OFF: Rockers spooked by singing nuns

[Karen Kusic]

http://www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk/brighton__hove/archive/2002/02/19/NEWS150ZM.html

Rockers spooked by singing
nuns

by Tom Pugh

Heavy rockers who use a converted nunnery as a
studio are being spooked by the eerie sound of
hymn-singing.

Whenever Cobra crank up the decibels, they hear
ghostly female voices.

Members of the four-strong band reckon the
spirits of the nuns are trying to overwhelm what
they think is the Devil's music.

Guitarist The Axe - real name Clive Rogers, 44 -
said: "There is nothing nasty or unpleasant about
our music. It's just no-nonsense new classic rock.

"But every time we crank up the volume and really
get things moving, we can hear these female
voices singing hymns.

"It's really eerie but only happens when we are
belting out something loud and proud."

Chapel Studios in Belmore Road, Eastbourne, was
converted into a studio from a garage three
months ago.

However, the sizeable brick building used to be a
nunnery at the turn of the 20th Century, with a
cobbled yard where horses were tethered.

Many other rock bands play at the studio but the
choristers only seem to surface when Cobra belt
out their brand of rock, a cross between Led
Zeppelin and Metallica.

Studio owner and band member Vince Von
Bastrum, 38, said: "It's very bizarre.

"It's a high-pitched sound which can be heard
over the band, no matter how loud they play.

"I have heard it myself and the funny thing is it
doesn't happen with my other clients working with
more relaxed music.

"It's just Cobra's rock that seems to set it off."

Vince, whose real surname is Webb, plans to move
into a flat above the studio, despite the
reluctance of his girlfriend.

He said: "She says 'I'm not going near that place
if it's haunted'.

"To be honest it doesn't bother me in the
slightest. In fact, I think it gives the place a bit
more of an attraction."