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Wednesday, 31 January 2007
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Benjamin Coombs talks to The Bluetones' lead singer Mark Morris ahead of the band's Galway performance on Monday 12 February

Do you enjoy coming to Galway?

Yeah, Galway is a beautiful town. We came last September and it was great; loads of people showed up. What also made it memorable was that for the first time ever I was asked to sign a lady's bosom!

Do you find that the Irish crowds are good?

Well there's a great musical heritage in Ireland, with that link to folk music and an appreciation for the craft. Our music is a kind of electric folk music anyway, folk music but with a noisier beat, so it's no wonder that we feel at home here and that the crowds lap it up.

Tell us about the recording of your most recent album 'The Bluetones'?

We were very lucky; we spent a lot of time on the writing and then we went in to record it in the summer of 2006 in this great studio, and the weather was just fantastic. We were basking in the sunshine and soaking up the good vibes and I think we managed to capture that on the record.

The album seems to be something of a renaissance for you. Are you proud of it?

Yeah, we had a bit of an epiphany. I remember taking the vocals and drums out of a couple of songs and thinking 'this works', so, yeah, we do have a real sense of achievement. That could spill over into cockiness, but that's not the way we are; we're more level headed. We know how to let our hair down and have a good time, but we don't get too carried away and we don't let success or failure get to us too much.

How influential was producer Hugh Jones?

He was very important. We've known him a long time and he has a wonderful enthusiasm and focus, which is vital in the studio. The other thing is that we tend to work long days and not all producers can keep up with us. (laughs) Hugh is the opposite; we can hardly keep up with him! He can work all day and all night, fuelled by nothing but cigarettes and Holsten Pils!

When are you at your most creative?

I'm a night person. I like writing when everything outside is quiet and the activity of the world has died down. I feel like I'm the only person up.

Do a few pints ever help you to write a song?

No, writing under the influence of anything is no good; it doesn't help. Your quality control is compromised.

Can you give us an insight into the creative process?

There's no set way of writing a song; no two songs are ever created in the same way. Sometimes it's a bass line, sometimes it's a guitar melody, or another hook. We've been together as a band for so long that once we've got the ball rolling we have an almost telepathic way of working together. We have a good instinct for it at this stage.

What about being on the road for so many years with the same people. Do you ever fight?

Well we all lived together before we hit the road, so we've worked out how to co exist. We know each other's moods and each other's good and bad points. There's rarely any conflict. We enjoy touring, we usually have a laugh.

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