After a hiatus that seemed way too long for any fan of Fall Out Boy, the band are back and bigger than ever, ready to take over the punk-rock-pop scene once again.
We got the chance to chat with Patrick Stump - lead singer, guitarist and composer - about keeping their new material a secret, their humble beginnings and just how it feels to be able to come back and be a great success all over again.
Fall Out Boy formed over a decade ago now, how much change has the band been through?
(laughs) Yeah! Oh, a lot, I mean - we actually had time somewhere in there to take three years off, three or four years off (laughs) - so that's probably the biggest thing.
We started in basements and touring in a band around midwest for probably the first two or three years, playing just punk-rock shows and stuff like that, all the way up to you know, playing in arenas and things like that - all of it. It's very weird! (laughs)
You mentioned your time off - how difficult was it to keep it all under wraps that you were working on new material?
The secret is to even keep it secret from yourself - whether or not you're putting anything out - 'cause we just basically were working, and if we liked what we had made we were gonna put it out, and if we didn't, we wouldn't, so. (laughs)
How does it feel to have such a loyal fanbase as well as a score of new fans who got your new album to number one?
It's amazing! It's humbling, and it puts a lot of responsibility on you, and we're just so grateful of all of our audiences.
You've worked with other artists on this record including Courtney Love and Elton John - how was that experience?
Amazing. Courtney's out of control and wonderful, and Elton John is a legend you know, and just one of the sweetest guys, so it was really, it was really great.
Are there any other names you'd like to collaborate with in the future?
We kind of take that as it comes. We'll wait and see as we wait music if something really feels like, really says to us that it needs this person or that person.
After 'Save Rock And Roll', a new EP (Pax AM Days) came out which you put out as a free download - can you tell us a little bit about that?
Yeah, so Ryan Adams the alt-country singer and producer and great artist all around called us up to suggest that we just get into a room and just thrash around and make some punk music for like a day or so, and so we did. We went out to a studio and basically he pressed record and we just made it up, and that's it. (laughs)
You're set to tour the UK next year and you've got a London show tonight (November 5 2013) - what can fans expect from those?
Just excitement. We're really happy to be here and it's been so different every time we've come since the hiatus, that every show we play here has just been a totally different feeling and vibe. We've gotten to play big rooms, small rooms, we just did the Radio 1 Teen Awards, so going from you know - 50,000 people or something at Wembley to 500 tonight (November 5) will be crazy (laughs).
What are some of your favourite songs to perform live?
I like the way everything fits together - I think it's really fun, playing a song like 'Dance, Dance', and then playing a song like 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark', because I feel like to the observer on the outside that feels like, very different, but to the kids standing at the show, it's all one performance and you can feel that when you're performing, and that feels really cool.
Do you have plans for Fall Out Boy ahead of the tour or is that too far ahead to be planning right now?
Probably too far ahead, but we're always writing, we're always making stuff so I guarantee we're working on something soon.
Are there any other projects you're personally involved in that you can share some details about?
Not at the moment, I've been talking with management about that because I'm one of those guys that has way too many ideas so (laughs), so we need to zero in on something.
Fall Out Boy’s album 'Save Rock And Roll' is out now.
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