Sing Hosanna! But do it quietly in case anyone notices; Supporting

IF the devil really has the best tunes, Delirious? might as well abandon their musical career right now. They are that rarest of combinations: a rock band who are committed Christians. Not that you'll catch them using the C-word. Their official biography makes no mention of their genesis in a church hall in Littlehampton, Sussex, nor any other reference to their faith. Nor do they bring it up in conversation. It's just not cool to be a rockin' Christian.

"It puts people off," testifies keyboard- player Tim Jupp. "In Britain everyone is quite cynical," agrees Stu Garrard, their guitarist. "And I don't blame them really. There have been a lot of bad attempts at Christian music in the past."

"To the mass public," adds Martin Smith, their singer, "anything to do with religion is staid and boring unless you are black and sing gospel or reggae."

Quite. It's all right for Lauryn Hill to read a psalm at the Grammy Awards, Bob Marley to praise Jah and the scantily clad babes of Destiny's Child to thank God at every opportunity. But heaven forbid Geri Halliwell should stand up at the Brits and declare herself a born-again Christian (though you wouldn't rule it out as her next career move).

Yet in the face of such prejudice, Delirious? have quietly notched up well over one million record sales. With US sales of more than 750,000, they are also one of Britain's more successful transatlantic music exports.

Which makes it odd that Delirious? (the irritating question mark was added "to lend a bit of mystery" and they'd like to lose it but it's become part of their logo) are so anxious to steer me away from the C-word. They repeatedly tell me they are not making music to preach the gospel. Yet their songs have titles such as Heaven and Jesus's Blood and nearly all of their lyrics relate directly to their faith. "We're not here to promote the Church or Jesus," stresses Jupp. "That's a personal thing for us and we're not trying to push it on anyone else."

Still, in these marketing-driven times everybody needs a unique selling point, and Christianity is Delirious?'s USP. "We would definitely never hide the fact that we are Christian," Smith declares, unconvincingly. "It's just that there's this stereotype of people in Aran sweaters dancing around holding hands. We're not trying to bash people over the head and save their souls, we're just trying to write good music."

As far as that goes, they are doing OK. Their albums have received enthusiastic reviews from the British music press, earning comparisons with U2 and Radiohead, and they are currently on tour with none other than Bon Jovi. They gig regularly in America, where there is a vast network of Christian radio stations - but will not be drawn on the US's religious right wing, only recalling that they encountered complaints of blasphemy over the lyric: "She's as pretty as hell."

It is almost 10 years ago since five regulars at a Sussex free church - where bass guitarist Jonson Thatcher's father was the pastor - began writing Christian songs for the church youth group, encouraging the audience to sing along to lyrics written on a blackboard.

Encouraged by their popularity, the fledgling Delirious? spent #1500 recording six songs. Word soon spread among the born-again Christian network and before long they had a mailing list of 35,000. Five years ago, following a car crash that almost claimed the lives of Smith and Thatcher, they decided to give up their day jobs and move into the rock mainstream. Spurning the advances of major record labels, they finally decided to form their own record label.

A couple of minor hits and a top 20 album led Radio 1 to dub them "pop's best-kept secret", but they say their Christianity still counts against them at some radio stations, who remain reluctant to play their songs.

At the end of the interview I put it to them that they are indeed up against it if the devil has the best tunes. Quick as a flash, Garrard comes back: "He's given us a couple on the new record."

Delirious?'s new single Waiting For The Summer is out now on Furious www.delirious.co.uk www.ecministries.com/dheaven

Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.