News

We called up Dan to find out what the fellas have been up to and to get the answers to a bunch of your questions. Leave your comments below. And if you have a question for Paul next time, then email it to feedback@thefeeling.com.

Hi Dan. How are things going?
I'm good, thanks. Although I did my neck in at the weekend which was a bit silly. Every time we get some time off I manage to injure myself somehow.

How did you manage to do that?
Oh, I don't really know. I'm just accident prone.

You weren't head-banging?
No, sadly not. I just woke up one morning and cricked it. I'm like an old man. Maybe it's because I've been so busy lately.

Busy doing what?
Well, we were supposed to have time off in September to do stuff, but it hasn't really worked out like that. I've been in the studio working on new stuff and doing bits of promo, that sort of thing.

How was the gig at the private party in Cannes which Ciaran told us about in the last catch-up?
It was good, actually. A bit interesting and a bit weird. It was basically a birthday party for a couple of twins who are fans of the band.

Were there famous people at this party?
Well, the Cheeky Girls were there and some string players who came second in Britain's Got Talent or something. But it was in Pierre Cardin's house which is this quite incredible futuristic place. It's all made of bubbles and tunnels and built into the hill. It's the craziest looking building. It looks like fungus with windows. I felt like we should be doing a photoshoot while we were there.


The fungus-with-windows house.

How was the show?
It was on this tiny stage with a palm tree right in front of the stage, but everyone partied and danced around. It was fun. Then we went and got drunk on the beach. We had a very nice day on the beach the day afterwards too.

So this new stuff that you're writing, is it going in any new directions?
I don't know really. I've been listening to some old ideas I had and playing about with some new stuff. At this stage it's really just having fun and experimenting. It's nice to be creative again. We're really going to take our time with it, I think. We've obviously got the tour to do first. But we're thinking about going back to Bradley House at the start of next year some time, just to work on the new material. We're also doing things like finishing off the edit of the Alps documentary.

Ah yes, how's that coming along?
Yep. We're nearly done with that. And also we've been getting stuff ready for the tour, cos we want the production to be good, so it takes a fair bit of preparation. We're having a few films made and that sort of thing.

Do you know which covers you'll be playing?
No, we haven't decided the set yet. Once we get into rehearsal we'll start putting that together. And we'll probably use the European shows to play around with the set a bit too. We're gonna try a few things out over there and be a bit more experimental.

What else have you been doing this week?
I did a charity thing for Scope and Nordorff Robbins where lots of celebs went onto the trading floor of this bank in the city and we actually traded on the stock exchange, which was quite strange.

Quite an interesting week to do it, when the whole financial world is going into meltdown.
Absolutely! But it wasn't actually bad day when we did it. I think a lot of people were trading with this bank because they had a chance to talk to Emma Noble or Cilla Black on the phone. Even Prince Charles was there. It was quite weird. You'd be talking about doing a trade for a hundred million Euros or something.

They gave you that much responsibility?
Well, really they just put us on the phone and told us what to say. I got a bit drunk with Cilla afterwards. She reckons she did a billion dollar trade, which is a bit mad. I saw Beverley Knight there too which was lovely, cos I know her really well. And Kevin Spacey was there. And the Cheeky Girls, who obviously I'd only seen a few days earlier. My mum came along too, cos she works with Scope. It was quite a bizarre day, to be honest. But good fun.

Right, we've got lots of readers questions. Ali would like to know which Feeling video you enjoyed making most.
Out of all of them? 'Join With Us', I think. We decided to do a video which was just fun. That was the whole idea. It was like, we'll have ice creams, we'll ride bikes, we'll dress up and we'll have a fairground to play with. It was all fun. Except for the bit where we were being rained on under the tree.

Next question is from Neraj who asks what your favourite Feeling guitar solo is.
We haven't played it for a very long time, but it's Same Old Stuff. I have a big solo and it's my kind of wank-fest. It's really good fun.

Becci says you have incredible breath control when you sing and would like to know how you do it without getting dizzy and passing out.
Oh, I do go a bit dizzy. But I gave up smoking last year and that's helped a bit. Also I swim quite a lot and I practise holding my breath under water. I'll do a whole length without taking a breath. I just do that for fun, but it probably helps with the singing.

Next one is from Idha from Indonesia, who asks what inspired you when you wrote Spare Me, because it gives her a picture of an insecure person, which is something she's also experienced.
Yeah, well that's it. I think everyone's insecure if they manage to fall in love with someone who doesn't treat them properly. So it's partly about that, when you love someone but you know that they're bad for you. You can't help it if you fall for someone, but if they play games with your head, then that'll make even the most secure person in the world feel insecure.

Erin read an article about your house in The Times. She thinks it looks very nice and would like to know how long it took to find everything to put in it.
While we were in Bradley House I was basically on eBay the whole time. When you're in the studio there's actually quite a lot of spare time, when people are repeating takes or setting stuff up. So I'd sit there listening to the music, buying stuff on eBay. It didn't take long really. My housemate had moved in, but I hadn't, so he was just opening the door and getting boxes delivered every day. I'd pretty much furnished the whole house by the time I moved in. But it's still an ongoing thing. I went to Manchester this weekend and we drove over to the Peak District on Sunday morning and found a car boot sale. I managed to fill up a whole car with more stuff!

Sounds like you're a hoarder.
Oh, I'm obsessive, yeah.

Catriona would like to know if you've decided where you're gonna film the live DVD? She'd like you to film it in Glasgow.
Oh really? We were going to do it in Manchester, but it might be London. We really want to find the place with the biggest and best stage really. But we don't know where it will be yet. We keep having meetings about it. So it could yet be Glasgow.

Finally, Katherine is wondering if you have ever done something you regret while a bit tipsy, because apparently her friend was singing "I want Keifer (boy she liked) now, I don't care how" and so on when she had a bit too much.
Oh dear. Yes, I've done things I regret when I'm drunk. Loads of times. In fact, I went to a party this week for Fashion Week and I was talking to some people that I know quite well. I was so drunk and I was talking such rubbish that I actually saw them edge away from me. I get drunk and I rant. Then when I sober up I get paranoid about it!

Well that might make Katherine's friend feel a little better.
Yeah. At least she's not alone!