thing is to get the band out of Ukraine. I was the face of Harley Davison in Kiev and that's opened up a few doors to festivals they sponsor. I’d love to bring the band to play in England but it’s out of my hands. It’s the same old problem of exit visas, so we’ll just have to see.”
Having to constantly have to deal with the Ukrainian paparazzi, coupled with fans and people looking to gain an ear in parliament, it makes going out in Kiev virtually impossible. It must seem far, far away from his old life in Thorner. As we spoke, an old family friend Sam Simpson came and had a quick chat with Sean. It gave us a somewhat poignant end to the interview.
"I think our families are the only born and bred Thornerites still about, everybody else has moved here. When my father died he was cremated. Sam was with me when we scattered the ashes up at the old farm. A gust of wind caught them and Sam ended up covered in ash. He looked to the heavens and said: 'Bloody hell Carr, you're dead and you still won't leave me alone.'
I come back to see my fifteen year old daughter but my home is in Kiev now. Sometimes I get homesick and I'll phone up The Fox to see if any of my old mates are in. I love to hear the gentle noise in the background of a traditional English pub while I’m waiting for them to come to the phone. It’s a reminder of what I’ve left behind.
www.deathvalleyscreamers.co.uk
There’s a few video’s on You Tube as well.
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