Lots to talk about in our latest Q&A, as Paul gives us the inside line on the new single, the tour and that spiral doodle thing. As ever, please do leave your comments!
Hi Paul, how are you?
Good thank you.
We speak the morning after the first gig of the tour!
That’s right!
How was it?
It went really well. It was a bit of a scary one, to be honest. We had all these new songs and a lot of new equipment and lots of stuff that we were trying to get to grips with, all in one evening. But it was great.
How much new material did you play?
Probably two thirds of what we played was stuff that people had never heard before. But they were a great crowd - really up for listening to the new stuff. And it went down amazingly, so we were really pleased. We really wanted to be able to give everything that’s being considered for the album an airing.
Have you not decided the final tracklist yet?
No, not 100%. There are still one or two to be decided. But we’re pretty much there.
And obviously you’ve announced that Set My World On Fire is the new single!
Yes, it is. We’re in the middle of trying to sort out the artwork and everything for that. And talking about videos. All of the things that we need to get in place.
The third album campaign has officially begun!
Yeah, I think the ball is definitely rolling now.
We hear the BBC has already picked up on Set My World On Fire for its Cricket World Cup coverage.
That’s right! We’re over the moon about that. It’s great to get that kind of exposure on television.
Are you into cricket?
I actually got really into it during the Ashes. I’d never really followed it before that, but I’m definitely a convert now.
So, are you chaps back on a tourbus for this tour?
Yes. I’m actually in it right now. It was only a short journey last night, from Middlesbrough to York. We’ve had a lovely walk around York today - been in the Minster. We always seem to do that, every time we come here. And then we’re off to Dundee tonight after the show, which is a bit of a longer drive.
Is it good to be back on the road?
Oh, it’s great. We’ve been waiting for this opportunity. It’s a great feeling to bring your music to people after being holed up in the studio for so long - with the exception of the few festival gigs we did.
How did your arms hold out last night?
Thanks for asking! They’re all right actually, cos I have been doing a fair amount of playing. I did feel it a little bit to start with, but I was prepared for worse. So they’ll certainly be fully played-in after a couple more shows.
You’ve got a day off on Thursday - what are your plans for that?
We were actually just discussing that! Andy, our guitar tech, has some friends who run a hotel just outside Harrogate. I’ve been to Harrogate, but I don’t think the rest of the guys have and it’s a lovely town. So we’re going to go there for the day. And go to see a place called Brimham Rocks which has these amazing rock formations.
It’s nice that you spend your days off sightseeing together.
We’re also very happy to work up an appetite so that we can go and eat a big pub dinner and drink a load of ale! I’m looking forward to it.
So, we’ve seen the spiral doodle on the front of the website. What’s that all about?
Well, that comes for a radio interview that we did quite a while ago, which happened to be on National Doodle Day. So the people who did the interview asked us all to do a doodle and not to show anybody else. And, bizarrely, Richard and Dan both drew the same thing. Which was basically a spirally thing with little men walking on it.
Wow. That’s quite random.
Isn’t it? It was like something off Derren Brown. Quite inexplicable. So that image has been hanging around for a little while. And it’s something we’ll be using on this campaign.
Right, readers’ questions. Angie would like to know the release date for the new album.
I can say for sure that it will be this summer. Exactly what week and month is kind of hard to say just now. It’s not fully decided yet.
Alec would like to know what your favourite cymbals are?
I’m actually sponsored by my favourite cymbal company, Zildjian. They’ve been very, very lovely to me since I was about 18.
Natalie asks whether you have any new covers for these gigs.
We did talk about it, but there isn’t really room amidst all the new songs and the old favourites. So I don’t think there will be on this tour. But you never know.
Maybe in a pub in Harrogate.
Yeah, karaoke!
Suzanne wonders if there are any plans for overseas gigs this year.
I’m keeping my fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed that there will be. We would dearly love to go abroad again. We’ll certainly be in France for Little World Festival. But I hope there will be more. We’ll have to wait and see.
Final question is from Pete, who says, “If you could have any car in the world (including one-offs and "fictional" automobiles), but it was your only car and you had to keep it for the whole rest of your life, which one would you have?”
My God, what a question! That’s a great question. I’ve got so many images of cars in my head.
The Batmobile shot straight into mine.
I thought of that too! And then, amazingly, I thought of Del Boy’s van, for some reason. Oh, I know. It has to be James Bond’s Aston Martin. Because it’s beautiful, it sounds great, it’s a great performance car and it’s got all the tricks and, of course, the ejector passenger seat. Imagine taking that down the shops...
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