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We gave Paul a shout as the band travelled to Dover for Monday night's show, to get the lowdown on their trip to France and to find out which member of The Feeling you're most likely to spot on a nudist beach. Thanks to Kev for the pictures. And if you have a question for Kev next time, please email it to feedback@thefeeling.com.

A boozy do in an Alpine eatery

Hi Paul. So how was last week's Alps trip?
It was brilliant. It was everything we hoped it would be and more as well.

Why did you do it?
Well, obviously we started playing covers in those bars seven years ago and we've played there over the years since then. But there was a period around the time we got a deal when we went out and played some of our songs just to see what people thought of them. I think we played 'Sewn', 'Love It When You Call', 'Fill My Little World', things like that. And they went down really well. So, fast forward two years; 'Sewn' had been released and been a hit and we got a message from a friend of ours who still worked in one of the bars saying that one of the covers bands was covering 'Sewn'. They were playing it on the same stage we'd first tried it out on and apparently everyone was jumping around to it!

That must've been a nice feeling.
Totally. So we got to talking about how it would be funny if we went out there in disguise and started covering our own songs to see if anyone noticed. And then we had the idea of doing a big gig on the piste, outside the Ronny, which is the place we used to play regularly. So it was one of those ideas that starts off as a "wouldn't it be funny if" kind of thing and then becomes a reality.

And you literally drove out there in a van, just like the old days?
We did, yeah. We tried to get hold of a battered postman's van, because that's what Dan bought as our original transport. But in the end we just hired a standard band-driving-around-the-country splitter van and drove out in that.

Who drove?
I did the majority of it actually, all the motorway stuff. Apparently no other band has ever got there as quickly as we did. We did about 600 miles in 9 hours, including breaks, which is pretty good. We drove out on Easter Sunday, so the roads were quite quiet. And Dan did the last half hour into the mountains, up the windy roads, because I was really tired by then!

A snowy chat for Ciaran

So you were there for the whole week?
Yeah, we got there Sunday night, had some food and went to bed. Then on Monday we got up and got all our boarding gear together and went out and tried to remember how to snowboard, which was quite fun. Then we went and watched a couple of bands playing around the town in the evening.

Was there a lot of snow?
Loads. It had been snowing pretty much solidly on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I think there was something like half a metre of snow. So that meant the slopes were seriously good fun. On Tuesday morning, myself and Richard got up quite early and went out to snowboard. But when it snows a lot, they close the tops of the mountain because there's an avalanche risk. Then they do this blasting thing, where they create an avalanche on purpose to shift the snow so that if it's going to move, it's done while the pistes are closed. And once they've done that they open them again.

We would much rather be there than typing this caption

So you couldn't go snowboarding?
Well, we tried to get as high as we could without going on the big bubble lift to the top of the mountain which was shut. We ended up stuck in a big powder field for about 15 minutes and had to dig ourselves out of that, which was totally exhausting. So then we were sitting on this closed piste and above our head, the bubble which goes to the top started moving, cos they'd suddenly opened it! So we dashed down to the mid station, got on it and we were among the very first passengers who got to the top of the mountain, with all the fresh snow. It was absolutely incredible.

Is it a lot different with fresh snow?
Totally. They have these things called piste bashers which drive up during the night and compact the snow down so that it's easily ski-able. But because they'd been blasting at the top, it hadn't been bashed. So the piste was just totally powder. Normally you have to go trekking way across the tops of the mountains to find decent powder, but the whole piste was like that. And you knew for a fact there was no danger, like rocks underneath or whatever, because it was the piste. So it was an amazing experience. We went straight back up as soon as we went down. And then later that day, we did a geurilla gig at the Ronny.

Le Rond Point?
That's the one! The band who were supposed to play were called a couple of hours before and told not to bother - but we paid them in full and I think they came along to the gig. So we just turned up and played and that was the first anybody knew about it.

Um, Richard and a slightly terrifying doll

How was it?
Well, the venue had changed a little bit, but otherwise it was exactly the same as it always was, turning up trying to figure out how you're going to cram onto the tiny stage and that sort of thing. And as people started to realise what was going on, the bar filled up, until it was rammed by the time we started. It was completely crazy. There was lots of crowd-surfing, including a naked guy.

What?
Well, people had been crowd-surfing with ski boots on and kicking people in the head by mistake. So Dan said, "Look, if you're gonna do it, please don't do it in ski boots. In fact, if you're going to do it, maybe do it in nothing at all." So, of course there was one bloke who stripped down and his mates threw him up in the air. But then they regretted it a bit, cos they had to move him around. I mean, where do you put your hands? It was very funny.

