One of Scotland’s most successful bands return with a new album and shows this summer in throughout Europe to support their new album “Graffiti Soul”.
Do you and Charlie get on OK nowadays?
JK: “Yes, by and large, but we do argue now and then. In fact the other day when we came to London recently to do some interviews we were in a taxi going to the hotel to chat about things going forward and all of a sudden this fucking huge argument breaks out. One of our colleagues was with us at the time and commented on how intense it was. I think it’s a good thing because it shows that the passion is still there. It’s all part of being in a gang; that’s what a band is all about. Even during our difficult periods we never blamed each other, or in fact anyone else.”
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When you slipped off the radar you mean?
JK: “We slipped so far off the radar we were in Alaska or somewhere.”
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Why do you think that was?
JK: “A few reasons. Firstly if you’re a big successful band and things go wrong, you’re going to get it in the neck. We were in denial about a lot of things too and there was a huge implosion going on within the band. I remember during that period when we were making one of our records back then and I was sitting watching telly seeing bands like The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses coming over the hill. All I could think was ‘Fuck, this is going to be difficult’, but you have to remain strong. There were glimpses of light during that period and we continued to play live and enjoy it and also make money; but we were totally out of the picture. When you think about it, very few of our contemporaries have stayed constantly relevant; U2 and Depeche Mode, maybe, but they are definitely the exception.”
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Was quitting on the agenda?
JK: “I suppose six or seven years ago it was a consideration. The frustrating thing is that people can’t say ‘You guys could have made it’ because we did it. We weren’t just contenders.”
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Mark Eglinton talked to Jim Kerr for The Quietus
See tour dates and watch their new video and also an old interview below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Ac4bPvYqg
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESCi1OWvBW4