Despite the band’s own forward-looking vision, Skunk’s illustrious past is of course reflected on Smashes And Trashes – the majority of the tracks culled from Paranoid And Sunburnt, Stoosh and Post-Orgasmic Chill, the three albums that saw the band sell in excess of four million albums the first time around. Tellingly, though, the four-piece have their eyes firmly set on the next album.

“It’s hard to say what that’s going to be like but we’ve written about half of it,” says Skin. “ There will be a strong pop element to the songs, but it’ll be sparky and it will be loud.”

“There will definitely be some really weird stuff in there because that’s how we write,” adds Ace. “There are some songs that are easier to get a hold of and they’re often the singles, but there is an in-built strangeness in what we do and we’ve retained that. To me it’s what defines the band.”

Skunk Anansie’s next studio album is loosely pencilled in for mid-2010. But first there’s the small issue of a worldwide tour to truly announce their return. The live arena is, of course, Skunk’s natural habitat – the band’s personal live highlights include a show-stopping appearance at Glastonbury in 1999, playing Nelson Mandela’s 80th Birthday Party and playing in front of the Dalai Lama.

This time around, the tour follows on from two life-affirming performances at London’s Water Rats Theatre – the tiny 220-capacity venue where the band played their first gig in 1994 and to which they returned under the acronym S.C.A.M. to play two secret shows on April 2 and 3 of this year.

“What became blatantly obvious when we played The Water Rats was that this wasn’t a nostalgic thing,” says Skin. “There were so many people there that weren’t around when we were going originally, it was incredible.”

The band’s return to the scene of their very first live shows in close to a decade also provided food for thought in terms of the musical climate.

“ When we first came out it was all Britpop – Oasis, Blur and people like that. We didn’t fit at all then, and, looking around, I don’t see why we should fit now,” says Skin. “No one’s really sounded like us since we’ve been away. But we’ve enjoyed being the outsiders. It’s a good place to be. I also think that people are ready for a bit of in-yer-face tuneful rock music again. I see us in competition with every band that’s out there and I think we’re better than we were before. If we didn’t feel like that, it would be sad and pathetic. And, like I said, I don’t have time for that…”

Skunk Anansie 2009: Not so much reformed, as re-born….

November

Saturday 21st                 O2 Academy Leeds                 

Tuesday 24th                 Manchester Academy              

Thursday 26th                O2 Academy Brixton                

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