God would drive an Allegro VDP says Beta Band singer

Ever wondered what God would drive? Former Beta Band lead singer Steve Mason has the answer… and it’s an Austin Allegro Vanden Plas.

OK, so a bit of context might help here. Steve Mason bumped into Primal Scream pianist Martin Duffy on a bus in Brighton one day and they decided to partner up, call themselves Alien Stadium, and collaborate on a mini-album. The album, ‘Livin’ In Elizabethean Times’, features just four tracks and is all about a message from outer space about how much the human race is hated elsewhere in the universe. Still with us?

The artwork for said album is a psychedelic image featuring the two musicians in period dress and a 1981 Austin Allegro VDP (or VDP 1500 to give it its correct name). So, erm, what’s the story behind that?

“We just tried to imagine what kind of car God would drive and own,” said Mason in an interview with BBC 6Music. “And you think, well, he’s probably working class. But he’s not going to have, you know, a Morris Minor. He’s going to have the working class Rolls-Royce. And the working class Rolls-Royce is the Vanden Plas. So, erm, we got ourselves one.”

Right. We’re still not entirely sure how a ropey old VDP 1500 ended up on an album cover, but we’re not complaining. Because more album covers need to feature retro cars, right?