The Bernard Butler Interview

We love having guests on The Britpop Revival Show but being tucked away down here in Devon it does mean that most of our interviews are on the phone. So when we learned that Bernard Butler would be playing as part of the Ben Watt Trio in the Phoenix Centre where we broadcast from, we knew that we had to try and get him into the studio. 

Bernard was a real gent and very generous with his time. He made it clear that he didn't want the interview to be about Suede and Dog Man Star's 20th anniversary. However he did talk freely about his entire career, including his ongoing working relationships with Brett Anderson and David McAlmont, his new band Trans, his production work and his sheer love of music.

He reveals that he will be working with Brett again at some point, that the Union Chapel gigs with David McAlmont this year were his best ever, that when he and Brett formed the The Tears there was strong pressure to call the band Suede and that his Top 10 hit Refugees was originally written for Sophie Ellis-Bextor!  You'll just have to give it a listen really...

This interview was recorded live in the Phonic FM studios in Exeter on 23rd October 2014. An edited version of this interview was broadcast on our show on 29th October.

The Bernard Butler Interview: Full and Unedited by Britpop Revival on Mixcloud

The Scottish Indie Special

It was night before the Scottish Independence Referendum but we steered well clear of politics and instead enjoyed two hours of choice Scottish Indie cuts.  Plenty from bands you'll know but some from ones that might have passed you by, like the frankly excellent The Gyres.

We were also delighted to be joined by Andrew Montgomery, formerly of Geneva, to discuss their LP Further which was our featured album as well as newcomers Colin's Godson.

This is probably one of my favourite shows and thanks to our awesome listeners for all their Scottish suggestions.

Britpop Revival Show #83 Scottish Indie Special 17th Sept 2014 by Britpop Revival on Mixcloud

Interview with Sonya Madan of Echobelly

We were recently delighted to be joined on the show by Sonya Madan from Echobelly, talking about the re-release of their first two albums.

BR: On and Everyone's Got One have recently been re-released. How did that come about?

SM: We got a call from 3Loop, the company that specialise in this sort of thing, who had done a deal with Sony who own the albums to re-release them, asking if we wanted to be involved or not.  They were going to do it regardless so we decided to get involved.

BR: Were you involved in putting the package together at all because there are loads of extras and live tracks etc.

SM: We got out the old boxes of photographs and rummaged through things that had never been heard before.  Every artist has got a box full of extra stuff lying around somewhere haven't they?

BR: There are a few previously unreleased tracks on there and we've been playing a few on the show today.  We've just played Car Fiction in French! Did you do many songs in French?

SM: No, that was a one-off. It was hilarious actually because I didn't know what I was saying.  We did it because we had such a good following in France and they were so supportive so it was just a bit of a thank you really.

BR: It's only the first 2 albums, your most commercially successful work, that is being re-released but I think that people have to look at Echobelly across all of your music rather than just the big hits.

SM: It's understandable that if you release something yourself [as they did for their later albums] it's not going to get the exposure and be that well known.  As an artist sometimes your favourite stuff is not the most commercial anyway.

BR: You're now playing with Calm of Zero, can you tell us a little about that?

SM: Calm of Zero is Glen the guitarist and myself, we wrote the songs [in Echobelly]. After Echobelly everybody went their seperate ways, settled down, had children, disappeared to live in strange countries but Glen and I never lost the passion for writing I suppose. We thought we'd do something together and that's Calm of Zero.

BR: As well as Calm of Zero haven't you and Glen also toured acoustically recently as Echobelly?

SM: We did, yeah. This was before the re-releases were even in the air and we thought it would be good to just air some of those songs again because they were hidden in our memories. We did it as a light-hearted sort of thing and just did a few shows around the country.  It was quite hard to play some of our songs acoustically so we had to choose them quite carefully.

BR: We've got a question from one of our listeners here.  What was your best memory of the 90s?

SM: You can't say one memory because the best times were probably those where you were so off your head you've forgotten! They were amazing times and the whole experience was amazing for a lot of people and is something that should be celebrated really.  It was a wonderful honing in of the experience of British music and its one of the things that this nation is really good at and is seen by the rest of the world as having a special energy for.

BR: It was a special time when bands just seemed to explode onto the scene and Echobelly were a band like that. You didn't flog the circuit for 5 years before getting a break...

SM: Not at all. I'd never been in a band before so it was all weird and wonderful for me. I think at our third gig it was just rammed full of A&R people. We didn't have that transit van experience. We did a bit but compared to most of the people I've spoken to it happened very quickly for us.

BR: Didn't you once do a gig though with no audience?

SM: It was hilarious. It was Braintree in Essex and we had a didgerydoo player that night! It was one of our first ever gigs and there was just nobody. We played anyway, just had fun and did it as a rehearsal really.

BR: Are we going to see you out on the road any time soon?

SM: Probably not. We're not planning any gigs but never say never.

BR: We're going to play something from those re-releases now, Dark Therapy. It's probably the song of yours that we get requested the most.

SM: I think it's aged really well. It seems to have a universal element to it.

BR: This is a live recording from Wetlands, New York City September 1995. DO you remember that gig?

SM: I think we broke the bar record - heavy drinking was going on that's for sure!

BR: Thank you so much for joining us, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the show and those re-releases are out now on 3Loop music.

SM: Thanks to everyone for their response, it's really been great for us.

