On Friday 30th November, one of
the modern pioneers of Rock and Roll, Billy Lunn, lead singer of The Subways
hits Wakefield
Aaron Snowdon: So, first of all, what made
you decide to go out on tour on your own?
Billy Lunn: Well I’m actually writing the
fourth album at the moment and I wrote Money
and Celebrity, our third record,
whilst we were off tour and I was at home. You know, just to sort of simulate
the creative process, I thought I’d pop out on tour and play some songs for
fans. We don’t intend on playing as a full band until maybe, summer next year.
AS:
Do you think that touring is a good time to start writing the fourth
record?
BL: I don’t actually really write a lot on
tour. By the time we get back on the bus and I pick up my acoustic guitar, I
think I’m ready for bed now. When I wake up in the morning, straight out of the
tour bus, I’m doing press and exercise. Song writing only really happens whilst
I’m off tour. I never know when some ideas might suddenly crop up. I thought
this acoustic tour would be a great way and go out there and experience and meet
new people.
AS: So in terms of when you’re performing
live, with a full band you appear to be quite lively and often crazy on stage,
do you feel nervous at the idea of performing on your own?
BL: Definitely! With doing all that crazy
stuff on stage and making all that loud noise. When it’s just the acoustic
guitar and me, if there are mistakes everybody’s going to hear them. There is a
sense of sort of feeling naked. It’s great to challenge myself as well, to have
to take the songs we usually play really loud and bring it down to a different
level to almost a folky atmosphere. I’m starting to get used to it now, a bit
more confident.
AS: Do you like playing the more intimate
venues?
BL: It depends really. If we do a huge
tour, with the bigger venues we’re sort of craving for the more intimate
interaction with the crowd where you can see the sweat dripping from the
ceiling. It’s nice just to mix and match. Festival season’s just a great way to
exemplify that. When the festival seasons over, we’re sort of ready to get back
indoors now and play some really low down dirty club shows. That to us is Rock
and Roll we used to go to those kinda shows when we were starting out as a
band.
AS: On this tour is it going to be strictly
Subways stuff or do you have some solo material?
BL: I was thinking about playing some of my
solo stuff, but to be honest, if I write something and I don’t immediately take
it to Charlotte and Josh then it’s not good enough. If I don’t show it to them,
I don’t really believe the song worked. So, anything I really do write, I’ll
only categorize as The Subways. I’m actually planning to do some covers, I’ve
already played Supersonic by Oasis
and I’m really enjoying playing that. It’s probably one of my all time
favourite songs. I’m thinking of Go Your
Own Way by Fleetwood Mac. I’ll probably be sticking that in the set as
well.
AS: I noticed that you’ve been asking
people for their opinions on what you should play in the set. Does that give
you a more personal relationship with the crowd?
BL: Yeah, definitely. That’s what we’ve
always wanted since day one. When we first started the band we wanted to be
really interactive with our fans. We put up our own website. We’d do that then we’d
put up we’re playing at the Buffalo Bar on Thursday are there any songs that
you guys would particularly like to hear? I basically went on Twitter and
asked, anything you want me to try give it to me and I’ll see if I can do it. I
had people request Foo Fighters- Everlong.
This one couple were really keen that I play it. When the barman disappeared I
took my guitar out and played it really quiet, and they loved it.
AS: You recently did the Propaganda tour
with The Subways which visited Leeds 02 Academy. How were these shows?
BL: Yeah, they we great. We booked this
Propaganda tour which we thought would be an amazing way to end this Money and Celebrity campaign and they
were all 30 minute slots. It was absolutely crazy going out their and banging
out 8 songs then walking off stage then going and having a drink. We found
ourselves playing to people who have never even heard of us before!
AS: I noticed recently that you’ve been
growing a moustache for Movember, the people of Wakefield West Yorkshire again? Has the north treated you well in
the past?
BL: Yeah. You know, we’ve always had some
amazing gigs up north. Especially in Yorkshire .
I’ve gotta say my tash is not looking good at the moment. My brother is 18 months
younger than me and he can grow a full beard. I’m much fairer than he is, so
when I try grow any facial hair it looks really pathetic. By the time I get to Wakefield
Tickets for the gig are available at The Hop, Crash Records, Jumbo Records and Ticketweb
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