The Script
Ever since I heard We Cry I have been a fan of The Script, and when I found out my friend was going on the road with them, I knew I had to have a good old chinwag with the boys.
So I caught up with them during the post-Christmas comedown to find out how they plan to make 2009 a year to remember, leaving shops without paying and re-creating the David Bowie classic, Labyrinth.
So what have you been getting up to recently? Anything exciting?
Yeah. The usual winding down for Christmas was obviously a big one. A band, when it becomes a bit of a success, and it tours are rolling, once you get on the road and that gets rolling, it takes a lot to slow that down, so that wrapped up for Christmas and now we just got back and we’ve started work again. It was nice to get a Christmas break.
So, tell us a bit about your forthcoming single, Talk You Down...
We’ve got Talk You Down coming out soon. It was basically written at a weird time when myself and Danny were thinking about when guys have that fight or flight moment. The thing is that most guys tend to want to do the right thing and wanna act upon a situation with a girl but the girl has already made her mind up whereas the guy needs to make his mind up, and it’s about like that 5 or 6 minute period where you decide to have a cigarette and think about it, and we thought we’d give it a dark twist with relationship suicide meaning if she leaves the relationship then he’s done. So it’s taken from your self-titled album. Did you ever think it would do as well as it did, the album?
No, I don’t think you can ever see, you can wish and all that, but I don’t think you can ever predict this stuff. It happens at such as weird pace, and that’s such a weird thing because one minute you’re an unemployed musician trying to keep your lights on and the next, you’re a number 1 album y’know?
Maybe I should change jobs!
Maybe you should. No, believe me, anyone coming into this industry, just buy a lottery ticket, you’ve more of a chance.
I’ll tell that to the Orange Unsigned act! So will you be having another album coming out anytime soon?
The problem, the hindrance for us is that we’re trying to get into the studio right now. We’ve been rehearsing in the studio all this week, myself and Danny just starting to write some idea, get the bones of stuff started.
The thing is finding the time to get into the studio because right now, our album is only just starting to get released in America, in the next few months, and in Australia and Asia it’s doing really well, so it’s new to them over there, whereas over here we’re on our 4th single.
Do you plan to play any of this year’s big festivals?
Well apparently we’re being booked, last year we got booked for them all pretty much except for, actually I don’t know which ones we didn’t do, there were so many we did play, and apparently the same bookers are coming this year and we’ve got bigger on the bill and that sorta stuff so that’s brilliant. [FF: Exciting!] Yeah! I mean, live music is honestly a bands time off and maybe they don’t realise it when they first get into it but you think it’s gonna be 90% playing gigs and then 10% promo. It’s the other way around! So you really do cherish that that you get, that 10% onstage, you really do. It’s the first time you get a beer and a chance to chill out.
How excited are you to support Take That in June?
It was obviously a big decision for us because y’know we weren’t sure how that kinda thing would be perceived by our fans but it was such an overwhelming thing because they’re playing parks and doing these massive venues and to be asked to do that was just such an honour. And music’s music at the end of the day and to be exposed to 8000 people or more per night is just a dream come true really. It’s unreal. You’d be stupid to turn it down.
So where would you like to be a year from now?
A year from now? Honest to God, I don’t want this to sound stupid but you can’t predict where these things are going to go. I just hope I’m employed. And I just hope I the main thing, as in, I hope I still get to wake up every morning and do what I love to do, which is make music and release music, and gig it.
After that, I don’t care what level it’s on, whether we’ve got a record deal or not! I just care that I’m actually able to do that, so that’d be brilliant. I think it’s the same for the lads; that’s how we all feel.
You feel successful when you’ve come from nothing. You feel like, ‘what else is there?’ you know, if I don’t get anything else from my life, at least I’d be happy with what I’ve achieved.
Who do you think is the greatest artist of all time?
Ooh! The greatest artist of all time! I mean, Leonardo Da Vinci! No, probably in my book, I suppose because the music is so opinionated, I personally love Davie Bowie. I think he is an artist that has given us music consistently over the years. And people like to jump on the bandwagon and say ‘he’s so versatile’ or ‘he’s changed’ or ‘every time he comes out he changes’.
