The interview, with links to the band's music, is here:
http://www.cultpunk.com/?p=183
[...]
Q: What were the musical influences of the band? It seems you all had a dark sound. Just from listening, my guesses are Joy Division and UK Decay type stuff.
A: Well, your description is very flattering, thank you. We began before Joy Division, although when we saw them I practically fell to my knees in awe. We were so impressed by them that we couldn’t fail to absorb some of what they were doing. Looking back now, they were so far ahead of the game, but the influence of Rob Gretton (manager), Tony Wilson (Factory Records), and Martin Hannett (producer) was massive, as was the artwork of Peter Saville.
[...]
Myself and [keyboardist] Declan were heavily involved in the Labour Party - more specifically the Young Socialists, and very specifically the Militant Tendency, which was not a popular group in the Party, as it was based on Trotskyism, and practiced a method called Entryism, whereby Militant comrades would infiltrate the party and get elected onto various bodies, especially where the party was relatively inactive.
It was a really Socialist set-up, which the main [Labour] party didn’t like, as [the Labour Party] sought to shed its Socialist principals and pander to the popular press, which it deemed necessary to make it electable against Thatcher’s right-wing Conservative government. We did some benefit shows for striking miners, CND, anti-vivisection, and also for places like the Anarchy Centre in Stratford, London. We were all left-wing of course - in those days nearly every band seemed to have some form of left-wing leaning.
[...]
[More at URL above]