So you enjoyed the gig?
It was great. It was funny to be back there, because obviously we're spoilt now with fantastic equipment and monitoring which allows us to hear everything we're doing. You get back in there and all you can hear is just a big old noisy row! But that was our training; learning how to get things right, even when you can't really hear what's going on. We'd wondered how our music would go down next to the covers we were playing, and it went down just as well. Better in some cases.

Did you see people you'd known from years ago?
Yeah, quite a few. A lot of them have spread out across various resorts now, like La Tania and Val D'Isere, but a lot of them came back. In fact, La Tania ran three or four coaches for people to get up to the outdoor gig.

How was the outdoor show?
Well, it was one of those situations where we'd set everything up for it, but it was a free gig, so we had no idea how many people would come. About two hours before we went on stage, when some friends of ours did an acoustic support slot, there were probably only 200 people there. Some of the organisers started to get a bit concerned. But by the time we came on, there were thousands of people there. People as far as you could see. It was great.

Checking out the view of the outdoor stage...

Were you tired when you got home?
Totally. I think all of us are feeling the effects of several days of physical activity, be it snowboarding or carrying all the gear and setting it all up. And, of course, extreme drinking, which had to be done in true Alps style.

So it was a worthwhile trip?
Absolutely. Nothing about it was a struggle and there were some brilliant people involved, like Dave Jordan who was our original agent out there 7 years ago, MTC who are a company that run various venues in the town, the Meribel tourist board and even the mayor of Meribel. The whole place really came together to support us in doing this thing. And hopefully it went so well that it could become a regular event for us.

The band's mates, Seasonaires, aka Owen and Dan - who supported them in Meribel

And how was the UK tour?
Oh that was absolutely brilliant, too. The London gigs were really great and Manchester and Glasgow were particularly amazing. And there was lots of remote control activity with planes and cars, as you'll have seen from Richard's photoblog. I've actually got myself a huge remote control helicopter, but it's so complicated that I haven't got it working yet. We also organised the tour so that on days off we could back home and do a bit of washing or whatever, so it didn't feel too much like we were away for a long time.

Are things shaping up well for the release of 'Without You'?
Yeah, it seems to be really good. Even while we were in France, it seems like it suddenly started getting played more on the radio, because we came back to loads of texts and emails from friends who'd been hearing it. It was hard to do the radio edit, though. It's five minutes long on the album, so we had to cut out a whole verse in the end. We tried to shorten each individual section, but it didn't make sense like that. But when you buy the single you will get the full five minute version.

Are you pleased with the video?
Yes, that was a really fun day. The set looked incredible; it was amazing walking around all those Russian machines. And it was a really relaxed shoot. The director, Corin Hardy, is a really nice guy and everything was run very smoothly. The shoot even finished early, which just doesn't happen with videos!

Did you enjoy being in your uniform?
Yeah, that was quite cool. The hat is enormous, though. The biggest, widest hat you've ever seen. But apparently very accurate.

Paul and his big hat

Right, readers' questions. Katherine would like to know which member of The Feeling we'd be most likely to see on a nudist beach?
Ciaran probably. Well, he wouldn't be on a nudist beach, but he's the most likely member to be naked.

She also asks which member would be most likely to be seen stumbling out of a pub?
That's probably a tie between myself, Richard and Dan. I did actually stumble out of a club in Meribel and fall on my face last week.

And which one of you are we most likely to see on a bucking bronco?
Ooh, I think I'll say Richard for that one. I think he'd be the most likely to leap aboard.

Next, Sammi says that at your Manchester gig, Dan had a post-it note stuck to his guitar. What was it and why was it there?
It was probably an abusive message from the crew! They're always larking around. Actually, I have a cymbal which is upturned and looks a bit like a bowl and I came out on the last night at Shepherd's Bush to find it filled with cereal and a spoon. Myself and Dan had a little munch on that between the songs. Then I hit it and Special K exploded everywhere.

Finally, Sandy asks if it's true that you lived in luxurious accommodation when you lived in La Tania in the Alps and whether you gained a lot of inspiration from the manager, who was very talented musician in his own right?
Well, that's weird, because as I understood it, the manager was a lady called Georgie, who is very lovely and inspirational, but not in the musical sense! And our luxurious accommodation was one room which was literally about 8 feet by 10 feet. It had bunk beds on either side, with enough space inbetween for a person to sleep on the floor. Storage was five shelves on the wall, one each. And there was a tiny little bathroom which was part of the same room, only sectioned off. We lived there for a three and a half months. So I guess if you're used to living under a tarpaulin, in a hole, next to the M25, then it was luxurious. But by any usual standards, it really wasn't.

So, in short, the answer to Sandy's question is, "No".
Yes, exactly!