Look, David Bowie’s been doing it for all these years. He’s brought us on such a musical journey. He’s almost like an institution on his own. I think there’s gonna be stage shows made after him. Forget about Mamma Mia! There’s gotta be something done. The songs are so good, the stories are so good. Him, as an artist, is just out of this world.
Let’s make a musical!
Let’s go for it. We’ll do David Bowie: The Musical. What will we call it? Ashes to ashes?
Can we re-create The Labyrinth?
You’ve just mentioned one of my favourite movies. And he’s great in it too!
Can I be the little worm in the wall? I love him!
I wanna be in the bog of eternal stench.
Eww, you lose ten points from me now. So, moving swiftly on, if you could support anyone on tour, who would it be?
I would love to do a tour with somebody like Kanye West. The usual suspects really, Coldplay, U2, The Kinks. I really enjoyed the fact that we got to tour with N.E.R.D for example, who you would never expect these 2 bands together but that just worked really well, and that’s why I would like to tour with someone like Kanye because it’s be different or something new.
So if you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life what would it be?
There’s not many CD’s you can play back to back these days are there. It would probably be David Bowies Greatest Hits! I’d condense them all onto one CD that’s what I’d do.
Are you on commission?
I wish I was! I’m on a campaign to make David Bowie call me. And this is what I want. I don’t want him to juts averagely call me, saying well done. I want an invite to go to a local pub somewhere because I wanna burn his brains on a pot of chinwag! I wanna ask him loads of questions.
If you could give anyone a band to listen to in 2009, who would it be?
There’s a great Irish band called The Coronas. I really like their raw sensibility. They just go out there and play. They’re great guys and their music is really really good. I’d love to see a light shined on them. Them and a band called Officer Kicks. Officer Kicks are brilliant.
We need to get some Irish music out there because the Scottish are taking over at the minute?
Yeah we do! And Irish did well for a long time, but we need to come back with it with a strong force.
So, we ask everyone we interview, some random questions. So your first one is... If you could trade places with any celebrity for a day who would it be?
Mini me! [FF: Have you been watching Celebrity Big Brother?] No but he’s got no hair and I figured it’d be a good matching piece, a little version of myself. [FF: You should have watched him last night singing.]
I heard about it. But I’ll give you one better. If you Google him. Google ‘Mini me on the surreal life in America.’ Watch it. He had a drinking problem. And he’s drunk and he squeals like a little pig. You’ve gotta see it. Really funny.
Secondly, what was the saddest day of your life?
Possibly my parents passing away.
Aw, I can’t follow from that now!
Yeah it was pretty bad!
So, if you’d found that you’d not been charged for an item of clothing or a product in a shop...
I’d walk out!
Would you tell them or just run?
I’d run! I’m not one for picking a tenner up, you lost your tenner, tough shit for losing your tenner. Now if you lost your wallet, I get the guilt in having to return a wallet but there’d be no money left. I’ve had experience as a kid, thought I was doing the right thing here. I found a wallet in the snow, found the person, gave them back the wallet and there was like 20 quid in there, and I thought, I’m a kid, I’ve saved this person’s credit cards and all their information, and they didn’t gimme shit! That person ruined it for all the other wallets I’m gonna find.
We ask everyone we interview also to come up with a question for the next person we interview and we interviewed Orange Unsigned act Bo Bruce yesterday and she wants to know, will you marry her?
I bet she asked that to Danny! [FF: Anyone will do] Yes! Tell her no problem; I can speak on behalf of the lads. If I don’t then one of the lads will oblige. [FF: Can I be bridesmaid?] Why not!
So, can you come up with a question for the next person we interview please?
Can it be any question? [FF: As random as you want!] Okay, does water go down the sink a different direction from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere?
That’s so weird. Do you know the answer to that?
Of course. [FF; Tell me the answer. ] No! [FF: I need to know. I’m gonna have to go on Wikipedia otherwise.] That’s the fun.
Ooh! I do know! It does go down another way in Australia.
That’s the thinking behind it but it actually doesn’t. [FF: It doesn’t?] It doesn’t. The myth is that it does but you can try the next person on that.