Or listen to the interview - starts at 01:27:30

Britpop Revival Show #77 ft. Sonya Madan of Echobelly interview 30th July 2014 by Britpop Revival on Mixcloud

Going For Silver: Streaming brings more Britpop success

It may be a few years since you last sat waiting eagerly for the Radio 1 Top 40 show, fingers eagerly hovering over play and record, so you'll be forgiven for not noticing a subtle change to how the chart is now being compiled.  From this month the chart now consists not only of the music that people buy but also the music that people listen to online, with one hundred online plays on sites like Spotify and YouTube being the equivalent to one purchase.

That seems fair enough to me. Lots of people consume plenty of music perfectly legally without every buying any and it's a logical progression that the chart now reflects that.  In fact they have started counting downloads since the 1st January and this has acted as a little fillip for a couple of Britpop tunes.

According to the BPI, Road Rage by Catatonia has now gone silver.  My guess is that the single sales of this have long sat just below the threshold for a silver disc, but add in half a year's streaming stats and Cerys is breaking open the bubbly.

Also of interest is the fact that Champagne Supernova by Oasis has gone silver. What's curious here is that the song was never released as a single in the UK (though it was in Australia, France & NZ). So presumably there was no sales base to start from. If 100 streams = 1 sale and Silver Status represents selling 200,000 songs, does that mean that Champagne Supernova has been streamed 20,000,000 times since 1st January? That can't be right.

However they work it out though, it's always good to see some recognition being given to a song that has become a classic.

We interrupt this broadcast...

If you've tuned in to the show for the last couple of weeks you'll have noticed that it wasn't there.  Well actually it was.  Still broadcasting loud and proud on 106.8FM in the Exeter area. However the internet streaming of the show was not functioning. It hasn't been down the whole time, we've just been unlucky to be hit 2 weeks in a row. To make it worse the archiving wasn't working either today so there is not even the opportunity to listen again on our Mixcloud page.

So I wanted to say sorry for you not being able to listen and to explain why.

Why? Well the answer is money really.

Phonic FM is a small not-for-profit, community station. We're not allowed to advertise and we exist on fundraising, the occasional small grant and the goodwill of volunteers. (You can even donate by PayPal if you're feeling generous!) A lot of the equipment that we use is the same as was installed when the station went on air in 2008 and some of it has been running 24/7 for all that time!

When I arrived at the studio tonight one of our volunteers was there, trying to rebuild a pair of 8 year old PCs. He was still hard at work when I left 2.5 hours later.

It takes time to build a listenership and I'm delighted that so many of you tune in either regularly or once in a while. Interacting with people during the show, whether by text, Twitter or Facebook is half the fun for me!  So I guess I'm just saying sorry for the technical problems that we've been experiencing and I hope you stick around - we'll be back next week. It's nobody's fault, just the reality of running a radio station on a shoestring budget.

The Story Ends - My Life Story call it a day

Lovers of orchestral pop will be sad to hear that My Life Story have decided to bring the curtain down on their reunion shows and finally call it a day.  However they are going out with a bang with one final show at the Shepherds Bush Empire on the 31st May.

[Update: Listen to our interview with Jake Shillingford]

Singer Jake Shillingford said:

"After 20 amazing years. We felt it was time to bow out with one last big theatre show. A final thanks to our utterly amazing and unhealthily loyal and devoted fans. Bring your memories, bring your laughter, dress up to the nines, and party like its 1994!"

My Life Story were a huge favourite on the live circuit with their flamboyant shows and loyal following, whilst enjoying a string of chart hits throughout the 90s.

Their 3 albums produced 6 Top 40 hits, including '12 Reasons Why I Love Her', 'Strumpet' and 'Sparkle', described by Melody Maker at the time as …satisfying escapism.  They even featured in last month's BBC poll for the best Britpop anthems, coming in at number 17 with '12 Reasons'.

My Life Story returned in 2006, after a six-year hiatus, with a ‘best of’ album entitled Sex & Violins. This was followed by Megaphone Theology (B-sides & Rarities). They have since performed packed-out shows at The Astoria, O₂Shepherds Bush Empire and Koko.

We'll be putting on a special My Life Story edition of our show on the 28th May but why not get along to their final show? Details below:

My Life Story - Final Show

Shepherds Bush Empire, 31st May

Doors 7.00pm  Aftershow till 1am

Box Office 0844 477 2000

BUY HERE

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/IEH1912?

In addition to standard admission, fans can purchase a VIP Ticket, which includes an extra live show after the main performance, and one last meet-and-greet with the full 13 piece line up until 1am. These are limited and available on a first come first served basis.

Standard ticket holders can upgrade at the merch stall on the night.

She's In Fashion - BBC4 want your Britpop Fashion memories

We're a very stylish bunch here at the Britpop Revival Show and our sartorial elegance and chiseled good looks are perfect for radio... So it came as no surprise when a researcher for BBC4 got in touch, wanting us to help them find some like minded fashionistas for their documentary.

Seriously though, if you like your fashion as well as your Britpop, get in touch with Lucy.

Were you a fan of Britpop in the 1990s?

We are looking to speak to people who lived through the early years of Britpop in the 90s for a BBC 4 documentary on the history of music and fashion in post-war Britain.

We are particularly interested in hearing from people who perhaps took fashion inspiration from bands of the time and may still have some clothing from that period or people who were influenced in any other ways by the emergence of Britpop.

If you can identify with this and wouldn’t mind speaking to a member of the team about your experiences please contact ljoyner@oxfordscientificfilms.tv

 Suede - She's In Fashion (No 13 in 1999)